Expanding Transcoding Architecture with AWS Elemental MediaConvert

Customer Challenge

TrackIt was recently engaged by a video technology provider that relied on a Kubernetes-based transcoding pipeline built around FFmpeg to process and prepare video assets. As part of its platform evolution, the customer initiated the implementation of a MediaConvert-based workflow alongside its existing FFmpeg pipeline.

The objective was to recreate the existing pipeline’s behavior on AWS while maintaining parity across key elements such as job metadata, transcoding profiles, output formats, and overall processing logic. This included accounting for existing API and messaging integrations.

In parallel, the customer required a clearly defined target architecture covering orchestration, transcoding, event handling, observability, and security controls, along with a structured approach to validation and cutover.

Implementation

Following an assessment of the existing Kubernetes and FFmpeg workflow, TrackIt focused on integrating MediaConvert into the customer’s platform while preserving existing integrations and transcoding behavior.

• Workflow Architecture: Designed the routing logic to support job processing through either the existing FFmpeg pipeline or the new cloud-based MediaConvert workflow.
• Infrastructure Provisioning: Used Terraform to provision the messaging and routing components required for the integration.
• Platform Integration: Connected MediaConvert to existing APIs and messaging systems, preserving job status notifications and compatibility with downstream consumers.
• Transcoding Configuration: Recreated existing FFmpeg profiles in MediaConvert, including MP4 and WebM outputs, rate-control behavior, and audio track mappings.
• Validation and Rollout: Benchmarked output quality against FFmpeg and defined a side-by-side validation approach with criteria for rollout readiness.

Results

The engagement established a validated MediaConvert implementation, with transcoding profiles benchmarked against the existing FFmpeg pipeline and a documented approach for evaluating rollout readiness. Transcoding profiles and output quality were assessed, and a structured validation and rollout plan was established to guide the next phase of deployment.

Business Outcomes

• Flexible transcoding workflows: Enables the customer to route workloads between the existing FFmpeg pipeline and the new AWS Elemental MediaConvert workflow.
• Seamless integration: The architecture preserves compatibility with existing APIs and downstream event consumers, allowing both transcoding backends to operate without requiring downstream systems to distinguish between them.
• Scalable architecture: Establishes an AWS-based transcoding option that can evolve alongside the existing pipeline, giving the customer greater flexibility in how video processing workloads are handled.