Dan Rayburn - StreamingMediaBlog.com

Advisory Board Members Announced for the Enterprise Video Conference

Last week I blogged about our newest conference, the Enterprise Video Conference, taking place in conjunction with our Streaming Media West show, Oct. 30 - 31 in Los Angeles.

Today I'm happy to announce the seven advisory board members who will help with the planning of the show, will co-chair the event and will lend their industry expertise to put together the best lineup of speakers and content. The advisory members are:

• Patty Perkins, Team Leader, Creative Services Technology, Wells Fargo
• Erica Schroeder, Director, Business Video, Cisco
• Larry Bouthillier, Media Technology Architect, Harvard University
• George Levar, Video Service Delivery Lead, Accenture
• Michael Newman, VP/GM, Video Content Management, Polycom
• Paul Riismandel, Director, Curriculum Support, School of Communication, Northwestern University
• Eric Hards, Manager, Digital Media and Streaming, Enterprise Digital Media, Lockheed Martin

While I am in the very early planning stages for the event, the schedule will permit for a total of 18 session slots, eight of which will be 45 minutes in length and ten of which will be 60 minutes in length. About a third of the slots will be reserved for customer case studies and in total, I expect about 70 speaking slots. We'll also be having four keynotes, two each morning, and dedicated networking events.

Next month we'll have the website live at www.EnterpriseVideoConference.com and the call for speakers will officially open. But anyone interested in speaking is welcome to email me now with their speaking request and I've already gotten a few dozen submissions from some great Fortune 500 corporations and universities. In a few weeks we'll also have details on sponsorships and the first batch of confirmed speakers.

If you have any questions about the Enterprise Video Conference, feel free to reach out to me anytime. I'm still recovering from arm surgery and am not online much yet, but I will respond to your inquiry when I can.

What would you think our Twitter hash tag should be for the event? Love to hear suggestions in the comments section.

Thursday Webinar: "Best Practices for Advanced Encoding and Transcoding Techniques"

Take your encoding and transcoding knowledge to the next level with this instructional webinar, starting at 2pm ET, that will highlight the latest advanced encoding techniques. Get details on delivering higher video quality at lower bit rates and how to prepare high quality video for delivery to any screen using multiple formats. The webinar will cover advanced practices from Telestream, Harmonic, Haivision and Sorenson Media and will cover:

• advances in AVC algorithms
• advanced GOP features in H.264
• live and file-based transcoding workflows and requirements
• different frame types, what they are and what they mean
• how to optimize encoding presets
• optimizing video for the iPad and Apple TV
• what are the hot new formats, who's using them, and what settings do we recommend?
• how to prepare content for Dynamic Adaptive Streaming over HTTP (DASH)

Register here and bring your questions for the presenters for the live Q&A portion of the event.

Announcing the Enterprise Video Conference, Two-Days Of Content Focused on Enterprise and Edu Video Deployments

I'm pleased to announce that in conjunction with our Streaming Media West show, taking place Oct. 30-31 in Los Angeles, we will be launching a brand new conference focused on video deployments within the enterprise and education verticals. While a portion of the content at our East and West shows have always included topics pertaining to video within the firewall, we think more focus is needed on enterprise video and will now have a whole show dedicated to the topic.

Called the "Enterprise Video Conference", the event will be two-days in length and have two concurrent tracks with case study presentations, round-table panels, how-to sessions and possibly their own keynotes. While I wanted to wait until the website was up before I announced the show, I need to get started on the agenda and the call for speakers.

In addition to the work I will be doing to plan the show, I am also recruiting an advisory board of industry experts as well end-user customers who deploy and use these solutions every day to help me plan the content of the show. Multiple enterprise organizations who deliver video inside the firewall have agreed to help as well as numerous universities. I'll announce the advisory committee shortly and if anyone wants to be considered for an advisory role to help me shape the content of the conference, please reach out to me ASAP.

As with all of our events, end-user customers are going to be a key focus of the show. There will be room for vendors to speak as well, but I really want to highlight as many customer success stories as possible. Vendors have done an excellent job at getting many of their fortune 500 customers to speak and present at past shows and I'll looking for suggestions for the Enterprise Video Conference as well.

Until the website is up with more details, anyone interested in getting involved, submitting a customer to speak or wanting to pitch me any ideas or suggestions can simply send me en email. I don't have deadlines yet for speaking submissions, but I suspect the deadline will be in about 30 days from now. Those interested in potentially being advisory members or moderators who want to organize a session of their own need to contact me quickly - by the end of this month.

