It would be a bit cheesy to state that Elemental Technologies was “born in fire,” and it’s not quite accurate. The company was founded, though, on a strong foundation of earth, as a group of experts in video processing, scaling, etc. started by developing a transcoder targeted at the prosumer, then seeing an opportunity for that kind of technology in the professional market.

According to Mark Cousins, senior product manager for Elemental, the company has been successful from the beginning, since it quickly realized there was a market for a live transcoder. Serving a need that wasn’t met elsewhere, Elemental provided high performance, high stream count and flexible in-to-out solutions.

The company is, at its heart, a software company. Cousins stated that it uses off-the-shelf devices from other manufacturers, writing its own hardware from scratch on H.264 and H.265. Elemental’s software boasts quick response time and quality speed adjustments. It was one of the first companies to ship an H.265 product. It can transcode in real time to HEVC, out to a PC for playback, and is available on multiple platforms.

Cousins stated that Elemental simplifies the workflow by not requiring separate packaging. The products have warm failover systems and are offered mostly in the cloud, allowing for deployment flexibility. Speaking of flexibility, Elemental works well with suppliers and third party providers, doing integration work, building DRMs into systems, etc. It has the ability to send output to a publish point, getting it to a CDN.

The company has a strong interest in HEVC. It worked on the BBC’s 34 different Olympic streams, streaming in 95 different countries during the London games. It has a strong presence in Canada, Latin America, Europe and Asia as well. All in all, the company brings together all the elements to make for a successful firm.