Encoding.com 07/05/12

Encoding.com is the largest online video converter. Stop crunching bits on your computer. Get back to being creative.

I’ve been intrigued by encoding.com since I saw their “coming soon” splash screen a few years ago.

Well, they’ve um, made quite a splash since then.

Over 1,500 companies use this encoding platform, which puts them well ahead of Zencoder and Hey Watch.

Video compression is a dark art that is ever evolving. New codecs, resolutions and infrastructure capabilities make it a hard subject for newcomers to wrap their heads around.

This was a big reason we talked about the fundamentals for an entire month.

Thanks to growing advances in broadband capabilities, many people are deciding to let alpha compressionists do the heavy lifting.

Some features from encoding.com that really stand out:

• WATCH FOLDERS:  Setup Watch Folders so that when new files are added, they are automatically encoded to your set encoding profile and delivered to your desired destination (SFTP/FTP/Amazon S3 or Rackspace CloudFiles).

• API:  Their API gives you a white-label option for integrating Cloud encoding into your User Generated Video (UGV) sites, content management systems or desktop applications.

• WEB INTERFACE:  Simple web platform to encode individual video files quickly and easily with a simple browse and upload tool directly from your desktop.

• THIRD PARTY PLUGINS:  A suite of third party plugins including WordPress, Brightcove, JW Player, Flowplayer, Bits on the Run, and Drupal.

There are also other features like real-time statistics and service level agreements that are attractive for videos that have enterprise-level needs.

If you are tired of trying to keep up with new updates and features in video compression software, it could make sense to explore compression as a service.  It may at least be worth it to price it against what you are currently using.  For certain projects, people or workflows, it could really be worth it.