Why is TMPGenc so good and other aren't???

[MachineMan]

What makes TMPGenc encoding quality(i.e. DVAVI or MPEG2 to VCD) so much better then the rest? For simplicity do any of the all in one softwares have TMPGenc equivaliant encoding quality, Ulead, Vegas, Adobe..........?? It seems that TMPGenc is always recommended to get the best quality. I currently capture DV to Mpeg2 in Ulead VS7, edit and then render to VCD, the quality is decent.

[Cecilio]

What makes TMPGenc encoding quality(i.e. DVAVI or MPEG2 to VCD) so much better then the rest? For simplicity do any of the all in one softwares have TMPGenc equivaliant encoding quality, Ulead, Vegas, Adobe..........?? It seems that TMPGenc is always recommended to get the best quality. I currently capture DV to Mpeg2 in Ulead VS7, edit and then render to VCD, the quality is decent.

CCE is better if you know how to use it its a bit tricky but if your advanced youll get it.

[Bradskey]

TMPGEnc isn't just reccommended for the quality (which is arguably comparable to CCE, or very close at least), but the insanely low price.

[energy80s]

Plus for VCD TMPG is the better encoder to use. MPEG1 isn't CCE's strong point

[mkelley]

Actually, I like MainConcept much better than TMPGEnc, both in terms of quality and speed.

Don't get me wrong, TMPGEnc is a very nice product, particularly for the money. It just isn't the best (or, arguably, even the second best). But I do still use it for MPEG1 conversion (where it really shines).

[Hardcoreruss]

It is not the best program at mpeg2 two but on mpeg1 it rules.

[DJRumpy]

CCE will easily outperform TMPGenc on MPEG-1 as well. Use the proper matrix ( Ultra Low Bitrate ) and it will produce excellent quality VCD material. Use the wrong matrix, and you'll get poor quality. I would image that's what started it's bad reputation to begin with.

[Hardcoreruss]

Oh!!!...... .... I was never aware of that, will have to give that a try. I take it that it increases the encode time by a lot though ?.

[DJRumpy]

Not that I've ever noticed. VCD in CCE typically encodes easily beyond 4 times the playback speed. Of course this would vary with your hardware. You can encode an hour of video in minutes at that small resolution.

[jsnkc]

I think the rason most people reccomed TMPGenc is that it is easy to steal and widely available, ProCoder and CCE are actually much better programs for encoding video.

[donpedro]

TMPGEnc is cheap and affordable for amateurs and still produce much better quality then most of tha low end editing and authoring sofwares. When compared with high-end encoders, quality is still good. So why pay much-much more for slight improvement in quality and encoding time ?

[mkelley]

You don't have to pay much much more -- I got MainConcept for the price of upgrading to Premiere 6.5 (and it's available separately for the same cost -- $150).

It's at least twice as fast as TMPGEnc -- I can now encode in near real time -- and that's worth what it's worth. TMPGEnc is a great alternative for those who can't afford to pay more.

[DJRumpy]

You can also get the basic version of CCE for around $50-$60 dollars. It only does up to two-pass VBR, just like TMPGenc. They pretty much dumbed it down to have about the same feature set as TMPGenc (minus the click filters of course).

Comparable in price to TMPGenc. It will encode at faster than realtime. It's not as 'newbie' friendly though.

[DVWannaB]

What makes TMPGenc encoding quality(i.e. DVAVI or MPEG2 to VCD) so much better then the rest? For simplicity do any of the all in one softwares have TMPGenc equivaliant encoding quality, Ulead, Vegas, Adobe..........?? It seems that TMPGenc is always recommended to get the best quality. I currently capture DV to Mpeg2 in Ulead VS7, edit and then render to VCD, the quality is decent.

TMPGEnc Plus is an inexpensive encoder/tool and is very versatile. Those are its greatest traits. I wouldnt say it is the best. Like some above I have had better results with Mainconcept/Vegas Video. But you just cant beat TMPGEnc cost and the many functions it performs. Good to have around.

[txpharoah]

Each encoders has its strengths.

TMPGenc is better at some things than others.

Same can be said for CCE, MainConcept, Cleaner, DVD Studio Pro, ProCoder, Final Cut Pro, some Canopus software, Panasonic, Ligos, etc, etc. Each has their own niche market. No one program does everything best (and disagreement only shows incompetence at video).

TMPGenc is easy to use with filters where others are a pain. It handles MPEG source better than others. It is cheaper and easier to use than most. The settings are easy to figure out. And the times are reasonable, especially if you just let it work for you overnight.

Personally, I highly suggest TMPGenc. I hate CCE (pain to use and not all that great in encode quality, I can spend more time for better output, plus Cleaner and MainConcept has better quality output than CCE). And MainConcept needs more work overall (blurry defaults and difficult interface). Others are all fine, just be ready to recognize the strengths and weaknesses for what YOU want to do. And be prepared to tweak them, as the software rarely comes setup perfect for your exact task.

And never take advice from somebody saying Program A is better than Program B. They have useless advice. Find somebody that can tell you what A is good/bad at, and what B is good/bad at. You don't see many of those posts. Too many program-pushers out there, with no meat to their arguments.

Enjoy TMPGenc for what its worth. I'm sure you'll get plenty of good use out of it.

[MachineMan]

What if cost wasn't and issue but quality and simplicity of use were? Vegas video 4, Ulead Media Studio 7.....????? Im looking for the best all-in-one software. Capture-edit-render-encode-burn..... Currently all lot of the posts recommend encoding with alternative softwares.

