#Overview and Comparison of Azure On Demand Media Encoders
##Encoding overview
Azure Media Services provides multiple options for the encoding of media in the cloud.
When starting out with Media Services, it is important to understand the difference between codecs and file formats. Codecs are the software that implements the compression/decompression algorithms whereas file formats are containers that hold the compressed video.
Media Services provides dynamic packaging which allows you to deliver your adaptive bitrate MP4 or Smooth Streaming encoded content in streaming formats supported by Media Services (MPEG DASH, HLS, Smooth Streaming, HDS) without you having to re-package into these streaming formats.
To take advantage of dynamic packaging, you need to do the following:
- Encode your mezzanine (source) file into a set of adaptive bitrate MP4 files or adaptive bitrate Smooth Streaming files (the encoding steps are demonstrated later in this tutorial).
- Get at least one On-Demand streaming unit for the streaming endpoint from which you plan to delivery your content. For more information, see How to Scale On-Demand Streaming Reserved Units.
Media Services supports the following on demand encoders that are described in this article:
- Media Encoder Standard
- Azure Media Encoder
- Media Encoder Premium Workflow
This article gives a brief overview of on demand media encoders and provides links to articles that give more detailed information. The topic also provides comparison of the encoders.
Note that by default each Media Services account can have one active encoding task at a time. You can reserve encoding units that allow you to have multiple encoding tasks running concurrently, one for each encoding reserved unit you purchase. For information, see Scaling encoding units.
##Media Encoder Standard
###Overview
It is recommended to use the Media Encoder Standard encoder. However, it is currently not exposed via the Azure portal.
When compared to Azure Media Encoder, this encoder supports more input and output formats and codecs. Other benefits include:
- More tolerant to how the input file was created
- Has a better H.264 codec quality than the Azure Media Encoder
- Is built on a newer and more flexible pipeline
- Is more robust/resilient
###How to use
How to encode with Media Encoder Standard
###Formats
###Presets
Media Encoder Standard is configured using one of the encoder presets described here.
###Input and output metadata
The encoders input metadata is described here.
The encoders output metadata is described here.
###Thumbnail
For information on how to generate thumbnails, see How to generate thumbnails using Media Encoder Standard.
###Audio and/or video overlays
Currently, not supported.
###See also
##Azure Media Encoder
###Overview
Azure Media Encoder is one of the encoders supported by Media Services. Starting with July 2015, it is recommended to use Media Encoder Standard.
###How to use
How to encode with Azure Media Encoder
###Formats
###Presets
Azure Media Encoder is configured using one of the encoder presets described here. You can also get the actual Azure Media Encoder preset files here.
###Input and output metadata
The encoders input metadata is described here.
The encoders output metadata is described here.
###Thumbnail
###Audio and/or video overlays
###Naming convention
How to modify the output file names
###See also
Encoding your media with Dolby Digital Plus
##Media Encoder Premium Workflow
###Overview
Introducing Premium Encoding in Azure Media Services
###How to use
Media Encoder Premium Workflow is configured using complex workflows. Workflow files could be created and updated using the Workflow Designer tool.
How to Use Premium Encoding in Azure Media Services
###Billing meter used by each encoder
| Media Processor Name | Applicable Pricing | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Media Encoder Standard | ENCODER | Encoding Tasks will be charged according to the size of the output Asset, in GBytes, at the rate specified here, under the ENCODER column. |
| Azure Media Encoder | ENCODER | Encoding Tasks will be charged according to the size of the output Asset, in GBytes, at the rate specified here, under the ENCODER column. |
| Media Encoder Premium Workflow | PREMIUM ENCODER | Encoding Tasks will be charged according to the size of the output Asset, in GBytes, at the rate specified here, under the PREMIUM ENCODER column. |
This section compares the encoding capabilities of Media Encoder Standard, Azure Media Encoder, and Media Encoder Premium Workflow.
