At its core, Adobe Media Encoder (AME) is a standalone rendering and encoding application designed to automate the process of creating multiple encoded versions of source files. In 2020, version 14.6.0.42 focused on streamlining the hand-off between high-resolution master files and optimized deliverables for web, social media, and broadcast.

You need AME 2020 only if you're using it to encode projects from another Adobe application version 2020. If that is not the case, Do i need 2 versions of the Media Encoder? (2021 and 2022)

: By offloading rendering to AME, editors can continue working in their primary creative application (like Premiere Pro) while the "heavy lifting" occurs in the background. The 2020 v14.6 Architecture

Why do I need multiple versions of Media Encoder? - Adobe Community adobe-media-encoder-2020-v14-6-0-42-full-version-download

: The software requires significant resources to maintain speed. For this era, 8 GB of RAM was considered the bare minimum, though 16 GB to 32 GB is recommended for HD and 4K media respectively. The "Full Version" and Security Considerations

The 2020 release was significant for its stability and integration with the "Dynamic Link" workflow.