Requirements before you begin:
MediaCoder (Free or Premium) or Handbrake
This article applies to all Media Players
Before you publish video files to your Signagelive Players, it's worth ensuring your videos are correctly encoded for optimum performance. This article will detail how to check that your content is correctly formatted and how to correct this if it is not.
What is video encoding?
What is video encoding?
Video encoding is the process of converting a video file from one format to another, usually to make the file smaller in size or to make it compatible with different devices or platforms. It's like compressing a large file into a smaller package so that it can be easily stored, transmitted, or played back on various devices.
Please Note
The maximum file size you can upload to Signagelive is 3GB. So, as per the instructions in this article, if your files are on the larger side, it may also be necessary to encode them.
Why re-encode my content?
Why re-encode my content?
Our Support Team may ask you to re-encode your video content in the following circumstances:
The file size of your video is too large
You're using a file format that is not supported by the Player type you are running
Your video file has a frame rate that is too high, too low, or you are using a drop frame rate (29.97)
The resolution of your video is either too large, too small or has an incompatible aspect ratio
Some additional benefits that come with re-encoding your video content include:
Player performance - Correctly encoded files will optimise player performance and allow for a better content result
Upload speed - Smaller video sizes will make uploading files to your Signagelive Network much faster
Download speed - Schedules with encoded files will not take as long to download
Reduced bandwidth consumption - Schedules with encoded files will not consume as much Player bandwidth
How do I know if my video needs re-encoding?
How do I know if my video needs re-encoding?
Playback issues such as flickering, stuttering, freezing, black screen, skipped assets, or poor transitions between assets can often result from poorly encoded video content. In such a situation, it is highly recommended that you re-encode your video content to align more closely with the performance capabilities of the Signagelive Player type you are running.
More often than not, file encoding is one of the earliest troubleshooting steps taken by our Support Team when attempting to address playback issues for our Customers.
How do I re-encode my video content?
How do I re-encode my video content?
To re-encode your video content, you'll first need to acquire media transcoding software; we recommend using MediaCoder (which you can download by clicking here). You'll also need a copy of the original video content you wish to re-encode. Once you have this, please follow our detailed steps provided here to begin encoding your content within Media Coder.
Encoding your video content with MediaCoder
Before you begin re-encoding your content, we recommend that you familiarise yourself with the file types and audio codecs supported by the Signagelive Player type you are running. You can check this information in this document - simply click the tab corresponding to the Player type you are running and note what your Player type supports. Then, you are ready to begin encoding.
Applying your encoding settings with MediaCoder
Applying your encoding settings with MediaCoder
To encode your media assets within MediaCoder, please carry out the following steps:
Please start by ensuring that you have the MediaCoder application running.
When ready, drag and drop the video files you wish to encode into the top pane of the Media Coder software. Alternatively, click the top left tab labelled 'Add' > ‘Add file’ and locate the desired file(s).
You will need to run through the following tabs in the Mediacoder Software to configure your settings:
On the Video Tab to configure video quality performance:
Set the Rate Mode to: Variable Bitrate
Set the Video Quality option to: 23 CRF.
Set Format to: H.264
If you are unsure about what Video Quality CRF (Constant Rate Factor) to use, begin with 23 and change it according to your subjective impression of the output.
Is the quality good enough? No? Then set a lower CRF. Is the file size too high?
Choose a higher CRF. A change of ±6 should result in about half/double the file size, although your results might vary.
On the Audio Tab to configure audio performance:
Set Format to: MP3 (or whatever audio codec is supported by your Player type)
On the Container Tab to configure the video codec
Set the Container drop-down menu to: MP4 (or whatever video file type is supported by your Player type)
On the Picture Tab to configure the video size and frame rate
Set ‘Resize’ to the desired resolution using either the drop down menu or a keyboard. You can alternatively untick the adjacent Resize box to simply use the current file resolution for your encode.
