Beamr Can Cut Video File Size By Half – Without Losing Quality

We recently told you about the Beamr app, which enables high-resolution photo sharing using a special JPEGmini format that keeps the photos’ full resolution and quality. The startup has now applied its technology to video, with their new Beamr Video technology.

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Beamr says its new technology supports the highest standards of video quality, such as 4K UltraHD. Their compression method supports industry standard H.264 (MPEG-4 AVC) streams, so they believe that their technology is invaluable for all video content providers. A full HD streaming video transfers five to six Mbps (Megabits per second) – Beamr says they can reduce it down to three or four.

“Beamr Video’s ability to package the maximum quality in the minimum amount of bits has the potential to fundamentally alter the streaming video industry, allowing it to support the insatiable demand for global video delivery without sacrificing quality on TVs, PCs and ultimately, the next frontier – smartphones and tablets,” said Sharon Carmel , CEO of Beamr.

Beamr Video

Applying image reduction technology to video

Beamr (formerly ICVT) first caught the industry’s attention with their popular JPEGmini format, which enables high-res images to be compressed by up to 90 percent, without reducing image quality. According to the company, the compression method mimics the human eye and removes elements that would not have been processed by the human eye in the first place.

The technology behind Beamr Video applies the same principal to video. According to the company’s website: “The Beamr Video algorithm imitates the perceptual qualities of the human visual system, ensuring the video stream is compressed to the maximum extent possible by removing redundancies, without creating any visual artifacts in the process.”

Beamr says it can reduce video file size by anywhere between 20 and 75 percent, depending on the format. Since the reduced output file is a standard file, playable on any media player, Beamr is convinced that their service will be suitable for any digital video content provider.