FAQ

• When will the Video Indexer billing take place?

  When sending a video to be indexed, the user will define the indexing to be video analysis, audio analysis or both. This will determine which SKUs will be charged. If there is a critical level error during processing, an error code will be returned as a response. In such a case, no billing occurs. A critical error can be caused by a bug in our code or a critical failure in an internal dependency the service has. Errors such as wrong identification or insight extraction are not considered as critical and a response is returned. In any case where a valid (non-error code) response is returned, billing occurs.

• What is a media reserved unit? What are the benefits of using it?

  Adding media reserved units to your account ensures that multiple files can be processed simultaneously, and changing media reserved unit types can affect the speed with which files are processed. For example, if an account has 3 S1 media reserved units, up to 3 files can be processed simultaneously. Changing the reserved unit type to S3 will allow faster processing of individual files. For more details, please refer to our documentation .

• Can I scale media reserved units? Are there limits?

  Yes, the number of media reserved units in an account is scalable. Although there are default limits in the Azure portal (For example, up to 25 S2 media reserved units are allowed), they are not mandatory. If you require higher limits, please contact us .

• Do I have to pay higher fees for high-priority jobs?

  No, fees are charged depending on output minutes and the number of media reserved units. For more information, please refer to the following examples.

• Will I be charged for failed encoding jobs?

  No, you will not be charged if an encoding job fails.

• If I use the media reserved unit, do I still have to pay the encoding fee based on the output minutes?

  Yes, fees are charged depending on the encoding output minutes of the media reserved unit. Standard encoder: ￥0.09858/output minute.

• Can you provide some examples of coding costs?

  Example 1: Joe uses a standard encoder to process 30 encoding jobs. Each job will create 10 output minutes (300 output minutes in total). Joe uses an S1 media reserved unit (RU) which needs 2 hours for running for each job. Joe spends 60 hours in a row on the S1 RU and then turns off the RU (setting the number of RUs to zero).

  • Output minutes (standard encoder): 300 x ￥0.09858 /minute = ￥29.574
  • S1 media reserved unit: 1 unit x 60 hours x ￥0.13144 /hour = ￥7.8864d
  • Total cost: ￥37.4604

  Example 2: Joe uses a standard encoder to process 30 encoding jobs. Each job will create 10 output minutes (300 output minutes in total). This time, Joe uses three S2 media reserved units (RUs). Each job will take only 1 hour to complete, so it takes only 10 hours to complete 30 jobs. Joe spends a total of 10 hours in a row on 3 S2 RU and then turns off the RU (the RU number was set to zero).

  • Output minutes (standard encoder): 300 x ￥0.09858 /minute = ￥29.574
  • S2 media reserved unit: 3 unit x 10 hours x ￥0.26288 /hour = ￥7.8864
  • Total cost: ￥37.4604

  Example 3: Joe has a two-hour movie with resolution of 1920x1080. He uses a standard encoder to encode it with a default “H264 multiple bit rate 1080p” preset to stream movies to iOS and Android devices. The encoding preset generates 3 HD output videos, 5 SD output videos, and 1 audio. The total minutes for this encoding job is (3x2 + 5 + 0.25) = 11.25. Therefore, the total output minutes will be 11.25 x 2 x 60 = 1,350. The total cost is 1,350 x ￥0.09858/min = ￥133.083.

• How much is the charge for creating a thumbnail image

  Both sides of the input video must be consistent with the supported input resolution of each measurement. For example, a video with resolution of 600x481 that exceeds the maximum 640x480 resolution of S1, both sides greater than 480, will be regarded as an S2 measurement.
• If I use two S1 media reserved units in a certain period in a day and then use four S3 media reserved units on the same day, how do you charge me for that? Do you charge the same way if I use a streaming unit?

  You will be charged according to the actual minutes of the media reserved unit. The following is a more detailed example. Suppose Joe starts with zero media reserved units (RUs), and his account is set to use two S1 RUs at 10:00AM that day. In the afternoon other videos arrived, he changes his account to use 4 S3 RUs at 1:15PM. All videos are processed before 4:00PM, then he closes the RU in the account (setting the RU number to zero). Joe's usage is as follows.

  • S1 media reserved unit: 2 units x 3.25 hours (10AM to 1:15PM) x ￥0.13144 /hour = ￥0.85436
  • S3 media reserved unit: 4 units x 2.75 hours (1:15PM to 4PM) x ￥0.52576 /hour = ￥5.78336

  Therefore, the total cost arising out of Joe's use of the media reserved unit is ￥0.85436 + ￥5.78336 = ￥6.63772

  Unlike the media reserved unit, the charge for the streaming unit is based on the maximum number of streaming units configured per day (high watermarks).

