Hello,
I have been looking for an hardware H.264 video encoder for a new project. We wish to broadcast 10-30 live channels simultaneously. We are looking for a robust and high compression-rate devices. The input is Mpeg2TS (preferred) or analogue. And the output must be H264 encoded video at VGA resolution.
Can you please suggest me any devices, companies…? Does anybody use a hardware encoder/transcoder in his business?
best wishes,
Mustafa
edit: Sure, we will go on using Wowza 
We have worked with the following companies:
Haivision
Scopus
Optibase
Digital Rapids
Charlie
They also have an H.264 encoder. Blade system - can be used in 2 slot chassis or larger 16 slot chassis. Good quality. Very stable. Also works well within the Apple Darwin DSS streaming ecosystem.
I have used FastVDO and the Haivision Oscar. Both work great. I haven’t really spent a lot of time comparing quality. They are really different beasts. With the hardware encoders you don’t have to pay for a computer, OS… to encode live video but you are limited to the processing/encoding power of the device. With the software solutions if you have super fast hardware you can get better results through parameter tuning. So they really have different dynamics.
Charlie
Hello,
we are considering using Viewcast’s Niagara 7224 encoders. One can handle 8 simultaneous channels, it can encode H.264. And perhaps the most important advantage is, we can supply it from a local supplier in Turkey.
But I doubt about its compatibility with Wowza. Has anyone tried it before? In the product manual, it only mentions about the Windows and Real Media Servers.
The manual can be found here: http://www.aldemir.net/Belgeler/niagarauserguide.pdf
I look forward to hearing any comments, ideas…
Bye,
Mustafa
Hi,
Can someone tell me what is model of mpeg4 hardware encoding device with lowest price we can use with Wowza to do live broadcast of two streams with different resolutions and bitrates?
If I understand well, these hardware encoders work with Wowza by transmiting stream over RTP? Should I expect better results than using Adobe Flash Media Encoder?
Best Regards,
Nik
You should also consider Envivio 4Caster C4 encoder.
I already tested successfully this encoder with Wowza server.
Have a look at http://www.envivio.com/products/cgs_4caster_c4.php
and the following interesting press release: http://www.envivio.com/news/press_release.php?id=187
Our product might be what your looking for http://www.winkstreaming.com/en/wink_encoder/
We have worked with the following companies:
Haivision
Scopus
Optibase
Digital Rapids
Charlie