TMPGEnc XPress 4 seems okay, will ProCoder do this better?

[tluxon]

I have a lot of video work (primarily MPEG-2 and DV, but also some MP4 and FLV) I want to edit in a way that requires re-encoding and joining, much of it in various flavors of HiDef. Sometimes I'm content downconverting to DVD-compliant video, but most of the time I want to maintain at least 960x720 (4:3 AR) or 1280x720 resolution.

I've tried TMPGEnc XPress 4.0, which seems to do a pretty nice job, but I've read so much about the Procoder engine that I wondered if I should give that a try before buying TMPGEnc XPress. Trouble is, it doesn't look like it's anywhere near equivalent in price.

Can anyone point me in the best direction for what I'm trying to accomplish?

Thanks!

[tluxon]

Well, let me pose my question another way. Before I upgrade to TMPGEnc Express, are there any other programs in a comparable price range that I should consider? What's their "competition"?

Thanks!

[leopardx]

Have you tried or looked at CinemaCraft?

It is arguably the best encoder, but I have only used it for SD material so far, not sure how it handles high resolutions or whatever.

You can check out the price and info here:
www.cinemacraft.com