• If the media reserved unit or the streaming unit has not been used for a period of more than one month, am I going to be charged on a monthly basis?

  No, the charge for the media reserved unit is based on the number of minutes, while that for the streaming unit is on a daily basis.

• What is a streaming unit? What are the benefits of using it?

  The streaming unit provides a set of private resources for content streaming, so that each unit can increase the guaranteed bandwidth throughput up to 200 Mbps.

• Can I purchase multiple streaming units?

  Yes, you can buy multiple streaming units for content streaming.

• If I use two streaming units for a portion of a day, and four streaming units later that day, how am I charged?

  You are charged based on the highest number of streaming units that are provisioned each day. In this example, you will be charged for four streaming units for that day.

• How do I get billed for live streaming?

  It depends on the current state of a Live Event. Possible values include:

  • Stopped. This is the initial state of the Live Event after its creation. In this state, the Live Event properties can be updated but streaming is not allowed.
  • Starting. The Live Event is being started. No updates or streaming are allowed during this state. If an error occurs, the Live Event returns to the "Stopped" state.
  • Running. The Live Event is capable of processing live streams.
  • Stopping. The Live Event is being stopped. No updates or streaming are allowed during this state.
  • Deleting. The Live Event is being deleted. No updates or streaming are allowed during this state.

  The following table shows how the states map to the billing mode.

  Live Event state	Billed?
  Starting	No (transient state)
  Running	Yes
  Stopping	No (transient state)
  Stopped	No

• Can you provide an example for the cost of a live streaming an event?

  Scenario: Stella wants to stream a 2-hour sporting event and intends to use a Live Event with Standard Live Encoding-

  1. Stella sets up the Live Event and starts it 20 minutes before the event begins. The Live Event is in the “Starting” state for 5 minutes.
     • Stella is not billed during this time
  2. After starting, the Live Event moves into the “Running” state ready to receive a stream. The Live Event remains in the "Running” state for 15 minutes.
     • Stella does get billed for this period
  3. The event begins streaming on-time and lasts 2 hours or 120 minutes.
     • Stella gets billed for this period
  4. Stella stops the video feed but does not stop the Live Event, Stella leaves the Live Event in this mode for 5 minutes.
     • Stella does get billed for this period
  5. Stella then streams a post-game show for 30 minutes.
     • Stella gets billed for this period
  6. After the post-game show, Stella immediately stops the Live Event and deletes it.
     • Stella is not billed during this time

  In total the Live Event was in the “Running” state for 170 minutes (15 minutes with no stream before the event + 120 minute event + 5 minutes with no stream after event + 30 minute post-game show). The charges are:

  170 minutes x ￥40.50/60 = ￥114.75

• How does the Redactor measure non-standard video resolution?

  Both sides of the input video must be consistent with the supported input resolution for each measurement. For example, a video with resolution of 600x481 that exceeds the maximum 640x480 resolution of S1, where both sides are greater than 480, will be regarded as an S2 measurement.

• I am sending live streams in portrait mode (720 pixels wide and 1280 pixels tall) to my Live Event. If I need to use live encoding, do I need to use Premium Live Encoding?

  No, you can use Standard Live Encoding in this case. It is the product of height and width that needs to be at or below 1280*720. You will only be billed at Standard Live Encoding rates.

• My source live feed is only 640 pixels wide by 360 pixels tall. I need to use live encoding. Can you tell me what this is going to cost me?

  You will be charged based on the type of your Live Event. In this case, you would choose Standard Live Encoding, and get billed at the Standard Live Encoding rates, even if the output video is not 1280x720.

  Note that if you choose to configure the Live Event to use Premium Live Encoding, you will be billed at this rate.

• Can you provide an example of the cost of Live Video Analytics for continuous video archiving?

  Say a large hospital campus has 15 IP cameras covering various areas. Let’s assume that each camera runs at 1 Mbps on average and all hours of the day, generating ~10.5 GB of video per day. This data is ingested into Live Video Analytics on IoT Edge and stored in Azure Blob Storage in the Cloud for a 7-day period, with a daily purge of content older than 30 days. The customer application views about 120 hours (7,200 minutes, 52.5GB) of video per day. The monthly charges (calculated based on a 30-day month) will be calculated as follows:

  Monthly rates and volumes

  • Live Video Analytics per video stream price: ￥0.346 per day (prorated to ￥0.000244 per min).
  • Azure Blob Storage pricing: ￥0.1873 per GB per month.
  • Standard streaming endpoint (600 Mbps) pricing: ~￥21.89/day (￥656.61/month)
  • Each camera generates ~10.5GB of video data per day, for a total of 158.2 GB per day.

