#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 below the 720p/1080p midpoint of 1,497,600 pixels, so it is priced at the 720p 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
}

The framerate field accepts a value between 0 and 240 fps. Setting it to 0 or omitting it preserves the original framerate; requests above 240 fps are rejected.

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.