What is the Best way to convert SD-SDI to MPEG2 with H264?

[Chris Blair]

Are you doing this in software I assume? If so, without more specific specs, it’s hard to say. Depends on what computer platform you’re on, what encoding software you’re using, what codecs you have available with it etc.

If you’re on Windows and have a mid-range encoding app like Procoder, they have lots of presets for compressing using H264 and using the MPEG2 container.

If you’re on a Mac, others on the list can give specifics depending on what you have software wise.

But it really depends on the end-use of your MPEG2 file. Is it for broadcast? Does it need to play for a presentation off a PC? What’s the audience for your file?

Chris Blair
Magnetic Image, Inc.
Evansville, IN
http://www.videomi.com

[John Pham]

This will be hardware…I’m sorry I didn’t mention that. The SDI feed is from our playout system and I need to convert that signal to MPEG2, and I’m in the process of finding the best way for it to deliver. Thanks for your respond

[Daniel Low]

https://forums.creativecow.net/readpost/20/862073

__________________________________________________________________
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Steve Ballmer To USA Today: 30 April 2007

“We and Apple are neck and neck and we’re chasing the two
other players,”
Steve Ballmer, referring to Nokia and Research in Motion. October 6th 2009

[Chris Blair]

For hardware encoding, look at these:

Digital Rapids https://www.digital-rapids.com/Products/IndividualProducts.aspx

Envivo https://www.envivio.com/

Visionary Solutions, Inc. https://www.vsicam.com/

Telestream https://www.telestream.net/pipeline/overview.htm

Matrox https://www.matrox.com/video/en/solutions/encoding/

My brain gets foggy looking at all the various options and weird names for the various hardware solutions. I know some people that use Digital Rapids stuff and it just plain works, is easy to configure, comes with software, and is pretty affordable considering what it does.

Many on the list tout Telestream, and I know a lot of TV stations use it in various configurations. I’ve read good things about Visionary Solutions and they have a slew of products, but their pricing and configurations are confusing.

The Matrox solutions require 3rd party software from what I’ve read, so you’d need Telestream Episode or Apple Compressor or others to get the hardware accelerated benefits of it. I don’t believe it has direct input of video/audio either, but is an accelerator card.

There are probably other products too, but these are the ones that come up the most when in real-time encoding discussions.

Chris Blair
Magnetic Image, Inc.
Evansville, IN
http://www.videomi.com

[Chris Blair]

Here’s a better link to Matrox solutions, which combined offer the I/O you’d need to encode from video decks, NLE, feeds etc.

https://shopmatrox.com/usa/products/categories.asp?CategoryID=83&Column=2

Chris Blair
Magnetic Image, Inc.
Evansville, IN
http://www.videomi.com

[Chris Blair]

One last hardware based solution I forgot to mention is Viewcast Niagra:

https://www.viewcast.com/products-overview

Chris Blair
Magnetic Image, Inc.
Evansville, IN
http://www.videomi.com

[John Pham]

thanks Chris for everything =)