Streaming Learning Center

As part of my First Looks review of VP8 and WebM for StreamingMedia.com, ran a bunch of VP8 and H.264 comparisons, initially using the MainConcept H.264 codec, since that's the codec included with Sorenson Squeeze, which I used to produce the VP8 files. Then, I added some comparison files produced using the x264 codec, encoding via the QuickTime-based x264Encoder version 1.2.13 (dated 6/27/2010). 

You can read the StreamingMedia article here. In this article, I present the frame comparisons that were too big to fit in the StreamingMedia article, plus present URLs for the streaming files that I created and compared. 

Fifty-seven percent of organizations that deliver video online are supporting the iPad, or will be by the end of 2010. That's one of the many compelling findings in a new survey-based report from StreamingMedia.com called Supporting the iPad and HTML5—Timing, Motivation, Costs, and Scope, which provides details the plans of 1,147 survey respondents regarding support for the iPad, the HTML5 video tag, and a variety of mobile devices. The report also provides implementation data like content and monetization plans, development budgets, and feature sets, enabling report buyers to make better-informed decisions about the timing, scope, and costs of their own iPad and HTML5-related implementations. Further, the report breaks down all responses by demographic category: organization type, annual revenue, target market, and size of video library.

I gave a talk at StreamingMedia East in New York City earlier this month to a group of business executives assembled by California-based webcasting solution provider MediaPlatform. I was told that the execs were interested in "future directions of online video," so I put together a talk entitled "In Your Chair, I'd Be Asking Myself ..." The talk covered three main questions, Is my video competitive?, Am I reaching all my target viewers?, and Am I investing wisely? Click above to read the article.

I recently reviewed ten case-study videos on the Internet to choose one to review for StreamingMedia.com, and my review of that video will appear soon. I evaluated multiple factors in choosing a winner, including marketing focus, visual and audio quality, player presentation and encoded configuration. The clear winner in my mind was a case study produced by network security vendor Watchguard Technologies. The case study featured their client, the Burlington Public Library, and was memorable for multiple reasons that I detail in the review, among them the stunning video quality shown below. To watch the case study on YouTube, click here.

Many organizations use video case studies to help market their products and services. I recently analyzed eleven video case studies, focusing on high level production techniques, how the video was encoded, and how the video was presented on the companies' web pages. This article presents my findings, and should be useful to marketing professionals, video producers, compressionists and web developers.

I'll present the findings in four sections:

-- Useful statistics
-- Good techniques to emulate
-- Mistakes to avoid
-- Best practices for case studies

Click the link above to read the article.