Amazon Elastic Transcoder

What it is

Amazon Elastic Transcoder was a managed service for converting (transcoding) media files stored in Amazon S3 into formats that play on smartphones, tablets, web browsers, and TVs.

AWS discontinued Elastic Transcoder on November 13, 2025. After that date, its console and resources are no longer available. AWS directs customers to AWS Elemental MediaConvert, a file-based video processing service with more features and lower starting prices.

Elastic Transcoder is still listed on the SAA-C03 exam. When a question asks how to convert video files in S3 into other formats, choose MediaConvert when it is offered. If an older question names only Elastic Transcoder for that job, recognize it as the transcoding role, but never choose a discontinued service over MediaConvert.

How Elastic Transcoder worked

Pipeline: a queue that linked an input S3 bucket with an output S3 bucket, and an IAM role that Elastic Transcoder used to read and write them.
Job: one conversion of one input file, submitted to a pipeline.
Preset: the output settings, such as codec, resolution, and bitrate. AWS provided system presets for common devices.
Notifications: each pipeline could send job status to Amazon SNS topics.
Typical pattern: a video is uploaded to S3, an S3 event invokes a Lambda function, and the function starts a transcoding job. The output lands in another bucket and is served through CloudFront.

What replaces it: AWS Elemental MediaConvert

File-based video processing at any scale, writing to S3. Input files come from S3 or an HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol)The protocol that web browsers and APIs use to send requests, such as GET and POST, and receive responses. On its own it is not encrypted; HTTPS adds TLS.Glossary entry(S) server only; MediaConvert does not take a live stream, such as a Kinesis video stream, as input.
Advanced features:
- Professional broadcast codecs with HDR support.
- Graphic overlays and advanced audio.
- DRM and closed captions.
- Adaptive bitrate (ABR) packaging, such as HLS and DASH.
Jobs, queues, output presets, and job templates. Unlike Elastic Transcoder, settings can be overridden per job.
Job status events go to EventBridge (formerly CloudWatch Events), not per-pipeline SNS topics. From there they can reach SNS, SQS, Lambda, and more.
AWS published a migration guide and a script that converts Elastic Transcoder presets to MediaConvert presets.

Elastic Transcoder or another option?

If the requirement is	Choose
Convert video files in S3 into device formats	AWS Elemental MediaConvert (older questions may name Elastic Transcoder)
Add ABR packaging, captions, or DRM to the converted files	AWS Elemental MediaConvert
Ingest and store live camera video	Amazon Kinesis Video Streams
Convert footage stored in a Kinesis video stream	Export it with GetClip to S3, then MediaConvert
Deliver the converted videos to viewers	Amazon CloudFront

Reverse mindmap: when the question points here

Is it Elastic Transcoder?

The transcoding role, when the question says
- Convert uploaded videos into formats for phones and browsers leads to MediaConvert (Elastic Transcoder only in older questions)
- Transcode media files stored in S3 leads to MediaConvert (Elastic Transcoder only in older questions)
Know the parts
- Input and output buckets leads to Pipeline
- Output format settings leads to Preset
- Start conversion when a file is uploaded leads to S3 event to Lambda, create job
- Job finished notification leads to SNS, or EventBridge with MediaConvert
Today
- New transcoding workloads leads to AWS Elemental MediaConvert
No, when the question says
- Live video from cameras leads to Kinesis Video Streams
- Read a live stream directly leads to Not MediaConvert; it takes files from S3 or HTTP(S)

Key takeaways

Elastic Transcoder converted media files in S3 using pipelines, jobs, and presets, with SNS notifications.
It was discontinued on November 13, 2025; AWS Elemental MediaConvert replaces it.
MediaConvert adds HDR, captions, DRM, ABR packaging, per-job overrides, and EventBridge job events.
"Convert video files in S3" points to transcoding: choose MediaConvert; recognize Elastic Transcoder only in older questions that do not offer MediaConvert.