Types of live encoder
The first three are contribution encoders: they send one high-quality stream to the platform. The platform then transcodes it into the adaptive ladder.
- Software encoders: applications on a computer, flexible and inexpensive, suited to studios and small events
- Hardware encoders: dedicated boxes with video inputs, built to run reliably for hours
- Mobile and bonded encoders: units that combine several cellular connections for outside broadcasts
- Cloud encoders: the platform's own service, which receives your feed and creates the quality levels viewers get
Settings that matter
- Codec: H.264 is the safe choice for contribution
- Bitrate: around 4 to 8 Mbps for 1080p, constant bitrate
- Keyframe interval: two seconds, so the platform can segment cleanly
- Frame rate and resolution: match the source
- Audio: AAC at 128 kbps or more
Reliability
The encoder and its internet connection are the single point every viewer depends on. Use a wired connection with upload capacity at least one and a half times the bitrate. For important events, run a second encoder on a second connection to the platform's backup ingest, so that a failure switches over instead of ending the stream.
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