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Encoding/Transcoding Hardware
I have an ancient Mac with an Optibase card that encodes and transcodes streams into MPEG-2 format. This was the last card that Optibase made for Mac. I want to be able to buy a new Mac Pro tower and get a card that I know will work with the system. I am having very little luck finding a Mac encoding/transcoding MPEG-2 card. I’ve checked the big 4: AJA, Canopus (Grass Valley), Optibase, and Hauppauge. I want to be able to do all of this in real time too.
I know they make other cards (i.e. — AJA) for digital capture and other kind of encoding cards, but I’m specifically interested in MPEG-2.
Can anyone help?
Thanks!
-Mike -
4 Replies
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Almost all MPEG 2 encoders are software based these days. With a fast system you can get faster than realtime with Cinemacraft SP….buts its PC only. Cinemacraft makes a FCP plugin encoder but I haven’t used it. Not too much stuff for the Mac unfortunately.
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I use BitVice on my MacPro to encode HD to SD m2v . Faster than real time with the new version on the new Mac and great quality.
Michael Slowe
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Bitvice looks really nice, however, what I need is something hardware related because I need to be able to digitize and compress/encode/transcode in one step. I do a lot of work where a client will ask me to make a quick dub from a tape, or add time code (super on the deck). If I have to digitize first, that means that I have to digitize, and then get it out of the editing system, and then compress, which usually means even with the fastest encoders double real-time. With a card, i’d be able to do realtime. This doesn’t seem like a big deal, but it means that a 3 hour dub just turned into 5-6 hours without a card.
What options are there out there that are highly recommended for PC and are there really no Mac options?
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What you have is the only option I know of.
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