Your Encoder Questions Answered

20 Jan Your Encoder Questions Answered

In the land of video streaming, we all know that your hardware is only has good as your software and vice versa. You can not successfully stream to your audience if your media platform is working well but your encoder isn’t. This is why choosing your hardware is so critical to your live stream. But which encoder do you choose? We asked our go-to expert at U.S. Broadcast, Eric Pratt, to talk with us about Videon’s encoders and decoders. Videon is an AV hardware company for live streaming based in State College, Pennsylvania. They design and manufacture all of their products on-site. Their encoder and decoder line includes three models well-suited for live stream:

• Greylock HD H.264 Encoder/Decoder (pictured above), which supports RTMP streaming and HDMI and SDI.
• Empire HD H.264 Encoder, which is its most popular live stream encoder and has the same features as Greylock without the decoder also built in.
• Washington HD H.264 Decoder, which converts streaming video to HDMI.

Here’s what Eric had to say about the Videon encoder: Functionality “The nice thing about the [Videon] encoders, in particular the Greylock, is the functionality. It does all the different encoding functions in one box as opposed to other encoders that generally separate out those features.” Price Point When you go with the Greylock, you get added value, Eric explains. For an extra $45 you can have an encoder-decoder in one. Even if you don’t think you’ll need a decoder now, that’s a small price to pay in case you do end up needing one in the future. Unique Feature “The Greylock has more inputs and outputs than most encoders,” says Eric. Like the 3.5 miljack. Most encoders don’t include this, and it’s an excellent added feature, especially if you’re taking a separate audio mix. This was just a quick look at Videon encoders. If you want to learn more about them, watch the conversation we recently had with our friends at Videon during our most recent webcast: A Conversation with Videon

Want to know more? Let’s talk!