Tag Archives: video

Livestream Releases New HTML5 Media Player

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Livestream logoWider adoption of the HTML5 standard for media players is a good thing, if for no other reason than, it means Flash will be killed off faster. That’s why it’s good news when larger, established platforms begin to adopt HTML5. That’s what happened when Livestream recently announced the rollout of its new HTML5 player:

Livestream’s HTML5 player is now available to Chrome users on Livestream.com as well as in the live player embed and video-on-demand.

HTML5 has become the industry standard in video viewing. More web browsers are eliminating the need for plugins and add-ons as HTML5 players have greater flexibility than their Flash counterparts.

Now Livestream producers and viewers alike will enjoy more resilient playback on Livestream.com and Livestream’s player embeds as well. This new player is nimble and responsive, equipped for quicker load times and less processing power from your computer so it won’t slow you down.

Livestream hasn’t completely given up on Flash yet. The new HTML5 player is only available to Google Chrome users who are viewing video streams on the Livestream website or embedded Livestream media players. But, the company is planning to implement HTML5 on other browsers and platforms:

We’re eager to implement the HTML5 player across all browsers, including support for Safari, Firefox, and others. These changes are automatic, so users will not need to adjust their account settings, nor will they incur any additional cost.

This is great news for video producers and consumers. Hopefully, more platforms will follow Livestream’s lead and begin implementing HTML5 media players.

Livestream Studio 4.2 Available Now

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Livestream logoLivestream Studio, the software heart of Livestream’s computer-based live media production system was recently upgraded to version 4.2. The latest version of Livestream Studio is designed to increase CPU performance, as well as provide simulcast support, and more.

Here are some of Livestream Studio 4.2’s key features:

Multi-Destination Streaming: Stream simultaneously to multiple livestreaming platforms from Studio. This requires more bandwidth from the network you’re using to stream, but will not use more CPU. For a more optimized setup, you can also leverage the new simulcasting feature of the Livestream Cloud Platform (Premium and Enterprise plan), which sends a single stream to multiple platforms without clogging your venue internet connection.

Hardware Acceleration: Lower your CPU when streaming with PCs running on NVENC-enabled NVIDIA GPU or Intel CPU with QuickSync support. This includes custom Studio configurations, the Livestream Studio HD550 4K Edition, and Studio HD31. Streaming at 4K and 1080p60 is also available on these hardware platforms with our new hardware acceleration support.

Graphics Support in Web Control: Web Control gives producers remote control of your Livestream Studio software using a WebRTC compatible browser (Safari, Chrome, Firefox). Web Control now gives you the ability to fully control your Graphics module, including adding and editing data. Delegate graphics tasks to other team members while you focus on cutting the show on the main Studio interface.

Livestream Studio 4.2 is available as a free upgrade to existing Livestream Studio customers.

Sienna Releases WebCam for NDI

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Sienna NDIWe’ve written about Network Device Interface (NDI) before, the protocol developed by Newtek that makes it possible to send HD video over networked connections. Newtek has encouraged widespread adoption of NDI by releasing the protocol under free, open-source terms. This has allowed the video production community to find different uses for NDI, and Sienna has the latest development in NDI-compatible software.

Sienna recently released WebCam for NDI, an application that allows users to work with macOS-based webcams over NDI connections:

This unique app turns your macOS Webcam into a powerful network camera, using the NDI IP Video Protocol.

Simply launch the app,select your camera and a new NDI service will be registered on your network.

Now you can select WebCam for NDI from any NDI compatible receiver, such as NewTek TriCaster Advanced edition and use the mac’s Camera as a high quality network video and audio source.

WebCam for NDI is low latency and high quality and adds a convenient way to connect things like MacBook iSight Cameras into your production mix .

WebCam for NDI requires a solid network connection, as NDI can use a lot of bandwidth. WebCam for NDI is compatible with many popular webcams, including the Logitech C920 and Apple iSight cameras. WebCam for NDI also supports AVFoundation compatible devices.

WebCam for NDI is available as a $39.99 purchase from the Mac App Store.

HandBrake 1.0 Released

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Handbrake IconHandBrake has been a handy tool for media creators for over a decade. The free, open-source application makes it easy to convert and encode media of almost any format. HandBrake recently crossed an important milestone in its development, having finally reached an official version 1.0.0 release:

After more than 13 years of development, the HandBrake Team is delighted to present HandBrake 1.0.0. Thank you to all of our many contributors over the years for making HandBrake what it is today.

