March 2025 Summaries

Mux has announced the general availability of its long-term metrics feature, initially introduced in a private beta, for Custom Media plans, allowing users to analyze video performance over a 13-month period directly in the Mux Dashboard. This feature eliminates the previous need for exporting data to an external warehouse by enabling access to historical data through Mux Dashboards or the Data API. Customers can choose between data exports for granular control and integration with external data systems or utilize long-term metrics for streamlined analysis without additional infrastructure. Long-term metrics encompass key metrics and dimensions necessary for comprehensive analysis, including device and player insights, network performance, video metadata, stream-level data, geographic breakdown, and view-level details, with basic dimensions available for up to 13 months and advanced dimensions for up to 100 days. Customers are encouraged to contact their Mux account team to explore options for upgrading to this enhanced analytics capability.

Lady Gaga's revamped website, developed by Commerce-UI, utilizes Mux to integrate video as an essential user interface element, rather than just content, resulting in an immersive, video-centric experience. Built on Shopify's Hydrogen framework and managed through Sanity CMS, the site supports 4K video quality with rapid loading times and seamless content updates, allowing for dynamic changes in line with Gaga's artistic vision. This approach has led to significant commercial success, with a 128% increase in add-to-cart rates and a 55% rise in average order value after launch. The site not only serves as a digital home for Lady Gaga but also exemplifies the potential for video to transform digital experiences, offering fans a rich, interactive platform filled with artistic and engaging elements.

Mux has introduced 16 new standard dimensions for its Data Quality of Experience (QoE) metrics to enhance the analysis of viewer playback performance, feature adoption, and categorization. These dimensions, available as filters and breakdown values in the Mux Metrics Dashboard and API, enable users to link their technology stack to viewer experiences more effectively. They cover various aspects, including technology dimensions like application name and version, audio and video codecs, playback features such as DRM levels and picture-in-picture usage, network dimensions like CDN origins and points of presence, and viewer categories involving affiliate performance, brand relevance, and subscription plans. This enhancement aims to provide comprehensive insights and facilitate improved decision-making to boost viewer satisfaction.

Cats with Bats is a next-generation learning platform designed to enhance the developer education experience by utilizing video as a primary teaching method, while integrating advanced AI tools and Mux's video technology. The platform, founded by a former full-stack engineer and film major, aims to provide a more interactive and efficient learning experience by offering features like AI-driven video processing, X-ray for copying code directly from video frames, and compatibility with tools like GitHub Copilot. Built with Next.js and FastAPI, Cats with Bats leverages Mux for video management and playback, allowing learners to interact with video content in innovative ways. The platform's use of Mux's thumbnail API significantly improved the speed of video processing, opening new possibilities for AI-enhanced features such as video chaptering. Cats with Bats also serves as a valuable resource for companies focusing on developer education, offering them a way to host and share in-depth tutorials on complex topics like LLMs and RAG agents.

Automatic Cold Storage, initially launched in beta and then in general availability, has introduced significant updates to enhance cost savings and user experience. The updated system now allows newly uploaded, eligible assets to immediately transition into the cold storage tier, offering up to 60% savings on storage costs from the moment of upload. Previously, assets had to wait 30 to 90 days to qualify for these savings. This change is particularly beneficial for customers who use storage primarily for archiving purposes, such as meeting recordings or educational archives. Furthermore, the engineering team has eliminated the longer startup times associated with accessing cold storage assets, ensuring that they start as quickly as those in standard storage, without any performance drawbacks. These improvements are automatically reflected in customer invoices, and existing or new customers can enable this feature via the Mux Dashboard. This update marks the beginning of a series of cost optimization initiatives planned for 2025, aimed at enhancing cost predictability and efficiency for users.