Rendition
A rendition, in video streaming, is one encoded version of a video at a specific resolution and bitrate, such as 720p at 3 Mbps. Several renditions of the same video together form the encoding ladder used for adaptive streaming. The player picks the rendition that best fits the viewer's screen and connection at each moment.
Why it matters
Renditions are what make adaptive streaming possible. Without them, every viewer gets the same file, which buffers on slow networks and looks soft on large screens. Each extra rendition also costs money to encode and store, so choosing the right set is a direct tradeoff between viewer experience and infrastructure spend. More renditions do not mean a bigger encoding bill on FastPix, which charges once per source minute, while AWS Elemental MediaConvert bills every rendition it outputs.
How it works
- The source video is encoded several times, each at a different resolution and bitrate.
- Each rendition is split into short segments with keyframes aligned across all versions.
- A master manifest lists every rendition with its resolution, bitrate and codec.
- The player measures the connection and switches renditions between segments to avoid stalls.
What is the difference between a rendition and a resolution?
A resolution is just the picture size, such as 1280x720, while a rendition is a full encoded version that has a resolution, bitrate and codec. Two renditions can share the same resolution but use different bitrates or codecs. For example, a service might offer 1080p in both H.264 and HEVC, which counts as two renditions.
Why does my video keep switching quality?
Video switches quality because the player is moving between renditions to match changes in network speed. Dropping to a lower rendition is the player's way of avoiding a stall. Frequent switching can mean the network is unstable, the rendition steps are spaced too far apart, or the player is reacting too quickly to short dips in bandwidth.
Where it's used
Short video apps serve 360p renditions to phones on mobile data and 1080p on Wi-Fi, while OTT services add 4K renditions for smart TV viewers.
Where it usually goes wrong, and how FastPix handles it
Teams rarely know which renditions viewers actually watch, so they pay to encode and store versions nobody uses while viewers switch quality more often than expected.
Each view in FastPix Video Data records rendition changes and a time-weighted average bitrate across every rendition played. Rendition changes and upscaling feed the render quality score. The data shows which renditions viewers actually play and where pictures look soft.
