This article discusses the evolution of the encoding ladder from the fixed ladder presented by Apple in Tech Note TN2224 to context-aware-encoding, which creates a ladder that not only considers the encoding complexity of the content, but also the producer’s QoE and QoS metrics. The encoding ladder embodies the most significant encoding decisions made by…
After three years or so in gestation, per-title encoding is becoming a required feature on most encoding platforms, whether in-house software or SaaS cloud providers. In this buyers’ guide, we’ll review a list of features to look for in per-title encoding offerings and present a testing structure to evaluate the contenders that make it to…
Dynamic Packaging is a technique that can save encoding and storage costs for video producers that distribute two or more ABR formats, like DASH, HLS, Smooth Streaming, or even RTMP. In this interview, Softvelum CEO Yury Udovichenko discusses how his flagship product, Nimble Streamer, can deploy Dynamic Packaging for VOD, Live, VOD Remote HTTP Origin,…
Here’s the link to download: W4-key encoding skills Here’s the description. W4. Key Encoding Skills, Technologies, & Techniques Monday, May 6: 1:30 p.m. – 4:30 p.m. This session helps encoding professionals get up-to-speed on crucial encoding-related issues, technologies, and techniques. Topics include: Best high-level strategies for delivering to computers, mobile, smart TVs, and OTT (which ABR,…
Here’s the download: T20_Build_Free_Encoder_FFmpeg_Bento_short. The video is below. T202. How To Build A Free Encoder/Packager With Watch Folder Operation Using Open Source Tools Wednesday, May 8: 11:45 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. Open source tools like FFmpeg and Bento4 are used to build massive encoding farms for high-profile premium content services, but they also serve wonderfully as…
Here’s the description; download handout here. T103. A Survey Of Per-Title Encoding Technologies Tuesday, May 7: 1:45 p.m. – 2:30 p.m. Per-title encoding techniques customize the encoding ladder to match the encoding complexity of the source, saving bandwidth on easy-to-compress videos and ensuring the quality of more complex footage. Codec specialist Jan Ozer compares the efficiency,…
Here’s the description; download handout here. SME-2019 – FFmpeg Hardware VES101. Benchmarking FFmpeg’s Hardware Codecs Tuesday, May 7: 10:30 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. Hardware codecs in FFmpeg like those from Intel and NVIDIA deliver significant performance gains over x264/x265, but have a reputation for lower quality and use a completely different command set. This session benchmarks…
Here’s the description; link to the PDF is below: W1. Introduction To ABR Production & Delivery Monday, May 6: 9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. This course helps those new to streaming media get familiar with the relevant terms, concepts, and technologies. The session begins with a definition of terms like codecs, container formats, and adaptive bitrate…
I was preparing for the codec discussion of my preconference sessions next week at Streaming Media East and visited www.caniuse.com to report codec availability. While I expected H.264 (96.96%) and VP9 (80.78%) to easily win, and they did, I was surprised to find AV1 availability at 32.46%, well ahead of HEVC at 16.71%. Digging into…
I’m preparing for my per-title presentation at Streaming Media East next Tuesday (presentation description below) and found some anomalous results for lower-resolution files produced by YouTube. I’m including YouTube in the analysis because I’ve always respected their work and for perspective vis a vis other per-title technologies that I’ll analyze (including Elemental MediaConvert QVBR, Capella…
