Encoding Equipment

Video encoders are the hardware (or software) that convert raw camera signals into compressed video streams suitable for delivery over IP networks. The encoder is often the most critical component determining whether your stream works or fails — it's the bridge between your production environment and your audience.

At Creative Broadcast Agency, we work across a range of professional hardware encoders depending on the production requirements. Our encoding inventory includes units from TVU Networks, LiveU, Haivision, Teradek, and Univisio — each chosen for specific use cases rather than brand loyalty.

TVU Networks — TVU transceivers and rack-mounted servers are workhorses for contribution encoding. TVU's bonding technology aggregates multiple cellular, WiFi, and ethernet connections into a single resilient transport stream. We deploy TVU units for field-to-studio contribution where reliability over unpredictable networks is the priority. TVU's cloud-based receiver infrastructure also allows us to receive feeds from anywhere in the world without dedicated receive hardware on-site.

LiveU — LiveU units handle remote location encoding where you need to send video from a field position back to the master control room over whatever connectivity exists. During corporate streaming work with remote speakers across different emirates, LiveU provides reliable ingest with built-in 5G bonding and bandwidth optimisation. LiveU's HEVC encoding keeps bitrates manageable even over congested cellular networks. If a presenter's connection degrades, LiveU adapts encoding quality automatically — this is encoder-side adaptation, different from the client-side adaptation of adaptive bitrate streaming.

Haivision — Haivision's Makito and KB series encoders are our go-to for SRT-native encoding. Haivision co-developed the SRT protocol, so their hardware has the deepest integration. For point-to-point contribution feeds — sending a clean programme feed from a venue to a remote production hub or broadcaster — Haivision encoders deliver broadcast-grade quality with sub-second latency. We also use Haivision for secure corporate streams where AES-256 encryption is required at the encoder level.

Teradek — Teradek Prism and VidiU units cover a broad range from rack-mounted multi-input encoding to compact camera-top streaming. The Prism accepts multiple SDI feeds and outputs simultaneous bitrate ladders over RTMP, RTMPS, SRT, and HLS. Teradek's Sharelink cloud platform makes it straightforward to route feeds between locations without complex network configuration.

Univisio — Univisio encoders are purpose-built for high-density, multi-channel encoding in rack environments. When we need to encode 8, 16, or more simultaneous feeds from a large-scale event like the Esports World Cup, Univisio's multi-channel encoding blades handle the density without requiring a separate encoder per feed. This reduces rack space, power draw, and points of failure.

For corporate events and webinars, we also use software encoders like vMix and OBS running on dedicated encoding PCs. Software encoders are more flexible — you can adjust settings mid-stream — but they're sensitive to CPU overload. If you're running graphics, mixing, and encoding on the same machine, encoding quality can suffer under load.

Encoder selection also determines which streaming protocols you can use, and this drives the choice. Not every encoder supports SRT, not every encoder handles HEVC, and not every encoder can output multiple bitrate renditions simultaneously. Knowing your delivery requirements before choosing encoding hardware is critical — which is why we specify encoders during the broadcast systems design phase, not at the last minute.