On-Demand Video Transcoding and Video Qualities from SD to 4K
Introduction
Icareus Suite can transcode all on-demand content using its integrated transcoding system. Alternatively it is possible for you to pre-transcode all your on-demand files and add them to a Icareus Suite Asset manually.
This document describes how the transcoding workflow is and the recommended formats when uploading the files to Icareus Suite. Icareus has also pre-configured you a set of default encoding presets (=video qualities) that will be generated from the master files for distribution by default.
Each Device will receive an optimised set of video qualities based on your preferences.
Transcoders
By default every account on Icareus Suite uses a shared transcoding capacity. It guarantees that all Assets are transcoded properly, but cannot guarantee a fixed throughput time. For higher transcoding requirements icareus offers dedicated transcoding capacity that can be adapted exactly to customer's needs.
Workflow
Each video asset should associate with a video file. The common scenario to assign a video to an Asset is to upload a first the Master video file. Recommended Master -file quality can be seen below. Once the Master file is uploaded, Icareus Suite uses it to generate other video files for other presets.
Icareus Suite includes built-in transcoder, which prepares these presets, which are the actual video -files that end-users will view.
When you have uploaded the Master file, the automated transcoding starts. The transcoding process can be seen on the Transcoding page:
Recommended Input Formats
SD VIDEO SPECIFICATION
| | SD |
|---|---|
| Video container | MP4 |
| Video codec | h.264 |
| Video bitrate | 3Mbit/s |
| Resolution | 720x576 pxl |
| Frame rate | 29.97 fps |
| Audio codec | AAC |
| Audio bitrate | 192 kbit/s |
| Audio sampling frequency | 44.1kHz |
HD VIDEO SPECIFICATION
| | HD Ready | Full HD |
|---|---|---|
| Video container | MP4 | MP4 |
| Video codec | h.264 | h.264 |
| Video bitrate | 5928 kbit/s | 8024 kbit/s |
| Resolution | 1280x720 pxl | 1920x1080 |
| Frame rate | 29.97 fps | 29.97 fps |
| Audio codec | AAC | AAC |
| Audio bitrate | 192 kbit/s | 192 kbit/s |
| Audio sampling frequency | 44.1kHz | 44.1kHz |
Presets and Transcoding up to 4K
The set of transcoding parameters is called preset (or video profile). The main parameters for a preset are video resolution and video bitrate.
Icareus has predefined these presets for your account, based on the content and the end-devices used in your service. The number of different presets used with your service is usually between 3-5. These are the qualities that your end-users will see.
You need to add that preset to all your video Assets either manually or re-transcoding your assets
Some of the normal presets are in table below:
| Preset | Description |
|---|---|
| 480x320 (64 Kbps) | Video resolution: 480x320 Video bitare: 64 Kbps Usage: sample preset (TBD base on a customer request) |
| 416x234 (264 Kbps) | Video resolution: 416x234 Video bitare: 264 Kbps Usage: sample preset (TBD base on a customer request) |
| 480x270 (464 Kbps) | Video resolution: 480x270 Video bitare: 464 Kbps Usage: sample preset (TBD base on a customer request) |
| 640x360 (664Kbps) | Video resolution: 640x360 Video bitare: 664 Kbps Usage: sample preset (TBD base on a customer request) |
| 640x360 (1264Kbps) | Video resolution: 640x360 Video bitare: 1264 Kbps Usage: Web client (browser) |
| 960x540 (1864 Kbps) | Video resolution: 960x540 Video bitare: 1864 Kbps Usage: sample preset (TBD base on a customer request) |
| 960x540 (2564 Kbps) | Video resolution: 960x540 Video bitare: 2564 Kbps Usage: sample preset (TBD base on a customer request) |
| 1280x720 (2000 Kbps) | Video resolution: 1280x720 Video bitare: 2000 Kbps Usage: HbbTV application client |
| 1280x720 (4564 Kbps) | Video resolution: 1280x720 Video bitare: 4564 Kbps Usage: iOS client |
| 1280x720 (6564 Kbps) | Video resolution: 1280x720 Video bitare: 6564 Kbps Usage: Android client |
| 1920x1080 (4000 Kbps) | Video resolution: 1920x1080 Video bitare: 4000 Kbps Usage: sample preset (TBD base on a customer request) |
1920x1080 (8564 Kbps) | Video resolution: 1920x1080 Video bitare: 8564 Kbps Usage: sample preset (TBD base on a customer request) |
Typical Online Video Usecase Qualities
The video player changes the video quality adaptively, always offering the best possible video quality to the viewer. The video qualities used in standard online video service cases are:
| Preset | Description |
|---|---|
| 640x360 (664Kbps) -SD | Video resolution: 640x360 Video bitare: 664 Kbps Usage: Low quality connections |
| 640x360 (1264Kbps) - SD | Video resolution: 640x360 Video bitare: 1264 Kbps Usage: Moderate quality connections |
1280x720 (2048 Kbps) - HD | Video resolution: 1280x720 Video bitare: 2048 Kbps Usage: Normal quality connections |
1920x1080 (4000Kbps) - FullHD | Video resolution: 1920x1080 Video bitare: 4000 Kbps Usage: Good quality connections |
3840x2160 (1600Kbps) - 4K | Video resolution: 3840x2160 Usage: Optional for excellent quality connections (increases streaming and storage costs)Video bitare: 16000 Kbps |
Example of Video Presets / Devices Matrix for On-demand Adaptive Streaming
The below table shows a single video preset table for both SD and HD content.
(x) means presets used only for HD content.
VIDEO RESOLUTION
(preset)
(preset)
| VIDEO BITRATE | AUDIO BITRATE | FPS | DESKTOP | MOBILE | MOBILE /ANDROID | TABLET | TABLE /ANDROID | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1920x1080 | 5000 kbit/s | | As source | (x) | | | | |
| 1280x720 | 3436 kbit/s | | As source | (x) | | | | |
| 1024x576 | 2436 kbit/s | | As source | (x) | | | | |
| 960x540 | 1800 kbit/s | | As source | (x) | | | (x) | |
| 704x396 | 1200 kbit/s | | As source | x | | | (x) | |
| 640x360 | 800 kbit/s | | As source | x | (x) | | | |
| 480x270 | 646 kbit/s | | As source | SD only | | x | x | |
| 480x270 | 430 kbit/s | | As source | x | x | x | x | |
| 416x234 | 232 | | 15 | x | | x | | |
| 320x180 | 124 | | 15 | x | x | | x | |
| Audio only | no video | 32 kbit/s | - | | x | | x | |
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