Zencoder Sneak Peak, Part 2: Licensing and Codecs

Posted by Jon
on Thursday, November 15

So how does Zencoder do its video transcoding? What codecs and formats does it support? And what about the critical issue of codec licensing?

Licensing

Let’s start with the question of licensing. Codecs are licensed in three main ways.

  1. Commercial software (On2, Nellymoser)
  2. Patents and standards requiring licenses (MPEG-2, AAC, MP3)
  3. Free or unenforced formats and codecs (Ogg, Matroska, AVI)

If you’re going to transcode and distribute video, category 3 is easy. Category 1 is straightforward, and these commercial codecs work just fine with Zencoder.

Category 2 poses the real problem. In my estimation, three of the most important video codecs – MPEG-4, H.264, and MPEG-2 – and three of the most important audio codecs – AAC, MP3, and AMR – all require licensing direct from their patent holders and/or licensing authorities. Those six invaluable codecs are represented by four separate licensing bodies (representing hundreds of patent holders), each of which has separate terms, prices, minimum fees, etc. And when you move to the second tier of codecs, things get even more complicated.

Zencoder takes care of this for you. With Zencoder, you receive licenses to these and other critical codecs. We’re still working out the specifics, but when Zencoder launches, we plan on including licenses to 10-20 patented codecs and formats, covering all of the major ones and several in the second or third tier.

Compatibility

Zencoder can handle every major video codec, audio codec, and container format. And we do this legally, taking care of most licensing issues for you.

Here is a partial list of formats and codecs that we support.

  • H.264
  • FLV
  • MP4
  • 3GP
  • VP6 (with commercial license)
  • MP3
  • AAC
  • MPEG-4 Video, XviD
  • MPEG-2
  • AVI
  • Ogg, Theora, Vorbis
  • Nellymoser (with commercial license)
  • And 100+ more

The goal is to decode everything that you can throw at Zencoder, and to encode everything that you have a good reason to encode.

Comments

Leave a response

  1. jeroen – November 16, 2007 @ 01:23 AM

    looking forward to trying this out. A few questions:

    - what will the installer look like? - can I run a development copy on my local OSX machine? - will there be a public beta? - do you have an estimate for the release date?

  2. Jon – November 16, 2007 @ 09:53 AM

    Jeroen: here are some answers.

    • Installation: TBD, but will require some Ruby deployment skills (either by you or by us)
    • The entire system can be run in development mode on your OS X machine, though with a little deployment expertise. This is server software, not an application binary.
    • There will be a beta available soon. We’ll notify everyone who is signed up at zencoder.tv when the beta program begins.
    • Release date: TBD. If you need a video transcoding solution especially soon, let us know.
  3. Alex Egg – November 18, 2007 @ 02:45 AM

    Hi,

    I’m curious about your API. How would I get video to your service? Can I do a multipart http post? How are you guys handling this?

  4. Jon – November 19, 2007 @ 11:48 AM

    @Alex – just sent you an email.

    @everyone else – more info coming soon, or get in touch with me for more.