TimeLine Layout

November, 2021

  • 26 November

    Talking Codecs on the Video Insiders Podcast

    I’m a big fan of the Video Insiders podcast and have learned a lot from many of the episodes. I’m proud to have joined Dror Gill and Mark Donnigan for episode 70, which you can listen to or download here. Here’s the description: EPISODE SUMMARY The Video Insiders podcast is celebrating 70(!) episodes with a very special guest – Jan …

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October, 2021

  • 23 October

    Choosing an x265 Preset: an ROI Analysis

    This post presents a return on investment view of choosing an x265 preset that delivers the optimal blend of encoding cost and storage and bandwidth savings. The first chart, x265 Encoding Time/Quality Tradeoff, is from a lesson in my course Streaming Media 101: Technical Onboarding for Streaming Media Professionals.  Given the bandwidth and storage savings that higher-quality x265 presets deliver, …

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  • 22 October

    Creating Compelling Lessons with Screen Recording Software

    screen recording software

    This article details how to plan, record, edit, and produce a lesson with screen recording software. So, you’ve been charged with producing a screencam-based training lesson for your organization and you’re wondering where to start. Well, you’re in the right place, because this tutorial will tackle the hardware and software needed, plus the planning, recording, editing, and output of the …

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  • 22 October

    How to Connect a Microphone to a Camcorder or DSLR

    connect a microphone to a camcoder

    This tutorial teaches you how to connect a microphone and soundboard to a camcorder and DSLR for live and on-demand video production. This article was derived from a lesson in my Live Streaming Bootcamp course, which teaches you the skills and techniques that optimize the quality of your webinars and live streams. Click here for more detail on the course. …

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  • 21 October

    How to Set Exposure with your Camcorder and DLSR

    how to set exposure

    This tutorial teaches you how to set exposure and white balance on your camcorder and DSLR for live and on-demand video production. This article was derived from a lesson in my Live Streaming Bootcamp course, which teaches you the skills and techniques that optimize the quality of your webinars and live streams. Click here for more detail on the course. …

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  • 20 October

    How to Choose a Video Mixer for Streaming

    Video Mixer for Streaming

    This post describes how to choose a video mixer for live events and conferences. It was derived from a lesson in my Live Streaming Bootcamp course, which teaches you the skills and techniques that optimize the quality of your webinars and live streams. Click here for more detail on the course. At the most basic level, video mixers are hardware or …

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  • 19 October

    Choosing a Light Kit for Streaming, Webinars, and Web Conferences

    Figure 5.  Products for supplying webcam lighting.

    This article describes how to buy a light kit for live streaming, webinars, and web conferences. It was derived from a lesson in my Live Streaming Bootcamp course, which teaches you the skills and techniques that optimize the quality of your webinars and live streams. Click here for more detail on the course. Lighting is the single most important determinant of …

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  • 19 October

    Buyers Guide: Choosing a Software-Based Streaming Encoder for VOD

    Buyers Guide: Choosing a Streaming Encoder for VOD

    This entry-level article describes what an encoder is and how to choose one and focuses on VOD, not live. It was derived from a lesson in my Streaming Media 101 course, which teaches you the skills and techniques to succeed in a streaming media-related role. Click here for more details about the course. This article walks newbies through what an …

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  • 16 October

    Choosing the Resolution for Lower Rungs on Your Encoding Ladder

    Your encoding ladder should include lower resolution rungs even if higher resolution rungs deliver better quality. This blog explains why.  Several lessons in the online course Streaming Media 101: Technical Onboarding for Streaming Media Professionals focus on creating and configuring encoding ladders, including the Convex Hull technique discussed below. With advanced codecs like AV1 and HEVC, however, this analysis leads …

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  • 13 October

    Seeking Input: Which Low-Res Rungs are Essential to an Encoding Ladder

    Note: I received some very useful responses to this blog that are summarized in a post entitled, Choosing the Resolution for Lower Rungs on Your Encoding Ladder.  I could use some input from practitioners out there about which lower resolution rungs are essential to an encoding ladder. By way of background, I’m preparing a per-title encoding comparison. To derive the …

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