June/July 2008

Magazine Features

Eyes on the Enterprise: Enterprise Multimedia: The New Belle of the Conference Circuit?

Enterprise video may not be as sexy as consumer content, but it's finally getting the attention it deserves at this year's trade shows and conferences.

Tutorial: Wowza Media Server Pro

Wowza Media Server Pro offers a cost-effective alternative to the Flash Media Server, and this tutorial can help you get started using it.

Stream This: Application Delivery: Akamai's Secret Weapon?

Application delivery is perhaps the least-understood of Akamai's offerings, but it just might represent the most growth opportunity for the company in the coming months.

It's All in the Delivery: A Look at the Top Video Players of Today and Tomorrow

Today's media players are advancing broadcast media by leveraging the internet as a delivery medium. As such, these technologies are now becoming disruptive far beyond the confines of the web.
Thurs., July 3, by Ezra Davidson

Cracking the H.264 Codec

H.264 is undoubtedly the hottest codec around, but there are inherent market forces that complicate producing files that meet the needs of your target playback device or player. These include the fact that there are multiple H.264 codecs available, each with different configurable parameters, and that each H.264 encoding tool reveals a custom set of compression options.

Spicy Ideas: A Day in the Life of a Media Junkie

We cannot escape. We cannot look away. Everywhere we go, we are surrounded by screens pumping out video and speakers piping in audio. Good or bad, it is a way of life for most of the world—even more so for those of us who are hyper-connected.

Under the Hood: File Analysis Tools for Streaming Video

For the most part, streaming files provide a pitiful amount of useable data, which makes programs that provide insight to the content of these files invaluable to compressionists. Depending upon your needs and operating system, there are a number of programs—most free, some at a price—that may fit the bill quite nicely. In this article, we look at a several such programs, including Apple’s QuickTime Pro, Steve Greenberg’s GSpot Codec Information Appliance, Inlet Technologies’ Semaphore, Jerome Martinez’s MediaInfo, and Sliq Media’s WMSnoop.
Tues., June 17, by Jan Ozer

Analyze That: PC-TV Convergence

This months' question: At this point, just about anyone with a broadband connection, a recent-model TV, and a few hundred dollars to spend on a set-top box can watch internet-delivered video on his TV screen. We know they're able; the question is, are U.S. consumers ready and willing to embrace the PC-to-the-TV leap, or are they not quite there yet?

Streams of Thought: Everything Old Is New Again

A "where are they now?" look at some of the names associated with the early days of the Streaming Media shows.

Review: Sorenson Squeeze 5

With Squeeze 5, Sorenson took baby steps in some critical new directions. Unfortunately, unless it's your child, baby steps are seldom graceful or particularly effective, and that's the case here.

Review: Rhozet Carbon Coder 3

"Impressive" turns out to be a good adjective for the version 3.0 update in general, which significantly improves an already highly competent product. Rhozet has made several useful streaming-codec-related improvements, enhanced watch-folder functionality, and improved the program's interface. Encoding trials immediately revealed that Carbon Coder remains highly tuned for fast, multiprocessor efficiency.

Industry Perspectives: The Power of Enterprise Video

Video is much more powerful and compelling than simply providing a written document or audio clip without using visuals, but care must be taken to implement an enterprise video strategy effectively.

Class Act: Is DIY the Way to Go for Educational Institutions?

With a DIY approach to online video, you're substituting one resource for another—time for money. It's not a bad equation, particularly if your institution is just testing the waters, but it is wise to recognize that trade-off at the start and budget learning time as an investment in your school's online success.
Fri., June 27, by Paul Riismandel

Editor's Note

Editor's Note: Don't Call It a Comeback

Whether his venture succeeds or fails, the involvement of an A-list Hollywood star like David Caruso in a streaming video startup says volumes about the level of attention online video is receiving these days.

A Whole New Lexicon: David Caruso Launches Online Video Company

CSI: Miami actor David Caruso has joined forces with two streaming industry veterans, Nils Lahr—one of the original architects of Windows Media—and Frank Nein, to launch a new online video initiative, Lexicon Digital.
Tues., June 10, by Eric Schumacher-Rasmussen