Choosing a preset
A preset fixes the codec, the bitrate, the resolution and the packaging. You cannot override parts of one. Picking the right preset is therefore the main decision you make per job.
If you need control the presets do not give you, the EDL API lets you specify the output settings directly.
Start from the delivery method
Someone downloads a file, or a single file plays in a video element.
Use a progressive MP4. Pick the resolution you want to deliver:
mp4_264_480p, mp4_264_720p or mp4_264_1080p. H.264 plays everywhere.
Video plays in a player over varying network conditions.
Use an adaptive ladder, not a single file: hls_abr_264_basic for three
quality rungs, hls_abr_264_standard for five. See
Adaptive streaming.
Video goes to Instagram, TikTok, YouTube Shorts or similar.
Use social_square_1080 for square framing or social_portrait_1080x1920 for
vertical.
You only need the sound.
audio_aac_podcast for spoken word in AAC, audio_opus_voice for voice in
Opus at a lower bitrate.
You need a poster image or a scrubbing preview.
util_thumbnails writes one frame every ten seconds.
util_thumbnails_sprite also builds a sprite sheet with a WebVTT index, which
is what players use to show previews on the seek bar.
You have captions in the wrong format.
util_subs_sidecar_basic converts SubRip to WebVTT.
Then decide whether to pay for efficiency
H.264 is the safe default: every browser, phone, and smart TV decodes it. The newer codecs trade compatibility for file size.
| Codec | Roughly the size of H.264 | Where it plays |
|---|---|---|
| H.264 | baseline | Everywhere |
| HEVC (H.265) | 50 to 60 percent | Apple devices, modern TVs, patchy in browsers |
| VP9 | 50 to 60 percent | Chrome, Firefox, Android |
| AV1 | 40 to 50 percent | Recent browsers and devices only |
Use mp4_265_1080p_efficient or an AV1 DASH preset when you control the
playback client and bandwidth costs matter. Use H.264 when you do not.
Repair and conversion
Some sources need fixing before they encode well.
filters_basicdeinterlaces and denoises. Reach for it with footage from broadcast sources or older cameras that looks combed on motion.filters_advancedstabilises shaky footage and tone-maps.mp4_265_hdr10_to_sdrconverts HDR10 to SDR at 1080p. Without it, HDR footage played on an SDR screen looks washed out and grey.
Check your plan first
Presets are gated by plan. Requesting one your plan does not include returns
403 with the list of presets you can use and the plan you would need. To
avoid the round trip, read GET /api/v1/presets and filter on available.
| Plan | Presets |
|---|---|
| Free | 7 |
| Pro | 13 |
| Business | 19 |
| Enterprise | 23 |
The preset catalogue lists all 23 with their exact settings.
Encoding time
estimatedProcessingTime on each preset describes encoding, and it scales with
source length and complexity. Ladder presets encode every rung, so a five-rung
HLS job takes several times longer than a single 720p MP4 of the same source.
Anything longer than a few minutes of source is worth handling with a
webhook rather than a blocking poll.