Edge transcoding is an emerging paradigm that distributes media processing closer to the end-user or content origin.Key benefits of edge transcoding include reduced latency, lower bandwidth consumption, enhanced privacy, improved real-time processing, and reduced cloud infrastructure dependencies.Technological enablers for edge transcoding include 5G networks, advanced edge computing hardware, specialized AI/ML accelerators, and lightweight transcoding algorithms.Comparative performance analysis shows that edge transcoding offers lower latency, minimal network overhead, and distributed scalability compared to cloud transcoding.