Set ‘Frame rate’ to the desired value. You can alternatively untick the adjacent Frame Rate box to simply use the current file frames per second setting for your encode.
Ensure ‘Color Space’ is set to I420
To begin the encode, please click 'Start’ at the top of MediaCoder. This will begin the encoding process based on the settings set above and the files will begin encoding. Once complete a notification will appear to confirm the overall encoding size difference regarding your chosen files.
Congratulations! You have just successfully encoded your file. You can now upload the encoded video file(s) to your Signagelive Network.
Can I rotate videos with MediaCoder?
Can I rotate videos with MediaCoder?
Yes you can! If your display does not support the Native Portrait feature (see supported features and media types article here for further information), you must rotate your content before using it in a Playlist or on your Player.
Here's what you need to do:
On the Picture tab set the Aspect Ratio option to Keep Pixel AR.
On the Effects tab on the right, select either 90 degrees CW (ClockWise) or 90 degrees CCW (CounterClockWise). This would depend on the physical orientation of the screen.
When working through your encoding settings, if you wish to rotate the video, then just apply the settings above in accordance with the other settings you have made.
What are the recommended encoding settings for each Player?
What are the recommended encoding settings for each Player?
Samsung Tizen and Smart Signage Platform (Full HD)
There are no specific encoding settings for Samsung devices. However, please note that Tizen models will not support videos with Frames per Second (FPS) over 30. If your videos are using even 30.01 frames per second, then this video will fail to play. We recommend always keeping your frames per second below 30 and using a rounded number with no decimal places. This is recommended as a good encoding practice directly from Samsung.
Samsung Tizen (4K)
This is the official support table for 4K video on Tizen from Samsung:
We have seen playback issues with certain content files for 4K playback with Samsung Tizen, so our encoding recommendation is as follows:
Video Bitrate: 8000kbps (8mbps)
Rate Mode: Average Bitrate
Video format: H.264
Resolution: 3840x2160 or 2160x3840
Audio format: LC-AAC with Target Quality: 25
Picture: Frame Rate: 24 (24.000)
Picture: Color Space: I420
Please Note
If you are displaying multiple videos on your Signagelive Player, we highly recommend you ensure that the encoding of all videos matches across all videos. This will ensure that video transitions are seamless. Mixing and matching resolutions and frame rates is not advised.
LG webOS
When publishing content to the LG webOS Media Players, LG recommends that all of your video encoding is exactly the same across all video files for best performance.
Brightsign
Please check the official recommended settings for Brightsign players on the Brightsign Support page.
IAdea 4K Players [XMP-7300]
If you are encoding for an IAdea 4K Player then we have found the following encoding settings to work best when deploying full screen landscape content, if you are encoding for a portrait or different resolution screen, you can amend the resolution accordingly:
Video format: H.265 / HEVC
Video Bitrate: 10M
Resolution: 3840x2160 (UHD-1) NOT 4096*2160 as this is for cinematic purposes
Audio format: AAC
Audio Bitrate: 192k
IAdea Players [MBR1100, XMP-6200/6250/6400, XDS-1060/1062/1068/1078 signboard]
If you are encoding for any of those IAdea models listed above, then we have found the following encoding settings to work best when deploying full screen landscape content, if you are encoding for a portrait or different resolution screen, you can amend the resolution accordingly:
Rate Mode: Average Bitrate
Video format: H.264
Resolution: 1920 x 1080
Audio format: AAC
Audio Bitrate: 192k
Encoding presets for you to use
Encoding presets for you to use
To save you time, we've created a series of preset files for some players. Loading them into MediaCoder will automatically set the relevant settings. You can use these by downloading them from the bottom of this article, loading MediaCoder, and using the File Menu to select Load Preset.
Here are the presets we've added to this article for you:
Samsung Tizen 4K - [8000kbps, H.264, 3840x2160, LC-AAC, 24 FPS]
IAdea 4K - [10000kbps, H.265, 3840x2160, AAC]