The Digital Rapids Transcode Manager software provides management and automation for distributed, high-volume media file transcoding. Boosting throughput and streamlining operations, Transcode Manager features extensive format support, easy scalability, intelligent load balancing, failover, enterprise integration and more.

Scalable, Distributed Media Transcoding from workgroups to enterprise
Media professionals are faced with an ever-increasing array of digital media file formats, with transcoding video a key step in almost every media workflow. While many formats can be encoded or transcoded faster than real time, high-volume format conversion remains a time-consuming task.

Digital Rapids Transcode Manager streamlines and automates your transcoding operations, optimizing performance and increasing throughput while reducing operational effort and costs. Scalable from small transcoding 'farms' to enterprise-level operations, a Transcode Manager server works in conjunction with multiple Transcode Engines, assigning jobs with sophisticated 'intelligence' to use them most efficiently.

Transcode Manager supports both high definition (HD) and SD content, in a broad range of compression and container formats. Its flexible software codec architecture insures against obsolescence, enabling the easy addition of new formats. Transcode Manager also supports the creation of on-demand media for adaptive bit rate delivery technologies including Adobe Flash Dynamic Streaming, Apple iPhone HTTP Streaming, and Microsoft IIS Smooth Streaming.

Designed for large studios, facilities and service providers, Transcode Manager FE (Facility Edition) combines its performance, intelligence and reliability benefits with robust enterprise-class features and integration. For smaller studios and workgroups without enterprise requirements, Transcode Manager LE offers the same core functionality and intelligence in a lower-cost configuration (see chart for feature comparison).

Easy to Set Up, Simple to Operate
Digital Rapids Transcode Manager integrates easily into network-based digital media workflows. Transcode Engines are found automatically on the network using discovery protocols and are assigned into groups, each monitoring specified watch folders. Project files define transcode settings, video and audio processing functions (including adaptive inverse telecine, graphic overlay for branding, optional Civolution Teletrax watermark embedding and more) and delivery options (including folders, web publishing and automated FTP distribution). Priorities can be assigned to each job type.

When files are dropped into a watch folder, tasks for each project file assigned to that folder are queued by Transcode Manager for intelligent distribution to available transcoders. Jobs can also be sent to Transcode Manager directly from Digital Rapids ingest and encoding solutions.

Automated Intelligence for Maximum Throughput and Reliability
Digital Rapids Transcode Manager goes beyond standard load balancing mechanisms with intelligent job assignment. As your transcoding operations grow, newer host systems will feature improved processor capabilities, making certain host systems better for particular transcoding jobs than others. The Transcode Manager server tracks the performance of all Transcode Engines for each type of encode, 'learning' which systems are best for each and allocating jobs accordingly to optimize overall throughput. (See our white paper for details).

Automated job failover ensures reliability. The Transcode Manager server monitors the status of its networked Engines, attempting to restart any failed transcodes. If a failure is detected and the transcode cannot be successfully restarted on that system, the job is resubmitted to another Engine. Automated notifications also alert personnel to any failures, letting you leave the system unattended with confidence.

Enterprise-class capabilities for critical operations
Transcode Manager FE goes beyond the feature set of Transcode Manager LE with advanced fault tolerance, workflow integration and management features. Server-level failover automatically transfers control to a backup server if the primary server fails, ensuring uninterrupted operation. Error conditions can also be monitored by any SNMP-compliant network management system, enabling Transcode Manager to be monitored alongside other SNMP-compatible devices as part of a consolidated enterprise system view.

Transcoded output files can be automatically submitted to Tektronix Cerify or Interra Systems Baton quality control (QC) analysis tools, which perform a user-specified range of verification tests including content conformance, standards compliance and quality analysis. Users can be alerted to QC failures with links to full analysis reports.

XML-based clip lists allow individually trimmed sections of multiple source clips to be concatenated into a single result. Priorities can be manually overridden for time-critical tasks, while extended notifications keep you informed of job progress, completion and more. User access can be managed locally or via industry-standard LDAP services.

Transcode Manager FE tracks all events in either its embedded database (also available in Transcode Manager LE) or through support for a variety of third-party databases including Oracle 10g®, Microsoft® SQL Server and PostgreSQL. For those wishing to integrate Transcode Manager directly into their own applications, a comprehensive Web Services (SOAP) API is also available.

	Centralized management, automation and control for high-volume transcoding workflows
	Scalable from small transcoding "farms" to enterprise operations
	Increases throughput while reducing operational costs
	Broad compression and file format support
	Job and server-level failover for exceptional reliability
	High-quality video processing including graphic overlay, adaptive inverse telecine and more
	Integration with leading third-party quality control (QC) tools for automatic output verification
	Intelligent load balancing 'learns' performance of nodes to maximize throughput
	Easy custom integration with Web Services API and third-party database support

Click here for a complete chart of formats for each level of software.
	AVC/H.264
	Microsoft Silverlight (H.264, VC-1, Windows Media WMV, live and on-demand IIS Smooth Streaming)
	Adobe Flash (H.264, or On2 VP6, Dynamic Streaming)
	H.264 for Apple iPhone with integrated segmenting
	MPEG-4, MPEG-2, MPEG-1, 3GPP
	XDCAM HD, DVCPro, Avid DNxHD
	MXF, GXF, LXF, Omneon
	JPEG2000
	QuickTime (including Apple ProRes import)
	AVI, Uncompressed
	RED R3D (import)
	Dolby Digital (AC-3) and Digital Plus, Dolby Pulse AAC, MP3, WAV
	and more!