The Encoding Profiles within Mediasite are the base level definition of video quality. Because they define the quality of a single steam of content, more needs to be built around them once they have been created. Out of the box, Mediasite will supply many of the encoding profiles that you will need to use. However, in certain circumstances there may be a need to create an additional encoding profile.

The encoding profiles will come in two different varieties. There are profiles that will be used for smooth streaming with adaptive bitrate. These would be used primarily for live broadcasts. On the other hand, MP4 encoding profiles are used for on-demand content.

Create a Smooth Streaming Encoding Profile

The smooth streaming encoding profile is required for any presentation that will be used for live broadcasting. While this encoding profile isn’t needed for on-demand viewing, it can improve the viewer experience with the adaptive bitrate. Keep in mind that the smooth streaming will use a significant amount of storage space.

Creating an Encoding profile, while easy, isn’t necessarily the process or steps you might expect. Rather than starting from scratch and creating a new encoding profile, it’s best to choose and existing profile and create an add like.

Smooth Streaming Profile (Live)

Starting from the content page in the Management portal:

1. Select Recording > Encoding Settings.
   • There should already be several encoding profiles on your system right out of the box.
2. Choose one of the default Smooth Streaming profiles.
   • Select based on the framerate you would like to use.
3. Click the More dropdown and choose Add Like.
4. Enter a descriptive Name and Description.
5. Under Stream Settings, select Manually select streams for smooth streaming.
6. Choose the desired bitrates (quality, resolution).
7. Click Save.

Create an MP4 Encoding Profile

There is a lot of commonality in the process of creating an MP4 Encoding profile when compared to creating a smooth streaming profile. However, the difference has a significant impact on how the encoding profile is used and applied. While smooth streaming is for live broadcasts, MP4 encoding profiles are needed for on-demand viewing of a presentation.

MP4 Profile (On-Demand)

Starting from the content page in the Management portal:

1. Select Recording > Encoding Settings.
   • There should already be several encoding profiles on your system right out of the box.
2. Choose one of the default Smooth Streaming profiles.
   • Select based on the framerate you would like to use.
3. Click the More dropdown and choose Add Like.
4. Enter a descriptive Name and Description.
5. Under Stream Settings, choose: Select stream for MP4.
6. Choose the desired bitrate (quality, resolution).
7. Click Save.