How to transcode videos

Transcoding is simply the process of taking a video and re-encoding it into another format. In the case of S3 Media Maestro, videos are transcoded into various video resolutions. AWS Elastic Transcoder has separate fees than S3 and CloudFront. Please check the official Elastic Transcoder Pricing page to learn more about Elastic Transcoder pricing.

How to configure global transcoding options

These are simply the global settings that will initially be set when using the shortcode generator. 

  1. Click Settings→S3 Media Maestro and then select the Transcoding tab
  2. Select the video resolutions desired.
  3. Click Save Settings

The shortcode generator allows you to specify resolutions per video as well.

  1. With the shortcode generator open, click the Quality tab
  2. Select the video resolutions desired (Keep in mind, the global transcoding options will be set by default)

Once the desired resolutions are selected, then simply upload a video. Once the video is uploaded, the video will begin to transcode.

The AWS Elastic Transcoder will transcode the various resolutions of the video. When each video is transcoded a new video file is created and the file name is appended with the resolution.

Please note, you will ONLY select the file that you initially uploaded. S3 Media Maestro knows which resolutions to display by what is selected on the Quality tab. The video files that were appended with the resolution will not be selectable. 

A couple things to keep in mind:

  • You cannot transcode multiple videos upon upload
  • You cannot use transcoded videos in a playlist

The video player will display the available resolutions.


Setting up IAM user for Elastic Transcoder

If you are using an IAM user's Access Keys, you will need to ensure that you apply the full access Elastic Transcoder policy to the IAM user.

To get started, login to the AWS console and navigate to the IAM Management page. Click on User

Next click on the Add Permissions button

  1. Click on Attach existing policies directly
  2. Type AmazonElasticTranscoder_FullAccess in the search box
  3. Select the AmazonElasticTranscoder_FullAccess policy checkbox
  4. Click the Next:Review button

Click the Add Permissions button