  Monthly charges:

  • Cost of Live Video Analytics on IoT Edge: ￥155.75
  • Cost for enabling video streaming to apps: ￥656.61
  • Cost for video storage: ￥207.438

  Total per month: ￥1,019.802 (￥67.992 per camera per month)

  Note: You will incur standard data transfer charges when you retrieve data from your video streams to destinations outside of Azure over the Internet.

• Can you provide an example of the cost of Live Video Analytics for motion-detected video archiving?

  Say a large retailer has 1,000 stores with five cameras per store (5,000 cameras). At every store, four out of five cameras are capturing video on motion with 7-day retention policy, while one of them is archiving on 24/7 basis and archives with a 3-day retention policy. Each motion-detect camera sends only the motion-based clips to Live Video Analytics on IoT Edge. Processing starts when the motion frames arrive and stops when the motion ends. Let’s assume that every camera stream has an average of 20 minutes per day of motion video. At 1Mbps, each such camera generates 150MB of video data per day and such video is stored in Azure Blob Storage for a one-week period. For 24/7 continuous archiving camera, each camera generates 10.5 GB of video data per day and such video is stored in Azure Blob Storage for a 3-day period. Assume that only 100 users play back the stored video using the companion app, watching 33.33 hours (2000 minutes, 14.65GB) of video per day. (Calculations assume a 30-day month.)

  Monthly rates and volumes:

  • Live Video Analytics per video stream price: ￥0.346 per day (prorated to ￥0.000244 per min)
  • Azure Blob Storage pricing: ￥0.1873 per GB per month.
  • Standard streaming endpoint (600 Mbps) pricing: ~￥21.89/day (￥656.61/month)
  • Each 24/7 archive camera generates ~10.5GB of video data per day, for a total of 10,500 GB per day. (1,000 cameras)
  • Each motion enabled camera generates ~150MB of video data per day, for a total of 4,395 GB per day. (4,000 cameras)

  Monthly charges for Motion Detected cameras:

  • Cost of Live Video Analytics on IoT Edge: ￥576.87
  • Cost for enabling video streaming to apps: ￥656.61
  • Cost for video storage: ￥5762.654

  Monthly charges for Continuous Archive cameras:

  • Cost of Live Video Analytics on IoT Edge: ￥10,384
  • Cost for video storage: ￥5900.33

  Total per month: ￥656.61 (￥5762.654 per camera per month)

  Note: You will incur standard data transfer charges when you retrieve data from your video streams to destinations outside of Azure over the Internet.

• Can you provide an example of the cost of Live Video Analytics for AI-powered video analytics?

  Say a commercial security system provider has 1,000 cameras (legacy cameras with no motion detection capability) and is looking for intruders with weapons on premises. Let’s assume that each camera runs at 1 Mbps on average and all hours of the day. Live Video analytics on IoT Edge can detect motion and pass relevant frames to the person-detection-plus-weapon-detection AI edge module for analysis.

  Let’s assume that the camera stream has motion only for 20 minutes per day. At 1Mbps, each such camera generates 150MB of video data per day and such video is stored in Azure Blob Storage for a 3 day period. Also, let’s assume that ten users play back the stored video on the companion app, watching 33.33 hours (200 minutes, 14.65GB) of video per day. (Calculations assume a 30-day month.)

  Monthly rates and volumes:

  • Live Video Analytics per video stream price: ￥0.346 per day (prorated to ￥0.000244 per min).
  • Azure Blob Storage pricing: ￥0.1873 per GB per month.
  • Standard streaming endpoint (600 Mbps) pricing: ~￥21.89/day (￥656.61/month)
  • Each 24/7 archive camera generates ~10.5GB of video data per day, for a total of 105,000 GB per day. (10,000 cameras)
  • Each camera runs for entire day but with motion detection capability within Live Video Analytics only generates and analyzes ~150MB of video data per day, for a total of 146.5 GB per day (1,000 cameras)

  Monthly charges:

  • Cost of Live Video Analytics on IoT Edge: ￥10,384
  • Cost for enabling video streaming to apps: ￥656.61
  • Cost for video storage: ￥82.326
  • Cost of running AI models: ￥20,360

  Total per month: ￥31,482.536 (￥31.487 per camera per month)

  Note: You will incur standard data transfer charges when you retrieve data from your video streams to destinations outside of Azure over the Internet.