Casual Streaming Piracy and the Cost of Chasing it

At Streaming Media NYC, I had the opportunity to moderate a panel around stream security. It's probably the fifth or sixth time that I've done so in the last decade, but an interesting dichotomy popped up during the prep meeting with panelists, and again while we were on stage during the live session. The concept was "casual piracy" and how it differed from "professional piracy" in both intent and scale.

Everything in Streaming Has Its Price

This column isn't meant to be a downer, especially because the overall economy seems to be plugging along. But it is meant to ask those of you in the industry to share anecdotes and stories about the pain points you're facing. We know that everything in streaming has its price, but you are in a better position to help us fully understand what that price entails.

Evidence That Survives Time

From war crimes to war crime tribunals and war commemorations, how do we guarantee that content is available to play?

Do Our Technology Advances Slow Down Justice?

Far from content being scarce, the integration of streaming into professional- and citizen-based news-gathering has generated such a monumental level of potential war-crime footage that every day sees an additional 10-100 documented cases of crimes against humanity. And this increased footage brings with it both greater accountability and a significantly higher backlog of cases that need to be tried.

Transitions

Tim Siglin reflects on his 25-year-long career as a writer, instructor, and consultant in the streaming industry along with his professional partnership with Eric Schu­macher-Rasmussen.

Of Subscriptions and Submarines

What do Lewis Carroll, OTT subscriptions, and submarine power cables have in common? Read on!

We're All Video Distributors Now

One of the unheralded shifts spurred on by the COVID pandemic has been an increase in the number and types of organizations that are creating and distributing their own video content.

Will OTT Consolidation Hamper Innovation?

The past 18 months have seen no shortage of mergers and acquisitions, and it has me wondering if all this consolidation will lead toward innovation. My gut says no, and plenty of industry pundits agree, but it could bring improvements to the customer experience.

Collecting 'Junk' for Better Streaming

Got junk? The Help Me Stream Research Foundation can take your tech castoffs and use them to research better streaming practices, repurposing it into efficient and inexpensive solutions that can run on intermittent power—dovetailing with the efforts of another new organization, Greening of Streaming.

Why Is Watching Sports on OTT Harder Than Watching on TV?

Streaming is supposed to provide a better experience than television. So why is watching the Euro 2020 on the ESPN app such a poor experience?

From Zoom Fatigue to Serendipity

It's March. Again. And we're still all on Zoom. It's been a lifeline, but it'll never replace in-person meetings and conferences.

A Look Back at Streaming Video's 2020

From the rise of Zoom to the fall of MPEG, 2020 has been a year of surprises.

Is the Pandemic the Death Knell for the Multiplex?

In a world dominated by streaming, cinemas still offer the optimal viewing experience for movies. OTT will never replace that.

Launching Rockets

Live streaming brought the launch of Endeavour into our living rooms, and inspired our imaginations to quest for what lies beyond

Shouldering Our Responsibility to Educate the Streaming Market

As companies and individuals pivot online in the "new normal," it's up to us in the streaming industry to put education ahead of profit

Back to the Future

A look at streaming media's past can give us guidance on our journey toward where we're heading next

The Math Behind the Magic

Whether we're talking about content delivery, player performance, live events, or even DRM, it's important to understand the algorithms that make streaming video tick.

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.

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.