Ingest is the first stage of the pipeline, where source content enters the platform for processing. For VOD that means uploading a mezzanine file (or pulling it from a MAM/storage); for live it means receiving a contribution feed over a protocol such as RTMP, SRT, RIST, or Zixi from a venue, OB truck, or remote encoder. Ingest is where the platform first takes responsibility for the content.
A robust ingest layer validates and normalizes whatever arrives: checking format, resolution, frame rate, audio configuration, and timecode; rejecting or flagging bad input; and handing a clean, known-good source to transcoding. For live, ingest also handles redundancy — dual feeds, automatic failover, and reconnection — because the source link is the most fragile part of a live event.
Getting ingest right matters disproportionately: every downstream stage inherits whatever problems slip through here, and a corrupt or mis-specified source is far cheaper to catch at the door than after it has been encoded into dozens of renditions.
The handbook · 7 volumes
Fora Soft Video Engineering Handbook
Ingest is where live feeds and mezzanine files enter the platform, and problems there reach every rendition downstream. The seven volumes cover the video stack; for ingest start with Volume 2 on contribution and ingest over RTMP, SRT, and RIST, then Volume 1 on transcoding, with delivery in Volume 3. Written by Nikolay Sapunov, CEO at Fora Soft.
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