Overview
Transcoding is critical when you want your media to reach more end users. While transcoding, an audio or video file is converted into multiple renditions, multi-bitrate streaming (HLS, MPEG-dash), and into multiple formats.
An encoding profile in VIDIZMO contains certain parameters such as digital file format, size, audio/video bitrates, etc. into which a video may be transcoded as per organizational needs.
Why do you need Encoding Profiles?
Encoding Profiles resolve the grave issue of device incompatibility, bandwidth limitations, and choppy playback experience, which is why enterprises can not afford to be restricted to only a limited number of file types, formats, resolutions, and codecs for delivery of their content, whether real-time or offline.
VIDIZMO encoding profiles, being configurable, offers a flexible solution to making sure your content is playing back on every device and browser. By default, there are multiple encoding profiles configured and enabled in VIDIZMO, which specify certain parameters of what should be the format/properties of the output file after transcoding. A video would be transcoded in multiple renditions depending on the encoding profiles that are configured and enabled in your VIDIZMO Portal.
Encoding Providers (Encoders) in VIDIZMO
By default, VIDIZMO offers the following four Encoding Providers. However, organizations can utilize any encoding provider of their choice through some configuration and customization by VIDIZMO Support.
1. VIDIZMO On-Premise Encoder:
For customers opting to deploy VIDIZMO behind their company's firewall, VIDIZMO offers them an on-premise encoding service, allowing all content to be encoded and streamed in a highly secure environment using either the CPU or the GPU.
Encoding in VIDIZMO Using CPU
CPU encoding utilizes the media processing ability of the CPU to encode videos. When CPU encoding is enabled, the VIDIZMO encoder encodes your content on the VIDIZMO server. Depending on the CPU capability, it may be time-intensive to use CPU encoding, but it provides the best possible results. By default, the CPU encoding profile is enabled in VIDIZMO.
Encoding in VIDIZMO Using GPU
GPU encoding offloads the computation-intensive workload from CPU to GPU and thus, frees the CPU and utilizes the hardware. This accelerates the video encoding process 2-3x faster. VIDIZMO is well designed to make use of GPU hardware and its encoding technology. For GPU encoding, you will need to configure an encoding profile in the VIDIZMO app. While creating a GPU encoding profile, make sure that the encoding technology and input/output video codecs be matching on both your system and VIDIZMO encoding profile. You will notice reduced encoding time after enabling GPU encoding profiles.
Setup default Encoding Profile
Manual setup of default encoding profiles can be a tedious and time-consuming process that can lead to suboptimal performance and frustrating experiences for encoding providers and their customers. To cater this issue we enable both GPU and CPU encoding profiles by default, local encoding providers can simplify the setup process, reduce the risk of errors, and ensure optimal performance. This solution can lead to a more efficient and reliable encoding process, resulting in a more positive experience for both encoding providers and their customers.
Fallback Mechanism
The lack of a fallback mechanism when the GPU is not available can be a significant problem for video encoding. VIDIZMO's local encoder has a solution in place that automatically switches to the CPU profile if the GPU is not available, ensuring that the encoding process is not interrupted. Additionally, an information message is displayed to the user, providing them with the necessary information to understand the issue. This solution can significantly reduce the risk of user frustration and lead to a more positive experience for users.
Note: You need to enable the VIDIZMO on-premise encoder. You should have GPU hardware and its drivers installed along with supporting CUDA toolkit to utilize GPU encoding profiles.
Info: For testing purpose, we have used GeForce RTX 3090 with Data Center Driver for Windows and CUDA toolkit 11.4
2. VIDIZMO Cloud Encoder:
By default, all media uploaded on VIDIZMO is transcoded using the VIDIZMO Cloud Encoder. The encoder converts media files into multiple formats and renditions to enable the user to play it on multiple devices/platforms. VIDIZMO Cloud Encoder implements scaling algorithms that automatically scale the necessary resources to process files simultaneously and fast.
3. Azure Media Services (AMS Standard and Premium):
Azure Media Services enables SaaS clients to deliver content globally on any virtual device using cloud computing. AMS offers services such as live and on-demand streaming, encoding, transcriptions, audio and video indexing, and content protection. AMS transcodes media files in limited formats and renditions. AMS provides storage and transcoding as well as service endpoints.
4. AWS MediaConvert:
VIDIZMO customers who are using Amazon S3 storage can configure AWS Elemental MediaConvert for transcoding their media. MediaConvert allows them to easily create video-on-demand (VOD) content for broadcast and multiscreen delivery at scale.
Configuring Encoding Profiles
The default profiles are enlisted in Control Panel > Encoding > Encoding Profiles and can be disabled/enabled based on the business requirements. Users can add new and edit existing profiles from the same screen.
Roles and Permissions
- Administrators and Managers can add and edit Encoding Profiles