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FAQ / Encoding

General​

What is Axinom Encoding?​

Axinom Encoding is a highly scalable and flexible cloud encoding and packaging service. It offers a number of advantages that make it unique:

  • Supports modern packaging formats CMAF, HLS, DASH, DASH-on-Demand, and also MPEG-2 TS
  • Enables DRM protection for Google Widevine, Apple FairPlay, and Microsoft PlayReady
  • Offers the best protection by enabling separate encryption keys for each video quality level and audio
  • Scales fast. Can encode hundreds of videos in parallel
  • Comes with a fully documented, developer-friendly Web API
  • Supports a broad variety of input formats

Check Axinom Encoding Documentation

What is Axinom VIP?​

"Axinom VIP" was a previous name of Axinom Encoding before it was renamed in 2021.

Trivia: "VIP" is an abbreviation for "Video Ingest & Processing".

What are the phases of encoding?​

Processing an encoding job could take minutes or even hours. The job execution happens asynchronously. It involves several distinct phases, such as pre-validation, acquisition, media mapping, encoding, DRM protection, packaging, image extraction, and publishing. Read more about the different phases from the Axinom Encoding Overview article.

What codecs does Axinom Encoding support?​

Axinom Encoding currently supports creating H.264 or H.265 video with AAC or AC3 audio adaptive bitrate streaming assets.

As input, it supports a broad variety of codecs and containers. Please find more information here:

Supported input formats

Does Axinom Encoding support HDR content?​

Yes. Axinom Encoding can detect and preserve HDR metadata from the source video through the encoding process.

Two modes are supported:

  • HDR10 / HLG: Extracts static HDR metadata (color primaries, transfer characteristics, mastering display luminance) from the source and applies it to the H.265 output, ensuring compliant HDR10 or HLG playback.
  • HDR10+: Extracts per-frame dynamic tone-mapping metadata from the source and embeds it into the output, enabling the full HDR10+ experience with scene-by-scene brightness optimization.

This means HDR premium content passes through encoding without losing the metadata that HDR-capable displays rely on.

Can Axinom Encoding produce DRM-protected content in line with studio requirements?​

Yes.

Axinom DRM supports DRM protection across all output formats.

It offers granular control over the encryption process. Axinom Encoding offers important features to satisfy the latest content owner requirements:

  • Supports several content keys per asset
  • Separate content keys for different video quality levels
  • Separate content keys for audio
  • Uses modern CPIX standard for secure key material exchange

Does Axinom Encoding support video watermarking?​

Yes, both forensic and visible watermarking are supported.

Forensic watermarking embeds an invisible fingerprint into the encoded video using the ContentArmor integration. The watermark is imperceptible to viewers but can be used to trace the origin of leaked content. A configurable payload (default 16 bits) is embedded across all encoded quality levels. To enable forensic watermarking for your environment, please contact us.

Visible watermarking overlays a logo or image on top of the video during encoding. It offers precise control over:

  • Position (X/Y as a percentage of the frame)
  • Size (as a percentage of the frame width)
  • Opacity
  • Start and end time within the video
  • Fade-in and fade-out duration

Both watermark types are applied during the encoding phase and are therefore baked into all output quality levels.

Which subtitles formats does Axinom Encoding support?​

The supported subtitles formats include WebVTT, TTML, SubRip (SRT), PAC, and ITT (iTunes Timed Text).

Which packaging formats are used for the output?​

The encoded video, audio, and subtitles could be packaged as CMAF, MPEG DASH, DASH-on-Demand, HLS, or MPEG-2 TS. The exact format is specified in the ContentProcessing section of a job description. Read more about content processing from the respective article.

Can I integrate Axinom Encoding with my existing workflows?​

Yes.

One of our key goals for Axinom Encoding is interoperability. Another one is making it super easy for developers to integrate.

Axinom Encoding has a developer-friendly Web API and comes with comprehensive documentation and sample code. It supports standards, like CPIX, to ensure seamless integration. It also supports all major tools and protocols for acquiring source content and delivering the resulting output to its destination.

On top, we offer free evaluation of Axinom Encoding. Give it a try!

How can I encode a video with embedded audio?​

Embedded audios in video streams are supported and extracted as required. To encode a video with embedded audio, i.e. without a separate audio track, remove the AudioFileLanguageExpression property from the MediaMappings section of the job request. If the Axinom system supports the video file, it should automatically detect and map the embedded audio tracks. Each embedded audio stream must have a language tag with a valid language code in the metadata.

Read more about Media Mappings from the documentation.

Can I use a single key to encode all my videos?​

You can use the same Key ID to encode videos, but we do not recommend it. If the key gets leaked, your entire video library will be compromised. This means tokens can be shared as well. The decision to apply the same key to multiple videos (and to how many videos) is yours and should match the business case and the need for protection. If the reason for having the same key ID is the number of licenses generated, you can switch to the Active user Billing method.

If you are using Axinom Encoding, you need to use Direct Mode to use the same Key ID for multiple videos because you have more control over the key generation process. You can refer to Direct Mode documentation for more information.

Licensing​

How is Axinom Encoding licensed?​

It is licensed as a SaaS (cloud-based).

Axinom’s billing model is based on processed minutes. The monthly bill groups the total output minutes by quality groups (SD, HD, UHD1, UHD2) and codecs (e.g. H.264, H.265). The minute price increases with the stream quality. Read more about the billing model or try out the pricing calulator.

Only successfully completed encoding jobs get billed. We won’t bill if a job produces only partial output (e.g. only 5 out of 6 requested bitrates get generated successfully).

See also: Axinom Encoding Billing Model

Can I try out your service free of charge?​

Yes. We offer a free trial of 60 days during which you have access to our test environment, sample code, comprehensive documentation and support.

Performance​

How many parallel encoding jobs does Axinom support?​

By default, Axinom supports 100 parallel encoding jobs. If you need support for a higher number of parallel jobs, please contact us.

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