# Transcoders

Operations related to transcoders, output renditions, and output stream targets.
 ### Transcoders
 Wowza Video transcoders allow you to customize transcoding processes by creating transcoders that are optimized for various network or streaming conditions. When you create a transcoder through the ``/transcoders`` endpoint, you must manually configure output renditions and associated output stream targets.

 Transcoders, like live streams, can be adaptive bitrate or passthrough. An adaptive bitrate transcoder generates multiple output renditions of your live stream, at different bitrates. A passthrough transcoder, in contrast, sends the source video to a stream target without performing transcoding. Passthrough transcoders, which can only be created if you have a subscription plan that supports them, accrue processing time, bandwidth, and egress usage, but much less than their adaptive bitrate counterparts.
 ### Output Renditions
 Before you can start an adaptive bitrate transcoder, you must use the ``/transcoders/{transcoder_id}/outputs`` operations to define the adaptive bitrate output renditions that you want the transcoder to create. Passthrough transcoders require only one output rendition because they send source video to a stream target without transcoding.
 ### Output Stream Targets
 Transcoders require output stream targets before you can start them. Although you create and configure stream targets using the different ``/stream_targets`` operations, you must associate a stream target to a transcoder's output rendition using the /transcoders/{transcoder_id}/outputs/{output_id}/output_stream_targets operations. For an adaptive bitrate transcoder with multiple output renditions defined, you must create output stream targets to associate a stream target to each output rendition. For a passthrough transcoder, you only need one output stream target.