-
Compression Master vs Flip4Mac
I just found a demo of Popwire Technology’s Compression Master. I was very pleased with the results I got, much better than what I can get with Flip4Mac. I think the trick with Compression Master is setting ‘Automatic Keyframes’.
I thought I found my Mac/wmv answer until I read that the company was acquired by Telestream 2-3 years ago. My first attempt with presets left me with video quality equal to h.264. I didn’t think that was possible with wmv on a Mac. I can’t seem to find any registration codes because of it’s age but it’s certainly better than what I’ve got to work with now!
Btw, how the heck did Telestream mess up that nice piece of software? I still can’t get good looking wmv through Flip4Mac unless my bit rate is near 30Mbps – I might as well use an intermediate codec at that point.
Sorry for the rant. Does anyone know of other WMV encoding software I can use with compressor out there? We’ve been over the Flip4Mac stuff before (Feb. 1st posting) but I still have no resolve or any good results to show. I’m guessing that it’s something I’m doing wrong but I still can’t find any concise, precise, easy to read material for wmv like I can for h.264 encoding.
Thanks in advance any tips.
-
9 Replies
-
Compression Master is now Episode.
Compression Master was surely great but so is Episode.
Don’t confuse Episode with Flip4Mac WMV encoder.
Both have the same parent company but are very different applications.You might want to download the trial for Episode.
Episode comes with a plugin which works in Compressor so ALL Episode codecs (not just WMV) are available through Compressor.You might want to visit the Telestream Episode forum here at the COW.
BTW, where the heck are you seeing Compression Master trial downloads from any legitimate or even illegitimate site. It’s years gone..
-
I’ll second what Craig says, Episode is one of the best applications out there, better than solutions costing 10x as much.
That said you can still get respectable output from F4M without trying too hard.
__________________________________________________________________
Fonts are like cologne:A bad choice speaks louder than a good one.
-
Thanks Craig for enlightening me. I had no idea. I have downloaded episode and am discovering a whole new set of tools that I need.
btw, I found the Compressor Trial on a mac.softpedia.com site.
-
Daniel, I think I must be trying too hard with F4M because no matter what I do, I just can seem to get good results. The only way I get good looking material is to do a Single Pass VBR w/Q set at 100. This is great but it gives me HUGE files.
I’ve tried presets; I’ve tried custom settings; I’ve tried holding my breath and standing on one foot; nothing seems to work for me.
Do you use F4M?
-
[Brian Alexander] “btw, I found the Compressor Trial on a mac.softpedia.com site. “
Hmm. If I do a search for Compression Master there I get only one result and it’s Telestream Episode. Maybe they have an old link hiding there.
-
I use both Flip4Mac and Episode. Certainly Episode has more features and controls but I can certainly get good results from Flip4Mac.
Make sure you’re using Flip4Mac 2.2.1.11
-
I only learned of Compression Master after looking at the license key detail using this WMV-9 componenet in QuickTime.
Here’s the link I found: https://mac.softpedia.com/get/Multimedia/Popwire-WMV-9-Component.shtml
-
My F4M WMV Studio Pro HD is up to date: 2.2.1.11.
Do you use the built in presets or do you create custom settings?
Can you send me a preset to try?
What is your source material? Does it matter?
I just can’t seem to get predictable results using F4M. I’m thinking that it’s something I’m not doing right.
Thanks for your help.
-
My sources have been almost everything imaginable and even some things one might not imagine.
Different sources have different demands. Presets are often jumping off points. You can start with a preset and by seeing what’s running awry figure out what needs to be tweaked.Most important starting point is knowing your target. What is the viewer’s internet connection and computer might be capable of.
You then need to know your source file (fast action, talking head, graphics, audio, etc) and know how to get source and target to “meet” with the art of compromise.
You should post links to an uploaded file otherwise it’s all just guess work. It’s kind of like a doctor trying to diagnose over the phone. I we can see the patient we can suggest a course of treatment.
You must describe your target first.
Reply to this Discussion! Login or Sign Up