Here are some features included in HandBrake 1.0.0:

– New online documentation at https://handbrake.fr/docs
– Completely overhauled the official presets
– New general use presets for broad compatibility
– New device presets, now more up-to-date for common devices
– New web presets
– New Matroska (MKV) presets, including VP9 video with Opus audio
– Official presets from HandBrake 0.10.x are still available under “Legacy”
– New JSON-based preset system including command line support
– New JSON-based API for interacting with libhb
– Improvements to audio/video sync engine to better handle difficult sources
– Many miscellaneous bug fixes and improvements
– VP9 video encoding via libvpx
– Intel QuickSync Video H.265/HEVC encoder
– Requires Intel Skylake or newer CPU
– Ultra HD / 4K color pass through (support for BT.2020)
– Additional standard frame rate selections in the graphical interfaces
– New Auto anamorphic mode maximizes storage resolution, replaces Strict anamorphic mode
– New Pad filter (command line only for now)
– New Decomb/Deinterlace filter settings and improved defaults
– Rotate filter now available in all graphical interfaces
– New NLMeans filter tunes Tape and Sprite for analog tape recordings and vintage video games, respectively
– Assembly optimizations NLMeans filter improve performance up to 10%
– Assembly optimizations in x264 encoder improve performance for faster presets by 5-10%
– x265 encoder quality improvements, especially when using tune grain
– High bit depth encoding support via external shared libraries (video pipeline is still 8-bit 4:2:0)
– x264 10-bit
– x265 10-bit and 12-bit

To learn more about HandBrake 1.0.0, click the link at the top of this article. HandBrake is available as a free download for macOS, Windows, and Linux, as a well as a command-line version of the application.

Netflix Now Using VP9 Codec on Some Devices

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Netflix logoPopular video-streaming service Netflix made a significant change to how it works when it recently announced it’d allow users on mobile devices to download complete videos, instead of offering only streaming. It was a smart move on behalf of Netflix, as it gives mobile users the ability to download movies and TV shows on Wi-Fi and then consume those videos where they may have limited (or no) internet access.

And while that flexibility may solve one problem (access to Netflix content), it can create another; maxing out available storage. Modern mobile devices run the range from 8GB to 128GB of storage. And with modern devices doing more and more, internal storage exists at a premium. The new offline mode provided by Netflix wouldn’t get much use if it filled up users’ devices after one or two sessions. With this in mind, Netflix had to devise a way for those downloaded files to use as little space as possible:

One of the biggest differences between shows you download and shows you stream on Netflix is the video format, or codec, the company is using. For streaming, Netflix has been using H.264/AVC almost exclusively. However, users who download Netflix shows to most Android devices instead receive content encoded with VP9 — an open source video codec developed by Google that uses a bunch of advanced encoding tricks to deliver the same video quality with significantly less data, or a better video qualities with the same amount of data.

As VP9 is a Google-developed codec, it’s not currently supported by Apple. For now, Netflix is using a slightly modified version of H.264 on iOS devices. Apple hasn’t yet indicated if it will support VP9 in the future.

Livestream Offers Holiday Discount and Free Mevo Camera

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Livestream logoMedia-streaming service Livestream is offering a special holiday discount on its streaming service, along with a free Mevo camera:

Get 20% off any annual Livestream platform plan through December 23. Receive a free Mevo, the pocket-sized live event camera, with your Enterprise purchase.

This is a great opportunity for anyone looking to take their live internet broadcasting to a new level in 2017. Livestream has proven to be one of the most robust and reliable media-streaming services available, with an array of professional-grade applications that make it easy to get a live stream up and running in short order.

Livestream’s holiday deal is sweetened by the inclusion of a free Mevo camera. The Mevo is a compact but powerful 4K camera that makes it easy to do multi-camera style productions with just one camera:

The app allows users to select specific sections of a live video and then “cut” to those sections as closeups, creating a multi-cam experience for the viewer. Filming a concert and you’d like to cut between a wide shot of the stage along with closeups of invidicual players? No problem. Just tap on one of the performers in the Mevo iOS app and the camera does the rest for you, switching seamlessly from the wide shot to the closeup.

Livestream’s 20% holiday discount and free Mevo camera are available to enterprise users only. For more information, click the link at the top of this article and fill out the form to be contacted by Livestream sales staff.

Vimeo Launches Vimeo Business Service

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Vimeo logoOnline video distribution service Vimeo has been working hard to build its reputation as “the world’s best creative community.” Vimeo launched when the internet video market began to take off during the previous decade. Realizing that the company would never be able to compete with YouTube on a macro level, Vimeo refocused itself as a purveyor of tools and services for independent video producers and filmmakers. Over time, Vimeo has introduced things like digital sales and subscription services that make it easy for producers to sell their videos online.

In its latest move to expand its offerings, Vimeo is introducing Vimeo Business:

…our community is the driving force behind Vimeo Business. Over time, you’ve given us tons of feedback about what you need most: the ability engage with customers and generate leads, market new products, and seamlessly collaborate with colleagues. We built Vimeo Business precisely to address all those things and more.

