Transcoding Broadcaster Input Streams
Once you have created the profile, you can use it to transcode an input stream.
To Transcode an Input Stream:
- On the Inputs page of Zixi Broadcaster, click the desired row of the input stream that you want to transcode.
- Click the
button on the right end of the selected row and then Transcode.
The Transcode <input stream name> window with the settings of the selected input stream is displayed.
- Enter the unique Stream ID 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.
Parameter | Description |
|---|---|
| Stream Parameters | |
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. |
| Apply audio profile for all audio PIDs | Select this option if you want to re-encode all audio tracks using the same audio profile, instead of just the first audio track that is detected. |
| Output Type | Select one of the following output types. The outputs are configured as part of the transcoding process, so there is no need to create the Output from the Zixi Broadcaster Outputs screen:
|
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. Note – CBR is recommended for downstream satellite workflows. |
| Add RTP headers | Select this option to add RTP header to the MPEG-TS packets. |
Use Hardware Acceleration (if available) | Select this checkbox to use hardware acceleration component (e.g. NVIDIA) if it has been installed. |
Pass all PIDs | Select this checkbox to pass-through all non-transcoded PIDs. |
| Force I-Frames on SCTE-35 markers | Selecting this option will do the following:
|
| Copy Closed Captions | If the video source contains closed caption, select this option to copy the CC to the encoded video streams, otherwise it will be dropped. This option is relevant for HEVC and h264 sources and targets. |
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. |
Crop Parameters | Select this checkbox to set the cropping parameters. |
Cropping Mode | Set the units used for defining the crop. Options are: Pixels or Percentages. Note: Depending on the type of content, in some cases using different crop values for low resolution outputs might be appropriate. For example, if the content includes both video content and textual content, the text would not be readable at lower resolutions and thus might be better to exclude. Another use case for using different crop values for each output would be to slice a 360 or VR input video. |
Left, Top | Specify the left and top positions for the crop. |
Width x Height | Specify the width and height values for the crop. |
Enable time shift | |
Maximum delay [hh:mm:ss] | Specify the time of the delayed transmission of this stream. Maximum: 24 hours. |
Enable multicast on pull outputs | 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 Pull Outputs). |
Multicast Only | Selecting this checkbox will force the transmission of this stream only in multicast. FEC parameters are taken from global multicast pull outputs settings. |
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 | Select this checkbox to customize the recording parameters. |
Destination Type | Select the radio button for the desired storage type and then fill in the relevant parameters. · Record to disk – the recording is saved on the local disk. · Record to S3 – the file is saved to your AWS S3 Bucket. |
Record to Disk Parameters | |
File Name Template | Specify the file name pattern that Zixi will use to generate when saving the recorded content. A separate file will be generated for each recording up to the time specified in the Max recorded file duration parameter (see above). After this duration a new file will be generated. The file name pattern can include any string and up to five variables listed below. Only the %T=HH.MM.SS creation time is mandatory. You can change the order of these variables and add text as long as you maintain the legitimate structure of the file in Linux and Windows: · %S=stream id - optional. · %Y=year - optional · %M=month - optional · %D=day - optional · %T=HH.MM.SS creation time - mandatory For example, the following pattern %Y_recording%T.ts will generate the following file name 2017_recording15:32:35.ts. |
Max recorded file duration [hours] | Specify the maximum time allotted for recording a video stream. Default: 2 hours |
Keep recorded files for [hours] | Specify the maximum time for storing the recording. Default: 0 hours |
Custom Path | Optionally specify a storage location for the recorded files that is relative to the root folder. This location bypasses the location specified as the root folder in the Settings > General screen. |
Record to S3 Parameters | |
File Name Template | Specify the file name pattern that Zixi will use to generate when saving the recorded content. A separate file will be generated for each recording up to the time specified in the Max recorded file duration parameter (see above). After this duration a new file will be generated. The file name pattern can include any string and up to five variables listed below. Only the %T=HH.MM.SS creation time is mandatory. You can change the order of these variables and add text as long as you maintain the legitimate structure of the file in Linux and Windows:
For example, the following pattern %Y_recording%T.ts will generate the following file name 2017_recording15:32:35.ts. |
Max recorded file duration [hours] | Specify the maximum time allotted for recording a video stream. Default: 2 hours |
URL | Specify the URL of the S3 bucket. |
Ignore TLS certificate errors | TLS certificate for S3 bucket might be detected as faulty if bucket name contains dot[s]. When this option is selected, Zixi Broadcaster will ignore the TLS certificate errors and transmit the stream to its destination. |
Access Key | The access key that is used for accessing the S3 bucket. |
Secret Key | The secret key that is used for accessing the S3 bucket. |