Encode uncompressed AVI to MPEG2 (Best method?)

[abvision]

Hi Guys

We are in the process of creating a DVD for playback in regular home DVD players. The Source material for the DVD has been provided as uncompressed AVI files.

I am currently looking around for the best encoder to use. I have visited a few forums, read a few posts about what people prefer, what is free and what is paid for. Basically we need to achieve the highest quality available from the AVI file in MPEG2.

I have used TMPGEnc Plus before which has given various results. Seemingly I have narrowed it down to the following:

- CinemaCraft Encoder
- TMPGEnc Plus
- Edit Studio 6 (DVD Lab Pro)
- ProCoder
- Mainconcept

Speed of the encode is not an issue. Neither is paid for or free encoders, (although we are on a budget so $2k encoders are out of our league). What we are looking for is full control over the encoding process or at least as much control as possible. Must work on Windows XP Pro SP2 O/S.

So I leave it to you professionals to give me your suggestions on which to go for as I read good and bad about all the above. Right now I just don't know which to pay for / use.

Any help is appreciated.

[poisondeathray]

In your list, DVD Lab Pro isn't an encoder, it's an authoring tool

Specfically what types of "control" are you looking for? i.e. what aspects are important to you? specific encoding settings or batch functionality? perhaps a watch folder?

Some of them have free trials you might test some out to see if they meet your needs

Personally, I would go with CCE ($) or HCEnc (free) for best quality, but I haven't used Procoder or Edit Studio. To get the most out of this process, it would be beneficial to have some knowledge of pre processing / filtering, and what settings to use, because often the default settings are no good and not representative of the full potential

[poisondeathray]

EDIT double post sorry

[minidv2dvd]

editstudio 6 is dvdlab's companion editor/encoder. mainconcept based encoder like vegas/premiere pro

cce is probably out, as you'd want sp2 - $1950 - for the multipass vbr that is cce's forte. highest quality if used properly.

tmpgenc isn't any better than it was 10 years ago. not that it's bad, usually gives decent results, but very slow.

procoder3 - it's ok, not used much.

mainconcept - the most common encoder - used in most editing packages, nothing wrong with it, fast and gives good results.

[abvision]

Cheers for the replies so far..

yes I know DVDLab is an authoring software. I just put it in brackets next to Editstudio 6 in case someone didnt know what it was (i.e is associated with DVD Lab Pro).

We actually do use DVD Lab Pro 2 for authoring and based on the fact that mainconcept is commonly used along with the fact that editstudio 6 is a mainconcept based encoder.. it may make sense to purchase it and use it alongside dvd lab pro 2.

I had looked at CCE and yeah the $1950 price put me off big time. Its a lot of money just for multipass VBR.

Cheers for the input guys, shall hang on a few days and see if anyone else has something to say

[SatStorm]

Basically, for perfect results there is only 2 alternatives:

1 - Learn avisynth and blah blah blah (as you guess, I'm not into it). It is the best way indeed.

2 - The classic root: Virtualdub / filter / frameserve / encode.

Virtualdub, combined with neatvideo, msu smart sharpen, msu denoise and msu smart deblock (on some cases) can do miracles. Frameserve that to your favorite encoder. I still use the "ancient" TMPGenc 2.5 for this.

That works for me. Few years ago, we didn't have the CPU power for using those filters easy, but now this is not anymore a problem.

[jagabo]

HcEnc via HcGUI. You'll need to install AviSynth and create simple scripts like:

AviSource("filename.avi")
ConvertToYV12(interlaced=true)

[freebird73717]

What we are looking for is full control over the encoding process or at least as much control as possible.

HCenc with avisynth will work wonders for you.

[Braindrain]

I've personally tried CCE, MCE, TMPGEnc, and Procoder. (among many others)

For the highest quality encode (but not necessarily the fastest), Procoder beat them all.

[johns0]

TMPGEnc 4.0 XPress and cinema craft encoder basic are decent encoders and dont cost a fortune and are fast.

[glenpinn]

I've personally tried CCE, MCE, TMPGEnc, and Procoder. (among many others)

For the highest quality encode (but not necessarily the fastest), Procoder beat them all.

i totally disagree with you here, i think procoder is too soft and i much prefer CCE over that by a mile, and im sure most would agree.

personally, i use tmpgenc xpress 4.0 for all my mpeg2 editing and encoding, simply because of the added tools it offers, and file type support.

out of those 4 you listed, i think CCE, TMPGEnc, MainConcept then Procoder in that order, but MainConcept appears to have improved over the years to what it was like. very close between it and xpress.

obviously there are lots of other ways to get great mpeg2 quality, if your prepared to take the long road about it, but for stand alone encoders, i think CCE is arguably the best, but i dont like the program myself, and im very happy with tmpgenc xpress for what it offers and its great price.

cheers

[G)-(OST]

Hi

I'd have to agree with glenpinn, CCE (basic) came up trumps for me to, but different strokes for different folks I guess

[Braindrain]

Mastering quality on Procoder actually gave me better results than 3-pass VBR on CCE. I'd put TMPGEnc on the bottom, myself. I'm talking about a noisy source (DV, AVCHD) over an extremely clean source (DVD, Bluray).

But hey, whatever floats your boat.

[guns1inger]

I always found the Mastering setting in ProCoder 2 was awful for DV source, and consistently produced lower quality than High with some custom tweaking. HCEnc produces far better quality than ProCoder 2's Mastering setting. I never bothered with ProCoder 3 because, well, there is no need for it.

[lordsmurf]

I left CCE for Procoder years ago. Then I left Procoder for MainConcept, which is what I use now: MainConcept Reference. The full version of Reference has many advanced options that can be tweaked, unlike the included engine versions found with Premiere, Vegas, Edit Studio, etc.

TMPGEnc has its uses, but it's not top-notch encoding compared to the others. It is for its price range, however!