Some key features of Vimeo Business:

  • Unlimited bandwidth in the Vimeo player with no weekly limits, and the ability to upload up to 5TB total of video.
  • In-depth video stats when you connect Vimeo to your Google Analytics dashboard.
  • Work seamlessly with colleagues, clients, video pros, and more — add up to 10 team members to help manage your account and videos.
  • Generate leads with clickable CTAs and e-mail capture in the player, then send the info to MailChimp, Constant Contact, and Campaign Monitor.
  • Powerful privacy: password protection, domain-level privacy, and private link sharing.
  • Player customization: add your colors, logo, and more.
  • Upload videos from Google Drive, Dropbox, OneDrive, and Box.

A Vimeo Business membership is available now for $599/year.

Livestream HD550, HD551 Now Available for Preorder in 4K

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Livestream logoVideo streaming company Livestream recently upped its game in terms of its video-production offerings. Livestream’s portable Studio HD550 and Studio HD51 video production systems are now both available for preorder as 4K editions. Livestream made this announcement in conjunction with its showing at the recent IBC show in London:

Launching at IBC 2016, Livestream’s portable (Studio HD550) and rackmount (Studio HD51) live production switchers are now available in 4K edition for pre-order. Featuring 5 inputs and one output with full size HDMI and SDI connectors. The 4K Edition also features upgraded hardware all around: 64GB RAM, 8 Core Intel i7 CPU (16 Virtual threads), Windows 10, 2TB SSD drive. Pre-order now from Livestream or one of our resellers at store.livestream.com. Shipping in November 2016.

Livestream’s Studio HD series of products provide an all-in-one solution for live-video production. The HD51 is geared more for studio work while the Studio HD550 is a better fit for mobile producers at remote locations. Both models have plenty of inputs to make it easy to connect multiple video sources. Livestream’s Studio Software is included, making the Studio HD series a feature-rich video switcher capable of capturing and/or broadcasting live events. The Studio HD550 even comes with its own protective carrying bag, which makes it easy to transport to different locations.

The original Studio HD series and the new 4K editions can be found in the Livestream Store. Pricing varies, depending on which model you need.

Windows 10 Update Breaks Support for Many Webcams

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Win10 logoMicrosoft has endured a lot of criticism lately over its aggressive policy of pushing software updates onto customers. This was probably demonstrated most noticeably over the company’s unwillingness to let users of Windows 7 and Windows 8 stay with their current operating systems, and constantly badgering (and in some cases, forcing) them to upgrade to Windows 10. Now it looks like the Redmond, WA-based tech monolith is about to receive a new round of hate, as its recently released Windows 10 Anniversary Update is causing many webcams to stop working:

Microsoft made a significant change with the release of Windows 10 and support for webcams that is causing serious problems for not only consumers but also the enterprise. The problem is that after installing the update, Windows no longer allows USB webcams to use MJPEG or H264 encoded streams and is only allowing YUY2 encoding.

And:

Because of this change, which Microsoft tried to defend but then realized the scale of the impact this change has caused, means that when a webcam tries to use MJPEG or H264, the device will freeze. If you use Skype and your webcam freezes after about a minute, this is the reason.

Microsoft is hoping to deploy a fix for this problem next month. If you’re experiencing webcam issues after the Anniversary Update and you can’t wait until then, check the bottom of the article linked in the above paragraph. One resourceful user has found a registry hack that should make your webcam usable again.

4K, 8K Test Broadcasts Carried Out By NHK

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NHK LogoTime waits for no one. Nor does the inevitable progress of higher-resolution video. It still feels like true HD video has just barely been normalized here in the United States. And yet the push beyond HD, into 4K and even 8K, has begun. The latest example of the move forward comes from Japanese public broadcasting agency NHK (also known as Japan Broadcasting Corp.) as the company has begun testing both 4K and 8K broadcasts.

Of course, most viewers who can tune into these test broadcasts won’t really be able to see the full depth of the video transmissions, as 4K video is still riding the bleeding edge of consumer technology, and 8K is little more than a pipe dream today. Regardless, NHK will have public displays of the technology available at its broadcast centers across Japan.

NHK is hoping to make 4K and 8K video a regular part of its broadcast set by 2018. The broadcasting company hopes this move will help popularize the new formats in the lead up to the 2020 Olympic Games and Paralympics in Tokyo.

Traditionally, Japan has always been ahead of markets like the U.S. in terms of adoption of new technology. So there’s a good chance NHK will meet its goal in time for the Olympics. 4K TVs are currently available in most markets and are priced affordably. But I couldn’t find any estimates on what an 8K set might cost.