2016年10月10日
By 1月时特约编辑
专题文章

The Changing Cloud 编码 Market Leads to Cost Savings

The benefits of cloud encoding have been clear from the start: less capital expenditure (CAPEX) for encoding gear and the facilities to store it in, and fewer up-front costs for expensive licenses. 多年来, 然而, cloud encoding was available almost exclusively through two models: software as a service (SaaS) and platform as a service (PaaS), which were too expensive for some potential users. New models expand flexibility and affordability and should make cloud encoding more attractive to a broader range of potential customers.

The original cloud encoding shops used the SaaS model, where the service provider developed the software and provisioned all cloud machines. 定价是基于吞吐量的, 千兆字节或分钟都可以, 在某种输入和输出的组合中. One criticism of this model is that most SaaS shops charge the same for encoding and transmuxing, even though these operations require vastly different amounts of machine time. In an era where support for multiple ABR platforms is essential, SaaS pricing was too expensive for some producers.

然后基本技术 deployed using the PaaS model, where customers reserve a set number of encoding hours and nodes. Customers pay for the hours and push as many encoding chores through the system as it can handle during those hours. 2015年8月，编码.com launched its own PaaS pricing model that lets customers reserve a dedicated computer running the 编码.com system for a monthly price starting at $2,000. This allows its customers to compare SaaS and PaaS pricing and to choose the best pricing option for their encoding needs.

在过去的12个月里 Telestream has bolstered its cloud offerings to the extent that it recently ended support for Telestream Episode, 桌面解决方案. 通过收购PandaStream, 该公司推出了Telestream Cloud, SaaS平台, 哪一种产品按分钟计价. The company also expanded its Vantage Cloud offering, which allows users to configure a Vantage domain with the features and capacity needed for the job at hand. There are three packages with different feature sets, ranging in price from $5 to $30 per hour.

当然, you could always license multiple encoders and install them in the cloud, avoiding the CAPEX and hardware-related operating expenditure (OPEX) charges of buying workstations to install in your facility. While queue management to reduce the cost of spinning up machines is generally included in these products, 更复杂的功能, such as bidding for low-cost cloud machines during off hours, 通常不. 也没有固有的可扩展性, 尽管对于一些供应商, you can easily push encodes to their SaaS or PaaS cloud when your needs exceed your licensed capacity.

Despite the various product and service options, many large encoding shops such as Netflix and YouTube develop their own encoding workflows that run in the cloud. 大概, this is more cost-effective than acquiring the encoding services from a third party, and/or they need the flexibility that only a homegrown workflow can provide. 然而，不可否认的是，这是昂贵的.

A new company with an intriguing pricing model is targeting the affordability side of that equation. 具体地说, Hybrik has created a cloud encoding platform that runs on Amazon Web Services and charges by the number of cloud computers the system can address. 解决问题的能力,000台电脑售价10美元,000 /月, 100台电脑5美元,000 /月, 10台电脑1美元,000 /月. (Full disclosure: I am consulting with Hybrik to test and debug its platform.) The customer pays all computer charges directly to Amazon.

Most small encoding shops will be best served with traditional SaaS pricing. However, larger companies now have multiple options for accessing cloud encoding. 很明显, each system’s ability to supply the required formats and features and to integrate into your existing workflows is critical. 除此之外, 然而, exploring the various options could lead to significant savings that might justify finally moving to the cloud.

[This article appears in the October 2016 issue of 流媒体杂志 “不断变化的云编码市场”."]