'Net Features : Sorenson Media

Squeeze the Most Out of Your Video Platform

Michael Garrity — Tue, 22 May 2012 01:00:00 GMT

Sorenson Media has recently made available the latest version of Squeeze, the company’s encoding and transcoding application, which will be known as Sorenson Squeeze 8.5.

This will be the fastest version of the app; these speed increases are based on process improvements in the program’s encoding engine. Among these changes are single output acceleration, which optimizes each of the major output formats (including mp4, MOV, MwebM and MKV), and drives the engine with parallel, rather than sequence, processing.

This means that the app will systematically break decoded, compressed video files into separate content “chunks” and partition them simultaneously across multiple CPUs, resulting in speed improvements that average 200 faster than Squeeze 8.

Version 8.5 also features Intel quick sync optimization for Intel’s Sandy Bridge and Ivy Bridge processors, faster adaptive bitrate encoding that also uses parallel processing, and complete CPU control, giving users the ability to choose how to throttle CPU encoding through the use of an intuitive slider bar.

Using seamless integration and free permanent storage with Sorenson’s online video platform (OVP) Sorenson 360, Squeeze 8.5 lets users encode and upload video files to the cloud, where they can be stored and distributed directly from the Squeeze interface. Here, they will be available for a review and approval process, which has been streamlined by eliminating steps requiring burning/delivering DVDs or using file sharing services that aren’t optimized for video sharing.

Sorenson Squeeze 8.5 also features an enhanced user interface that comes with a new rich text editor and allows users to send existing video content already in the Sorenson 360 OVP for review and approval without requiring them to re-encode.

Squeeze 8.5 is now available for $799, with Squeeze 8.5 Pro being offered for $999. Current Squeeze 8 customers will be able to upgrade free for a limited time and will receive 5 GB of permanent storage and use of all Sorenson 360 features for free.

MP4 Video Format #Winning

Pete Prestipino — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 10:45:00 GMT

Video encoding solution Sorenson Media released results from a survey of its own users which reveals that the MP4 video format leads a wide range of formats being used today for distribution on the Web and mobile devices.

A full 69 percent of users employ mp4 for the Web and 58 percent use it for mobile. A majority of respondents selected more than one format from the options provided according to Sorenson, revealing the broad diversity of formats in use today.

“While some of the results confirmed what we knew about how video professionals approach their work in this increasingly complex online video world, others were enlightening, including how broad and varied the use cases and formats were across the board,” said Peter Csathy, president and CEO of Sorenson Media.

Other highlights from the study include that as it relates to Web video specifically, there is still a high level of support for Flash (54 percent), QuickTime (45 percent), and Windows Media (34 percent), but emerging WebM format was selected by only 5 percent of respondents, underscoring its low adoption to date. For mobile video, Sorenson found that MP4 adoption outpaced all other formats including Flash at 16 percent, HTML5 just 16 percent shockingly, Windows Media at 9 percent, and WebM with 3 percent. In addition to the formats selected, 78 percent of respondents indicated that they use the H.264 codec to encode their video content.

“Standardization in online video is still far from reality, which means doing it right can get extremely complicated. It requires the best work of top professionals who can fully utilize and adapt solutions to the many tasks, tools and processes that make up their video workflows.”

SEO and Video Partnership First of Its Kind

Linc Wonham — Thu, 15 Apr 2010 22:46:00 GMT

Two of the leaders in their respective fields of search engine optimization and online video production have announced a partnership that aims to create a best-of-breed video SEO solution. SEO.com and Sorenson Media will be joining forces to provide customers with a combined level of expertise in both the searchability and quality of online video that the emerging category hasn’t yet experienced.

SEO.com, ranked No. 2 on Website Magazine’s list of the top 50 SEO firms in the world in our April, 2010 issue, is an international leader in the interrelated disciplines of search engine optimization, paid search marketing, search-optimized Web design, social media and conversion optimization. Sorenson Media is on the forefront of Internet video innovation with the Sorenson 360 online video platform and the award-winning Sorenson Squeeze encoding solution comprising the most comprehensive end-to-end platform for the creation, management and delivery of online video content. As strategic partners, the two companies are committed to delivering high-quality video content online and helping ensure that it reaches its intended audience.

Despite the growing demand for online video content, online searches often yield exponentially less searchable video than text content — a trend that these two companies will be working together to change.