Formats/Codecs/Protocols

In the quest to deliver video at higher quality and lower latency, the streaming media industry is home to an ever-changing array of video formats, codecs, and delivery protocols. Look here for the latest news and trends in HEVC, AV1, VVC, CMAF, WebRTC, MPEG standards, royalties, just-in-time packaging, and more.

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Features

How 5G Is Evolving from a Network into a Creative Tool

Back in 2018, I stood at Wembley Sta­dium watching the world's first live sports broadcast over a public 5G network. The EE Wembley Cup marked a genuine milestone for the industry. As director of mobile at BT Sport, I was heavily involved in exploring how 5G could transform sports production. BT Sport produced the event remotely for EE using public 5G, demonstrating that live sports production could move beyond the constraints of traditional connectivity. Public 5G, remote production, network slicing, and untethered cameras were all part of the vision. The message was simple: 5G would change sports production forever. At the time, it felt revolutionary. And to be fair, it was.

Action figure: tabulating and managing streaming TCO

While total cost of ownership spans an encyclopedic number of operational touchpoints, managing a video P&L ultimately comes down to making targeted, high-impact architectural choices.

The State of Streaming Codecs 2026

Streaming codec adoption used to be an engineering abstraction governed by RD curves, BD-rate tables, and roadmap slides that no one outside of R&D ever considered. Over the last 15 months, codec adoption decisions have morphed into a much broader discussion, involving C-level execs from finance and legal. While the precursors to this transition occurred pre-2025, the situation coalesced in 2025. During the same period, we saw one codec step to the front (AV1) and another shrink before our eyes (VVC).

The Multiview Imperative: How Technical Architecture Determines Streaming Success

The largely unsung hero in YouTube's growth may be a feature that cost the company 99% less to implement than Sunday Ticket: multiview streaming capability. As this article shows, if you're broadcasting sports, multiview--particularly Build Your Own Multiview (BYOMV)--is quickly becoming an expected feature among sophisticated viewers. It's also one of the most affordable and effective ways to amplify the value of your programming, particularly when your content isn't exclusive and faces direct competition in the same market.

Sponsored Articles

European Innovation in Streaming: Infrastructure Sovereignty as a Competitive Edge

Interview with Alexander Leschinsky, CEO and Co-Founder, G&L Systemhaus

Interview with Philip Radley-Smith, CEO, i2i Media

i2i's CEO talks adding value with AI, new working dynamics, and recruitment.

Live Streaming Interactive Content: A New Landscape

Despite the comeback of in-person events in 2022, online audience engagement remains important with a steady demand for interactivity in live streaming.

HESP: Sub-second Latency, Fast Channel Change and Improved ABR over Standard CDNs

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