Re-encoding Videos (SDK)

You can use Encord’s Python SDK to re-encode videos. See our detailed documentation on re-encoding for more information.

Use the dataset.re_encode_data() method to re-encode a list of videos, replacing <video1_data_hash> and <video2_data_hash> below with the hashes of the videos to be re-encoded.

The output is a list of task ID’s of each re-encoding job. The task_id can be used to monitor the progress of the task.

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Check the status of a re-encoding task

Use the dataset.re_encode_data_status() method to get the status of an existing re-encoding task. Replace task_id in the sample below with the task ID of the re-encoding task you’d like to check the status of.

# Import dependencies
from encord import EncordUserClient

# Authenticate with Encord using the path to your private key
user_client = EncordUserClient.create_with_ssh_private_key(ssh_private_key_path="<private_key_path>")

# Specify the dataset you want to re-encord data from by using its dataset hash
dataset = user_client.get_dataset("<dataset_hash>")

# Define and print the status of the re-encoding task by inserting the re-encoding task's ID
task = (
    dataset.re_encode_data_status("<task_id>")
)
print(task)

ReEncodeVideoTask(
    status="DONE",
    result=[
        ReEncodeVideoTaskResult(
            data_hash="<data_hash>",
            signed_url="<signed_url>",
            bucket_path="<bucket_path>",
        ),
        ...
    ]
) 

The ReEncodeVideoTask object contains a status field, which can take the following values:

• “SUBMITTED”: the task is currently in progress and the status should be checked back again later.

• “DONE”: the task has been completed successfully and the field ‘result’ would contain metadata about the re-encoded video.

• “ERROR”: the task has failed and could not complete the re-encoding.

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Re-encode locally

Some cases, such as corrupted metadata, might require you to re-encode your data locally before uploading them to the Encord platform.

Use the following ffmpeg command, replacing “video.mp4” with the name of the file you want to re-encode, and “re-encoded-video.mp4” with the name you want the re-encoded file to have:

ffmpeg -err_detect aggressive -fflags discardcorrupt -i video.mp4 -c:v libx264 -movflags faststart -an -tune zerolatency re-encoded-video.mp4