Desktop or Enterprise Encoder: Which Is Right for Your Company?

How much of a video encoder does your company need? If you're creating video for online use, mastering encoding will ensure that your viewers see the best possible results. But do you need a desktop or enterprise encoder?

At the recent Streaming Media West conference in Los Angeles, Jan Ozer explained to the audience the differences between desktop and enterprise video encoders, citing some popular choices.

"What is an enterprise encoder?" Ozer asked. "We know Sorenson Squeeze. Sorenson is a pretty well known company in the streaming space. They've got a Squeeze Server, they've got Squeeze Desktop that costs $1,000. Telesteam has Episode Engine which costs $3,000 and Episode Pro that costs $1,000. What's the difference between the desktop versions and the enterprise versions, and when do you want to choose one over the other?"

While enterprise encoders cost more, they offer several features that make then essential for high-production environments.

"You get an enterprise encoder for shared use. Squeeze Desktop is a product you can install on your desktop and encode, but you can't really share usage of that very easily. You get an enterprise encoder because you want to share use of your watch folders via direct user interface that people have access to or programmatically via an API," Ozer said. "So, Episode Engine has an API; Episode Pro does not. Typically, you'll get the highest performance in the enterprise encoder class. Episode Engine differs from Episode Pro because it's got full parallel encoding. Episode Pro does not have that, so Episode Engine will deliver multiple files much faster than Episode Pro will."

For more on the reasons to go with an enterprise encoder, such as scalability, watch the full video below. Also, download Ozer's presentation.

Troy Dreier's article first appeared on OnlineVideo.net