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Encoding/Transcoding

Encoding and transcoding video is at the heart of online video, and Streaming Media offers deep dives into encoding parameters, bitrate ladders, per-title encoding, content/context-aware encoding, CBR, VBR, and ABR. Here you’ll find the latest news, reviews, tests, and analysis to help you stay on the top of your encoding/transcoding game.

Features

Tutorial: Advanced Live Streaming and Recording with the AJA HELO PLUS

Streaming engineer and strategist and Streaming Media The Video Doctor columnist Robert Reinhardt of VideoRx discusses some of his favorite features of the new AJA HELO Plus Advanced Streaming and Recording Appliance in this new tutorial video. A longtime user of the original HELO in his own professional live productions, discusses the new chassis design, new layout features for picture-in-picture and more, streaming to two destinations simultaneously, new SRT support, and more.

The 2023 Streaming Media 100: The Top 100 Companies in the Streaming Media Universe

The Streaming Media 100 is back—welcome once again to Streaming Media's annual list that foregrounds the industry's most innovative and influential technology suppliers, service providers, platforms, and media and content companies, as acclaimed by our editorial team. Some are large and established industry standard-bearers, while others are comparably small and relatively new arrivals that are just beginning to make a splash. All set themselves apart from the crowd with their innovative approach and their contribution to the expansion and maturation of the streaming media universe.

Review: ViCueSoft CodecWar

CodecWar is an analysis service created by ViCueSoft, the developer of codec analy­sis tools VQ Analyzer, VQ DVK, and VQ Probe. As currently configured, the site's ideal users are researchers who are looking for a convenient way to compare codecs using relevant datasets and codec developers who are looking for a structured way to benchmark their codecs against others. In contrast, it's not a particularly convenient way for streaming producers to run experiments to optimise their encoding parameters, although it could grow into this.

The Streaming Media 100 at IBC 2023

With IBC taking place September 15-18, just before the eagerly anticipated unveiling of this year's Streaming Media 100, which recognizes the 100 companies that matter most in this industry, I had the chance to surprise a number of deserving honorees with their awards, live and in person on the show floor.

Spotlights

View from the Top: Wowza Media Systems

Today's streaming industry growth is being fueled by both increased demand for traditional OTT streaming as well as expansion into new corporate and creator use cases. These latter use cases in particular are driving providers like Wowza to adapt and make video streaming more accessible through easier, more affordable, and more flexible implementations.

Key Considerations for Live Encoding

As more and more live streaming content is consumed on a widely disparate group of devices—including both lowerand upper-end mobile phones and tablets, as well as smart TVs and 4K-capable set-top boxes (STBs)—the decisions around choosing a live streaming encoder have grown more complex.

The Ultimate Guide to Live Encoding

In today's competitive online video market—where quality of experience is table stakes—ensuring your team has the right encoder for your unique needs is key. Streaming data must be compressed for efficient delivery without sacrificing quality. While most encoders deliver on this requirement, they vary in terms of performance and feature set.

Discover LEXI 3.0: The Future of Automatic Captioning

Trusted by leading live streamers and broadcasters worldwide, Lexi 3.0, a new and improved version of Ai-Media's flagship captioning solution, leverages the power of AI to deliver results rivalling human captions, at a fraction of the cost.

Columns

The Greenest Codec: LCEVC

There's no doubt that LCEVC is a more efficient codec. But is it really going to make much of a difference in energy savings compared to other sustainability solutions?

How YouTube Encodes Videos

Looking for insights into exactly how YouTube encodes billions of videos? Jan Ozer went down the rabbit hole and shares what he discovered about AV1, VP9, and resolutions.

Judging Apple's Advanced Video Quality Tool

As a metric, Apple's Advanced Video Quality Tool (AVQT) showed some bright spots, but it's hard to see it bumping VMAF or SSIMPLUS from real-world workflows without a lot more verification.

The Future Is Real Time, and It Starts Now

Where and how does "real time" fit into your workflows in this "COVID and beyond" era? Similar to global wars accelerating advan­ces in medicine such as plastic surgery, COVID has pushed all of us working in streaming media to rethink, innovate, optimise, and rebuild many components of our day-to-day responsibilities. 

Encoding/Transcoding Companies and Suppliers