Bitmovin Intros AI-Powered Video Encoding That Learns Over Time
Artificial intelligence (AI) meets online video encoding thanks to an approach video infrastructure provider Bitmovin will introduce in the coming months. Rather than analyzing each piece of content prior to creating an encode, Bitmovin's system will learn and remember encoding parameters from previous encodes and start there. The result, the company says, will offer higher quality encoding in less time.
The Bitmovin AI system will make three passes over each video. In the first pass it runs a rapid analysis to determine the best settings as well as pre- and post-processing steps, all of which is informed by previous encodes. In the second pass, it looks at the video in more detail and fine-tunes the encode. Videos are divided into sections and analysis is run in parallel. Finally, a third pass applies the results of that analysis to the whole file and optimizes the bitrate.
“Encoding is at the heart of all video services. However, traditional methods do not process high-quality content such as ultra HD and High Dynamic Range quickly or well enough to deliver the kind of experiences consumers have come to expect," explains Christopher Mueller, CTO and co-founder at Bitmovin. "With AI Encoding, we are using a three-pass process that uses machine learning on the first pass to analyze the content upfront and reduce the amount of time dedicated to encoding. Since it keeps learning over time, encoding constantly improves. For operators, this means higher quality at the same bitrates, making it possible to offer UHD sports content or pristine movies on today’s infrastructure.”
Bitmovin will demonstrate AI-powered encoding for the first time at the NAB Show in Las Vegas, Nevada, in April.
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