Learn how to select an appropriate media quality level and control the quality of your medias.

Overview

FastPix supports processing content with three different media quality levels. The quality level you choose affects the output quality, cost, and available platform features for your media.

Media quality levels

Standard

The standard quality level provides cost-efficient processing suitable for common use cases. It uses a reduced encoding ladder with optimized compression, making it ideal when bandwidth, storage, or delivery costs need to be minimized.

Best for:

• User-generated content
• High-volume media libraries
• Content where perfect quality isn't critical
• Budget-conscious projects

Pricing: Standard quality is the most cost-effective option for encoding, storage, and delivery.

Pro

The pro quality level encodes your media at a consistent high-quality level with improved visual and audio fidelity. This balanced tier uses enhanced encoding settings that deliver better quality than standard while keeping resource usage reasonable.

Best for:

• Marketing and promotional videos
• Educational content and webinars
• Corporate communications
• Most production environments

Pricing: Pro quality incurs a cost per media minute of encoding.

Premium

The premium quality level is optimized for premium media content where the highest quality is required. It uses extensive encoding ladders with the highest bitrates to ensure professional-grade output with maximum clarity and fidelity.

Best for:

• Live events and broadcasts
• Studio-level content
• High-profile delivery
• Content requiring 4K resolution
• Applications where quality is paramount

Pricing: Premium quality incurs a higher cost per media minute of encoding, storage, and delivery.

Set a media quality level when creating a media

The media quality of a media is controlled by setting the mediaQuality attribute when you create an on-demand media. To create a media with the standard quality level, set "mediaQuality": "standard" as shown below.

For on-demand medias

// POST https://api.fastpix.io/v1/on-demand \
  {
    "inputs": [
      {
        "type": "video",
        "url": "https://static.fastpix.io/fp-sample-video.mp4"
      }
    ],
    "accessPolicy": "public",
    "maxResolution": "1080p",
    "mediaQuality": "standard"
  }'

For direct uploads

You can also set the mediaQuality within direct uploads by specifying the field in the mediaSettings of your create-direct-upload API call.

// POST https://api.fastpix.io/v1/on-demand/upload \
  {
    "corsOrigin": "*",
    "pushMediaSettings": {
      "metadata": {
        "key1": "value1"
      },
    "accessPolicy": "public",
    "maxResolution": "1080p",
    "mediaQuality": "standard"
    }
  }

NOTE:
If you don't specify a mediaQuality value when creating a media, FastPix defaults to "standard".

Supported features

Medias using different media quality levels have different features or limits available. Refer to the table below for details:

Frequently asked questions

Can I change the quality level of an existing media?

No, the media quality level is set when you create a media and cannot be changed afterward. If you need a different quality level, you'll need to create a new media with your desired mediaQuality setting. This ensures consistent encoding and prevents quality mismatches.

What happens if I don't specify a mediaQuality parameter?

If you don't include the mediaQuality parameter in your API request, FastPix automatically defaults to "standard" quality. This ensures your content is processed even if you forget to specify a quality level, while keeping costs optimized for most use cases.

How much does each quality level cost?

Pricing varies by quality level and affects three areas:

• Standard: Most cost-effective for encoding, storage, and delivery
• Pro: Moderate cost per media minute of encoding. View pricing details
• Premium: Higher cost per media minute for encoding, storage, and delivery. View pricing details

Contact FastPix sales for detailed pricing information specific to your usage volume.

Can I use different quality levels for different videos in the same project?

Yes, you can mix quality levels within a single project or application. This is actually a recommended practice—use Standard for bulk content, Pro for important videos, and Premium for your highest-value media. Each media's quality level is set independently when you create it.

Does higher quality mean longer processing time?

Yes, higher quality levels typically require more processing time because they use more complex encoding ladders and higher bitrates. Premium quality takes the longest to process, followed by Pro, then Standard. However, actual processing time also depends on video length, resolution, and content complexity.

Get help

• Read the complete FastPix documentation guides
• Join the FastPix community discussions
• Contact FastPix support