The next streaming media meetup in NYC will take place on Tuesday, December 13th, starting at 6pm at Tavern 29. We’re going to end the year with a great meetup and free drinks and networking thanks to sponsors 3Q SDN, Bitmovin, Level 3 and Highwinds. Tavern 29 is located at on 29th street and Park. We will be on the second floor and they do ask for ID at the door. There is no RSVP list, just show up and spread the word.

These meetups are a great way to network with others tied to the online video ecosystem. We get a great mix of attendees from companies including AOL, NFL, Showtime, Omnicom, NBC, NBA, Time, HBO, Viacom, CBS, Twitter, WPP, Google, Nielsen, Facebook, FOX, R/GA, Twitch, Riot Games, American Express, Comcast, wall street money managers, government agencies, VR production companies and vendors from all facets of the video ecosystem.

I’ll keep organizing these every month so if you want to be notified via email when the next one is taking place, send me an email and I’ll add you to the list.

Building a great Roku channel has never been easier. At the Streaming Media West show, [taking place this week in Huntington Beach, CA] presenters from Streamroot will provide a brief overview of how modern video players work, what broadcasters should look for depending on their technical and business goals, and different open-source tools that are available. The presentation will discuss compatible formats, codecs and supported DRMs, user performance, the ability of each media engine to handle edge cases, and the performance of the ABR algorithms. At the end of the presentation, broadcasters will better understand what tools are right for their needs and be able to evaluate the pros and cons of each solution available.

Register online using the code 200DR for a free “Discovery Pass” and get access to the keynotes, exhibit hall, discovery track sessions, and receptions at #smwest – at no cost – or get $200 off a full conference pass.

At the Streaming Media West show, [taking place this week in Huntington Beach, CA] we have a session that will explore why publishers need a holistic view of consumers’ Quality of Experience (QoE) in today’s open and unpredictable Internet environment. Learn how companies are using data to adapt to the changing entertainment landscape and how correlations can be made across the video delivery spectrum to understand the impact of experience as it pertains to the engagement of your audience. Confirmed speakers include:

• Moderator: Ed Haslam, CMO, Conviva
  
• Joe Friend, VP, Ad Technology Systems, Fox
  
• Perry Weinstein, GM, North America, Accedo
• Jon Mantell, VP, Digital Products and Video, CBSi

Register online using the code 200DR for a free “Discovery Pass” and get access to the keynotes, exhibit hall, discovery track sessions, and receptions at #smwest – at no cost – or get $200 off a full conference pass.

Streaming company-wide meetings, training, and other events through your internal network saves on time, travel costs and resources. At the Streaming Media West show, [taking place November 1-2 in Huntington Beach, CA] we have a session looks at real-world architectures being used for distributing streams to all screens within an enterprise setting. You’ll learn about how peer-to-peer and multicast technologies fit in, and how to reach remote and mobile workers. Our panelists will recommend ways to increase quality and broadest audience reach, and share best practices and lessons learned. Confirmed speakers include:

• Moderator: Chris Knowlton, VP, Streaming Industry Evangelist, Wowza Media
  
• Andy Howard, Founder & Managing Director, Howard & Associates
  
• Perry Fetterman, Senior Director, Enterprise and Education, Kaltura
• Mike Newman, CEO, MediaPlatform
  
• Dan Swiney, Manager, Live Production and Streaming, LinkedIn

Register online using the code 200DR for a free “Discovery Pass” and get access to the keynotes, exhibit hall, discovery track sessions, and receptions at #smwest – at no cost – or get $200 off a full conference pass.

As the content ecosystem prepares for HDR, 4K/UHD, and even 8K at scale in an on-demand, any device world, the risk of high-quality pirated content rises in tandem, putting the evolving business models and infrastructure investments at immediate risk. At the Streaming Media West show, [taking place November 1-2 in Huntington Beach, CA] the Digital Watermarking Alliance is leading a session on the Business and Technical Challenges Of Forensic Watermarking For 4K/UHD. Hear from leading companies in the forensic watermarking ecosystem who will discuss the technical, business and practical challenges of implementing forensic watermarking. Confirmed speakers include:

• Moderator: Rajan Samtani, Senior Advisor, Digital Watermarking Alliance
  
• Philippe Stransky-Heilkron, CTO, Nagra-Kudelski
  
• Lawrence Low, VP, Irdeto
• Eric Diehl, VP, Content Protection, Sony Pictures Entertainment
  

Register online using the code 200DR for a free “Discovery Pass” and get access to the keynotes, exhibit hall, discovery track sessions, and receptions at #smwest – at no cost – or get $200 off a full conference pass.

As the OTT market continues to experience dramatic growth, it’s also become incredibly crowded and competitive. Content owners are under more pressure than ever to get to market quickly and having the right business model is crucial. At the Streaming Media West show, [taking place November 1-2 in Huntington Beach, CA] we have a session that will discuss the different strategies for going OTT; a templated, turnkey service that enables faster time-to-market or a more customized, highly differentiated offering and the pros and cons of each. Speakers will deliberate on how to best address the growing challenge of device fragmentation in an increasingly complex OTT ecosystem and how content owners are successfully monetizing content via advertising or subscription models. Confirmed speakers include:

• Moderator: Anil Jain, SVP, GM, Media, Brightcove
  
• Titus Bicknell, CDO & EVP, Operations, Acorn TV
  
• Jarred Reeves, Director, OTT & International, Machinima
  
• Nathan Guetta, VP, Product and Technology, Condé Nast Entertainment
  
• Ben Miller, VP, Digital Products, SinclairDigital

Register online using the code 200DR for a free “Discovery Pass” and get access to the keynotes, exhibit hall, discovery track sessions, and receptions at #smwest – at no cost – or get $200 off a full conference pass.

Streaming continues its rapid evolution, moving away from proprietary core technologies and towards open standards. Which leading-edge technologies (H.265, VP9, AOMedia Video, WebM, DASH, fMP4 HLS, CMAF, HTML5 & WebRTC) should you be adopting to future-proof your streaming deployments so you reach your targeted devices and deliver a great user experience? At the Streaming Media West show, [taking place November 1-2 in Huntington Beach, CA] we have a session that will look at the royalty-laden HEVC vs. royalty-free VP9 vs. the new open-source AOMedia Video for streaming with MPEG-DASH. Which will win out in the end? How will Apple’s adoption of fragmented MP4 for HLS impact DASH adoption? Will the death of browser plug-ins finally herald the age of HTML5 video streaming, and how does WebRTC fit in? Our panel will dive into these and other questions, helping you decipher which technologies are here to stay, and which should be forgotten. Confirmed speakers include:

• Moderator: Chris Knowlton, VP, Streaming Industry Evangelist, Wowza Media
  
• Omer Luzzatti, Senior Director, Head of Yahoo Video Platform
  
• Mark Arana, VP, Distribution Technology, The Walt Disney Studios
  
• Will Law, Chief Architect, Media Cloud Engineering, Akamai
  
• Spencer Stephens, CTO, Sony Pictures

Register online using the code 200DR for a free “Discovery Pass” and get access to the keynotes, exhibit hall, discovery track sessions, and receptions at #smwest – at no cost – or get $200 off a full conference pass.