#Resolutions

Transcodely supports six standard resolution presets from 480p (SD) to 4320p (8K). You can use preset values for common resolutions or specify custom pixel dimensions for non-standard sizes.

#Resolution Presets

#Using Preset Resolutions

Specify the resolution as a string in your output configuration:

{
  "codec": "h264",
  "resolution": "1080p",
  "quality": "standard"
}

When you use a preset, Transcodely automatically scales the video while preserving the original aspect ratio. If the input is 4:3, a 1080p preset produces 1440x1080 (not 1920x1080).

#Custom Dimensions

For non-standard resolutions, specify width and height directly:

{
  "codec": "h264",
  "width": 1600,
  "height": 900,
  "quality": "standard"
}

Custom dimensions are mapped to the nearest resolution tier for pricing purposes. For example, 1600x900 (1.44M pixels) falls between 720p (922K) and 1080p (2.07M), so it is priced at the 1080p tier.

#Pricing Tiers

Each resolution tier has a pricing multiplier that applies to the base encoding cost:

Custom dimensions are mapped to tiers by total pixel count (width x height). The resolution_tier field in the pricing snapshot shows which tier was applied.

#Aspect Ratio Handling

Transcodely preserves the source aspect ratio when scaling. If the target resolution does not match the source aspect ratio, the output is letterboxed or pillarboxed as needed.

#Framerate

Resolution and framerate interact to determine the encoding complexity and cost. You can specify a target framerate alongside the resolution:

{
  "codec": "h264",
  "resolution": "1080p",
  "quality": "standard",
  "framerate": 30
}

Setting framerate to 0 or omitting it preserves the original framerate.

The framerate multiplier for pricing is linear: framerate / 30. A 60 fps encode costs 2.0x the base rate, while 24 fps costs 0.8x.

#Resolution Recommendations

For adaptive streaming (HLS/DASH), a common ABR ladder includes:

{
  "type": "hls",
  "video": [
    {"codec": "h264", "resolution": "1080p", "quality": "standard"},
    {"codec": "h264", "resolution": "720p", "quality": "standard"},
    {"codec": "h264", "resolution": "480p", "quality": "economy"}
  ]
}

For single-file delivery:

#Codec Limits by Resolution

Not all codec/level combinations support all resolutions:

The encoder auto-selects the appropriate level based on your resolution and framerate. You only need to set the level explicitly when targeting specific device profiles.