BELABOX vs IRLEncoder, the honest version.
Where each one fits today. Written by someone who has run both in the field.
BELABOX is the project that made open IRL encoding possible. We owe them. This is not a hit piece. It is an honest comparison.
Where IRLEncoder wins today
Safer updates. This is the biggest delta. BELABOX updates through apt. That works, but it changes the system you are currently running. If a kernel, driver, or package update goes wrong, you may be fixing the board by hand. IRLEncoder installs a new release beside the working one. The device tries the new release, and if it cannot come up cleanly it can return to the last working release.
More control while live. BELABOX already has adaptive bitrate and a live max-bitrate slider. IRLEncoder keeps that and adds a few more things that happen on their own. It watches your modem signal and how hot the device is, then changes the bitrate before things go wrong. It stops using links that are about to fall over instead of riding them down. And it patches up brief packet loss on the fly, so a hiccup does not turn into a buffer. No stream restart needed.
A cleaner device UI. BELABOX uses a small Node and WebSocket control path that has served the project well. IRLEncoder moves the device brain to Rust and keeps the web UI tied to the same API the device uses internally. That means the dashboard, network page, scenes, recording, and live stats are less likely to drift apart.
Built-in scene, recording, and DJI tools. BELABOX focuses on the core encoder path: camera in, bonded SRTLA out. IRLEncoder adds scene switching, PiP, local MKV recording, and DJI Pocket 3 control in the same device UI.
One service watching the moving parts. The encoder, SRTLA sender, modem monitor, and recorder are started and watched by one Rust service. When something stops, the logs point at the part that stopped instead of leaving you to guess.
Where BELABOX still wins
Maturity. Years of field use. More guides on YouTube. More people in the Discord who have already seen your problem.
Cloud relay included. BELABOX cloud gives you relay accounts and remote control from the existing UI. Our cloud pair is on the roadmap but not shipped yet.
Hardware ecosystem. Branded boards, branded encoders, an established supply chain.
Where neither wins
Pre-built hardware that you just buy and use. Both projects are DIY. If you want a boxed appliance, look at LiveU Solo or TVU One. They cost ten times as much, and that price buys you a service contract you cannot read.
So which one?
If you want maturity, community, and cloud relay setup in the box, run BELABOX.
If you want safer updates, deeper live controls, scene tools, local recording, and Pocket 3 control built in, run IRLEncoder.
You can run both in the same backpack and switch sources at the relay. We do.