转码的转换

在过去的三个月里, I’ve spent more time with 代码转换 and live encoding solutions than a full-time compressionist should.

作为一系列比较报告的一部分, a consulting firm I co-founded a few years ago sponsored a bake-off between professional 代码转换 and live encoding solutions. 从5月到7月，Transitions, Inc .. team members and I spent time peeking under the hood at technical details, 运行流程场景, and gathering data—lots of data—based on a series of handpicked video clips.

只有受邀者才能参加的烘焙比赛, in which every company committed to an equal sponsorship amount and 2 days of on-site prep before delivering thousands of transcodes, provided both a micro view of various products and companies willing to verify their marketing pitch against competing systems and a macro view of the transformation 代码转换 is undergoing.

Between finishing up the raw data gathering on 代码转换 solutions and moving into detailed analysis, 我想分享一些初步的想法. These 虽然ts aren’t limited to just companies that were tested, 虽然, as the goal of this article is to help readers understand which of the five market segments best fits their unique needs.

市场细分
The first 虽然t is that defining 代码转换 is becoming more difficult. As the market shifts from simple 代码转换 (conversion of a video or audio file from one codec to another) to more complex protocol conversions and content fragmentation, there is a move afoot to perform all of these facets of 代码转换 in both file-based and live run-time encoding scenarios.

The easiest way to discuss 代码转换 solutions, 以及它们与编码解决方案的区别, is to parse solutions across a five-pronged segmentation.

From the outset, 代码转换 followed a traditional path, starting with 桌面解决方案-一些积分成非线性的
editing and capture tools and others as stand-alone products—that later morphed into 工作组解决方案, providing more horsepower for large batch-代码转换 jobs.

通常, these 工作组解决方案 were based around a master node handing off jobs to a variety of nodes, but the lack of workflow integration within 工作组解决方案 led to more robust 企业级解决方案, many of which can be easily manipulated to handle complex analysis, 代码转换, and distribution scenarios favored by broadcast and media companies.

Some of these enterprise systems take a more hardened approach, in the form of 航母的解决方案, making units that move a step beyond the standard Linux- or Windows-based “pizza box” server into more real-time operating systems and Network Equipment Building System (NEBS)-compliant devices that can be DC-powered to fit within the standard telecom central office infrastructure.

最后，有一个动作可以推进了 软件即服务(SaaS)解决方案 that push the whole 代码转换 scenario into the cloud. 就像每一个细分市场一样, there are exceptions to the rule and companies with products that span multiple segments. Rhozet’s Carbon Coder software tools, for instance, can be purchased in desktop, workgroup, and even
multinode versions, placing it in the range of an enterprise-class solution.

同样地, ViewCast, 谁的主要关注点是实时编码, integrates the Telestream FlipFactory 代码转换 tool into its new VMp workflow. ATEME, 数字急流, Envivio, and 媒体Excel all share similar approaches to supporting 代码转换 in their respective marketing verticals.

索伦森, best known for its desktop application Squeeze, has been moving forward into the SaaS space of online video 代码转换, 但它也宣布了挤压服务器, a multinode workgroup and enterprise solution.

For ease of workflow replication for the inaugural 代码转换 report, Transitions invited primarily enterprise- and carrier-class solution providers rather than desktop- or workgroup-level 代码转换 tools.

Why limit testing to just two market segments? 关于低端解决方案, Jan Ozer and others have done a good job of examining those products, running most desktop and a few 工作组解决方案 through their paces. We felt that workflow integration was lacking in many of these products, 虽然, which makes comparisons to mid- and high-level 代码转换 tools difficult. 同样的, 在线SaaS前端, our initial reviews showed a lack of robust workflow integration—short of highly customized programming—that allow online 代码转换 solutions to compete with enterprise workflow scenarios.

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