encoder plugin for MC

[Jon Zanone]

A plugin as in something that works inside MC? There’s nothing I know of that works inside MC. Or a standalone encoding software? I use Sorenson 4.5 (full). Others swear by ProCoder. IMO, I’d stay away from Cleaner. I’ve not had a product come out of it yet that didn’t requre several attempts to make it work…

Jon

“So you want to throw out the old you – but the old you is old enough to know it won’t make it better”
Del Amitri – “Make it Better”

[Themis]

Nothing at all? Wow! So what do you do when you want to export straight from the timeline? I’ve seen some export options from inside MC but none for, say, MPEG-2. How do you export if you want to convert to DVD?Don?t tell me as a Quicktime reference… Doesn?t that have a cost on video quality?

Themis

[Michael Hancock]

You can customize your export options to all sorts of different thing–hit the Options button when your Export dialog box pops up (the box that lets you choose where to save your Export to). I don’t know that MPEG-2 is available anymore, though. That’s why Sorenson is now included whenever you buy Avid software (unless you bought the Academic version–no third party programs with that).

Regarding Quicktime Reference–no degradation of quality at all. In fact, it’s probably the most pristine export you can do since it’s just a reference to your actual media on your drives. That’s why it’s only a few kilobytes in size. You take the Quicktime Reference to Sorenson, Procoder, Cleaner, or another compression program to do more conversions (like MPEG-2) with better quality.

If you’re looking for a Compressor type program like FCP has–Avid doesn’t have one. I guess Sorenson Squeeze, but even that’s not integrated like Compressor. Remember, Avid is an editing app first and that’s where their focus lies. They provide additonal programs for your other stuff (compression, titling, etc…) but it’s an editor first and foremost.

Michael.

PS. You can make as many export settings as you want and save them under any name you want. Just go to your Settings Tab in your Project window, choose the Hamburger menu to Show All Settings, select an export setting, hit Ctrl+D to duplicate it, double click it to open it up, then change the parameters to whatever you want!

[Bouke Vahl]

Besides Michaels stuff,
You are in PAL. Procoder sucks in Pal for MpegII

If you want HQ MpegII, get TMPGenc, it is dirt cheap and does a very decent job, unbeatable for the price AND does AC3 also (a big must)
If you want to go a step further, get Cinemacraft. The entry level product will suit your needs, and is also affordable.

Mind you, both have a lot of options you have to wade trough, and prepare yourself for a day or two testing different settings. Also, get rewritable discs or you will end up spending more on test discs than on the apps….

hth

Bouke

http://www.videoToolShed.com
smart tools for video pro’s

[Themis]

[bouke vahl] “Procoder sucks in Pal for MpegII”

Well, from my experience I’d say quite the opposite! I can emphatically say that Procoder does by far the best MPEG-2 encoding I’ve seen. A couple of weeks ago I worked on a project on a Grass Valley Edius workstation and I was amazed by the outcome. With settings adjusted for mastering quality, we all agreed the final video was superb. Bright colours, crystal clear picture and a certain “warmth” that made the difference more visible compared to other encoders. Of course, I haven’t looked at the newest versions of TmpegEnc or Cinemacraft, but I’m pretty sure you’re missing something in Procoder, Bouke… 🙂

Themis

[Bouke Vahl]

we’ll, still on Procoder 2.0, and doing side by side tests, Procoder has nasty sharp lines where they should not be.
So, no Procoder for MpegII for me…

I’m only interested in having an encoder that resembles the original as close as possible. I don’t need anything else, as that is left for the editing.

For any encoder, if colors change, there is something seriously wrong with the setup (probably rgb / 601 conversion)

Bouke

http://www.videoToolShed.com
smart tools for video pro’s

[Themis]

I can’t say I’ve noticed what you say. No nasty sharp lines, no diversion from the original. Just sharp colours, pretty much the same as the original and a clear picture. Are you shure you’re using the right settings? Bitrate control and mastering quality combined, when set accordingly, play a big part in the outcome…

Themis