###Input Container/File Formats
| Input Container/File Formats | Media Encoder Standard | Azure Media Encoder | Media Encoder Premium Workflow |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adobe® Flash® F4V | Yes | No | Yes |
| MXF/SMPTE 377M | Yes | Limited | Yes |
| GXF | Yes | No | Yes |
| MPEG-2 Transport Streams | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| MPEG-2 Program Streams | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| MPEG-4/MP4 | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Windows Media/ASF | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| AVI (Uncompressed 8bit/10bit) | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| 3GPP/3GPP2 | Yes | Yes | No |
| Smooth Streaming File Format (PIFF 1.3) | Yes | Yes | No |
| Microsoft Digital Video Recording(DVR-MS) | Yes | No | No |
| Matroska/WebM | Yes | No | No |
| QuickTime (.mov) | Yes | No | No |
###Input Video Codecs
| Input Video Codecs | Media Encoder Standard | Azure Media Encoder | Media Encoder Premium Workflow |
|---|---|---|---|
| AVC 8-bit/10-bit, up to 4:2:2, including AVCIntra | 8 bit 4:2:0 and 4:2:2 | Only 8bit 4:2:0 | Yes |
| Avid DNxHD (in MXF) | Yes | No | Yes |
| DVCPro/DVCProHD (in MXF) | Yes | No | Yes |
| JPEG2000 | Yes | No | Yes |
| MPEG-2 (up to 422 Profile and High Level; including variants such as XDCAM, XDCAM HD, XDCAM IMX, CableLabs® and D10) | Up to 422 Profile | Up to 422 Profile | Yes |
| MPEG-1 | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Windows Media Video/VC-1 | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Canopus HQ/HQX | No | Yes | No |
| MPEG-4 Part 2 | Yes | No | No |
| Theora | Yes | No | No |
| Apple ProRes 422 | Yes | No | No |
| Apple ProRes 422 LT | Yes | No | No |
| Apple ProRes 422 HQ | Yes | No | No |
| Apple ProRes Proxy | Yes | No | No |
| Apple ProRes 4444 | Yes | No | No |
| Apple ProRes 4444 XQ | Yes | No | No |
###Input Audio Codecs
| Input Audio Codecs | Media Encoder Standard | Azure Media Encoder | Media Encoder Premium Workflow |
|---|---|---|---|
| AES (SMPTE 331M and 302M, AES3-2003) | No | No | Yes |
| Dolby® E | No | No | Yes |
| Dolby® Digital (AC3) | No | Yes | Yes |
| Dolby® Digital Plus (E-AC3) | No | No | Yes |
| AAC (AAC-LC, AAC-HE, and AAC-HEv2; up to 5.1) | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| MPEG Layer 2 | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| MP3 (MPEG-1 Audio Layer 3) | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Windows Media Audio | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| WAV/PCM | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| FLAC | Yes | No | No |
| [Opus](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opus_(audio_format) | Yes | No | No |
| Vorbis | Yes | No | No |
###Output Container/File Formats
| Output Container/File Formats | Media Encoder Standard | Azure Media Encoder | Media Encoder Premium Workflow |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adobe® Flash® F4V | No | No | Yes |
| MXF (OP1a, XDCAM and AS02) | No | No | Yes |
| DPP (including AS11) | No | No | Yes |
| GXF | No | No | Yes |
| MPEG-4/MP4 | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| MPEG-TS | Yes | No | Yes |
| Windows Media/ASF | No | Yes | Yes |
| AVI (Uncompressed 8bit/10bit) | No | No | Yes |
| Smooth Streaming File Format (PIFF 1.3) | No | Yes | Yes |
###Output Video Codecs
| Output Video Codecs | Media Encoder Standard | Azure Media Encoder | Media Encoder Premium Workflow |
|---|---|---|---|
| AVC (H.264; 8-bit; up to High Profile, Level 5.2; 4K Ultra HD; AVC Intra) | Only 8 bit 4:2:0 | Only 8 bit 4:2:0 up to 1080p | Yes |
| Avid DNxHD (in MXF) | No | No | Yes |
| DVCPro/DVCProHD (in MXF) | No | No | Yes |
| MPEG-2 (up to 422 Profile and High Level; including variants such as XDCAM, XDCAM HD, XDCAM IMX, CableLabs® and D10) | No | No | Yes |
| MPEG-1 | No | No | Yes |
| Windows Media Video/VC-1 | No | Yes | Yes |
| JPEG thumbnail creation | No | Yes | Yes |
###Output Audio Codecs
| Output Audio Codecs | Media Encoder Standard | Azure Media Encoder | Media Encoder Premium Workflow |
|---|---|---|---|
| AES (SMPTE 331M and 302M, AES3-2003) | No | No | Yes |
| Dolby® Digital (AC3) | No | Yes | Yes |
| Dolby® Digital Plus (E-AC3) up to 7.1 | No | Up to 5.1 | Yes |
| AAC (AAC-LC, AAC-HE, and AAC-HEv2; up to 5.1) | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| MPEG Layer 2 | No | No | Yes |
| MP3 (MPEG-1 Audio Layer 3) | No | No | Yes |
| Windows Media Audio | No | Yes | Yes |
##Media Services learning paths
You can view AMS learning paths here:
##Related articles