Sorenson Squeeze 5 Enabling First Seamless Editing, Encoding and Publishing Workflow

Sorenson Media announced that the latest versions of Avid video editing solutions – Media Composer(4.0), Symphony (4.0) and NewsCutter (8.0) – integrate Sorenson Squeeze 5, providing users a seamless process for editing and encoding the highest quality video content in the most popular formats. Through Sorenson Squeeze’s unique integration with the Sorenson 360 online video platform, Avid customers may further benefit from a workflow solution that enables users to seamlessly edit, encode and publish the highest quality video online.

This most recent product offering is the latest in a six-year relationship Sorenson Media has maintained as the encoding tool integrated with Avid software. As the gold-standard video encoding application, Sorenson Squeeze enables editors, producers and filmmakers who use Avid video editing software to easily deliver video in all of the most popular video formats, with advanced encoding options and superior results.

Avid is dedicated to providing customers the highest quality video solutions that help them achieve their creative vision. By integrating our industry-leading editing software with the newest versions of third-party applications like Sorenson Squeeze, we help deliver the ultimate creative toolset.” said Mark Overington, vice president of product management at Avid. “Our customers have asked for a seamless all-in-one workflow and we continue to work with industry partners to extend the existing capabilities of our editor solutions for added functionality throughout the post-production process.”

Through the Avid software interface, video editors are able to send their video files directly to Sorenson Squeeze for encoding without adding any additional steps. Using Sorenson Squeeze’s simple workflow, users can output content in a wide variety of formats, including Flash, QuickTime, Windows Media, MPEG-1, MPEG-2 and MPEG-4, for online, DVD or mobile delivery. The software also encodes in HD for MPEG-2, Flash, VC-1, and H.264 formats. Video professionals can compress and encode multiple files simultaneously and apply advanced pre-processing filters to produce higher quality video.

Additionally, the latest version of Sorenson Squeeze integrates seamlessly with the Sorenson 360 online video platform. This unique process creates an all-in-one editing-to-publishing solution for Avid customers, enabling them to efficiently publish videos of the highest-quality to the Web without adding any additional steps to their workflow. Once uploaded to Sorenson 360, users can easily deliver their video content to any Web site by cutting and pasting an automatically generated embed code and gain access to powerful analytics and other video management tools.

“We are thrilled that Sorenson Media continues to enjoy a strong relationship with Avid as the encoding tool of choice for their exceptional editing applications,” said Peter Csathy, CEO of Sorenson Media. “With the integration of Sorenson Squeeze – and, in turn, the additional Sorenson 360 platform – Avid customers are able to edit, encode and publish their videos efficiently on the Web or prepare the best quality videos for mobile media playback, DVD and other uses.”

Working with Videos in Sorenson 360

Today we'll be discussing working with videos in Sorenson 360. Now if you thought Sorenson Squeeze was an amazing compression tool, wait until you get a load of his big brother for video delivery Sorenson 360. When looking at the available features of this tool since its May release it boasts a lot of excitement right out of the box. Many times individuals and organizations that want to host videos on-line have to set-up a server for the video delivery but Sorenson 360 takes that job off your plate because it is a Video Delivery Network.

Let's now look at the Video section in 360.



After logging into Sorenson 360 you can click on the Video tab to access your videos.



On the main page of the Video section you can get a quick snapshot of the Video Title, Description, Format, Upload Date, and Number of Views. You can also sort through the videos that are Live, Retired and in the Trash. Sorting by Upload Date, Title and Number of Views is another option.

Now, let's look a little bit further into the features in the Video section of Sorenson 360.

If you click on one of your videos you'll get access to many other items. You can choose a Player Style, Player Size, copy Embed Code and copy a Permalink. In this area you also have the option to Edit Title, Edit Description and Password Protect videos. If you want to make a video Live, Retire it or Trash it this is where you'll do it. Lastly, this area will give you quick access to video metrics and settings used during encoding. Wow, and that's only the Video section of Sorenson 360.

To get more hands-on instruction on using Sorenson 360 attend one of our 2-Day Video Streaming and Compression classes. It'll be featured in Day 2 of the Authoring track.

Retiring Streaming Videos in Sorenson 360

One of the features I love in Sorenson 360, Sorenson Media's tool for content delivery, is the ability to easily retire streaming videos when you no longer want your video content on-line. This is great if you have Sorenson 360 videos posted on your blog or on your website and you no longer want the content available for viewers.

To retire a video first select the video from within your Live videos.

On the bottom of the next window that displays, click the Retire button. Now that your videos are retired they will no longer be available wherever you posted your embed code.

Sorenson Media Announces Direct-to-iPhone Video Publishing

In conjunction with the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference June 8-12, Sorenson Media announced the immediate availability of new iPhone video publishing for its Sorenson 360 Video Delivery Network (VDN). This new solution enables small- to medium-sized businesses, video professionals, bloggers and other content creators to quickly and seamlessly encode and publish the highest quality video content on the Internet for direct viewing by Apple iPhone users (i.e. through the iPhone's Web browser and without the need to install a separate app). The enhanced Sorenson 360 VDN represents a significant step forward in one-stop online video publishing across major platforms and devices, including the recently announced iPhone OS 3.0 and the iPhone 3G S.

“With the addition of iPhone publishing for Sorenson 360, Sorenson Media is greatly expanding the reach and power of what is already the most cost-effective and user-friendly online video publishing solution in the marketplace,” said Peter Csathy, CEO of Sorenson Media. “Up to this point, video playback on the iPhone has simply been out of reach for video professionals. This new release reinforces the hallmarks of Sorenson 360 - unparalleled quality, innovation, flexibility, ease-of-use and affordability. It is now easier than ever for anyone to publish iPhone-ready video content over the Internet.”

In contrast to the one-format-fits-all approach used by many online video publishing services, in which the user has little flexibility in the video format and player used, Sorenson 360 offers specific iPhone presets, enabling users to easily encode video content in the iPhone-compatible H.264 format and deliver that content using the iPhone's native video player. This is a significant development because, while the majority of online video content is encoded in Adobe Flash format, the iPhone does not play Flash content, meaning most videos featured on Web sites are not viewable using the iPhone's Web browser. With Sorenson 360, video professionals can reach their audiences virtually anywhere the Internet is available, including on the iPhone.

“Sorenson 360 simplifies the experience of the video publisher and the iPhone user alike through its ability to automatically detect how the user is accessing a video file - whether through a traditional browser on a desktop or laptop computer, or through the iPhone's Web browser,” said David Dudas, vice president of product management. “Based on this information, Sorenson 360 then automatically delivers the video file using the appropriate player - a Flash player for users on desktops or laptops, or the iPhone’s native video player for iPhone users.”

The Sorenson 360 VDN enables users to encode and upload video content either seamlessly through the industry-leading Sorenson Squeeze software or directly via their browsers using the Sorenson 360 interface; both processes significantly reduce upload time and provide automatic access to the iPhone presets. Through its unique browser-based encoding tool, Sorenson 360 users simply drag and drop their video files from their hard drive or record new videos via their webcams and, with one step, publish and make them playable directly on an iPhone.

Sorenson 360 is compatible with all versions of Apple iPhone - iPhone 3G S, iPhone 3G and prior versions 1 and 2 - as well as Apple iPod Touch via WiFi. This includes the iPhone OS 3.0 and the Safari 4 browser. Video specifications for the Sorenson 360 iPhone presets are: H.264 video codec - MP4 output, up to 1 Mbps, 640 x 480 pixels, 30 frames per second.