Enable Adaptive Bitrate Transcoding in Red5 Cloud

Enable ABR transcoding in Red5 Cloud by provisioning a Transcoder via the Stream Manager API and publishing to the correct stream name variant.

Transcoding converts a single incoming stream into multiple quality variants — different resolutions and bitrates — simultaneously. Viewers receive the variant that best matches their current network conditions and device capabilities, a delivery model called adaptive bitrate streaming (ABR). Instead of every viewer watching the same fixed-quality stream, playback automatically shifts up or down in quality as bandwidth changes.

Transcoding is available on Startup, Growth, and Enterprise plans only. Ensure your deployment has transcoding enabled in the region settings before following the steps below.

Requirements

Before you begin, confirm the following:

• Your account is on a Startup, Growth, or Enterprise plan.
• The deployment you want to use has Transcoding enabled in its region configuration (see Deployments for how to enable it).
• You have your Stream Manager URL and admin credentials from the Dev Resources page in the Management Console — you need these to generate a JWT.

Provision transcoding

Transcoding must be provisioned through the Stream Manager API before you start your stream. Provisioning creates the transcoding profile that tells the Transcoder what output variants to produce.

1. Get a JWT from the Stream Manager

   Exchange your admin credentials for a JSON Web Token by calling the Stream Manager auth API. You will include this token as a Bearer token in your provision request.

2. Find your nodeGroup name

   Your nodeGroup name is the same as your Deployment Name shown on the Deployments page in the Management Console.

3. Send the Provision POST request

   Send a POST request to the Stream Manager provision endpoint. The example below creates a provision for a stream named myStream with three ABR variants.

   curl -X POST \
     "https://<stream-manager-host>/as/v1/streams/provision" \
     -H "Authorization: Bearer <your-jwt-token>" \
     -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
     -d '{
       "nodeGroup": "<your-deployment-name>",
       "streamName": "myStream",
       "streams": [
         {
           "streamName": "myStream_1",
           "type": "TranscoderOrigin"
         },
         {
           "streamName": "myStream_2",
           "videoWidth": 1280,
           "videoHeight": 720,
           "videoBitrate": 2500,
           "audioBitrate": 128
         },
         {
           "streamName": "myStream_3",
           "videoWidth": 854,
           "videoHeight": 480,
           "videoBitrate": 1000,
           "audioBitrate": 128
         },
         {
           "streamName": "myStream_4",
           "videoWidth": 640,
           "videoHeight": 360,
           "videoBitrate": 500,
           "audioBitrate": 64
         }
       ]
     }'
   

   Replace <stream-manager-host>, <your-jwt-token>, and <your-deployment-name> with your actual values.

   The _1 variant (e.g., myStream_1) is the highest-quality level and is the one your encoder publishes directly to the Transcoder. The Transcoder produces all other variants automatically.

4. Request a Transcoder IP address

   Call the Stream Manager’s get server for publish endpoint with the transcode=true query parameter. This returns the IP address of an available Transcoder node. The Stream Manager also automatically selects an appropriate Origin node and updates your provision to route transcoded streams there.

   curl -X GET \
     "https://<stream-manager-host>/as/v1/streams/stream?nodeGroup=<your-deployment-name>&streamName=myStream_1&transcode=true" \
     -H "Authorization: Bearer <your-jwt-token>"
   

   The response includes a serverAddress field — this is the IP address you will point your encoder at.

   {
     "serverAddress": "203.0.113.42",
     "scope": "live",
     "name": "myStream_1"
   }
   
5. Configure your encoder and start the stream

   Point your encoder at the Transcoder IP address returned in the previous step. Use myStream_1 as the stream name (or whatever _1 variant name you defined in your provision).

   RTMP example:

   Server:     rtmp://203.0.113.42/live
   Stream Key: myStream_1
   

   Start your stream. The Transcoder processes the incoming myStream_1 feed and publishes the other variants (myStream_2, myStream_3, myStream_4) to the Origin node automatically.

Stream naming convention

When working with Transcoder nodes, always use the _1 suffix for the stream you publish from your encoder. The Transcoder derives the other variants from the provision you created.

Stream name	Role
myStream_1	Published by your encoder to the Transcoder
myStream_2	Generated by the Transcoder (e.g., 720p)
myStream_3	Generated by the Transcoder (e.g., 480p)
myStream_4	Generated by the Transcoder (e.g., 360p)

ABR-capable players (such as HLS or DASH players) automatically select the best variant for each viewer. Viewers using the embedded player provided in Pub/Sub Details benefit from ABR without any additional configuration.