Knowledge Layer :: SoftLayer Transcoding FAQ

Would you like to...

Q) What is the transcoding service?
SoftLayer's Transcoding service is a service which allows you to transcode media files to other formats. For example, if you have a Windows Media Video file you wish to stream in Flash Video format, transcoding would be the process to make this change.

Q) How do I use the transcoding service?
SoftLayer's Transcoding service is located under “Private Network” > “Transcoding” of the SoftLayer management portal. You will be required to create an account with the Transcoder before uploading any files to it.

Once your account is created (this is done almost instantly), you will be allowed to do a File Upload/Download, Create Jobs and see your historical Job List.

Step 1. You will want to upload any media file to the “in” box in the File Upload/Download area of the Transcoder. This file will be deleted after the last transcoding job running on it is completed.

Step 2. Once the file to transcode is uploaded, click the Create Job link at the top of the page. This will give you a file list to select the Source File, which we've uploaded in step 1.

Once you pick the source file, and click the “Select this file” button in the right window pane, you will need to click the second tab to select the output format.

Step 3 .You will be able to pick pre-made configurations from the tree on the left. When you click the preset name on the left, you will see its details on the right pane. Click the Select this setting button on the right pane, and select the third tab.

Step 3. From here you can name the job, and select the ouput filename (if you do not want the default filename). Do not put an extension on the output file name, as the system will name it accordingly. Finally, click the create button to send this configuration to the transcoding system. You will receive notification when it has completed the job.

Q) How do I get my file from the transcoding service?
Goto the File Upload/Download link in the Private Network -> Transcoder section of the management portal. This will launch the Java Applet that allows you to upload or download files to the transcoder. You can download transcoded files from /out directory. It is the default place that Transcoder places completed files.

Q) How long will it take to transcode format A to format B?
Unfortunately, transcoding does not have set times for changing formats. Things such as resizing of the frames, changing compression types and audio formats all add to this processor intensive process. Most of the time, it will only take ½ the play time, or less to complete the transcode. This is for correctly picked settings (the same frame rates, correct ratio video sizes [16:9, 4:3], same number of audio channels).

Q) How do I change the settings on the output format?
At this time, you cannot change the settings on the output format. This is being looked into as a future addition, but we do not have an ETA at this time.

Q)The output looks worse than the input! Why did this happen?
This could have been caused by improper selection of the output format. Picking a format which is larger in size can do this. Going from a very small (320x240) video to High Definition size (1920x1080) will do this. You want to always go from bigger to smaller when transcoding for the best quality.

Q) How long will my pending jobs be queued?
Your job will be queued until all the jobs before it have been completed. We utilize a queue system on our transcoding farm to keep it processing as quickly as possible. As soon as an open transcoding slot becomes available, the next job in the queue will start processing. Once your job is processing, the status will change to Started. When it is completed, it will change to Completed and email you the result.

Q) What file formats are supported?
Media files are usually different audio and video codecs inside media containers.

The following Video Codecs are supported:
MPEG-1, MPEG-2, MPEG-4, H.263, H.264, VC-1, Flash (Flash 8 Not Supported) , DV25, DV50, DVCPro, DPS, DivX, Xvid, JPEG 2000, Windows Media, RealVideo

The following Audio Codecs are supported:
PCM, MP3, DTS, AAC, AMC, AMR-NB, WM Audio, RealAudio

The following Media Containers are supported:
MPEG-2 PS, MPEG-2 TS, QuickTime, WMV, ASF, AVI, VOB, 3GPP, 3G2, WMA, WAV, HDV, MXF

Q) How long can I keep my output files on the server?
You can keep the files 3 days from the creation date. They will be automatically deleted after this point.

Q)What happened to my source (input) file on the server?
Input files are deleted after they are no longer used in the queue. It is suggested the files be stored on your server and uploaded to the Transcoding network as needed via the private network.

Q)How many jobs can I have in the queue?
You can have up to 3 jobs in Queued status. Jobs which are Started, Error and Completed status do not count toward this amount.

Q)Is there a file size limit?
Not at this time, however we could add one to curb abuse in the future.

Q) Is there a media length limit?
Not at this time, however we could add one to curb abuse in the future.

Q) Can I transcode to several outputs at once?
Not at this time, it is possible this option could be added in the future. We do not have an ETA as to when it would be available. You may create multiple jobs to transcode to different outputs for now.

Q) Can I encode several source files to one output?
Not at this time, it is possible this option could be added in the future. We do not have an ETA as to when it would be available.

Q) Can I add a logo to the output?
Not at this time, it is possible this option could be added in the future. We do not have an ETA as to when it would be available.

Q) I only want to transcode part of the source file
This solution only allows you to transcode the complete source file. The best option would be to edit the source file on your workstation to be only the part you wish to transcode, then upload the smaller source to the system.

Q) I get a NO DATA error when uploading files to the Transcoder
This is due to a file size limit of 20megabytes in the java applet uploader. To bypass this problem, upload the media directly to transcode.service.softlayer.com via the FTP. This can only be done from the Dallas VPN at this time.