September/October 2024

Magazine Features

How AI Is Transforming the Video Production Landscape

The evolution of AI extends from prepro­duction planning to postproduction enhance­ments, offering tools that augment creativity, efficiency, and precision. It is difficult to ignore all of the buzz about AI these days, but here is what streaming pros can expect from this ear­ly stage of AI technology.

Presenting the 2024 Streaming Media 100

Here we reveal the 2024 Streaming Media 100, our list of the top 100 companies in the streaming universe outside of Europe. This list complements the Streaming Media Europe 51, which recognizes Europe's key streaming innovators, exemplars, and disruptors.

Q&A: Simon Crownshaw, Microsoft’s Worldwide Media and Entertainment Strategy Director, Talks Gen AI

In this expansive interview with Simon Crownshaw, Microsoft's worldwide media and entertainment strategy director, we discuss how Microsoft customers are leveraging generative AI in all stages of the streaming workflow and how they're using it in content delivery and to enhance user experiences in a range of use cases. Crownshaw also digs deep into how Microsoft is building asset management architecture and the critical role metadata plays in effective large-language models (LLMs), maximizing the value of available data.

Review: DVEO Brutus V

This review will highlight Brutus V, DVEO's IP-to-IP multichannel AV1, H.264, and H.265 transcoder for IPTV or OTT. I will touch on Brutus V's options for delivering streams over H.264 and cover streaming delivery over various streaming protocols such as HLS, LL-HLS, Smooth Streaming, and MPEG-DASH. I will also dive into transcoding using H.264 and HEVC.

The Generative AI Industrial Revolution

Generative AI may prove even more divisive to society than the Indus­trial Revolution. There are many questions well worth examining re­garding gen AI's impact on the streaming in­dustry, the media and entertainment world, and more. In this article, I'm going to focus on a few streaming use cases in the hope of pro­viding a broader perspective on the changes happening in our world now and those we can expect going forward.

Editor's Note

IBC 2024: Better Content Curation Through Conversation with Imaginario AI

One AI-driven solution that stood out at IBC 2024 as particularly smart and creative comes from a London-based company called Imaginario AI. I met with CEO and Co-Founder Jose M. Puga and got an up-close look at a content indexing and curation tool that uses multimodal AI models to "make video content searchable like text." Imaginario AI made a big enough splash at IBC this year to take home 1st prize in the "Manage" category of the IABM's BaM awards.

Spotlights

Eluvio CEO Michelle Munson Talks Latest Content Fabric Release with New AI and Security Features

In a post-IBC interview, Eluvio Co-Founder and CEO Michelle Munson and I discuss the Content Fabric's next-gen Casablanca release and the transformative impact of the Content Fabric technology on the media and entertainment industry and premium video on demand.

View From the Top: Bitcentral

Bitcentral, a trailblazer in media software solutions, presents ViewNexa®, a game-changing streaming platform designed to meet the evolving demands of the digital video era. Bitcentral's commitment to innovation is exemplified in ViewNexa, a solution that redefines how broadcasters, content creators, and publishers connect with their audiences.

View From the Top: EZDRM: Enabling New Business Through Security

As we look at the trajectory of our industry in 2024 and beyond, the EZDRM team is increasingly navigating the ever-changing world of streaming video through a focus on how our technologies, in both the security and integrity realms, in conjunction with strong partner collaborations, are helping new content-related business segments to emerge and thrive. Thus, we emphasize a profile far beyond a simplistic focus on piracy mitigation by focusing our attention on revenue protection and monetization of the already-existing, very valuable content.

View From the Top: Wowza: The Power Behind Video

Wowza offers a platform that is not only a future-proof streaming investment, but also a simpler platform overall that allows consolidation to a single, streaming solution. These two things, along with a simple and transparent pricing model, make it easier for clients to both justify and predict a healthy return on investment.

View From the Top: Zixi | Navigating the Challenging Financial Landscape: The Strategic Importance of Total Cost of Ownership in Broadcasting and Streaming

The broadcast and streaming industry is currently navigating a challenging financial landscape, marked by economic uncertainties, intensified competition and shifting consumer behaviors. In this environment, understanding and optimizing Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) has become more critical than ever. TCO is not just a financial metric; it's a strategic tool that helps organizations manage resources efficiently, maintain competitiveness and contribute to sustainability in a rapidly evolving market.

The Producer's View

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.