There are tons of conferences and shows in the industry, but very few are focused, bring a qualified audience and are geared only towards the use and adoption of video amongst enterprise and educational institutions. This isn't our show, it's the industry's and this is your chance to give feedback, pitch in and help make the Enterprise Video Conference show people that there is more to video than just media and entertainment content. Video deployments inside the enterprise and edu don't get enough credit and with your help, we can change that.

So if you have ideas, suggestions, want to speak, moderate or be involved in way, the flood gates are open. Email me, call me (917-523-4562) and please realize that speaking spots will go fast. The content for this conference will come together quickly, so don't wait too long to reach out if you want to be involved.

Call For Speakers Open For The Streaming Media West Show

The call for speakers for the next Streaming Media West show, taking place October October 29-31 in LA, has been open for a few weeks and anyone interested in potentially presenting or speaking at the show needs to submit a proposal via the website. The deadline for proposals is June 22nd. Proposals are always welcomed after the deadline, but I get seven or eight times the number of submissions I can use by the deadline, so getting it on time is important.

At our May show in NYC, I cut out 1/3 of all the round-table sessions and replaced them with how-to presentations. I will be doing the same for the West show which means there will be fewer spots for speakers on panel sessions. Attendees have told us to "talk less and show more", so that's what we're doing with more hands-on presenters. If you'd like to pitch a hands-on presentation, please look at the list of ones we had at the May show to get an idea of the topics we cover.

I get asked time and again how I pick speakers and for info on the speaker selection process, as well as what is required from vendors if they want to speak. I've explained that in detail on my blog many times so if you are new to the process, please see my post here that explains it in detail. [Here's How Vendors Can Speak At The Streaming Media West Show In LA] While the post talks to last year's show, it still applies.

Based on the proposals I have already received, I probably have 75% of my topics decided upon and outlined. But if you want to moderate a session and help create the content and invite speakers, please contact me ASAP if you haven't already.

Also, I know that many other shows wait till a month or two before the event to place a lot of their speakers. I have 150 speakers, 20 how-to sessions, four workshops and two keynotes over three days, so a lot of the planning happens well in advance. Trying to get a speaking spot last minute is nearly impossible, so please understand that when you call me two weeks before the show asking why you can't speak.

We'll be adding a new conference to the West show this year called "The Enterprise Video Conference". The purpose of the conference is to have a dedicated event focused on the enterprise and education verticals and their adoption of video. I'll post more info on my blog about that event shortly and will announce a list of industry executives who make up the advisory committee helping us plan the new show.

Videos From The Content Delivery Summit Now Online

All of the presentations and sessions from the Content Delivery Summit are now online and available for viewing on the show website at www.ContentDeliverySummit.com.

You can also download all of the presentations from the event on the agenda page. You may use use or embed the videos any way you like. The Twitter hashtag for the event is #cdnsummit

News Recap From The Streaming Media East Show and Content Delivery Summit

A lot of news came out at or during the Content Delivery Summit and Streaming Media East shows last week, here's a rundown of all the news I got sent or saw on the wire.

• Amazon CloudFront Adds Dynamic Site Acceleration Capabilities
• Yottaa Launches Solution for Mobile Acceleration
• Harmonic Sets the Bar for High-Volume Multiscreen VOD Transcoding With New ProMedia Xpress
• Jet-Stream Collaborates with Oversi for a Converged CDN Solution
• Imgur Sees Over Two Billion Page Views a Month on the EdgeCast Network
• Sorenson Releases Squeeze 8.5 at Streaming Media East
• Limelight Video Platform Announces New Features and Capabilities for Online Video Publishers in Summer 2012 Release
• Revision3 Replaces In-House Encoding -- Moves to Encoding.com's Cloud-Based Turbo Encoding
• Globecomm Chooses RealNetworks Helix Universal Media Server to Power
• Limelight Networks Introduces Orchestrate - Industry-Focused Solution Framework to Streamline and Simplify Digital Media Publishing
• Polycom RealPresence Video Content Management Solutions Deliver Live Video Streaming and Video Recordings to Android and Apple Devices
• Skytide Announces Insight for Content Delivery Networks Version 3.0
• WeVideo to Expand Online Video Ecosystem With Third Party Solutions
• Loveline Signs Live Web-Exclusive Content Distribution Deal with Ustream
• Mixmoov Announces Full HD Support and thePlatform Partnership at Streaming Media East
• Scala Integrates Scala Content Manager with Polycom RealPresence Media Manager
• KnowledgeVision 2.0 Raises the Online Presentation Analytics Bar
• Discover Video Announces NIMBUS Live Transcoding and Streaming Service
• Telestream Extends Live Video Production Capabilities for Partners
• TalkPoint Announces Convey, the First SaaS-based, Self-service Webcasting Tool
• EZWebPlayer Announces White Label Service at Streaming Media East
• Streambox Releases Automated Hybrid HD/SD Software Encoder with Low Delay Multi-Path Protocol and Apple Thunderbolt Support
• Brightcove Transforms Web Experience Management with Video Cloud CMS Integrations

