Zixi Broadcaster offers live transcoding, enabling users to create multiple bitrate streams from a single input stream.
Supported Video and Audio formats include:
- Video Decoding – MPEG2, H.264/AVC , H.265/HEVC
- Video Encoding – MPEG2, H.264/AVC , H.265/HEVC
- Audio Decoding – AAC, MPEG-1 Audio Layer I / II / III, MPEG-2 Audio Layer I / II / III
- Audio Encoding – AAC-LC, AAC-HEv1, Opus; Pass through – any audio codec (MPEG1/2 / AAC / AC-3)
The transcoder comes with pre-set common video profiles:
1080i60 / 1080i59.94, 1080p30 / 1080p25, 720p60, 720p50 / 720p30, 576i60 / 576p25, 480i60 / 480p29.97
In order to transcode an input stream from the Inputs screen you must first configure the transcoding profiles in the Transcoder screen. For more information, see Transcoder section.
To Transcode an Input Stream:
- In the Zixi Broadcaster Inputs page, click the desired incoming stream that you want to transcode.
- Click the
- Enter the unique Stream I.D. for the new transcoded input stream.
- Under Stream Parameters, in the Video profile and Audio profile fields, do one of the following:
- Select the desired Video Profile and/or Audio Profile that you have configured.
- Select Keep original stream - if you have not configured a video or audio profile or do not want it transcoded or you want to set specific transcoding parameters for the specific stream. In this case, the video or audio input will not be transcoded.
- Select Remove stream – you can use the transcoder to remove the video or audio track from the stream.
- Fill in additional fields (see table below for additional parameters).
- Click OK.
The transcoded input stream is created and appears in an embedded window labeled Transcoded sources under the original input stream from which it was created.
- ParameterDescription
Advanced Options Video Profile
Select an existing profile, select Keep original stream if you do not wish to transcode the video stream, or select Remove stream if you want to remove the video track.
Audio Profile
Select an existing profile, select Keep original stream if you do not wish to transcode the audio stream, or select Remove stream if you want to remove the audio track.
Transport Stream Bitrate (Kbps)
Specify the bitrate of the transport stream. This parameter is optional. If you do not specify a TS Bitrate, the stream will be VBR. If you specify a bitrate, the stream will be CBR.
Use Hardware Acceleration (if available) Select this checkbox to use hardware acceleration component (e.g. NVIDIA or Intel) if it has been installed. Pass all PIDs
Select this checkbox to pass-through all non-transcoded PIDs.
Smoothing Buffer (ms) Specify how much of the transcoded stream (in milliseconds) to store before transmitting it back to the server in order to prevent bursts.
If the Transport stream bitrate [kbps] field is empty, the smoothing buffer is disabled.
If the Transport stream bitrate [kbps] field is NOT empty, it is recommended to enter around 200ms, which should be enough to prevent bursts.Enable time shift Maximum delay [hh:mm:ss] Specify the time of the delayed transmission of this stream. Maximum: 24 hours. Transmit as multicast Selecting this checkbox enables the transmission of this stream’s outputs as multicast. A Zixi receiver that will pull the stream will receive it in multicast. By default Zixi Broadcaster is configured to allow transparent fallback to unicast if it is out of the LAN. Requires enabling Multicast Pull in the Settings. This setting requires enabling Multicast Pool (Settings > Multicast Pool).
Multicast Only Selecting this checkbox will force the transmission of this stream only in multicast. Enable Encryption Select this checkbox to encrypt the Input stream. For more information, see Encrypting an Input Stream in Zixi Broadcaster Encryption type (for Encryption enabled) Specify the type of Encryption (AES 128/192/256). Encryption key (for encryption enabled) Click Generate to generate an encryption key. The generated encryption key must be sent to the end-user to decipher the received encoded stream. Recording Parameters Max recorded file duration [hours] Specifies the maximum time allotted for recording a video stream. Default: 2 hours Keep recorded files for [hours] Specifies the maximum time for storing the recording. Default: 0 hours