In this interview with Streaming Media contributing editor Jan Ozer, Narayanan "Raj" Rajan, CEO of Media Excel, reflects on his first year at the helm of one of the most established names in the encoding industry. Rajan discusses how Media Excel is reasserting its relevance with the Hero platform?an encoder/transcoder/packager suite?and why live streaming, low latency, and AI-optimized encoding remain at the heart of the company's strategy.