In its raw form, high-quality video is too bulky for broadcasters to upload and viewers to download. Encoding, decoding, and transcoding are three core processes that underlie the speedy transfer of video files to a playable format for your viewers around the world.
It happens about once a week — someone starts their very first stream with a camera pointed at themselves; while watching it on their computer or tablet, they’re surprised to discover that they’re watching themselves from about 30 seconds ago, and they call us to ask why their stream is so delayed.
When streaming events live, there are several ways to output video and audio from a video source to a streaming device. Two of the most common are HDMI (High Definition Multimedia Interface) and SDI (Serial Digital Interface). This post sets out to explain the differences between the two.
Live video streaming is often best accomplished by way of a hardware encoder (see our post about why that is). The encoder is a physical device that connects to a video source and converts the audio and video signals into something that can be streamed to a media server. While many hardware encoders share similar features, chipsets, and form-factors, they're not all made the same and can produce different results given otherwise similar conditions.
Hardware or software encoder? The battle rages on. Well, battle is a strong word, but there are important distinctions to point out between the two.
When it comes to live video streaming technology, the decision between hardware or software encoder will inevitably come up. The goal of this post is to arm you with information so that you can make the right choice that best fits your streaming needs.
We’ve all been there. We’ve been watching an online video, movie, or a sporting event when the screen suddenly freezes up, or the quality is not what it previously was. No matter what you’re watching, this abrupt loss of quality is incredibly frustrating.
Recent technology known as H.265 (also called HEVC - High Efficiency Video Coding) has emerged to combat this issue. In this post, we compare H.265 to its predecessor, H.264, and explore what H.265 means for your live broadcasts.
It wasn’t long ago that the discussion of 4K capture and delivery seemed like an elusive hypothetical. Debates abounded regarding the need for 4K versus its high cost and potentially slow rate of consumer adoption.
Five years ago, you’d have to take out a second mortgage to get your hands on a 4K camera. Today, your iPhone is a 4K camera. The change has been dramatic. 4K is no longer a topic of debate; the industry has clearly arrived.
Today we'll be talking about the different types of SDI signals. So, when I started in video production I thought that there was just one type of SDI signal. Boy you have no idea how excited I was when I found out it wasn't just that simple. I guess nothing's really ever simple is it?