AWS Video Transcoding in VIDIZMO's Enterprise Video Platform

Amazon Web Services (AWS) is not only a well-known cloud-based storage provider but also has a media services platform called AWS Elemental.

AWS Elemental MediaConvert, or AWS video transcoding, is one of the services under this storage provider.

This is a broadcast-grade file-based video transcoding solution of AWS for video-on-demand content.

AWS video transcoding is performed upon your video files stored in Amazon S3 storage. Video transcoding converts your video into various formats supported on different browsers and devices (mobile-friendliness is vital for a video’s success).

It is also recommended to transcode your videos into lower resolution levels to ensure buffering-free playback in different bandwidth conditions.

These multiple renditions support multi-bitrate streaming and are required to assist in adaptive bitrate streaming (ABR), enabling end-users to view the best quality stream possible.

It is important to note that transcoding is only a small part of the long chain of workflows required to establish an end-to-end video streaming infrastructure.

Setting it up is not only time-consuming and expensive but also highly technical, and you’d be better off using a ready-made platform.

Nevertheless, this article will go over how you can automate your video transcoding through AWS Elemental MediaConvert.

Alternatively, why work directly with all the workflows of AWS, which could seem incredibly difficult? Why not make your life easier by opting for a ready-made complete video solution that does it all for you?

VIDIZMO is an end-to-end video platform that utilizes Amazon S3 storage and media services to provide a complete video streaming and management solution.

It is a user-friendly YouTube-like enterprise-grade platform for both live and on-demand video streaming. You can create a restricted internal portal or open it up to the public.

Above all else, the platform requires a one-time configuration to automatically transcode your videos stored in Amazon S3 storage. Playback can then be done in the VIDIZMO application or on any 3^rd party website or application through authenticated embedding.

Build or buy video platform

This is a classic build vs buy decision that your organization must make. Let us go over both the lengthy process and all that VIDIZMO simplifies for you. The decision is yours then.

AWS Video Transcoding | A Lengthy Manual Process

Here is a brief overview of the complex video transcoding process of AWS Elemental MediaConvert:

Source Content

To utilize AWS Video Transcoding, you must have an AWS account. You can use your source content stored in Amazon S3 or from a server through HTTP or HTTPS.

S3 Buckets

You must create a new Pipeline for the transcoding job and further create new input and output S3 buckets. The buckets should be in the same AWS region as your pipeline; otherwise, the process will be much more costly and time-taking. You could also choose to have the same bucket for input and output.

IAM Role

Creating an AWS IAM service role is necessary to provide access to your input files. Here is how to set up one.

Create a Transcoding Job for a Single Video File

You must create a new transcoding job for your input file in the S3 bucket. The settings would require you to choose a name modifier, an extension name, your IAM role, and a preset (or create a custom preset from scratch) for the file to be converted into.

S3 Bucket for Output

The converted video will be available in your output bucket after processing. You could then download these videos for viewing or set up a streaming server to make them available for on-demand playback.

The whole process is manual and time-taking.

Hence, it will have to be repeated for each new rendition of each of your video files. If you are tech-savvy, you could speed up the process by utilizing the AWS Lambda function to trigger AWS Elemental MediaConvert jobs automatically.

The process is complicated, to say the least, as it requires you to have scripting expertise.

AWS Video Transcoding with VIDIZMO | An Efficient Complete Video Solution

The steps described above are just a brief overview, and it is only a tiny part of the entire video streaming process. Setting it all up is a hassle that most companies should avoid, especially if you are short on time, budget, or expertise.

Why not go for an easy-to-use YouTube-like ready-made video platform built for enterprise-grade use cases. VIDIZMO is just that. And the cherry on the top is that you can do all this in a secure and compliant environment of AWS.

VIDIZMO can be configured to automatically transcode your videos stored in Amazon S3 storage using AWS Elemental MediaConvert.

These multiple renditions will allow you to enable adaptive bitrate streaming and ensure playback on any device, platform, and under varying bandwidth conditions.

This enterprise video platform allows you to utilize other AWS services as well, like Amazon Rekognition to use AI for data extraction that improves searchability and analytics or Amazon Transcribe for automatic transcription in AWS in multiple languages.

Above all else, VIDIZMO has aimed to cater to all your video streaming, and management needs through a customizable application, air-tight security capabilities, flexible deployment options, and an ever-responsive customer support team.

Here is just a precursor of all that VIDIZMO offers:

SSO and IAM integration available for security and access management with SCIM support
Option to create multiple autonomous video portals for different business units with separate billing and entirely independent branding, security policies and administrative controls.
Role-based access controls allow you to control the actions users can perform (like sharing and downloading) by assigning them one of the 6 pre-defined roles or creating custom roles.
Possibility of providing video access to the entire organization or limiting it to certain users and groups. You can even securely guest share or send an email link to an external viewer with password protection, limited views, and time period of availability.
A white-label video platform that can be entirely branded with your logo, domain name, colours, and whatnot, with the help of Custom CSS.
Automatic video transcription and translation of these transcriptions in multiple languages.
Indexing of videos using AI to improve search (using face, object, spoken word or on-screen text) and video analytics.
CDN support is available for smooth global content delivery, or your organization could configure an eCDN to support internal streaming.
Various out-of-box integrations are available like SSO, LMS, Zoom, SharePoint, Google Analytics, and much more. Custom integrations are also possible for your unique organizational needs.
It also utilizes various AWS services like AWS Elemental Live and Media Package to enable you to do live streaming in AWS.