An encoder is nothing but a device, or say, a form of application that can take your video and transforms it into a digital format so that you can stream it on the platform. Thus, an encoder plays a crucial role in any live broadcasting.

Importance of Live Video Encoder

The live video broadcast needs a live encoder. That’s because it becomes challenging to transmit the video on a network because of its large size. The raw, i.e. the uncompressed video data is quite large. A minute of video can take up several GB of space. Thus, the previous network transmission speed is hard to display video content quickly. Before the arrival of the H.264 algorithm, video distribution used to happen by using the CD as the medium.

Soft Encoding and Hard Encoding

HD video encoder has two parts, which are soft encoding and hard encoding. The soft encoding refers to the completion of the video encoding function of professional computer software. For example, OBS is also the use of H.264 encoding algorithm. So, if you use the software encoder, you will first need to use the HD capture card to transfer the video information acquisition process to the computer before the live broadcast.

On the other hand, hard coding refers to a hardware device with a professional video encoding chip. It can connect the video source device and the network cable. Besides, it can push the encoded content directly to the Internet. As a result, hard coding is much more efficient than soft coding.

It Uses the Best Encoding Algorithm

The video encoder is a specialized video data encoding device. It has the H.264 encoding algorithm. Moreover, it can take the video content input from various devices such as HD cameras and other related devices. After that, it can encode the content into the data volume. Now, the network can carry it in a short time and push it to a remote video server. Thus, it helps achieve the rapid dissemination of network video. That’s why HD encoders are needed to do live broadcasting.

What is common between webcasting and live television? Well, both of them do video transmission. Also, both of them need video cameras or other video data sources. But, the video source information is not often compressed, making a large amount of data. It usually happens in the case of high-definition videos. If you use high-definition equipment for the video, then it will provide more details on display, which we call a high-quality video. These high-quality videos take up a large amount of data. So, if you want to broadcast such high-quality video on the network, then it is necessary to encode it first. It will reduce the original massive amount of data by reducing redundant information. As a result, there will be a successful network transmission.

Over to You!

Now you know the importance of the encoder. In short, it is the bridge between the original video or video source and the network connection. It allows you to compress the video, thereby reducing the amount of data needed for the transmission.