[jsnkc]

Slight improvement , I guess you havent tried out ProCoder then. Seems to me you should actualy buy and use programs before you comment on their quality. And for the last person who posted, get Vegas 4, it is the best all in one package on your list.

[T-E-M]

In reply to the first message, rendering to VCD....
If you want better quality, use VirtualDub (MPEG-2 version) and convert the MPEG-2 to DivX or something. Bitrate at about 1500, 2 or 3-pass operation. In the end, you should get a file a DivX file of quality that you can't make any difference from.

On another angle of discussion:
I do this and my final file plays slow in WMP9.0, I tested my DirectDraw and DirectShow with dxdiag in Start > Run.
And what is CCE? And what is MainConcept Encoder? I have the DV Demo Codec but not any encoder.

[donpedro]

Best is very relative term.... Most of them you can download as an trial version.... Some of them ar good in one think but bad at others.... For me Pinnacle Studio 8 works great and it can capture, edit, encode, author, and burn. I am capturing from DV camcorder in DV AVI. Quality of encoding is great for what I need (personal home video). DVD Authoring (menu, chapters) is flexible enough to let me do what I need. Not so great if your source is mpeg file, or for capturing from analog card.

Almost forget... I make DVD's not VCD...

[jsnkc]

Actually best is not relative
Best: Having the qualities that are desirable or distinguishing in a particular thing. Superior to the average, Of high quality as the dictionary defines it. All of wihch Vegas Video is, and Pinnacle Isn't. If you can show me a better software package for the money I would gladly take back my statement, but you will never find one.

[donpedro]

Not again ....

Best is subjective than ??? Is that the right word that you can agree on ?

Best car for someone is the one that uses least gasoline
Best car for somebody else is the one that drives fastest
Best car for another person is the safest one

Also what is best today is not best tommorow....

[jsnkc]

Yeah, but in the video world you need a program wich gives you the widest amount of capabilties, ease of use, and best price for the features.

[donpedro]

....program wich gives you the widest amount of capabilties that I need, ease of use based on my criteria, and best price (cheapest) for the features (that I care about).

That is best for me.

So stop forcing your view on software to the others....

[MachineMan]

Anybody tried Ulead Media studio 7 yet? I have 6 and heard that 7 was the one of the best?????? I have tried Vegas 4 which seemed a little more complicated then Ulead. I still need to trail Pinnacle.

[txpharoah]

What if cost wasn't and issue but quality and simplicity of use were? Vegas video 4, Ulead Media Studio 7.....????? Im looking for the best all-in-one software. Capture-edit-render-encode-burn..... Currently all lot of the posts recommend encoding with alternative softwares.

Generally, all-in-one software does not give as good a quality as would individual programs for each task. You're trying for a cheap combo, and output will be revealing of that fact. Better off sticking to good programs for each task.

[txpharoah]

....program wich gives you the widest amount of capabilties that I need, ease of use based on my criteria, and best price (cheapest) for the features (that I care about).

That is best for me.

So stop forcing your view on software to the others....

Thank you. My point exactly. Each person needs to try out software and buy what they find best for themselves, not what Joe Blow says they should use.

[slicktop]

Anybody tried Ulead Media studio 7 yet? I have 6 and heard that 7 was the one of the best?????? I have tried Vegas 4 which seemed a little more complicated then Ulead. I still need to trail Pinnacle.

I purchased Ulead VideoStudio 7 and like it a lot. I found it very easy to use and the quality produced was excellent. It had all the features I was looking for and more, except maybe in DVD menu creation, which was adequate. Overall I am more than happy with it. I was looking for some time and reading lots of forums before I downloaded their trial and was hooked. I have had several small problems with it, but one of them I was able to solve immediately, and the other I am still scratching my head on. I don't know if it is the best or not, but it is the best I have used in the same price range.

[EddyH]

T-E-M

Well, I'd love to, if only you could find a way to make it work in my DVD player... and that old Pentium 90 over there... and this other speedy PC which has a habit of eating new drivers... and stop the dark areas from getting reaaal ugly... etc

Divx is good for internet distribution or keeping hi-rez backups on CDROM but aint much good for making widely playable discs (til AVI decoding becomes standard... one day... the decoding & resizing takes a lot of CPU power that cheap dedicated MPG chips don't have) or making an only recording of the large number of films with large dark bits.

[RickNwd]

Adobe Premier 6.5 users can download and install Mainconcept's Ver 1.2 or Beta 1.3 encoders for free. There are lots of configuration possibilities in the easy to read menus but the defaults are generally right on. Most amazing to me was that I can encode almost in real time on my AMD Athlon XP 2400+ system. I did not have much luck with variable bit rates however, but at a constant 6 still get plenty of room for my VHS to DVD projects on disks. I cannot compare to other encoders but I also can see no reason to even try since I am getting very good results with Mainconcept 1.2.

[lanwater]

Adobe Premier 6.5 users can download and install Mainconcept's Ver 1.2 or Beta 1.3 encoders for free. There are lots of configuration possibilities in the easy to read menus but the defaults are generally right on. Most amazing to me was that I can encode almost in real time on my AMD Athlon XP 2400+ system. I did not have much luck with variable bit rates however, but at a constant 6 still get plenty of room for my VHS to DVD projects on disks. I cannot compare to other encoders but I also can see no reason to even try since I am getting very good results with Mainconcept 1.2.

Mainconcept adobe encoder is fast no doubt. the noise filtering in it is however useless. The documentation is bad. I should say the mainconcept promised an up to date documentation that will actually tell you what the various setting do.

Tmpgenc is extremely slow when using any filtering but the quality is excellent.

I will be trying cce basic as soon as I get some free time.

My guess is that certain encoders work better for certain task.