Editorial Policy

This policy sets out how the publication decides what to cover, how content is reviewed before it appears, and how corrections are handled. It applies to every page on the site.

Purpose

Our purpose is to explain video compression clearly enough that a working engineer can act on the explanation. That purpose shapes every editorial rule below. An article that is accurate but unusable has failed, and an article that is usable but unverified has also failed. We try to satisfy both requirements at once, and where we cannot, we say which one we compromised.

Independence

The publication is independent. We do not accept payment for coverage, we do not let vendors review articles before publication, and we do not publish content supplied by a vendor as our own analysis. Our comparison pages are prepared without vendor involvement. Where a named product appears, the name is used for identification and analysis only, which is the ordinary practice of independent technical review.

Conflicts of interest

Contributors disclose any commercial relationship with a project, vendor or platform that an article discusses. If a disclosure would make an article inappropriate for the contributor to write, another contributor takes it. Disclosure is stated on the page rather than buried in a separate document, so a reader sees it in context.

Sourcing and evidence

Technical claims should be reproducible. Where we state a parameter range, a measured outcome or a comparison result, the page describes the conditions: source characteristics, resolution, software generation and the metric used. Where a claim comes from a vendor rather than from our own measurement, we identify it as a vendor claim. Where we rely on professional judgement, we say so and explain the reasoning.

Review process

Each page carries a publication date and a review date. Drafts are checked for accuracy by at least one contributor who did not write them, with particular attention to parameter values and to statements about hardware capability. Review is more than proofreading: a technical statement that cannot be reproduced is returned to the author rather than quietly published.

Corrections

We correct errors promptly and visibly. A material correction is noted on the page itself, with a brief description of what changed, rather than being edited away without trace. Readers who report an error receive a reply. Reports from vendors are treated the same as reports from anyone else: the evidence decides, not the sender.

Standards and fair use

We describe technical standards, codecs and tools because readers need to identify what is being discussed. All product names are trademarks of their respective owners and are used for identification and analysis only. We do not reproduce another publication's artwork, and we do not host or distribute software. Analysis is offered under fair use as commentary and technical review.

Advertising and external influence

The publication carries no advertising and no sponsored content. There is no commercial pressure on editorial decisions because there is no commercial relationship that could create it. Consulting work is handled separately from editorial and never changes what the publication says about a technology.

Contact

Editorial questions, contributions and corrections go to [email protected]. Policy questions go to [email protected]. Our postal address is 1420 Harbor Point Drive, Suite 210, Portland, OR 97209.