UNITED CLOUD TECH TALKS #1 - STREAMING MEETUP WITH JAN OZER 

United Cloud, United Group's regional innovation hub, successfully hosted its first expert meetup, uniting professionals from the streaming industry. Jan Ozer, a global authority in streaming technology, delivered the keynote on "The Current State of the AV1 Codec and Its Future Applications."

Ozer highlighted the importance of advancements in implementing the AV1 codec over the next two years, focusing on critical aspects such as video quality, playback capabilities, and upcoming feature sets—essential topics for the streaming industry. He particularly drew attention to live transcoding technologies, their current applications globally, and their future impact.

United Cloud’s experts, Boban Kasalović, Senior Product Manager, and Nemanja Krivokapić, System Architect, shared insights and experiences on encoding and technological architecture. At the centre of attention were innovations that United Cloud implements end-to-end, explicitly highlighting the advantages of their proprietary development and encoding system for rapid adaptation to new technologies and custom real-time video quality assessment methods. 

"It is a great pleasure to be part of this technology-expert meetup at United Cloud. The innovative solutions I’ve seen here and the commitment to video quality, including creating a proprietary player and encoding stack, enable this regional innovation hub to adapt quickly to new technologies, positioning United Cloud as a leader in streaming industry trends. Additionally, the video quality assessment process innovations, such as implementing VMAF in live video streaming, are truly unique.", said Jan Ozer.

Ozer's insights into the role of AI and machine learning in the future development of codecs also caught the attention of experts. He pointed out that "AI-based codecs" will represent a significant leap forward, enabling decoding that is not reliant on specific hardware solutions, as with HEVC and AV1. These new codecs will utilise "neural processing units (NPU)," providing greater flexibility and independence from hardware constraints. Beyond the main topic of AV1, Ozer discussed the growing significance of video communications and the expanding market for "video-for-machines" applications, predicting significant growth as automated systems become increasingly prevalent in everyday life.

The first in a series of expert meetups offered participants valuable insights into the future of streaming and the opportunity to exchange experiences directly with one of the leading authorities in the field. United Cloud will continue to organise expert meetings to leverage knowledge and expertise as the most valued technological resource, strengthening a culture of collaboration and sharing best practices in Serbia and the region's tech community. This will also provide young talents with opportunities to develop in-demand competencies, working with the latest technologies, and good reasons to remain and work in their home countries.

Curious to learn more? Check out Jan Ozer's insightful video interview!