Master the fundamentals of streaming media to build reliable pipelines and accelerate your career

AI provides quick answers, but without fundamental training, engineers don't know what questions to ask or when the AI is outputting confident nonsense. In streaming media, relying on plausible syntax without architectural grounding turns small configuration mistakes into broken workflows, erratic playback, and runaway CDN bills.

Streaming Media 101 teaches engineers and development teams the core knowledge required to design, deploy, and troubleshoot production video workflows with complete technical competence. Learn essential concepts including encoding, packaging, content protection, and delivery, with hands-on exercises in FFmpeg, file analysis, mezzanine creation, and platform integration.

In under twelve hours, you'll acquire the operational knowledge needed to build efficient, scalable streaming workflows.

Who this course is for:

  • Video and DevOps engineers responsible for building and configuring encoding ladders (H.264, HEVC, VP9, AV1) and packaging HLS and DASH streams

  • Software developers and engineers building streaming services, playback tools, and video infrastructure

  • Engineering managers, technical product managers, and architects who need to evaluate key technology trade-offs, including codec selection, cloud vs. on-premise encoding, and make-vs-buy decisions

  • New engineering hires who need a fast, structured onboarding to become productive on production streaming systems without weeks of trial and error

What You Will Learn

In just under 12 hours, this course delivers the core architectural knowledge, practical workflows, and troubleshooting skills required to build and maintain production streaming pipelines. You will learn:

  • How to encode and deploy streaming video using the H.264, HEVC, VP9, and AV1 codecs. What the VVC, LCEVC, and EVC codecs are and when (and if) they will become relevant

  • How to design aligned adaptive bitrate ladders and package streams for HLS, DASH, and low-latency CMAF delivery

  • How to implement Digital Rights Management (DRM), evaluate CDN architectures, and monitor Quality of Service (QoS) and Quality of Experience (QoE)

  • How to analyze streams with MediaInfo, Streaming Learning Center Bitrate Explorer, Bitrate Viewer, and Moscow State University VQMT; encode using FFmpeg and Handbrake; generate production mezzanine files; and configure live ingests

  • How to analyze files with MediaInfo, Bitrate Viewer, Apple's AVQT, and the Moscow State University Video Quality Measurement Tool, how to encode in FFmpeg and Handbrake, how to produce mezzanine files for upload to a streaming service, how to connect to YouTube Live and Facebook Live, and how to embed a live or on-demand video into a web page.

Student Reviews

Hear from those who took the course

5 star rating

Complete and Comprehensive!

Chris Joyce

As an engineer, I wasn’t sure what to expect and didn’t want to pay for some fluffy sales type material. Jan’s course didn’t disappoint as he delves right...

Read More

As an engineer, I wasn’t sure what to expect and didn’t want to pay for some fluffy sales type material. Jan’s course didn’t disappoint as he delves right in with hands-on tutorials and covers a broad spectrum of streaming workflows and platforms. I highly recommend his course from the executive to the engineer and everyone in between.

Read Less
5 star rating

Very Nice

Achuthananda M P

This course is an absolute must for all beginners who want to step into Video Producing and Distribution World.

This course is an absolute must for all beginners who want to step into Video Producing and Distribution World.

Read Less
5 star rating

Great course!

Nikolajs Varlamovs

An enormous source of up-to-date streaming knowledge with some good practical tasks of encoding and image quality evaluation. This course is suitable for IT ...

Read More

An enormous source of up-to-date streaming knowledge with some good practical tasks of encoding and image quality evaluation. This course is suitable for IT professionals looking into building fundamental knowledge of streaming technologies as well as get some deeper knowledge on some topics. Highly recommended!

Read Less
5 star rating

Very Informative Streaming Media Introduction Course

Michael Pinto

Thank you Jan for creating this course. I work in streaming media and have been looking for an intro course like this for some time. I highly recommend this ...

Read More

Thank you Jan for creating this course. I work in streaming media and have been looking for an intro course like this for some time. I highly recommend this course due to its clear explanation of industry concepts, measurements and trends. The exercises are helpful in cementing the information from the lessons. This class was money well spent!

Read Less
5 star rating

A well structured and well tutored course

Lasse Brønsholt

The Streaming Media 101 course was a very good experience for me to take; well-structured lessons, quizzes, and exercises on different and digestible levels ...

Read More

The Streaming Media 101 course was a very good experience for me to take; well-structured lessons, quizzes, and exercises on different and digestible levels enabled me to go in-depth where I needed to and get an overview where my interest and focus perhaps was not required. I recommend this course to anyone who wants to know more about architecture, tech talk, and the tons of abbreviations in the streaming industry. Enjoy!

