A system that incorporates teachings of the present disclosure may include, for example, an encoder having a controller adapted to receive a digital video stream with metadata, retrieve from at least a portion of the metadata a native video format, configure encoding of at least a portion of the digital video stream according to the retrieved native video format, generate from at least the portion of the digital video stream an encoded video stream conforming to a moving picture experts group format and the native video format, and submit the encoded video stream to an acquisition server for multicast distribution. Other embodiments are disclosed.