Portico can deliver media three ways. Which one you get depends on the file, your device and your settings.
Direct play
Direct play sends the original media in a form your device can use as it is. It puts the least load on the server and normally keeps the source quality.
Remuxing
Remuxing changes the container around compatible audio and video without re-encoding those tracks. It’s lighter than transcoding, but it still creates a new stream for delivery.
Transcoding
Transcoding converts one or more tracks while you watch. Portico uses it when:
- the device can’t handle the source format,
- a selected subtitle has to be burned into the picture,
- the requested quality is lower than the original file.
How the server decides
The server makes the final playback decision. It takes into account:
- the media,
- the capabilities the app reports,
- the selected tracks and quality,
- current policy,
- the connection path.
If transcoding stutters
Read Buffering during playback and check the server’s active stream diagnostics.