March, 2016

• 22 March

  Conference Research Tests Adaptive Video and Quality Benchmarks

  

  The Society for Imaging Science and Technology hosts the annual International Symposium on Electronic Imaging, held this year in San Francisco, California, from February 14 to 18. The Symposium has eight tracks across a range of disciplines, where re

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• 16 March

  Buyer’s Guide to Webcasting Platforms 2016

  Viewed from a distance, most webcast providers look pretty similar; they all let you create a registration page, collect contact info for your registrants, and serve attendees a diet of PowerPoint and talking-head video, spiced with quizzes, surveys,

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• 16 March

  Buyer’s Guide to Enterprise YouTube Platforms 2016

  Enterprise YouTube platforms enable businesses to share videos with employees, partners, and other viewers; interested parties can then preserve and share the valuable institutional knowledge accumulated in these videos. Most systems function the way

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• 16 March

  Webinar: Simplifying Encoder Purchase and Configuration Decisions with Real Time Quality Metrics

  I’m participating in a webinar with IneoQuest on Thursday, March 31 at 2:00 PM EST as part of their launch of a new product with live, non-referential quality metrics. The bottom line is that if you’re comparing real-time encoders to make a purchase decision, or configuring live encoders you already have, you can gauge the quality in real time, while …

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• 14 March

  Technical Brief: Switch from CBR to VBR to Improve Overall Quality and Avoid Transient Quality Issues

  This article explores the differences between constant bitrate encoding (CBR) and variable bitrate encoding (VBR) and recommends that producers still using CBR should switch to 110% constrained VBR to improve overall quality and avoid transient quali

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• 9 March

  The State of Video Codecs 2016

  

  015 was a tumultuous year for codecs. HEVC seemed like a sure thing in January, looked to be in trouble in July, but was happily resuscitated in December, albeit with some missing productive months from its useful life. Open source codecs began the y

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• 3 March

  Five Signs Your Encoding Ladder May Be Obsolete

  Your encoding ladder is the set of encoding parameters that you use to create the various files that you deliver adaptively to your web viewers. These encoding parameters can live in your on-premise encoder, in your cloud encoder, or in your online video platform (OVP). When optimally configured, your encoding ladder lets you efficiently deliver great quality video to viewers …

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February, 2016

• 22 February

  Editing Technique: Restoring A/V Sync in Premiere Pro

  Executive Summary: A common problem with footage created using iPhones, screencam tools, Wirecast, and Skype is a loss of A/V sync when importing the video into Premiere Pro. This video tutorial presents a simple fix using Handbrake. You can read a tutorial on the Streaming Media Producer Website here.  Overview and discussion: Many sources of video, like mobile phones, screencam …

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• 20 February

  Encoding Brief: Phase Out Low Quality Streams in Your Encoding Ladder

  

  Executive Summary: Now might be the time to consider phasing out the lowest quality streams in your encoding ladder to reduce encoding and storage costs. Check your server logs to determine consumption of these streams before doing so.  Overview and Discussion: All streams in your adaptive group cost money to encode, store, and administrate, even low-quality streams. A recent discussion …

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• 15 February

  Encoding Brief: The Benefit of B-frames

  Executive Summary: B-frames increase compression efficiency, particularly at lower bitrates. However, not all video encoders deliver the requested number of B-frames when encoding using default parameters. Telestream Switch is a software program that identifies B-frames in encoded streams, and computes the overall B-frame percentage. Compressionists seeking the most efficient streams should acquire Switch and test their streams. If B-frames are …

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