Are you working on the video streaming process? So, you probably must have heard of the word transcoding or already know something about video transcoding. Whatever the case, if you want to understand the entire process and need for transcoding, and how you can improve the streaming video experience for your audience, you’re in the right place.
We will understand the principle of video transcoding and why it is important for successful video streaming along with some benefits and examples of it.
What is video transcoding?
The video transcoding process involves decoding an already encoded digital video file into a different bit rate (bit rate) or file size (dimension). This process is carried out in cases where different supported playback formats are needed to reach the maximum target audience, thus making the encoded video data more accessible. For example, if you have a Netflix account, the reason why you can easily watch your favorite movies or series on your smartphone and TV is because of transcoding.
For live streaming purposes, a live transcoder takes the form of a cloud-based streaming platform or streaming server. This type of video conversion is a computationally intensive process, for which you need powerful hardware and software resources, including CPU and graphics acceleration capabilities.
Also, it’s not primarily about bitrate and size. There are also other formats available that can be used to switch the audio or video fronts from one to the other, such as from MPEG source to H.264. Also, you can add watermarks, logos, and different graphics to your video, but this is only possible when the encoded video is decoded, which is impossible without transcoding.
Transcoding itself also encompasses different similar terms that are more often confused:
- Transrating – This term is used to describe when there is a change in the bit rates of a file, which affects the speed of data traveling between networks.
- Transit: This term refers to the change in size of the video frame from one resolution to another.
Why is transcoding important for successful video streaming?
Transcoding is very important when you want your content to reach the masses. For example, if you want to do a live stream with your camera and encoder. After recording, it compresses your content with an HLS encoder and chooses the H.264 codec at 720p. Now, you can stream it online to your platform.
But, if you try to stream it directly on your platform, it will cause some problems.
- Bandwidth restrictions from different users will cause delays and upload issues
- Mobile phones and tablets with lower data speeds will face charging issues
- You will lose the trust and credibility of your target audience.
You can use transcoding software, which helps you create a set of video streams, each with a different frame size and bit rate, converting protocols and codecs to reach different compatible viewer devices. This set of device-friendly streams is packaged in different adaptive streaming formats (such as WebRTC), providing easy playback on almost any screen.
Also, another crucial area of use for transcoding is streaming from Internet Protocol cameras, such as surveillance and traffic cameras in a residential area. In this way many responsible people can see the transmissions for greater transparency and better security.
Now, everyone knows that the biggest provider of user-generated video content is Youtube, which offers around 300 hours of uploads per minute, which would not be possible without transcoding those videos. Here it is essential to transcode each video so that it is available in different formats and different qualities. This makes Youtube have 20 different versions available to transcode each original video, and this is why each new video is available in low resolution until it is transcoded to a higher resolution.
Let’s also understand the need to transcode through its benefits.
Benefits of transcoding
In this case, the main benefit of transcoding is the use of Adaptive Bitrate (ABR) streaming, which creates a variety of media file formats for streaming to a huge network of devices streaming at different bandwidths. This makes it easier to understand the importance and operation of transcoding, transqualification, and transit between each other to improve transmission.
With diversified resolutions and bitrates, it is possible to not only deliver to more devices, but also deliver more effective streaming with the best possible video quality, eliminating buffering and bandwidth drops. There are some benefits of transcoding with ABR technology:
Not only does it create compatible formats for different devices or protocols, but transcoding gives you ways to target the screen, bandwidth, and region of each playback device. From Apple to Google to Microsoft devices, transcoding makes it possible to stream from mobile phones to projectors or large screens.
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Wide audience network
Your goal is to grow your audience, and to do so, you also need to consider the Internet connection speed for each target user. Users need content that is available to them whether they are traveling or dancing in the basement, transcoding makes that easy with ABR technology that makes content easily accessible.
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Optimized user experience
The transcoding process also maximizes the video quality based on the playback device screen, internet speed, bandwidth and connection, with the help of ABR. You can optimize the delivery quality of your video to get the best possible quality without affecting your streaming experience.
Let’s understand this with an example.
For example, let’s look at the playback compatibility of the device.
If you have recorded video with your camera and are compressing your video with a Real Time Messaging Protocol (RTMP) encoder, choose the H.264 codec at 720p.
When you upload the content directly to the video streaming platform, your viewers will face a lot of problems. Most of the viewers will face bandwidth issues and will not be able to upload the stream, waiting for the 720p pockets to download. Also, since the RTMP protocol does not support multi-device playback, it will not load the video.
Therefore, you must first transcode and transmux the video to reach the majority of your users with different bandwidths and speeds, and device compatibility.
final thoughts
Transcoding your video files before streaming is an important step when streaming to a variety of end-user devices. Here, you’ll understand why transcoding is essential to the success of the video streaming process, with its benefits and an example. Now, you can easily transcode your videos without fear of making mistakes.
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Categories: Technology
Source: vtt.edu.vn