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Live Streaming

Live streaming services are pushing the limits of online video and OTT, and live events are still the standards by which the success of the industry are judged. Look here for the latest news on live streaming trends, as well as how-to and technical articles on everything from live production to live linear channels.

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Features

The State of Generative AI 2025

Can generative AI (gen AI) rip things apart and then try to glue it all back together with more insight, more intelligence, more efficiency, and more value? It really depends on what the application is. Within the video workflow, some tasks are good matches for using gen AI, and others aren't.

Streaming Year in Review 2025: Online Video Is Now an Advertising-Led Business

Old Hollywood got Wall Street's memo: "Do whatever it takes to do what Netflix is do­ing." And finally, the studios have begun making money from streaming. With the exception of NBCUniversal, the biggest leg­acy media companies all reported a profit from their direct-to-consumer (DTC) businesses in Q3 2024. They got there by variously writing down or shedding ca­ble assets, slashing jobs, hiking prices, policing pass­word-sharing, improving bundled offerings, and put­ting the full focus of their business strategy into online.

Buyers' Guide: Hardware Transcoders

Although software transcoding is accept­able for transcoding most VOD streams and even low-volume live programming, most high-volume live applications need hardware for efficient transcoding, both to save you money and to save the planet. This buyers' guide will cover: What hardware transcoders are, what you need to bring to the table to identify the best hardware transcoder, factors to consider when choosing one, choosing a hardware transcoder for cloud workflows, and choosing a hardware transcoder for on-prem workflows.

The State of the Video Codec Market 2025

HEVC rode the 4K/HDR wave to success, but AV1, VVC, and LCEVC lack an equivalent killer app. With CDNs racing to the bottom on pricing and new royalty pools threatening to increase costs, codec adoption is no longer just about technical merit—it's about survival. These are the issues I'll explore in this article.

Spotlights

Q&A: Christopher Levy, CEO, BuyDRM

With nearly a half-century of streaming industry observations, experience, and expertise between them BuyDRM CEO Christopher Levy and Help Me Stream Research Foundation Founder Timothy Fore-Siglin gathered at Streaming Media Connect 2025 for a richly detailed, insightful, and wide-ranging interview on the state of content protection technology and strategy. The discussion covered various aspects of digital rights management (DRM) and its role in combating streaming piracy.

Phone Takeover: Replacing Pro Cameras in Live Streaming

A mobile device with the right software is now a tool that can replace some of the traditional live production equipment such as low- and mid-tier cameras and encoders. This reduces both upfront capital expenses, like equipment purchases, and operational costs for live content creators.

Kiloview Cradle Series RFO2: The Ultimate Unified Media Center

The RF02 offers multi-channel encoding/decoding, recording, routing, and mixing in one platform via freely combined card modules, simplifying workflows and improving efficiency. It minimizes the need for separate systems, delivering a complete broadcasting solution.

Hot Products: Magewell USB Capture HDMI 4K Pro

Magewell's USB Capture family has long been the gold standard for professional video capture devices, earning a reputation for being the easiest and most reliable way to bring video and audio signals into software for live streaming, video conferencing, medical imaging, and more. Thenew USB Capture HDMI 4K Pro continues this tradition while adding the ability to capture video sources up to 4K resolution at 60 frames per second.

Columns

Is This the End of the CDN As We Know It?

Recent news, like the shuttering of Edgio, signals to many the imminent death of traditional content delivery networks (CDNs). But does it really?

The Blurring of Shared Experiences Via Streaming

The shared experience of enjoying a program that's happening at (or very near) the same time as reality is gone. YouTube, Facebook, et al. are typically 20 or more seconds behind when the event happened. Streaming services and apps can have their own pathways and delays. Add more viewers or more processing, and it can get longer.

Orphaned Tech: Struggles With Legacy NDI Gear

Not every new customer has the bank to buy all new gear. It's typical to buy used gear, get it running, and then upgrade only as the need and cash flow dictate. But a challenge comes with using older NDI gear.

Streaming Is Easy, Until It’s Not

When it comes to electronics, it's easy to look at advertised features and believe that tech will provide everything you need. But no matter how powerful and integrated it is—perhaps even because of how integrated and powerful it is—you need professionals to run it to ensure you look your best. Streaming may seem easy, but as with any business role, only expertise will make it look easy, even when it's not.

Live Streaming Companies and Suppliers