Chunkify beats AWS MediaConvert on speed, cost, and VMAF
Chunkify published benchmarks comparing its video transcoding performance, cost, and quality against AWS Elemental MediaConvert for H.264, HEVC, and AV1 codecs across various resolutions. The results indicate Chunkify completed jobs 2.49x to 21.69x faster and with 8% to 76% lower costs, while maintaining comparable or higher VMAF quality scores.
Key Takeaways
- H.264 tests showed Chunkify running 2.61x to 6.26x faster than AWS MediaConvert, with 10% to 17% lower cost across 1280 × 572, 1920 × 858, and 3840 × 1714 resolutions.
- HEVC results ranged from 2.49x to 4.75x faster for Chunkify, with cost savings between 8% and 45% and VMAF close to AWS at every tested resolution.
- AV1 produced the largest gap: Chunkify was 3.83x to 21.69x faster and 66% to 76% cheaper, with equal VMAF at 3840 × 1714 and a higher VMAF at 1280 × 572.
- Chunkify’s benchmark setup used 13 instances with 8 vCPUs each, while AWS MediaConvert ran in on-demand mode with QVBR auto and no user-configurable parallelization options.
- All tests used the same 4K Tears of Steel source file in us-east-1, with queue time excluded and cost limited to transcoding charges only.
Why It Matters
Chunkify is making a direct performance-and-cost case for its transcoding stack against AWS MediaConvert, and the biggest deltas show up on AV1, where its 4K job finished 21.69x faster and 66% cheaper. The underlying setup matters: Chunkify’s 104-vCPU parallel configuration is contrasted with MediaConvert’s sequential processing, so the benchmark is as much about architecture as codec support. For streaming teams, the practical signal is whether Chunkify can sustain these gains on the same source assets and resolution mix under real workloads. The next number to watch is the spread on AV1 at 1920 × 858 and 3840 × 1714, where the gap was widest.
Read full article at chunkify.dev