> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.tenbyte.io/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
# Encoding & Renditions
The **Renditions Ladder** defines the quality levels your stream is transcoded into. Every rung is encoded simultaneously in real time — viewers are automatically served the best rendition for their device and connection speed, switching seamlessly between them as conditions change.
***
## Rendition Templates
Tenbyte provides three built-in templates as a starting point. Click **Template** in the Renditions Ladder section to apply one.
| Template | Rungs | Best for |
| ------------- | ------------------ | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| **Balanced** | 3 rungs · default | Most live streams. Covers 1080p, 720p, and 480p with sensible bitrate targets. |
| **Bandwidth** | 2 rungs · low-cost | Streams where delivery cost or bandwidth needs to be kept low. |
| **Quality** | 3 rungs · premium | High-production broadcasts where maximum output quality is the priority. |
The **Balanced** template is selected by default and is the right choice for most use cases.
***
## Default Balanced Renditions
| # | Rendition | Codec | Height | Target / Max Bitrate | FPS |
| - | --------- | ----------- | ------ | -------------------- | --- |
| 1 | 1080p | H.264 / AAC | 1080p | 3,000 / 3,500 kbps | 30 |
| 2 | 720p | H.264 / AAC | 720p | 1,500 / 2,000 kbps | 30 |
| 3 | 480p | H.264 / AAC | 480p | 700 / 900 kbps | 30 |
Click any row in the renditions table to expand and edit it.
***
## Adding a Custom Rung
Click **+ Add Rung** to add a custom rendition on top of the template. Custom rungs are fully configurable.
### Video Settings
| Field | Description |
| ------------------ | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Name** | A label for this rendition (e.g. `1080p High`). |
| **Profile** | H.264 encoding profile — `Main` is recommended for most use cases. |
| **Resolution** | Width × Height in pixels (e.g. `1280 × 720`). |
| **Codec** | Video codec — currently `H.264`. |
| **FPS** | Frames per second (e.g. `30`). |
| **GOP** | Group of pictures size. Keyframe interval is calculated automatically from GOP ÷ FPS — for example GOP 60 at 30 FPS produces a keyframe every 2 seconds. |
| **Target bitrate** | The target encoding bitrate in kbps. |
| **Max bitrate** | The maximum allowed bitrate in kbps. |
| **CRF** | Constant Rate Factor (0–51). Lower values produce higher quality at the cost of larger file size. |
### Audio Settings
| Field | Description |
| --------------- | ---------------------------------------------------- |
| **Codec** | Audio codec — `AAC` is recommended for HLS and DASH. |
| **Bitrate** | Audio bitrate in kbps (e.g. `128`). |
| **Sample rate** | Audio sample rate in Hz (e.g. `48000`). |
| **Channels** | `Stereo` by default. |
***
## Transmuxing
If your source is already encoded at the right bitrate and resolution, you can use **Transmuxing** instead of full re-encoding. Transmuxing passes the video and audio through without re-encoding — it only repackages the stream into the chosen output format (HLS or DASH).
This gives you the lowest latency and lowest CPU usage of any processing option.
**Use transmuxing when:**
* Your encoder is already producing the exact output quality you need.
* You want to minimise processing latency.
* You do not need multiple renditions — just a single passthrough quality level.
***
## GPU Transcoding
For high-resolution or high-bitrate streams, enable **GPU Transcoding** to offload encoding from the CPU to a dedicated GPU. This significantly increases the number of concurrent streams that can be processed and reduces encoding latency.
**Enable GPU Transcoding when:**
* You are streaming at 1080p or above with high bitrate targets.
* You are running many live channels simultaneously.
* Encoding latency is a concern for your use case.