Greetings, all... I've been skimming the forum, and can't quite find the answer I'm looking for. I'm looking to convert some AVI files to MPEG files so I can author a DVD using the DVD-lab program. I guess there's no AVI plugin yet, and I'm not the most adept at the complicated conversion stuff... So, I was browsing the shareware programs for AVI-Mpeg conversion. There are so many of them, was wondering if anybody here recommends one in particular, or advises against one? I'm willing to plunk down the moolah, but am hoping for a user-friendly but high-quality product! thanks!
Incidentally, when I said I'm willing to pay, I meant Honda-level kinda of money, not Mercedes-level dough moolah! Just a clarification. Thanks again.
My opinion is TMPGenc, as I've written in http://forums.afterdawn.com/thread_view.cfm/110106 (more, there are plugins for DVD --> (S)VCD movies, too), but I've heard well also of Cucusoft Video Converter...
Tmpgenc is miles too slow. For quick and dirty avi to mpg, try Winavi, or if you're going to author in DVDLab, get VSO Divx to dvd. It will output a DVD structure, with .vob's inside the VIDEO_TS folder, but DVDLab will import the .vob's and demux to a normal m2v and mp2, which you can then author with your menus and stuff in DVDLab.
Thanks for the advice! I'm new to this, so I'm going to have read that last sentence a few times to parse it. Love this forum... thanks for helping us blind newbies through these minefields.
What all that technobabble means is... VSO Divx to dvd will convert (actually the correct term is encode) the video to the proper mpeg-2 format. It will then automatically create the .vob .ifo and .bup files needed on a DVD to BE a DVD, inside the VIDEO_TS folder, (THIS is the "authoring" bit) and allow you to burn it directly. DVDLab will take the .vob's, make them back into an mpg, split them into separate audio (mp2) and video (m2v) files, and allow you to add menus, chapters and stuff. It then put's it all back, into a VIDEO_TS folder, (this is RE-authoring) ready to burn. If you use (almost) any other mpeg encoder, it will output an .mpg file, or in some cases separate audio and video files. You can import any of these directly into DVDLab, author and burn. Edit: If you want the absolute best quality video on your dvd's, I would suggest getting a good standalone encoder, and not use some of the "one-click-wonder" types. Canopus Procoder Express is only $59 and is rated the best by most serious encoders (people that encode a lot). Mainconcept mpeg encoder is another excellent one. Third in line would be CCE, but it can be hugely complex and complicated to use. Fourth would be tmpgenc. It rates so low because it's terribly slow, although it CAN produce superb video, with the right settings.
I'm not sure what you base that on, but I doubt you'd find most 'serious encoders' saying it's the best. The majority of them would most likely rate CCE the best. This isn't an attack on Procoder since I've read many good things about it, and from what I understand there is some video (ie interlaced and extremely low bitrate) that it is supposed to be superior for, but most professionals and knowledgable hobbyists rate CCE as the best. CCE Basic also isn't that complicated. It doesn't have most of the options that make CCE SP hard to understand (and last year the interface for both was redesigned, making it much easier to understand than it used to be. Most of the options only need to be set once and then put into a template so you never need to mess with them again. It's also by far the fastest encoder of the group.
CCE is rated much lower, because it (basically) doesn't have a gui, and relies on 3rd party software to do advanced filtering (avisynth). If there were a GUI that normal people (not tech heads) could understand, I'm sure it would be tops. As it stands, Canopus, then Mainconcept, then CCE.
I'm certainly not saying it has an easier interface than the others, but your claim was that it's less popular among serious encoders which you haven't backed up with anything besides the fact that it has a more complex interface. Clearly the interface is enough to make a difference to some people, including you, but how does that translate to a claim about other people's preferences? BTW I'd also have to say that if you're talking about popularity TMPGEnc probably beats all the other "real encoders".
I want to take AVI files (containing DV25) and re-encode them to MPEG2. Can Canopus Procoder Express do this? Are there any bitrate limitations with Procoder Express? What are the limitations of Procoder Express versus the full-strength Procoder? Has anyone seen a detailed feature comparison chart for these two products? There must be some limitations to the Express version. Why else would anyone pay for the full-strength product? Thanks
Here's some information for each. ProCoder 2 http://www.canopus.us/US/products/ProCoder2/pt_procoder2.asp ProCoder Express http://www.canopus.us/US/products/procoder_express/pt_procoder_express.asp Either one would be a good choice for DV. Many people who use Canopus encoders say they do a much better job on interlaced video than the competition. The full version of ProCoder is definitely a superior product, but that doesn't mean the Express version isn't excellent as well. CCE SP sells for nearly $2000 and the Basic version (which is nearly as good) sells for the same price as ProCoder Express. It's also worth noting that more advanced features are only worth paying for if you're going to need them and have the time to learn how to use them. If all you need to encode is DV ProCoder Express should do everything you need.
I would like to see on here some links to site, or groups of people who acutally have tested Canopus ProCoder, Cinema Craft Encoder, MainConcept MPEG Encoder, and TMPGEnc. The ones I have used are MainConcept and TMPGEnc. TMPGEnc is an AWESOME freeware utility (for MPEG-1), but I would have to say that I really like the MainConcept stand-alone MPEG Encoder. The newer version (1.4) corrects a problem when encoding M-JPEG video files, allowing you to invert the video. I would like to see how CCE Basic, Procoder and MainConcept MPEG Encoder compare. Does anyone have analytical data? *email address removed*
I don't know that such a comparison has been done. If it has I'd be very interested as well. I removed the email address from your post because it's against forum rules. You can exchange email addresses via pm.
It has been done, more than once. Look in the forums at http://www.videohelp.com There are lots of threads, most with over 100 posts each, comparing them all.
I saw plenty of places where CCE SP was compared to Procoder 2 but what I'm talking about is a comparison between Procoder Express, CCE Basic, MainConcept, and TMPGEnc.
