Squashing the Bugs: 6 Steps for Solving Video Streaming Problems

As a video solutions architect, our columnist has a lot of experience dealing with streaming issues that others created. Here's how he goes about solving them.

Educators Need Resources That Simulate the Digital Divide

With more learning materials going online, educators need to be sure all their students have access. Learn about programs that show the limits of poor-quality networks.

AutoVision: The Bizarre In-Car Video Player That Never Happened

In 1993, Omni Magazine showed its readers in-car video technology that let people watch as they drive. It was both decades ahead of its time and hopelessly misguided.

The Quiet Conference: At IBC 2019, No News Was Good News

Some years are revolutionary, some are evolutionary, and some are just "meh." Here's why those "meh" years are the best ones for the industry.

Netflix's Stock Price Tumbles as Higher Prices Lead to Churn

Why did Netflix's stock fall in Q2? Because the OTT leader's price increase lead to service cancellations. That's a warning to all SVODs: If it can happen to Netflix, it can happen to any service.

5 Low-Cost Ways to Provide Closed Captions for VOD Streams

Attaching captions to on-demand videos can be simple and low-cost, but doing the same for live video is a little more involved. Here are the options.

TV 2.0: The Future Isn't About Delivery, It's About Experience

The industry sees video as linear or OTT, but that's not the real distinction. What matters isn't how people get their video, but how they experience it.

5 Best Practices for Using a Lightboard in Instructional Videos

Lightboards are great resources for online video learning, and they can be built for under $200. Here are five tips for getting impressive results every time.

Cutting the Cord and Why It Took So Long: A Streaming Wish List

Yes, cutting the cord leads to a better experience in every way…almost. Here are the top three things traditional TV still does better than the streaming services.

$21: The Amount Consumers Want to Pay Barely Covers Two Services

Households are reacting to new OTT offerings by tightening their belts and closing their wallets. Is this a boon for ad-supported services or the end of expansion?

Engineering Women: IBC Plays Host to a Powerful Force for Change

Women in Streaming Media has announced a mentoring program to encourage and empower talented women in the industry.

Two Quick-Fix Solutions That Became Long-Term Problems

When will the industry jettison HTTP-segment-based streaming and buffer-based playback, both of which hold us back? How about right now, our columnist proposes.

Taming the Many-Headed Problem of Video Content Discovery

Sure, today's OTT video platforms could share data and create comprehensive video recommendation systems, but they don't want to. Here's why they should care.

The Bloated Bundle: Today's vMVPDs Are Anything But Skinny

Skinny bundles promised to be bargain-priced alternatives to expensive pay TV packages. Now, they're nearly as pricey as cable and satellite. Where did it all go wrong?

The Compressionist's Aha! Moment: 'The Other Leg, Lanczos'

Every compressionist fantasizes about discovering the perfect configuration option, but our columnist learns that some results are too good to be true.

Trouble Ahead: Netflix's Bad Quarter Could Turn Into a Bad Year

The constant drip, drip, drip of bad news for the SVOD leader has taken its toll, and viewers are leaving en masse. Suddenly the giant doesn't look so powerful.

YouTube's Do-it-Yourself Videos Show the Best Teachers Are Online

There are plusses and minuses to having instant access to a world of knowledge, but YouTube's do-it-yourself repair videos are a godsend for technical education.

DASH Patent Pool—Criticized From the Start—Might Cease Operations

The fact that DASH was always marketed as being free didn't stop MPEG LA from forming a patent pool. But lack of support from the major IP contributors appears to have doomed the effort.

For Thought-Provoking Video, Forget About Slick Production Values

In a previous age, videoconferencing was bright, sterile, and unpleasant. It lacked the multi-sensory input that makes face-to-face meetings valuable.

OTT Falls Into the Same Trap as Cable

Viewers turned away from cable because it offered them too many choices. OTT recreates the same problem, but on steroids. So what is the industry going to do about it?