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TECHNICAL GUIDE

Using TCA v.2

Sage Syracuse
  • Updated

Transcode Accelerator 2.1 is now available for EVO version 7.1.x.

What is TCA?

Transcode Accelerator allows you to scale your operations more easily. As your business grows and you need to process more videos at once, additional workstations with access to Media Encoder can be enlisted to let the plugin handle workload distribution, making it easier to manage demanding large-scale video production projects. Eligible EVO servers and workstations using Adobe's Media Encoder can be configured to allow transcoding workloads to be distributed across multiple hosts, making it easier, faster, and less impactful to manage demanding large-scale video production projects.

EVO version 7.1 provides support for the TCA v.2 plugin. If you're not already running EVO 7.1 and would like to upgrade, please contact us for more information.

How does it work?

The TCA plugin works by distributing transcoding workloads between different hosts, described for this purpose as transcode engines. A TCA transcode engine is either an eligible EVO, or a macOS (M-Series) or Windows workstation hosting Media Encoder 2025 or later. Adding transcode engines can decrease the overall time to complete transcoding jobs for ShareBrowser Previews and Edit-Ready proxies on EVO, and in some configurations can offload the transcoding jobs from production devices entirely. A system running Media Encoder allows for transcoding of all formats supported by Media Encoder, increasing the number of options available for proxy generation.

Before You Begin:

For best results and optimized performance, assistance with TCA configuration is advised. Please contact Support prior to installation and use.

System Requirements:

TCA minimally requires one of the following (additional machines can always be added):

  • One EVO running EVO OS version 7.1 minimum, and an M-Series macOS or Windows workstation running at least Adobe Media Encoder 2025 and the latest version of Nomad (2.1.2 or above) installed.

or

  • One EVO running EVO OS Version 7.1 minimum and the TCA v.2 plugin, and a second EVO hosting at least EVO OS version 7.0.1.87.

Note:

  • Avahi and Slingshot MUST be enabled on all EVOs that will be used by TCA.
  • For best results we strongly recommend that all EVOs and workstations involved are directly connected with a direct link (10GbE or higher) to avoid transcoding failures.

For workstation Media Encoder use:

  • At least 1 TiB of free space is needed for temporary TCA job data. Any standard disk, including USB-connected disks will work; however, the speed of the external device and the connection to it are important considerations for reliable transcode performance.
  • Transcoding of BRAW files requires that the Blackmagic RAW SDK is installed for Media Encoder.

Setting Up Transcode Accelerator v.2

Download the plugin and install it by clicking the three-dot menu located at the top right of the "Installed plug-ins" card within the EVO UI at the Support page (#/support/os-data).
Plugin.PNG

  1. If you haven't done so yet, download and install Media Encoder, sign into your Adobe account, and then close the program.
  2. Download and Install the latest version of Nomad.
  3. Open Nomad. In the left-hand sidebar navigation menu, select the TCA Helper icon.
  4. If not already configured, select the "Choose TCA Jobs Folder" and select a local folder for temporary job data (at least 1 TB is recommended).
  5. Mount any EVO media shares for which transcodes are intended.
  6. Select the "Enable TCA Offload Engine" option.
  7. Media Encoder will launch automatically, after which it can be minimized.

Starting TCA

Once the TCA plugin is installed, log in to the EVO that the transcoding jobs will be performed for and select the TCA plugin from the splash screen that appears. Alternatively, enter the following URL, replacing <EVOIPADDRESS> with the IP address or host name used to access your EVO:

    http://<EVOIPADDRESS>/tca

    or

    https://<EVOIPADDRESS>/tca

1. Log in using your admin credentials

2. Click the Settings tab in the navigation bar at the top of the page.

3. Underneath the "Transcode engines" header, select any EVO and workstation transcode engines you'd like to use to handle transcoding.

4. Under the "Transcode offloading" header, select how often you'd like TCA to perform transcoding jobs. The number of concurrent TCA jobs for each type of transcoding engine can also be configured here. If the files being offloaded are exceptionally large, or if they are being offloaded to a smaller disk, it may be necessary to decrease the number of concurrent jobs. Once you are happy with your settings, click the "Enable" button. Once enabled, transcoding jobs will begin immediately.

Monitoring TCA

The TCA Plugin can be monitored directly from the Monitor tab of the TCA Administration Page, which will provide information on currently Running and Completed Jobs. An active transcoding session will appear as follows:

monitoring1.png

The Console tab will additionally include more granular live information regarding the TCA plugin as it proceeds with transcode jobs:

The transcodes can additionally be monitored directly from the TCA page of the Nomad application.

 

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