What it does
AWS Elemental MediaConvert processes video files for on-demand distribution and archiving. It provides video and audio processing through a web-service interface with usage-based billing.
Submit a job with the intended video-processing settings rather than maintaining a dedicated transcoding server. Adaptive-bitrate HDR and SDR outputs support distribution workflows with several playback versions. Billing depends on processed duration and selected features, so an estimate needs the actual output configuration rather than only the source file's byte size.
A job names at least one input and output group. Inputs can come from S3, HTTP or HTTPS, while the setup guide uses an S3 destination and an IAM role with permission to run the job. It instructs selecting the same AWS Region for the job and file storage. The console, SDK and direct API are different ways to submit that configuration. Output files remain in S3 unless managed or deleted there, and storage can incur separate charges; this is not a temporary browser upload with an automatic deletion countdown.
Strengths
- Provides managed file-based transcoding and multiple delivery outputs.
Best for
- Applications and media teams processing video in AWS
Sources
- Video Transcoding – AWS Elemental MediaConvert – Amazon Web Services (Oct 26, 2026)
- Getting started with MediaConvert - MediaConvert (Oct 26, 2026)