2019 On-Prem编码买家指南
One of the more memorable findings from the 流媒体/Beamr survey and report entitled 现实世界HEVC洞察:采用、影响和工作流程 was that 61% of respondents were still encoding on-prem while 21% encoded via a private cloud. 虽然有, 毫无疑问, 这两个数字之间存在一些并发性, that’s a lot of folks who didn’t get the memo that on-prem encoding was passé and it was time to move to the cloud. 铭记经典, 迈克尔·乔丹的名言, 共和党人也买运动鞋,” we decided to create a Buyers’ Guide for these obviously backward-thinking survey respondents.
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只是开个玩笑, 当然——我们(希望)用诙谐的方式来强调这一点, despite the dozens of white papers and 文章 detailing how the cloud can slash encoding costs and generally improve the lives of all encoding professionals, 大多数人都坚持他们所知道的和在预置编码器上工作的编码器. 如果你属于这个群体，这就是你的买家指南. 非常明确地说, 我们将只关注VOD编码器, 不是实时编码器, 我们将尝试涉及编码工具的所有相关类别.
As always, the listing of products in this guide is meant to provide examples, not to be exhaustive. Companies searching for an on-prem encoder should augment this guide with their own research. 如果您是编码供应商，而您的公司没有被提及, 请将其作为评论添加到流媒体网站上的这篇文章中.
有趣的是, the Beamr survey also identifies the obvious starting point for any on-prem encoding guide, 在36%的生产工作流程中部署了FFmpeg. So let’s start there, and work our way up to more sophisticated production encoders.
FFmpeg
FFmpeg是免费的, 开源, 可用于Windows的命令行编码器/解码器, Linux, 和Mac, 并且可以为其他操作系统编译. FFmpeg是许多编码产品和服务的引擎, 以及为Netflix和YouTube等公司编码工作流程. FFmpeg最初于2000年12月发布，最近迎来了4岁生日.最值得注意的是增加了对开放媒体联盟AV1编解码器的支持. FFmpeg包括高质量, software-only codecs like x264 and x265 along with Intel and NVIDIA codecs that can be accelerated when running on systems with supporting hardware.
除了编码, FFmpeg excels at a wide range of useful ancillary functions from splitting and concatenating files without re-encoding to injecting text into encoded files. Though FFmpeg can’t directly produce variant playlists for HLS or MPD files for DASH, you can add other 开源 tools like Bento4 to a simple pipeline and produce HLS and/or DASH output, 包括DRM和字幕. 事实上, one of the tutorials in this issue details how to set up a watch folder with Bash scripts that uses FFmpeg and Bento4 to encode files dropped into the folder into a multiple bitrate ladder packaged for HLS and DASH.
而使用FFmpeg的命令行处理相对简单, 可用性显然落后于大多数带有GUI的程序. 除了, adding workflow-like functionality to FFmpeg requires real programming and isn’t available to the casual user. If you’re looking for an encoder that’s easy to plug into a workflow with pre- and post-encode quality control, 例如, 不是FFmpeg.
Adobe媒体编码器
The Adobe媒体编码器 (AME) is the final step for most Premiere Pro and After Effects productions, and it performs well in most cases as the creator of mezzanine files for uploading to other sites for encoding for delivery. 同样的编码器在Final Cut Pro和，大概，Avid媒体作曲家. AME还包括许多相机和设备的预设, 虽然它不能为HLS或DASH发行生成打包输出.
有几个边缘用例是Premiere Pro和AME的不足之处. The first relates to encoding screencam- or PowerPoint-based videos to mezzanine files for uploading to a production encoder, 这会影响任何创建教学教程的人吗. 在这些情况下, 一种称为恒速率因子(CRF)的编码技术是理想的, 因为它调整数据速率以保持质量. AME不支持CRF编码, so you either have to guess at a data rate that would maintain quality or encode at a very high bitrate and extend your upload times. 举个例子, 最近的一个基于ppt的课程, CRF encoding reduced the mezzanine file size (and upload time) by about 80% with no visual difference between the mezzanine file produced by AME and the other produced with CRF encoding using a free, 基于ffmpeg的编码器称为HandBrake.
Premiere Pro在导入用iPhone拍摄的影片时表现不佳, 是用可变帧率编码的吗. When input into Premiere Pro natively, these iPhone videos lose synch within a minute or so. 一个解决方案是HandBrake，我们在go2sm上写过.com/handbrake. 所有这些都不应该被视为对AME的批评，它在99中运行良好.9%的编码任务. 而, 这是对另一类桌面编码器的介绍, 其中HandBrake是成员之一, 我称之为FFmpeg前端.
FFmpeg前端
在go2sm上有一个为FFmpeg提供GUI的程序列表.com/ffmpeggui，我将在其中添加XMedia Recode (go2sm)等程序.com/xmedia). 不幸的是, 手刹除外, 大多数程序自2015年左右以来就没有更新过, 这使得他们难以推荐. 我在办公室的大多数系统上都安装了HandBrake，这表明了它的实用性.
This is one category where my research yielded fewer options than might actually exist. 多年来, 我听说过可以提供一系列功能的FFmpeg前端, 但从来没有真正下载和尝试过. The potential benefit of these programs is a lot of functionality at a very inexpensive price, 如果只是为了启动FFmpeg编程，否则您必须手工完成. If you’re looking for an inexpensive way to acquire the functionality discussed in the next category, 不要放弃这个.
生产编码器和包装
The final category includes production encoders and packagers that input mezzanine files and output packaged HLS/DASH files ready for distribution. 虽然这些类别之间有很多重叠之处, 在这个市场上大致有三种类型的公司和产品.
- 用于在传统平台上部署的传统本地编码器. These are products purchased as software-only or hardware/ software combinations primarily for deployment on a single Windows or Linux workstation. 这一类的公司和产品包括Ateme(泰坦文件), AWS Elemental (AWS元素服务器), Capella Systems (Cambria FTC), Elecard (Converter Studio VOD), harmonix (HFS及ProMedia X Origin), Imagine Communications (SelenioFlex文件), 媒体Excel (HERO文件), MediaKind(原爱立信, 编码按需), Telestream(优势), 和Spin Digital (Spin Enc). Though you might be able to deploy the licensed software in a private or public cloud, 这些程序主要安装在一台计算机或工作站上.
- Encoders designed for deployment in a private cloud or other virtualized environment. Companies here include Imagine Communications with Selenio One XC and Harmonic with its Electra XVM and VOS SW Cluster products.
- Cloud encoders available for deployment in a private cloud or other virtualized environment. 这类公司包括Bitmovin和Encoding.com.
第三类游戏的有趣之处在于它改变了定价模式. Where vendors in the first category typically charge a lump sum license for the software plus annual support, 第三类的供应商也可能提供按分钟或按gb的输出定价, 减少资本支出，并将SaaS定价引入本地编码.
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