November 2021 Summaries

The mux-video HTML video tag is introduced as a drop-in replacement for the standard <video> element, ensuring reliable HLS playback and Mux Data instrumentation. It automatically sets up and configures Hls.js with optimal settings and handles edge cases like retrying on recoverable errors. The <mux-audio> tag works similarly to replace the <audio> element. These tags can be used in various frameworks such as React, Vue, Svelte, Angular, etc., by importing or requiring the library into your code. Styling for these elements can be done using CSS, and custom controls can be built with HTML elements and event listeners. The mux-video tag is part of a larger Mux Elements monorepo that aims to build more elements to make developers' lives easier when working with Mux.

Mux Video announces another price reduction, lowering encoding costs from $0.05/min to $0.04/min. Additionally, they are offering 30 days of free encoding to help developers migrate their video catalogs. Furthermore, improvements have been made to Data plans with lowered pricing for Starter and Pro plans, making building beautiful video experiences more accessible for every developer.

Mux has announced broader access to powerful Mux Data features and dramatically better pricing for developers. The company is making more great Data features available to everyone with simplified, lower pricing. With these changes, developers can now monitor up to 100k video views for free with the Startup package, and get a volume discount with the Pro package when it's time to scale. Additionally, Mux has expanded access to its Real Time Engagement API [beta], Custom Metadata Dimensions, and Filtering features. The new pricing structure includes Lite accounts being automatically upgraded to Startup for free, a new Startup package offering 100k monthly views free with additional views at $.60/1000 (previously $1/1000), and a new Pro package priced at $199/mo for 1M views with additional views at $.50/1000.

Online video is becoming increasingly collaborative, co-operative, and community-oriented. Real-time view and unique viewer counts are vital for connecting viewers to video experiences and ensuring those experiences are delightful and consistent. Mux Data's Real-Time Engagement Counts API allows developers to access real-time data on views and unique viewers. This guide demonstrates how to create a simple React application to surface these metrics, using the Mux Video package for easy embedding and configuration with Mux Video and Mux Data. The app keeps track of viewers and displays them in the UI using React's State Hook. Finally, it sets up a JSON Web Token (JWT) to make recurring API calls and update the view and viewer counts.

Mux is offering 30 days of free encoding for video on-demand (VOD) up to 100,000 minutes until the end of the year to make migration to their platform easier. This initiative aims to help teams overcome the upfront costs associated with switching platforms and encourage them to move their video catalogs over to Mux. To qualify for this offer, users need to submit a form on their website.

Mux has made significant improvements in combining the superpowers of its products, Video and Data, to support developers in creating amazing video experiences. These enhancements include launching an API for real-time engagement data, making it easier to use Data and Video together by automatically displaying video asset IDs, playback IDs, and livestream IDs into Data, and providing a way to access the metrics for an asset or live stream from the Asset or Live Stream page. These updates aim to provide developers with valuable insights on viewer engagement and their experience.