Read Less
5 star rating

Streaming Media 101 - more than for just onboarding

Alan Raymond

This course does a great job of not only teaching technical fundamentals but also explaining the state of the state of broadcast streaming world including va...

Read More

This course does a great job of not only teaching technical fundamentals but also explaining the state of the state of broadcast streaming world including various players like manufacturers, Service providers, standards bodies, codecs and the like. Well worth the investment in both $ and time.

Read Less
5 star rating

Great Course for Newcomers to Video

Thomas McClave

As an individual working in the live-streaming video space, I wish I had taken this course sooner. Many of the things that I have picked up during my ~1 year...

Read More

As an individual working in the live-streaming video space, I wish I had taken this course sooner. Many of the things that I have picked up during my ~1 year in video were solidified over the span of this course, and my only regret is that I had not taken it as soon as I started at my new company. Most excitingly, I've been able to apply some things I picked up from the course mere hours after completing it - a clear indicator of value in my eyes. Would recommend to anyone starting in video or looking to brush up on their video knowledge.

Read Less
5 star rating

Jason Evans Review

Oliver Eichel

This course was extremely informative, there is nothing else like it out there and I would highly recommend it to anyone looking to learn a solid foundation ...

Read More

This course was extremely informative, there is nothing else like it out there and I would highly recommend it to anyone looking to learn a solid foundation in the streaming media field. It's a lot of information and I intend to start from the beginning again to really sink things in.

Read Less
5 star rating

Great Course

David Leslie

I found this course to be very helpful. I really wanted to learn more about HLS, DASH and CMAF and it was covered very well in this course. Thanks Jan!

I found this course to be very helpful. I really wanted to learn more about HLS, DASH and CMAF and it was covered very well in this course. Thanks Jan!

Read Less
5 star rating

A very good and unique course

Alla Petrova

I found the course valuable as it provides for better understanding of the industry. As an engineer working with media technology, I got some missing pieces ...

Read More

I found the course valuable as it provides for better understanding of the industry. As an engineer working with media technology, I got some missing pieces for deeper understanding of the media problem space. Pros: The course is constantly updated. After I completed the course two days ago, I saw six new lessons were added. Cons:  Course quizzes would benefit from more refinement. Some multiple choice options are very obviously wrong. In a couple of cases a question was misplaced and appeared before the relevant material was presented. Update: After I posted my review, I received an inquiry from Jan Ozer asking to point him to the errors I mentioned. I did, and he made the corrections right away. I am upgrading my rating from 4 to 5 stars.

Read Less
5 star rating

Streaming Media 101: Technical Onboarding for Streaming M...

Piotr Hrybkowski

Great course. A lot of information that is not so easy to get, especially in one place.

Great course. A lot of information that is not so easy to get, especially in one place.

Read Less
5 star rating

A well structured and well tutored course

Lasse Brønsholt

The Streaming Media 101 course was a very good experience for me to take; well-structured lessons, quizzes, and exercises on different and digestible levels ...

Read More

The Streaming Media 101 course was a very good experience for me to take; well-structured lessons, quizzes, and exercises on different and digestible levels enabled me to go in-depth where I needed to and get an overview where my interest and focus perhaps was not required. I recommend this course to anyone who wants to know more about architecture, tech talk, and the tons of abbreviations in the streaming industry. Enjoy!

Read Less

Testimonials from Our Corporate Buyers

“Instantly improves our ability to train new hires”

Michal Peter, HR Director, Bitmovin

“We needed a comprehensive video technology training course to quickly and effectively ramp up our newest back-end engineering hires to match our innovative and quickly-changing products. The integration of Jan Ozer’s Streaming Media 101 course into our Bitmovin Campus learning system instantly improves our ability to train new hires.”

Streaming Media 101 “Enhanced overall productivity”

David Trescot, Sr. Director at Dolby Labs

“Jan’s course is a “must watch” for new employees in our streaming media group. The course is highly valuable and continually updated. Students learn about encoding, packaging, delivery, and the streaming media ecosystem. Our team has enjoyed the class, and it has accelerated their learning in streaming media and enhanced overall productivity. Definitely a good investment!”

To earn the completion certificate, you will:

  • Video Lessons

    Watch over 65 video lessons (averaging about 7 minutes).

