Comparing Codecs, NVIDIA’s New Transcoding Power, and Much More
Here's what caught my attention over the last week or so. Cheers, and have a great week.
AI Codecs and Encoding Technologies
• Allegro DVT Launches its First AI-Based Neural Video Processing IP
Codecs
• The Codec Conundrum: Navigating the Challenges of Video Codec Adoption
• Webinar: Best Practices for Evaluating Codecs and Encoders
Encoders
• NVIDIA RTX 50 series vs RTX 40 series: What’s New for Transcoding Professionals
• Best Practices of Encoding H.264 and HEVC - 2025 NAB Show
Encoding Techniques
• Review of Multi-Resolution Encoding for HTTP Adaptive Streaming using VVenC
• Will SGAI Become an Industry Norm for Dynamic Ad Insertion? | TV Tech
Technology News
• Streaming Media Connect February 2025 - All Videos Available
• Bitmovin Video Developer Report Reveals Streaming in 2025: Incremental Growth Over Innovation
• Weigel Broadcasting Embraces Cloud-Based Playout-to-Delivery Solution from Harmonic
AI Codecs and Encoding Technologies
Allegro DVT Launches its First AI-Based Neural Video Processing IP
Allegro DVT says its new NVP300 lets you 'embrace the AI revolution and push video quality to the next level.' If they’d squeezed in ‘paradigm shift’ and ‘game-changer,’ they’d have hit the marketing cliché trifecta.
Still, it's an interesting innovation. The NVP300 is optimized for real-time 4K processing within a constrained silicon area and power budget, making it ideal for embedded systems. It can enhance video quality either before encoding or after decoding, improving content for applications like consumer electronics and professional broadcasting.
Codecs
The Codec Conundrum: Navigating the Challenges of Video Codec Adoption - Streaming Learning Center
At the recent Streaming Media Connect 2025 conference, I moderated a session titled "Navigating Video Codec Adoption" alongside panelists Behnam Kakavand (Evolution), Arnaud Leyder (Radiant Media Player), Boban Kasalovic (United Cloud), and Hassene Tmar (Meta). The session explored the challenges streaming services face when evaluating new codecs like AV1, VVC, and HEVC, focusing on deployment hurdles, performance considerations, and strategic trade-offs.
The summary blog post highlighted several key insights. Hassene Tmar shared Meta’s experience with AV1, emphasizing its success in improving quality and reducing bandwidth but also noting challenges with deployment on Android devices and the importance of robust benchmarking tools. The panel also explored the trade-offs between hardware and software encoding, noting that factors like cost, density, and power consumption determine the optimal approach. For those weighing the potential of VVC, the panel concluded that while promising, the codec remains too early in its adoption cycle for widespread deployment. If you're navigating codec decisions, the post offers valuable insights into balancing quality, performance, and practicality.
Webinar: Best Practices for Evaluating Codecs and Encoders
I'm hosting a webinar that outlines practical strategies for evaluating codecs and encoders. Testing can be surprisingly complex, with key decisions required at every step—like selecting test clips, configuring settings, and choosing the right metrics. Drawing on my experience testing codecs since 1993, I'll walk through essential steps to ensure your results are accurate, meaningful, and applicable to real-world streaming scenarios. While no single method fits every situation, I'll highlight common pitfalls and critical factors every evaluator should consider to avoid flawed results.
I'll also share guidance on designing fair, repeatable tests and how to connect quality scores with actual viewer experience. Whether you're a streaming engineer, compression researcher, or decision-maker evaluating AV1, VVC, or improving x264/x265 workflows, this session will provide a clear, structured approach to making informed codec and encoder comparisons. If you're tasked with codec evaluations, this session will give you the tools to avoid costly mistakes.
Encoders
NVIDIA RTX 50 series vs RTX 40 series: what’s new for transcoding professionals
NVIDIA unveiled its GeForce RTX 50 series at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) earlier this year, primarily focusing on consumer graphics. For transcoding professionals, the RTX 50 series introduces hardware support for 4:2:2 pro-grade color format encoding and decoding, delivering up to 11 times encoding speed increase compared to software encoders.
NVIDIA claims that the 9th-gen NVENC video encoders improve HEVC and AV1 encoding quality by 5%, with an additional AV1 Ultra Quality mode further enhancing efficiency. On the decode side, the card is expected to playback up to eight 4K60 4:2:2 video streams simultaneously. At some point, it will be interesting to benchmark a card like this against ASIC-based transcoders from AMD and NETINT.
Recommended by LinkedIn
Encoding Techniques
Best Practices of Encoding H.264 and HEVC - 2025 NAB Show
I'll speak at the NAB Streaming Summit on Tuesday, April 8, from 2:45 PM - 3:45 PM PDT in W108-W109. This session is part of the Premium Conference Pass and Streaming Summit Pass tracks.
