Transcoding profiles
Updated 03 Oct 2026A profile is a transcoding “recipe”: codec, resolution, bitrate, audio. You write it once and apply it to any number of channels. When you change a profile, only the channels that use it are restarted.
Channels without a profile run in passthrough — the stream passes through untouched, with no CPU cost.
New profile
Open Profiles → New profile.
Start from a recipe
The easiest way is to pick a recipe, which fills in all fields correctly in one click:
| Recipe | For |
|---|---|
| HD channel | a single quality, 1080p — the usual case; works everywhere |
| ABR ladder (multiple qualities) | three qualities, the player picks one based on the connection — HLS or DASH only |
| SD channel | one quality, 480p — low bandwidth or old set-top boxes |
| Feed to another headend | constant bitrate, for a reserved bandwidth slot (UDP or SRT) |
| Passthrough | nothing is re-encoded; almost zero usage |
| Archive / VOD | constant quality, for recordings, not for live |
General
- Name and Description — only for you, never shown to viewers.
- Acceleration — CPU or the graphics card detected on the server (NVIDIA NVENC, Intel Quick Sync, VA-API). The panel shows what it found on this server and whether a card is busy. A graphics card encodes several times more channels than the CPU. Hardware encoders must be included in your license edition.
- Deinterlace — needed for 1080i DVB sources; otherwise the picture shows stripes on motion.
- Loudness normalization (EBU R128) — brings all channels to the same volume.
Video qualities
Each Video quality has:
- Codec — H.264, HEVC, AV1 (depending on what the chosen acceleration supports) or copy (passes through untouched);
- Bitrate control — Capped variable (for HLS and apps), Constant (for a reserved bandwidth slot) or Constant quality (for archiving);
- bitrate, Maximum peak (default 150%), Width / Height (0 = as source), Preset, Level.
Several video qualities in one profile = ABR: the player picks the right quality for the connection by itself. It only makes sense on HLS and DASH; UDP, SRT, HTTP-TS and RTMP outputs carry a single quality.
Audio tracks
For each Audio track: codec, bitrate (128k is enough for stereo, 192k for music), Audio channels (“as source” keeps 5.1) and Sample rate (many MPEG-TS decoders require 48000 Hz).
Advanced, overlays, metadata
- Advanced — frames per second, keyframe interval, codec profile, pixel format (8 or 10 bit), display aspect ratio. Rarely changed.
- Overlays burned into the picture — a logo (an image on the server) or a text, with position and opacity. They also work on the graphics card.
- Metadata in the stream — Service name and Provider, what viewers see in the set-top box channel list.
Checks
Below the form, the panel checks the profile. Problems that would prevent it from starting (for example a codec the chosen card does not support) block saving until you fix them; the others are only notes.
Duplicating and deleting
- Duplicate — copies all qualities and settings into a new, unused profile. Handy for variants (“HD for apps”, “HD for set-top boxes”).
- When you delete a profile that is in use, its channels switch to passthrough and restart — the panel shows you which ones first.