CES 2018: 5G, 8K, and Beyond

5G video and the future of next-gen UltraHD video were hot topics at CES this week. While both technologies are independent of one another, their development – and future success – will have a correlation. As the standards process for this next generation of wireless makes its way through the 3GPP (commercial networks are expected […]

CES 2018: Connected TV Tunes into the User Experience

As we roll into 2018, almost half of all US broadband households (45%) now own a smart TV, according to Parks Associates research – and it’s now the most commonly used platform for watching online video content. At the same time, consumers are getting choosy about their user experience (UX), meaning that key points of […]

HEVC today. AV1 tomorrow?

In case you missed it, Apple just snuck a little surprise into the first few days of 2018 in the form of their name appearing on the Alliance for Open Media (AOM) website as a Founding Member. As an ardent HEVC supporter, some may be shocked at this move by Apple. Blog post detailing Apple’s […]

Beamr Live HEVC Encoding Speed Test on the Intel® Xeon® Scalable Platinum Processor

It’s no secret that Intel-based hardware is ubiquitous in many video encoding data centers, which explains the high level of interest in the new Intel® Xeon® Scalable Platinum processor family. This article examines the live HEVC 4Kp60 10-bit encoding performance from the perspective of speed with Beamr 5 running on the scalable Platinum 8180 where […]

How to deal with the tension on the mobile network – part 2 (VIDEO Interview)

In late July, I reported on the “news” that Verizon was throttling video traffic for some users. As usual, the facts around this seemingly punitive act were not fully understood, which triggered this blog post. At IBC last month (September 2017), I was interviewed by RapidTV where much of the conversation was around the Apple […]

The Need for Speed: x265 & Beamr 5 Epic Face Off

UPDATE 11/15/2017: Be sure to check out part 2 of this post which covers Beamr 5 performance on the new Intel Scalable Platinum processor.   This article offers a comparison between the performance and quality of the Beamr 5 HEVC software encoder, and the open-source x265 software encoder.  There should be no debate over which […]

How to deal with the tension of video on the mobile network – Part 1

Last week, the Internet erupted in furor over Verizon’s alleged “throttling” of video streaming services over their mobile network. With a quick glance at the headlines, and to the uninitiated, this could be perceived as an example of a wireless company taking their market dominance too far. Most commenters were quick to pontificate calling “interference” […]

Comparing HEVC & VP9 Made Easy

Apple recently announced their plans to enable HEVC on up to one billion devices with the release of iOS 11 and High Sierra later this year, causing video services to reevaluate their workflows and the codecs they are using. With video codecs in a constant state of ongoing development, it can be hard to know […]

We Celebrate with Cake!

At Beamr, when we celebrate, we do it with cake! Today’s very special, and oh so yummy cake celebration, was a recognition of the amazing milestone that we reached on May 31, 2017 as the result of Beamr acquiring Vanguard Video on April 1st, 2016. Our vision for buying Vanguard as a firmly entrenched leader in HEVC […]

HEVC Has Arrived Thanks to Apple iOS 11 & High Sierra

For streaming video service operators who have been searching for a more efficient video codec to deliver higher resolution and higher quality video, the announcement by Apple at the Worldwide Developers Conference 2017 (#WWDC2017) that they will be supporting HEVC across their Mac and iOS product families, is huge. Driven by the breathtaking quality of […]