What is an Encoder? What Are the Best Settings to use on Dacast's Platform?

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What is an Encoder? What Are the Best Settings to use on Dacast's Platform?

Posted by Dacast Team on September 14, 2020

An encoder is software or hardware that converts video files from one format or code to another. Encoding is an essential part to live streaming.

Here is a quick rundown of how encoding fits into the live streaming process:

  1. A camera captions video files in the RAW format.
  2. RAW files are transmitted to the encoder.
  3. The encoder converts the RAW files into streamable .mp4 files.
  4. The .mp4 files are transmitted from the encoder to your streaming platform.
  5. Your streaming platform uses HLS (or another protocol) to transmit the .mp4 files to the viewers devices.

The encoding process happens in a matter of moments when it comes to live streaming to keep your latency low.

With Dacast, you can use any encoder that outputs into RTMP or HLS.

If you have never used an encoder before or are unfamiliar with what this is, we recommend starting with our customized version of our OBS Studio. This software is free and will allow you to start streaming in a few clicks.

Required Encoder Settings on Dacast

The following encoder settings are required for live streaming with Dacast, regardless of your selected resolution and bitrate:

VIDEO CODECH.264 (x264 may work)
FRAME RATE25 or 30
KEYFRAME INTERVAL2 secs (or 2x frame rate)
SCANNINGProgressive
ENCODING BITRATEConstant (CBR)
AUDIO CODECAAC
AUDIO BITRATE128 kbps
AUDIO CHANNELS2 (Stereo)
AUDIO SAMPLE RATE48 kHz (48,000 Hz)

Any questions or need help/access to this feature? Please contact us.

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Additional Resources

 

Category: Live Streaming
Rich Jenkins

Director of Product at Dacast with experience in enterprise, start-ups and everything in-between. Believes coffee and kale do compete and enjoys consuming both.

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