Supported Media Formats

Tessact accepts a broad spectrum of professional and consumer media formats. To minimise ingest latency, avoid unnecessary transcoding, and ensure immediate AI analysis and browser playback, we strongly recommend conforming to the Preferred (web-safe) profile defined below. Files that deviate from these specifications will still be accepted, but they enter a transcoding queue that increases processing time.

Preferred (Web-Safe) Profile

Aspect	Required / Recommended Setting	Rationale
Container	MP4 (.mp4)	Universally supported in all browsers, mobile SDKs, and most broadcast playout systems.
Video Codec	H.264/AVC, Baseline, Main, or High profile, Level ≤ 4.2 (up to 1080p60) • CBR or 2-pass VBR • Average bitrate ≤ 10 Mb/s	Keeps files “analysis-ready” while preserving quality. Higher bitrates trigger server-side transcode.
Audio Codec	AAC-LC, 48 kHz, 2 channels, ≤ 320 kb/s CBR	Widely supported; maintains sync and loudness accuracy for speech models.
Pixel Format	4:2:0, 8-bit YUV	Aligns with GPU decoding pipelines; avoids colour-space conversions.
Resolution	Any up to 4K (3840 × 2160). 1080p (1920 × 1080) recommended for fastest turnaround.
Frame Rate	Constant frame rate (CFR) 23.976–60 fps. AI modules calibrate faster on CFR; VFR files are re-timed.
Scan Type	Progressive; interlaced sources should be de-interlaced before upload.
File Header	Fast-start / Web Optimised: moov atom placed at file head; correct duration metadata; indexed key-frames at GOP boundaries.
GOP Structure	Closed GOP, ≤ 2 s (≈48–60 frames). Short, regular GOPs accelerate seek requests and temporal segmentation in analysis.

When exporting from Adobe Premiere Pro, DaVinci Resolve, FFmpeg, or HandBrake, use presets labelled “H.264 High-Quality 1080p” and then enforce the 10 Mb/s ceiling.

Alternative Containers/Codecs Accepted (Transcoding Required)

Container	Typical Codecs Seen	Action Taken
MOV	ProRes 422 / 444, DNxHD/R, Animation	Always transcoded to H.264/AAC.
MKV	H.265/HEVC, VP9, FLAC	Always transcoded to H.264/AAC.
WEBM	VP9 + Opus (bitrate > 10 Mb/s)	Re-encoded to compliant H.264/AAC.
AVI, MPEG-TS, M2TS, MXF, VOB, FLV, WMV, 3GP	MPEG-2, VC-1, WMV9, CineForm, others	Full transcode; longer queue times expected.

Audio-only formats (.mp3, .aac, .wav, .ogg/Opus, .flac) are accepted; files exceeding 320 kb/s or 48 kHz are normalised to AAC/48 kHz/320 kb/s.

Files must be free of DRM, encryption, truncation, or broken indexes.
Time-code discontinuities (PTS/DTS jumps) should be corrected prior to upload.
Closed captions or subtitle tracks are supported in MP4 (CEA-608/708 or WebVTT) and MKV/WEBM (SRT, WebVTT). Unsupported caption tracks are stripped during transcode.

Performance Impact Summary

Upload Scenario	Playback Availability	AI Analysis Start	Notes
Preferred profile (MP4, H.264/AAC ≤ 10 Mb/s)	Instant	Within seconds	No server transcode.
Preferred container but bitrate > 10 Mb/s	Delayed (∝ file size)	After transcode	Bitrate down-conversion required.
Non-preferred codec/container	Delayed	After transcode	Full re-encode; queue length depends on resolution/codec complexity.

Preparing Files

Recommended toolchain presets (example CLI flags shown for FFmpeg):

ffmpeg -i input.mov \
  -c:v libx264 -profile:v high -level 4.2 -pix_fmt yuv420p \
  -b:v 8M -maxrate 10M -bufsize 16M \
  -g 48 -keyint_min 48 -sc_threshold 0 \
  -c:a aac -b:a 320k -ar 48000 \
  -movflags +faststart \
  output.mp4

This command guarantees compatibility with Tessact’s preferred profile, avoids transcoding delays, and enables immediate playback across modern browsers.

Questions? For workflow-specific encoding recommendations (e.g., broadcast mezzanine archives, HDR pipelines, or high-frame-rate sports captures), please contact support@tessact.ai. Our solutions team can provide tailored presets and guidance to balance quality, speed, and storage across your ingest pipeline.

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Supported Media Formats

Preferred (Web-Safe) Profile

Alternative Containers/Codecs Accepted (Transcoding Required)

Header & Stream Integrity Requirements

Performance Impact Summary

Preparing Files

​Preferred (Web-Safe) Profile

​Alternative Containers/Codecs Accepted (Transcoding Required)

​Header & Stream Integrity Requirements

​Performance Impact Summary

​Preparing Files

Preferred (Web-Safe) Profile

Alternative Containers/Codecs Accepted (Transcoding Required)

Header & Stream Integrity Requirements

Performance Impact Summary

Preparing Files