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Compute
Media transcoder
Converts uploaded video into multiple resolutions and HLS/DASH segments.
When to use
- Any user-uploaded video
Pitfalls
- CPU/GPU heavy; run as an autoscaled queue-driven worker pool
Options by provider
The first option is what diagrams show for that provider.
Amazon Web Services
- AWS Elemental MediaConvertManaged
Google Cloud
- Transcoder APIManaged
Microsoft Azure
- FFmpeg on AKS — Azure Media Services was retired in 2024Self-hosted
Open source / self-hosted
- FFmpegSelf-hosted
- GStreamerSelf-hosted
Related concepts
Used in
- YouTube
- Transcoding workers — Encode 240p–4K renditions and HLS/DASH segments in parallel
- Netflix
- Encoding pipeline — Splits masters into chunks and encodes them in parallel