Understand multi-bitrate and video streaming quality

This guide concerns the multi-bitrate or transcoding which allows to diffuse a flow of Streaming video in the best quality possible depending on the Internet connection of your spectators.

Preamble

• Without multi-bitrate or transcoding functionality, your stream is only broadcast in one quality and viewers who do not have a good Internet connection may not be able to read your stream.

Local Transcoding vs Cloud Transcoding

There are two ways to offer this feature to your visitors: Local transcoding or in the cloud.
 

Advantages and disadvantages

Let Infomaniak handle transcoding

The entire process is automatic: Infomaniak configures and transcodes the various qualities needed and your spectators have the guarantee that they can follow your broadcasts in the best possible conditions, regardless of the speed of their connection to the Internet.

• A single maximum quality stream will be sent to your side.
• A software encoder is sufficient, even if it is recommended to have a hardware encoder for greater reliability and performance.

Manage transcoding manually in local

The whole process is manual: you must configure the qualities and their number as well as have the network and hardware configuration required to ensure the transcoding and sending of the data:

• An encoder is required for transcoding (Infomaniak offers for sale if necessary).
• The encoder (or server dedicated to this task) must be powerful enough to simultaneously transcode your stream in different qualities. In the opposite case, the flow will be cut and unstable for your spectators.
• A good Internet connection is required to simultaneously send the stream in different qualities.