Tue, Apr 29, 2014 2:00 PM EDT HEVC is definitely the next big thing; but how big is it, and when will it matter? If you’re interested in learning about the current status of HEVC, consider attending this webinar, during which I’ll discuss a range of topics regarding the deployment and utility of HEVC. These will include: – How HEVC …
Read More »Netflix, HEVC and Net Neutrality. Who Ultimately Will Pay the Toll?
The poor folks at HDTVtest were reviewing a Samsung HU8500 UHDTV and noticed that Netflix was streaming House of Cards Season 2 at 4K in HEVC. According to the article, after cycling through 720p and 1080p, the stream ultimately switched up to 2160 HD at 15.6 Mbps. In dark scenes, there was very little difference, but in bright, colorful scenes, …
Read More »Configuring a Server Farm for Telestream Episode
OK, pretty discrete topic, but if you care, you care. This blog post originated as questions from a visitor to this website, who asked: At this stage of my investigation, I have the following questions: – Should I go for a few 16-core or a lot 4-core machines (like mac mini). – Do I need the Episode Cluster license for …
Read More »A Buyer’s Guide to Cloud Encoders
Considering a cloud encoder? My article, A Buyer’s Guide to Cloud Encoders, from the fabulous 2014 Streaming Media Sourcebook, is up on the Streaming Media webiste. Here’s the scintillating intro which tells what’s covered in the article. There are many instances where cloud encoding is both efficient and cost-effective. For example, if you’re working with files already saved to the cloud — perhaps …
Read More »Encoding for iBooks Author Webinar: Download Free Proof of Concept iBook
Note: With the June 2014 release of iBooks Author, the procedures discussed here no longer work. Good luck with your iBooks Author encodes. In my upcoming webinar, Encoding for iBooks Author (register here), I claim that “by the lessons learned in this webinar, you’ll be able to include more minutes of videos in your iBooks, or the same number of minutes …
Read More »How to Encode Video for HLS Delivery
HTTP Live Streaming (HLS) is a simple and elegant architecture created by Apple for delivering adaptive bit rate streams to iOS devices and compatible browsers, essentially Safari. Since its release, HLS has been incorporated into technologies that e
Read More »YouTube Preparing to Deploy VP9 on 4K Content
In a TV Technology article, Deborah D. McAdams reported that “YouTube is preparing to use Google’s own VP9 compression for 4K content otherwise known as “UltraHD.” McAdams was recounting Google’s presentation from Day 2 of the Hollywood Post Alliance, an informal gathering of technical glitterati from Hollywood. Interestingly, when Google’s Anil Kokaram showed slides comparing VP9 to H.264 and H.265, …
Read More »Telestream Includes x.264 in Free Episode 6.4 Update
In an uncharacteristically quiet release, Telestream launched Episode 6.4, a free upgrade that includes x264 encoding for all versions. This is essentially a price reduction of around $89 (B&H was still selling the x264 option when I wrote this post). Here’s a snippet from the Product Sheet: You can click over to the Release Notes, here. From my perspective, incorporating …
Read More »HEVC Likely to be Subject to Similar Royalty Structure as H.264
One of the best things about presenting at Streaming Media conferences is that the expertise level of attendees is so high that it’s rare you don’t learn a thing or so in the sessions that you present. So it was during my HEVC session at
Read More »MPEG LA Announces Proposed HEVC Licensing Terms
Yesterday, MPEG LA announced proposed license terms for HEVC. We parsed the press release, and spoke with MPEG LA, and here’s what we know, and what we don’t know.
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