  • Exercises

    Complete over 15 exercises that use free tools to reinforce technical fundamentals and teach new skills. You will encode with HandBrake and FFmpeg, analyze files with MediaInfo and Bitrate Viewer, and measure quality with VMAF and Apple VQMT.

  • Quizzes

    Score 100% on over 45 quizzes that accompany key lessons and range from 3-8 multiple-choice questions.

Instructor

Instructor

Jan Ozer

Jan is a recognized expert in streaming media who has tested codecs since 1993 (not a misprint) and has taught in-person and online courses on video and streaming production since 1995.

Jan is a contributing editor to Streaming Media Magazine, where he tests and reports on codecs, encoders, and related products and services. Jan has authored multiple books on streaming production, including Video Encoding by the Numbers: Eliminate the Guesswork from your Streaming Video and Learn to Produce Video with FFmpeg in 30 Minutes or Less.

Besides these courses, Ozer teaches workshops at Streaming Media online and in-person events. Overall, the Streaming Learning Center has served over 4000 students from some of the biggest names in streaming video.

Course curriculum

  • 1

    Free Lessons

  • 2

    Introduction

    • Introduction and Exercise Downloads
  • 3

    Section 1: Technology Fundamentals

    • Lesson: Codecs and Compression

    • Quiz: Codecs and Compression

    • Where Codecs Come From

    • Quiz: Where Codecs Come From

    • Lesson: Codecs and Container Formats

    • Quiz: Codecs and Container Formats

    • Lesson: Distribution Alternatives

    • Quiz: Distribution Alternatives

    • Lesson: The Big Picture: Understanding the OTT Ecosystem and Components

    • Lesson: AI in Video Encoding, Production, and Distribution
  • 4

    Section 2: Tools and Metrics

  • 5

    Section 3: Generic Encoding Parameters

    • Lesson: What is an Encoder and How Do They Work?

    • Lesson: Configuration Basics

    • Lesson: Resolution and Aspect Ratio

    • Quiz: Resolution and Aspect Ratio

    • Lesson: Bitrate Control Techniques

    • Quiz: Bitrate Control Techniques

    • Exercise: Bitrate Control Techniques in FFmpeg

    • Lesson: Understanding Bits-Per-Pixel

    • Lesson: Working with the VBV Buffer

    • Quiz: Working With the Video Buffer Verifier (VBV Buffer)