CDN Pricing Stable, Survey Data and Traffic Growth Analysis Coming This Week

At last week's Content Delivery Summit, I presented my findings from a recently completed CDN pricing survey, with data collected from over 800 customers that use content delivery networks for the delivery of video. Later this week, I will post all of my slides from the event along with details on how pricing has changed as well as expected growth forecasts for traffic volumes.

I'll be breaking down the pricing based on small customers who spend under $100K-$250K per year, medium sized customers spending $250-500K per year, and large customers who spend more than $1M per year. I also have data from those who spend less than $100K per year and use resellers and regional service providers. Here's a video interview I did with Andy Plesser from Beet.tv talking about what the pricing data showed.

Lots Of Great Info Shared at The Content Delivery Summit, Re-Cap Posts To Come

Thanks to everyone who helped make last week's Content Delivery Summit such a success. The rooms were packed, the presentations and discussions on-point and I heard a lot of very positive feedback from the attendees. Lots of great information was shared and various CDN technologies showcased. The summit will be back for it's 5th year in 2013, with the event scheduled to take place on May 20th - so mark your calendar now.

We had attendees from all over the world, carriers and telcos from many different countries and presenters gave out a lot of really detailed info on current video traffic trends, federated CDN models, transit and CDN pricing, DSA and transparent caching technologies and we had a lot of great customer presentations from those deploying these web acceleration technologies. Companies also announced some new services at the event and I'll have a list of all the news from the Content Delivery Summit and the Streaming Media East show in another post.

All of the presentations from the summit can be downloaded from the CDN Summit website and we're working on getting all of the sessions up for video on demand viewing. I'll have a bunch of posts over the next two weeks about things I saw and heard at the CDN Summit that I found interesting including Amazon's new DSA service and details on my CDN pricing data. If there is any kind of post-show help you need or something you'd like me to follow up on with you, please don't hesitate to call or email me at anytime.

Reminder: NY Video Meetup Tonight at Hilton Hotel, Drinks Start at 5pm

It’s that time of year again when we partner up with the NY Video Meetup group to co-host a special mega-session in conjunction with our Streaming Media East show at the Hilton hotel in New York City.

The Meetup will start at 5 PM with complimentary beer, wine, and hors d'oeuvres in the Streaming Media East Expo Hall and will then move to the presentation room for the Meetup demos. We're expecting hundreds of online video enthusiasts and attendees and you can visit the Meetup page for more details or contact the Meetup chairman, Steve Rosenbaum.

Attendees to the meetup will have also the chance to win some nice prizes from companies like Apple, Roku, Google, Samsung and others. #nyvideo - #smeast

Learn About The Impact of Video Quality on Monetization at the CDN Summit

When it comes to video on the web, delivering a quality experience is what drives customers and brings them back. At the Content Delivery Summit, taking place Monday, May 14th in NYC, this presentation will discuss some of the ways content owners can maximize their monetization strategy by ensuring a high quality video experience. Learn about the impact of switching from RTMP to HTTP, offering multi-platform adaptive bitrate streaming, multi-device targeting and how to drive a quality user experience by leveraging real-time analytics with measurable performance data. Presenters include:

• David Moffly, CEO, Baeblemusic.com
  
• Brad Altfest, Principal Solutions Architect, Highwinds

Readers of my blog can take advantage of special pricing by registering using the promo code of DRF01 to attend the CDN Summit for only $295. Taking a look at the pre-register attendee list we have carriers, telcos, ISPs, MSOs, content owners and vendors coming from all over the world. This is the event to be at if you are in the content delivery business. Twitter hash tag #cdnsummit