Brightcove unveils new video compression technology
May 22, 2017
Brightcove has today at its user conference, PLAY, the beta availability of Context Aware Encoding, a new video compression technology that lowers the total cost of ownership and improves video quality. Context Aware Encoding uses machine learning and deep video analysis to achieve optimum quality for each video with the fewest bits necessary. This patent-pending approach to transcoding enables Brightcove customers to maximise visual quality while reducing storage and delivery bandwidth requirements by up to 50 per cent.
The release of Context Aware Encoding addresses two mandates in Brightcove’s Manifesto for Transforming the Experience and Economics of Online Video in 2017. The technology radically improves the user experience publishers can deliver to their viewers by improving video experiences for users in situations where bandwidth is limited. Unlike other encoding solutions, the Brightcove technology takes into account the broader context of the video experience, creating a custom encoding profile tailored to the combination of each individual video’s content complexity and viewing environment. The result for viewers is a higher quality video that starts up faster and buffers less.
Reducing video operations and delivery costs by up to 50 percent is another focus for Brightcove in 2017. For Brightcove’s media customers that are managing hundreds of videos and millions of streams, the cost savings on storage and bandwidth are meaningful. By reducing the number of renditions created and automatically adjusting the bitrates, Brightcove estimates that for many customers, cost savings on storage can approach 50 per cent, and on average 40 percent on bandwidth.
Context Aware Encoding analyses each individual video and optimizes it for the target device and bandwidth profiles. The technology then optimises video parameters such as resolution and framerate, and codec parameters like bitrate, codec profile and level, and creates the appropriate adaptive bitrate (ABR) ladder from this. By contrast, content-based approaches perform analysis to choose a more optimal bitrate from an existing ABR ladder.
“Context Aware Encoding provides more bang for the bit to Brightcove Video Cloud customers,” Anil Jain, executive vice president and general manager, Media Business Unit, Brightcove, said. “In keeping with the manifesto that we’re living by in 2017, we’re proud of this new technology that simplifies the transcoding process and delivers on the promise to greatly enhance the user experience and significantly cut operational spend.”