Video Outputs
This guide explains what Arc XP Video Center produces from your source video, including rendition ladders and streaming formats.
Overview
From a single on-demand source (VOD), Video Center produces:
- an adaptive HLS ladder with four renditions the player switches between as bandwidth allows;
- a progressive MP4 — a single-file fallback for players without HLS support.
Live video is delivered as HLS, optionally with a 14-day recording window you can clip from.
Everything is delivered over CDN. Playback is HLS with progressive MP4 fallback, and formats are chosen for the broadest device compatibility rather than the newest codec.
On-demand rendition ladders
Two ladders are available: Standard and HD. Both produce four HLS renditions plus one progressive MP4. All video is H.264 / AVC with AAC audio.
Standard
| Format | Resolution | Bitrate |
|---|---|---|
| HLS | 640 × 360 | 580 kbps |
| HLS | 854 × 480 | 910 kbps |
| HLS | 960 × 540 | 1,600 kbps |
| HLS | 1280 × 720 | 3,000 kbps |
| MP4 | 960 × 540 | 1,600 kbps |
HD
| Format | Resolution | Bitrate |
|---|---|---|
| HLS | 640 × 360 | 365 kbps |
| HLS | 768 × 432 | 1,100 kbps |
| HLS | 1280 × 720 | 3,000 kbps |
| HLS | 1920 × 1080 | 5,400 kbps |
| MP4 | 1920 × 1080 | 5,400 kbps |
The HD ladder optimizes bitrate distribution across higher resolutions (up to 1080p), providing enhanced visual fidelity for high-bandwidth connections, whereas the Standard ladder provides granular steps tailored for mid-range bandwidth.
Vertical (9:16) sources use the same bitrate ladder as 16:9 sources, with rendition dimensions transposed for portrait orientation.
Streaming formats
| Output | Format | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Adaptive stream | HLS | The primary playback format. HLS protocol version 6 or below |
| Progressive file | MP4 | H.264 Baseline |
| Segments | MPEG-TS | 6-second segments |
How players choose a rendition
The Arc XP player resolves a video’s stream list and plays the first entry, the HLS master playlist, then switches between renditions inside it automatically as conditions change. Where HLS is unavailable, it falls back to the progressive MP4.
In practice:
| Client | Plays |
|---|---|
| Safari | HLS, natively |
| Chrome, Firefox and other modern browsers | HLS, via the player’s HLS engine |
| No HLS support | Progressive MP4 |
If you are building your own player, use the HLS master playlist and treat the progressive MP4 as the fallback.
Live outputs
Live streaming
Live is delivered as HLS over CDN. Segments are 6 seconds.
Where Arc XP performs the encoding, the live ladder is:
| Resolution | Bitrate |
|---|---|
| 1280 × 720 | 3,000 kbps |
| 640 × 480 | 1,500 kbps |
| 320 × 240 | 750 kbps |
Where you perform the encoding (client-side encoding), your ladder is delivered unchanged. Video Center transports what you send without re-encoding it. What your viewers receive is exactly what your encoder produces.
Captions supplied as embedded CEA-608 in the contribution feed are carried through to the live output.
DVR and recording
With DVR enabled:
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Time-shifted playback window | 14 days |
| Minimum clip length | 15 seconds |
| Clip output | A new on-demand video, encoded to your VOD ladder |
You can clip on-demand video from a running stream, and archive a completed live event as a VOD. Both produce ordinary on-demand videos that go through the ladders described above.
Captions
VOD captions: When SRT captions or transcripts are supplied, captions are delivered as sidecar WebVTT (.vtt) files for web and mobile playback.
Live captions: Embedded CEA-608 captions in the contribution feed are passed through in the live HLS output.
Accessing your output
Video metadata, stream URLs and caption URLs are all available through the Arc XP APIs. Video documents are served in ANS, the Arc Native Schema, shared with the rest of the Arc XP platform, and each video’s streams array carries one entry per rendition with its resolution, bitrate and URL.
For endpoints, schemas and field definitions, see the Arc XP developer documentation for Video Center APIs.
For what Video Center accepts as a source, see Video Inputs.