Optimizing Video Delivery: Why the Viewing Environment Matters

AI will become an essential part of our lives in the next few years, with the promise of delivering super-intelligent computers that exceed human analytical abilities. This is, however, several years away; indeed, the industry has only just embarked upon understanding what’s possible.

As live sports migrates from traditional broadcast to digital platforms, streaming is redefining how leagues, networks, and tech providers engage audiences and generate revenue. This transition brings both opportunity and complexity—from fragmented rights and shifting viewer expectations to significant technical demands around latency, scalability, and quality.

Video codecs play an integral, yet often underappreciated, role in digital video. Since the 1980s, they have remained a crucial but sometimes overlooked element of the software stack. The most successful persist in the market for a long time, enjoying a lifespan in excess of 20, or even 30, years.