How to Choose a Cloud Encoder
With the hassle of uploading and downloading video, why would companies prefer to use a cloud encoding service? At the recent Streaming Media West conference in sunny Huntington Beach, California, Jan Ozer spelled out the reasons.
"The high-level benefits of cloud encoding are lower capital expense -- you don't have to buy the servers, you don't have to buy the software -- and very elastic scalability. So, if you need to encode 10,000 files tomorrow, you can't do that with Sorenson Squeeze and a dual-core computer. On the other hand, you can do that in most cloud facilities," Ozer said. "There's also you don't need the encoding knowledge -- all the stuff that surrounds the equipment and the software."
Once companies have decided to go with a cloud solution, they need to decide what type. It turns out that the type of cloud encoders are as flexible as the services they offer
"There are a bunch of different cloud encoding models," Ozer explained. "You can lease your own cloud and install your encoder in it. So, basically any encoding tool can be a cloud encoder if you install it in a cloud. The biggest market segment is software-as-a-service. That's where you…upload your files; they encode them and deliver them to you. There's also platform-as-a-service which is what Elemental does."
For more on choosing a cloud encoder, watch the video below and download Ozer's presentation.
HOW TO: Choosing a Cloud Encoder
The session starts by describing what cloud encoding is and how it works for both live and on-demand applications. Then it details the types of applications that work well with cloud encoding, using mini-case studies of actual users. Next, it identifies factors to consider when choosing an on-demand and live-cloud encoding service, including qualitative and performance results from recent reviews. Attendees leave knowing how cloud encoding works, which applications are particularly well-suited for the cloud, and how to choose a cloud provider.
Speaker: Jan Ozer, Principal, Doceo Publishing
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