    • Lesson: Constant Rate Factor (CRF) Encoding and Capped CRF

    • Quiz: Working with CRF and Capped CRF

    • Lesson: Frame Type Overview

    • Quiz: Frame Type Overview

    • Lesson: Working with I-Frames

    • Quiz: Working With I-frames

    • Exercise: Setting I-frames in FFmpeg

    • Lesson: Working With B-Frames

    • Quiz: Working With B-frames

    • Exercise: Working with B-Frames in FFmpeg

    • Lesson: Working with Reference Frames

    • Quiz: Working with Reference Frames

    • Exercise: Working with Reference Frames in FFmpeg

    • Working with Threads

    • Quiz: Working with Threads

    • Lesson: Fixing Aspect Ratio-Related Issues

    • Lesson: Deinterlacing
  • 6

    Section 4: Encoding With H.264

    • Lesson: Introduction to H.264

    • Quiz: Introduction to H.264

    • Lesson: H.264 Profiles, Levels, and Entropy Coding

    • Quiz: H.264 Profiles, Levels, and Entropy Encoding

    • Lesson: Choosing an x264 Preset

    • Quiz: Choosing an x264 Preset

    • Exercise: Choosing an x264 Preset in HandBrake

    • Lesson: Encoding Audio: Codecs and Configuration Options

    • Quiz: Encoding Audio and Configuration Options
  • 7

    Chapter 5: Codec Deep Dives

    • Introduction to Codec Deep Dives

    • Codec Backstory - From H.264 to LCEVC

    • Quiz: Codec Backstory - from H.264 to LCEVC

    • Choosing a Codec 2024-2025: Introduction

    • Choosing a Codec 2024-2025: Bandwidth Efficiency

    • Choosing a Codec Quiz 2024-2025 - Bandwidth Efficiency

    • Choosing a Codec 2024-2025: Where it Plays

    • Choosing a Codec Quiz 2024-2025 - Where it Plays

    • Choosing a Codec 2024-2025: Key Stakeholders

    • Choosing a Codec Quiz 2024-2025 - Key Stakeholders

    • Choosing a Codec 2024-2025: The Royalty Picture

    • Choosing a Codec Quiz 2024-2025: The Royalty Picture

    • Choosing a Codec 2024-2025: Suitability to Task

    • Choosing a Codec 2024-2025: Market Projections and Recommendations

    • Lesson: New Codec Breakeven; When to Consider Deploying a New Codec

    • Do Publishers Pay content royalties for codec usage

    • Do Publishers Pay Content Royalties (Quiz)
  • 8

    Section 6: Working With HEVC, VP9, and AV1

    • Lesson: Producing HEVC

    • Quiz: Producing HEVC

    • Lesson: Producing VP9

    • Quiz: Producing VP9

    • Producing AV1 with SVT-AV1 in FFmpeg

    • Quiz: Producing AV1 with SVT-AV1 in FFmpeg

    • Lesson: Producing AV1 with LibAOM-AV1

    • Exercise: Comparing H.264, HEVC, and VP9 Produced by HandBrake
  • 9

    Section 7: Adaptive Bitrate Technologies

    • Lesson: Introduction to Adaptive Bitrate (ABR) Streaming

    • Quiz: Introduction to Adaptive Bitrate (ABR) Streaming

    • Lesson: HTML5 Playback Architecture

    • Quiz: HTML5 Playback Architecture

    • Lesson: Choosing an ABR format

    • Quiz: Choosing an ABR Format

    • Lesson: Dynamic Packaging

    • Quiz: Dynamic Packaging

    • Lesson: The Common Media Application Format (CMAF)

    • Quiz: The Common Media Application Format (CMAF)

    • Demo: CMAF Proof of Concept

    • Lesson: Creating Encoding Ladders

    • Quiz: Creating Encoding Ladders

    • Lesson: Per-Title Encoding

    • Quiz: Per-Title Encoding
  • 10

    Section 8: Miscellaneous Topics

    • Lesson: Introduction to DRM

    • Quiz: Introduction to DRM

    • Lesson: Introduction to Low Latency Technologies

    • Quiz: Introduction to Low Latency Technologies

    • Lesson: Introduction to Quality of Service (QoS) and Quality of Experience (QoE)

    • Quiz: Introduction to QoE and QoS

    • Lesson: What is a Content Delivery Network (CDN) and When Do You Need One?

    • Quiz: Introduction to Content Delivery Networks (CDNs)

    • Lesson: Services that CDNs Perform

    • Lesson: Choosing a CDN

    • Lesson: What Video Players Do and How to Choose One

    • Quiz: What Video Players are and How to Choose Them

    • Device Detection for Streaming Playback

    • Quiz: Device Detection for Streaming Platforms

    • Media over QUIC (MoQ)

    • Quiz: Media Over QUIC
  • 11

    Section 9: Producing Video On Demand

    • Lesson: VOD Production Overview

    • Quiz: VOD Production Overview

    • Lesson: Create Your Own VOD Ecosystem or Use a Service Provider

    • Quiz: Create Your Own VOD Ecosystem or Use a Service Provider?

    • Lesson: Cloud or On-Premise Encoding

    • Quiz: Cloud or On-Premise Encoding

    • Lesson: Choosing an Encoder: Make or Buy?

    • Quiz: Make or Buy

    • Lesson: Choosing a Cloud Encoder

    • Quiz: Choosing a Cloud Encoder

    • Lesson: Encoding for Upload to UGC or OVP

    • Quiz: Encoding for Upload to UGC or OVP

    • Exercise: Encode for Upload

    • Exercise: Uploading a Video to YouTube (and Brightcove)

    • Exercise: Embedding a Video into a Webpage
  • 12

    Section 10: Producing Live

    • Lesson: Live Production Overview

    • Lesson: Transcode On-Premise or In the Cloud

    • Lesson: Choosing a Live Streaming Service Provider

    • Quiz: Choosing a Live Streaming Service Provider

    • Lesson: Choosing a Live Streaming Encoder

    • Quiz: Choosing a Live Streaming Encoder

    • Lesson: How to Connect to Your Live Streaming Service Provider

    • Exercise: Stream Live to YouTube and Embed the Stream

    • Choosing a Video Transcoder for Cloud or On-Premises Deployment
  • 13

    Section 11: Video Monetization (Subscription and Advertising)

    • Introduction to Monetization in Streaming

    • Quiz: Introduction to Monetization

    • Ad Insertion Standards and Protocols

    • Quiz: Ad Insertion Standards and Protocols

    • Overview of Ad Insertion Technologies

    • Quiz: Overview of Ad Insertion Technologies

    • Introduction to SCTE-35

    • Quiz: Introduction to SCTE-35