When you upload a video file to Zidivo for
On-Demand streaming, we automatically transcode and compress the video to optimise it for streaming.
Transcoding: this is where we convert your video file into the most supported MP4 file format.
Compression: by removing unnecessary metadata from your video file we can reduce the size of it by up to 80% without compromising on quality.
However, in some circumstances, it makes sense to go through this optimisation process locally before you upload. An example of this would be where the file is very large and would take a long time to upload (before optimisation) to your account. In these situations, we recommend using open-source transcoding software
Handbrake.
Handbrake is open-source - this means it's free to use. You can download it for macOS or Windows from their website here:
https://handbrake.fr/downloads.phpOnce installed, you can open Handbrake by clicking on the cocktail and pineapple icon (seriously).
Next, choose your encoding settings. If you're unsure, use the preset already selected - in most cases this will be more than enough to optimise your video file for a faster upload. Alternatively, contact us for some advice.
A simple step - choose where your newly optimised video will be saved and give it a recognisable name so you can find it later.
When ready, click 'Start' - this will start the encoding process. Depending on the size of your file (and if you're doing this before uploading to your account, we can assume it's large) this could take some time - you will receive a notification when the process is complete.
Your video is now ready to be easily uploaded to your account. You will find it on your computer in the location you selected in step 3 and should notice a considerable difference in the file size.
You are now ready to
upload your video file to your account and start streaming on-demand.
