iWorld
MX Player deploys H.266, slashes video streaming data usage by half
KOLKATA: Online video consumption in India has grown exponentially, accounting for 80 per cent of consumer internet traffic. However, the user experience remains highly dependent on data usage and network speed.
Now, MX Player has upgraded its video encoding & compression technology to H.266 (Versatile Video Coding), cutting down data usage for streaming videos by more than 50 per cent. MX Player as well as MX TakaTak users will be the first in the world to experience the benefits of H.266, enabling them to consume higher quality HD video streams with significantly less data consumption.
With H.266, MX Player users will be able to stream more content with less data and network bandwidth – video streams will load faster and buffer less since they require only half (or less) the data it would need otherwise. H.266/VVC is the world’s most advanced video codec designed to succeed H.264/AVC and H.265/HEVC, used by most streaming video services worldwide today. Unlike its competitors, the H.266 upgrade makes MX Player the first OTT platform in the world to deploy this technology.
MX Player and MX TakaTak CEO Karan Bedi said, “Video consumption dominates internet usage wherever you go across India, but the quality of experience deteriorates in areas with inconsistent data networks. The new standard is an opportunity for MX Player to give millions of users, regardless of where they are, an exceptional streaming experience that allows them to consume content the way content creators intended: faster loading, buffering-free, and true-to-life HD quality.”
MX Player SVP Product Sidd Mantri further added, “At MX Player, the future is now. We relentlessly focus on raising the customer experience bar for Indian users. We were amongst the 1st few OTTs to deploy AV1 that reduced data consumption by 20-30 per cent compared to H.265. With H.266, we are taking it to the next level. H.266 offers the most advanced video compression standard available in the world and reduces data usage by more than 50 per cent. Many users in India live on daily data consumption caps, so with H.266 they can watch more as well as watch better on MX Player.”
iWorld
WhatsApp may soon let users to pick who sees their status updates
The messaging giant is borrowing a page from Instagram’s playbook as it pushes to give users finer control over their social circles.
CALIFORNIA: WhatsApp is quietly working on a feature that could make its Status function considerably smarter and considerably more private.
According to reports from beta tracking platforms, the app is testing a tool called Status lists, which would allow users to create named groups such as close friends, family and colleagues, and control precisely which group sees each update. It is a meaningful step up from the platform’s current blunt instruments, which offer only three options: share with all contacts, exclude specific people, or manually select individuals each time.
The new feature draws an obvious comparison with Instagram’s Close Friends function, and the resemblance is unlikely to be accidental. Both platforms sit within Meta’s family, and the company has been nudging them toward a common logic of audience segmentation for some time.
The move also fits neatly into WhatsApp’s broader privacy push. The platform has been rolling out enhanced chat protections and is exploring the introduction of usernames, which would allow users to connect without exchanging phone numbers. Status lists extend that philosophy from messaging into broadcasting.
Meanwhile, Status itself has been evolving well beyond its origins as a simple photo-and-text slideshow. The feature now supports music stickers, collages, longer videos and interactive elements, pushing it closer to the social-media-style story format pioneered by Snapchat and refined by Instagram. In that context, finer audience controls are not merely a privacy feature. They are a precondition for people sharing more.
The feature remains in development and has not been confirmed for release. WhatsApp routinely tests tools that are later modified or quietly shelved. But the direction of travel is clear: the app wants Status to be a destination, not an afterthought. Letting users decide exactly who is in the audience is how it gets there.
