G&L's Audio Video Processing Unit: Your questions answered

For further details, visit our AVPU landing page

G&L’s award-winning Audio Video Processing Unit (AVPU) is a cutting-edge, high-density, low-energy 19” rack server, meticulously designed to support high-quality live video workflows across various environments. With flexible input options like SRT, MPEG-TS, RTMP, and SDI, the AVPU stands as a versatile solution adaptable to a wide range of applications.

What sets the AVPU apart is its seamless integration into enterprise environments, with Single-Sign-On (SSO), multifactor authentication (MFT), and advanced user management.

The AVPU has attracted considerable attention, so we’ve compiled answers to the most common questions to shed light on its capabilities and applications.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Can I also use FFmpeg and GStreamer on the AVPU instead of using G&L software?

A: Yes, you can run FFmpeg or GStreamer on CPU and Netint cards, and they allow you to drastically improve your existing workflows with these open source tools.

Support for many advanced capabilities of the AVPU, including but not limited to SDI capturing, Enterprise Single-Sign-On, G&L's graphical overlay engine, watermarking, the flexible input & output formats and our Enterprise support only comes with our own software.

Q: Does the AVPU only support OTT live workflows?

A: No, the AVPU also offers robust on-demand capabilities. It’s ten U.2 slots can be used either with Netint Quadra cards for accelerated transcoding, or with NVMe SSD drives for storage. It can also be used for other CPU-heavy processes like De-Interlacing, audio encoding or C2PA signing.

Q: What’s the lower limit of live streams needed to make the AVPU worthwhile?

A: If you have fewer than 8 live channels or, for on-demand transcoding, only few files to transcode, the AVPU may be more than you require. While its energy efficiency and cost-effectiveness are best utilized when fully equipped, we recommend using it for at least 8 live linear or 8 parallel VoD processing workflows to maximize its benefits.

Q: Is the AVPU only an encoder?

A: No, the AVPU is a versatile Audio Video Processing Unit that handles a wide range of processing tasks, including:

Capturing of IP streams or SDI signals
Encoding and transcoding to AVC, HEVC, AV1 for video and AAC (and variants) for audio formats, up to 20 x 8Kp30, 80 4Kp30, or 320 x 1080p30
Recording / Live-to-VoD
FAST channels: mixed live and VoD playout
Clipping and editing (manually or timecode-based)
Graphical overlay, like lower thirds, logos… (using G&L’s graphics engine or external solutions like Singular.live)
AI-driven audio transcription and translation
Kantar live audio watermarking

The AVPU exemplifies our commitment to powerful, scalable, and energy-efficient video processing solutions, delivering the performance our clients need in today’s fast-paced media environment. We hope this FAQ helps you understand the AVPU’s wide range of applications and how it can elevate your media workflows.