Hulu in Japan selects Bitmovin for online experiences
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Editor
| 15 September 2019

In a bid to maintain its momentum in the country’s online streaming market, HJ Holdings-owned Hulu in Japan, in collaboration with local online video platform PLAY, has selected Bitmovin encoding to enable it to deliver video to any device at what it calls massively optimised bitrates.

Hulu in Japan allows its subscribers to access a library of content which features over 50,000 titles, including everything from movies and TV shows to documentaries and anime. In order to ensure that its subscribers were receiving the best possible video quality at the lowest possible bitrate, Hulu in Japan chose Bitmovin’s Per-Title, 3-Pass and Multi-Codec encoding technologies.

Hulu in Japan and PLAY primarily selected Bitmovin’s encoding technology because of the nature of its products and APIs. Bitmovin’s Per-Title encoding technology allows the encoder to contextually adjust the resolution and bitrate ladder of each individual piece of content, ensuring that video quality is consistent across the entire platform, and that only necessary bits are spent to meet that target.

These features are said to enable Hulu in Japan to offer content on the platform faster, improve picture quality, and reduce operational costs through reduced origin storage and CDN delivery bills. The combination of Bitmovin’s Per-Title and 3-Pass encoding has made it possible for Hulu in Japan to deploy multiple codecs, allowing the entire library to be optimised for every piece of content and for every device, leading to a hyper-bandwidth efficient workflow.

The solution was delivered by Bitmovin’s appointed Japanese integration partner Itochu Cable Systems with further technical support provided by Bitmovin’s global solutions and engineering team.

“Hulu is home to a library of world-class content in Japan, and we are always striving to ensure that the online experience matches it. Bitmovin is helping us to achieve that through their Per-Title, 3-Pass and Multi-Codec encoding technologies which allows us to deliver the highest video quality [to] our customers,” Hulu in Japan and PLAY said in a statement. “Thanks to Bitmovin, we can continue to exceed the expectations of our customers by offering an enhanced viewing experience, while simultaneously reducing costs.”

“Working closely with ICS, we have been able to offer Hulu in Japan a tailored version of Bitmovin’s content aware multi pass encoding technology, making it compatible with their business model and resolution-based subscription packages,” added David Godfrey, vice president and general manager Asia Pacific at Bitmovin. “We look forward to our continued partnership with HJ and PLAY, and look forward to enhancing their workflow with features such as Ultra HD, 8K, HDR10+, Dolby Vision, Dolby Atmos and AV1.”