Working with output presets

Output presets speed up your job setup by providing groups of recommended transcoding settings. Job templates apply to an entire transcoding job; output presets apply to a single output of a transcoding job. For more information about job templates, see Templates.

You can use a system preset with settings specified for you, or you can create a custom preset with your own settings. You can create a custom preset from scratch, starting with only the default settings, or you can duplicate a system preset, adjust it to suit your workflow, and then save it as a custom preset.

Using output presets

When you specify the outputs of your MediaConvert job, you can use an output preset instead of choosing each output setting separately.

To specify a preset for an output using the MediaConvert console:

1. Create a job in the usual way, as described in Create a job.

2. Create output groups as described in Step 3: Create output groups.

   Tip

   Many jobs have one output for each type of device that will play the video created by the job.

3. On the Create job page, in the Job pane on the left, choose an output. Outputs are listed in the Output groups section, under their output group.

4. In the Output settings pane, choose an output preset from the Preset dropdown list. For more information about individual settings, choose the Info link next to each setting.

   Note

   The Preset dropdown list shows only the presets that work with the type of output group that the output is in.

5. For Name modifier, type a set of characters that will distinguish the files created from this output. For example, you might use -DASH-lo-res for the output in your DASH output group that has the lowest resolution.

6. Repeat these steps for each output in your job that you want to specify with a preset.

7. Finish creating the job as described in Create a job.

Listing and viewing output presets

You can list the system presets that are included with MediaConvert and the custom presets that you have added in an AWS Region. You can also view the settings for an individual preset.

To list output presets

1. Open the Output presets page in the MediaConvert console.

2. In the Output presets pane, from the Presets dropdown list, choose Custom presets or System presets.

3. If you are viewing system presets, you can optionally filter the list of​ presets by category. Do so by choosing from the Category dropdown list.

4. To display settings for an individual preset, choose the preset name from the list of presets.

Creating a custom preset

Output presets specify the settings that apply to a single output of a transcoding job. System presets have the output settings that are specified for you; custom presets have settings that are specified by you or by another user of your AWS account.

You can create a custom preset by individually specifying the settings, as described in this topic. Or you can create a custom preset by duplicating and modifying an existing preset, as described in Creating a custom preset from a system preset.

To create a custom output preset

1. Open the Output presets page in the MediaConvert console.

2. In the Output presets pane, choose the Create preset button.

3. In the Preset settings pane, specify at a minimum the name of the new preset. Optionally, provide a description and a category.

   These values help you find the custom preset later. For more information see Listing and viewing output presets.

4. In the Preset settings pane, choose the container for the output.

   Tip

   It's important to specify a container that is appropriate to the output type that you intend to create with the preset. When you choose a system or custom preset as part of creating a job, the console displays only the presets that specify a container that is valid for the output group.

5. Choose your output settings.

   For more information about each setting, choose the Info link located next to the setting or next to the heading for the group of settings.

6. Choose the Create button at the bottom of the page.

Creating a custom preset based on a system preset

MediaConvert doesn't allow you to modify system presets. If you want a preset that is like a system preset but slightly modified, you can duplicate the system preset, customize the settings, and save it as a custom preset.

To create a custom output preset based on a system preset

1. Open the Output presets page in the MediaConvert console.

2. In the Output presets pane, from the Presets dropdown list, choose System presets.

3. Choose the name of the system preset that is most like the custom preset that you want to create.

4. On the Preset details page, choose Duplicate.

5. On the Create preset page, specify a name for the new preset. Optionally, modify the description and category.

   These values help you find the custom preset later. For more information see Listing and viewing output presets.

6. Modify any output settings.

   For more information about each setting, choose the Info link that is located next to the setting or next to the heading for the group of settings.

7. Choose the Create button at the bottom of the page.

   Note

   This button looks like the Create button for creating a job, but in this context, choosing it creates the custom preset.

Modifying custom presets

You can adjust the settings and field values in your custom presets. You can't change system presets, but you can duplicate them and modify the duplicate, as described in Creating a custom preset from a system preset.

After you modify a preset, jobs that use the preset will run with the new settings, including the following:

• Jobs that directly specify the custom preset.

• Jobs that you create based on a template that uses the custom preset.

• Jobs that you duplicate from your job history that use the custom preset. The original job used the settings in the preset as they were at the time; the new job uses the current settings.

To modify a custom output preset

1. Open the Output presets page in the MediaConvert console.

2. Choose the name of the custom preset that you want to modify.

3. Adjust the settings.

4. Choose Save.

Deleting a custom preset

You can delete the custom presets that you added in an AWS Region. You can't delete the system presets.

To delete a custom preset

1. Open the Output presets page in the MediaConvert console.

2. Choose the name of the custom preset that you want to delete.

3. On the Preset details page, choose Delete preset.