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Preliminary Survey Results – CBR, VBR and Capped CRF – $100 Amazon Gift Card Incentive

On January 13th, 2016, I launched a survey to determine the bitrate control techniques most commonly used by streaming producers. Some preliminary results are in, but the number of respondents is too small to draw any conclusions. I wanted to publish the data to stimulate additional interest, and also announce that I am sweetening the pot with a $100 Amazon gift …

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Survey Results In: DASH Squeaks Win over HLS

Late last year I ran a survey asking respondents to choose whether DASH or HLS was the best ABR format going forward. The poll results are in and are shown below. Basically, a small majority preferred DASH over HLS. The reasons why are even more illuminating, and are presented below the survey results. “Not sure why i wouldnt cover both …

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Survey: CBR, VBR, or Other for ABR Streaming

The recommended bit rate control technique for VOD files produced for adaptive streaming is one of the most fundamental decisions encoding professionals make, but in my view also one of the most confusing. If you scan the white papers on the topic, most recommend using constant bit rate (CBR) encoding to simplify the stream selection process. On the other hand, …

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Webinar: Content-Aware Encoding-Applying Lessons Learned from Netflix’s Per-Title Optimization Blog Post

Webinar on Content-Aware Encoding; January 26, 2016 at 2:00 PM EST.  The ideal encoding ladder accomplishes two things-it creates great visual quality and uses the optimum amount of data, keeping audiences and finance happy at the same time. But what is the ideal encoding ladder?  At one extreme, in its post Per-Title Encode Optimization, Netflix recently blogged about how each …

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TN2224 is Dead. Welcome to the New Era of Content-Aware Encoding

The Netflix blog entitled, Per-Title Encode Optimization, boldly declares that “to deliver the best quality video to our members, each title should receive a unique bitrate ladder, tailored to its specific complexity characteristics.” In a world where many companies simply deploy Apple’s recommendations from TN2224 without modification, it’s a breath of fresh air. The blog post goes on to detail …

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