Transcoding

Transcoding is a process that reformats content that is otherwise designed to be displayed on a different platform or device. This technology is employed by a number of services and servers. It functions like an interpreter, able to translate content suitable for a specific platform regardless of the application, screen size, language or protocol used. Transcoding may take place in a number of different ways. In one scenario, the original content such as an HTML document may be analyzed by an application which then creates a separate version that contains it’s annotations rather than modifying the source. The annotations consists of data that provides instructions for the reformatting process. When the document is requested from the host, the server returns the annotated version of the authoring program. The content is then reformatted and forwarded to a proxy server. The proxy server will access information regarding preferences and may further adapt the content before it is delivered to the user. The user may have their own display preferences that allow the document to be reformatted in dynamic fashion. The end result is a fully functioning web page that can be accessed and viewed by the user.