My talk will focus on practical strategies for improving encoding quality and efficiency using the two most widely deployed codecs: H.264 and HEVC. While these codecs are mature, many encoding workflows still leave performance gains on the table. I'll cover techniques that can deliver better quality, reduce costs, or both—including content-adaptive encoding, preset selection, rate control strategies, and bitrate ladder design. I'll also discuss proven methods for optimizing GOP structure, thread count, segment duration, and denoising to enhance visual quality and performance in both live and VOD workflows.
If you're working with these codecs, this session will provide actionable insights to improve your encoding efficiency without sacrificing quality. I hope to see you there.
Review of Multi-Resolution Encoding for HTTP Adaptive Streaming using VVenC
In a recent review on the Streaming Learning Center, I examined the whitepaper titled "Multi-Resolution Encoding for HTTP Adaptive Streaming Using VVenC." The paper details a novel encoding technique that uses a lower-resolution encode to guide the higher-resolution encode, reducing encoding complexity without significant quality loss. For those weighing performance versus quality in their encoding workflows, this method offers an alternative to traditional per-title encoding strategies.
The technique reportedly delivers 17% faster encoding at the cost of 2% reduced compression efficiency—a tradeoff that sounds promising but may not be worthwhile in practice. As the article explains, even at minimal distribution for a major service (e.g., 2,500 viewing hours), the small bitrate increase required to maintain quality often outweighs the encoding time savings. For most services, prioritizing quality remains the better long-term strategy. To help readers assess this tradeoff for their own workflows, the article includes a downloadable Excel spreadsheet that models the impact based on your content and requirements.
Learning
Will SGAI Become an Industry Norm for Dynamic Ad Insertion? | TV Tech
In his article "Will SGAI Become an Industry Norm for Dynamic Ad Insertion?" published on TVTechnology.com (March 5, 2024), Tim Sewell, CEO of Yospace, provides a detailed technical breakdown of Server-Guided Ad Insertion (SGAI). Sewell explains how SGAI integrates with ad tech ecosystems, improves personalization, and manages latency — making it a promising solution for enhancing dynamic ad delivery in streaming.
What makes the article especially valuable is Sewell’s candid assessment of SGAI’s current status. While he highlights its potential to become a new industry standard, he’s clear that adoption is still in the early stages. Scalability, interoperability, and integration complexities remain key hurdles. For ad tech professionals evaluating new monetization strategies, this article offers a clear-eyed view of whether SGAI is worth pursuing now or if it's better to wait for further development.
Streaming Media Connect February 2025 - All Videos available
Streaming Media has published all presentations from the most recent Streaming Media Connect. These include:
Check out this playlist (https://bit.ly/SMC_play) to see the complete Streaming Media Connect program on Streaming Media's YouTube channel to catch the sessions you missed and those you want to relive through the magic of VOD.
Technology News
Bitmovin Video Developer Report Reveals Streaming in 2025: Incremental Growth Over Innovation
In my recent article on Streaming Learning Center, I discussed the Bitmovin Video Developer Report, which highlights a shift in the streaming industry’s priorities for 2025. The report shows that most companies are focusing on incremental improvements—enhancing reach, revenue, and cost efficiency—rather than investing in major innovations like new codecs or advanced encoding techniques. Codec adoption continues to stall, with AV1, VVC, and LCEVC showing little momentum, reinforcing that many platforms are refining existing workflows rather than pursuing new technologies.
This shift has implications for vendors pushing new codecs or compression technologies. As I noted in the article, platforms are now focused on fighting for market share, not expanding it, which limits investment in emerging solutions unless they deliver immediate cost savings or faster time to market. If you're developing or evaluating new encoding technologies, this report offers important insights into the current mindset of streaming platforms. Read the full article for a deeper look at what this trend means for the industry.
Weigel Broadcasting Embraces Cloud-Based Playout-to-Delivery Solution from Harmonic
No one asked me to become the press release critic, but since I have to read them anyway, I might as well have some fun. Harmonic's recent press release on a Weigel Broadcasting deployment was long on marketing language and short on user benefits that might drive other customers to adopt Harmonic technology. Instead of claiming, "By adopting our cloud-native VOS Media Software, Weigel is at the forefront of innovation as one of the first broadcasters utilizing a next-generation playout-to-delivery solution," how about sharing concrete examples of real business benefits?
Did Weigel reduce costs, improve uptime or QoE, simplify operations, or enhance content delivery? Those details would be far more convincing than vague claims about being “at the forefront of innovation.” If you're marketing technical products, showing measurable results will always resonate more than marketing clichés.
That said, the Harmonic press release has already triggered several articles in industry publications, showing that even suboptimal messaging (IMHO) can help generate industry buzz.
Helping teams streamline video encoding since 2006 | Co-founder @ Coconut | Trusted by ClassDojo, Triller, Dacast, DistroKid — cutting costs by up to 68%
1moThanks for your encoding digest, Jan. Very helpful.