What spec PC for MPEG2 compression?

[OzQuant]

I've recently bought a miniDV cam have been playing around with converting the camera footage into SVCD to be watch on a TV thru my DVD player. However, the MPEG2 compression stage is waaay too slow and its come to a point where its too annoying.

So, in what order should I spend my money on for a PC? CPU vs RAM? AMD vs INTC? Is RAID IDE just a waste? I don't think the software I use for MPEG2 uses multi-CPU, so I guess twin CPUs are a waste for my requirements? Where is the bottleneck? Thanks.

[ItsMe]

Get a fast CPU and lots of RAM, I use Intel for compatability reasons. RAID is not per se a waste of time, but it will not speed up trancoding from DV to mpeg.

You could also look at hardware mpeg encoders. The Vidac VMagic will transcode DV to mpeg1 at about 60-80 frames per second, DV to mpeg2 at about 28 to 36 frames per second, depending on filter settings etc.

[q1aqza]

ItsMe,

Does the Vidac card encode offline or only during capture like the PVR250?

[tuco1979]

I've recently bought a miniDV cam have been playing around with converting the camera footage into SVCD to be watch on a TV thru my DVD player. However, the MPEG2 compression stage is waaay too slow and its come to a point where its too annoying.

So, in what order should I spend my money on for a PC? CPU vs RAM? AMD vs INTC? Is RAID IDE just a waste? I don't think the software I use for MPEG2 uses multi-CPU, so I guess twin CPUs are a waste for my requirements? Where is the bottleneck? Thanks.

What software do you use? I use tmpgenc and it does support multiprocessors. What operating system are you using since that would depend on how many procs you can have.

It is hard to determine your bottleneck without any computer specs....

Btw, it shouldn't matter between AMD and intel, only how much money you have.

[ItsMe]

ItsMe,

Does the Vidac card encode offline or only during capture like the PVR250?

It will encode/transcode online and offline. You can pass AVI, MPEG & VOB files through it.

NB. Both the normal and plus version use hardware in the trancoder, only the plus versions use hardware when using the editor.

It looks like there is a problem with the SiS 735 chipset:

Bei Mainboards mit AliMagick oder SiS 735 Chipsätzen ist ein Hochfahren des Rechners erst nach einem oder mehreren weiteren Resets möglich.

Babel translation:

With Main boards with AliMagick or SiS 735 chip corroding is only possible for one or more further RESETS after a raising of the computer


tuco1979: it does matter AMD, SiS or Intel. For instance some AMD's chipset problems with timing. USB, IRQ sharing etc.

[tuco1979]

ItsMe,

Does the Vidac card encode offline or only during capture like the PVR250?

It will encode/transcode online and offline. You can pass AVI, MPEG & VOB files through it.

NB. Both the normal and plus version use hardware in the trancoder, only the plus versions use hardware when using the editor.

It looks like there is a problem with the SiS 735 chipset:

Bei Mainboards mit AliMagick oder SiS 735 Chipsätzen ist ein Hochfahren des Rechners erst nach einem oder mehreren weiteren Resets möglich.

Babel translation:

With Main boards with AliMagick or SiS 735 chip corroding is only possible for one or more further RESETS after a raising of the computer


tuco1979: it does matter AMD, SiS or Intel. For instance some AMD's chipset problems with timing. USB, IRQ sharing etc.

It matters when it comes to hardware but for a software solution, it does not. When it comes down to a hardware encoder, then it depends on the hardware encoder and what it like and doesn't like.

[Crystal Symo]

I recomand you to use software encoders. They will take more time but you can perform multipass encodings and/or apply filters and edit everything you need.

Most programs are optimized or Intel Pentium 4 and it will speed up MPEG 2 encoding. However, a fast Athlon XP costs less and is fast enough. I have an Athlon XP 1700+ and it encodes with Cinema Craft Encoder at 1,2x using 1 pass VBR (so 2 pass VBR will take twice and so on).

You should have a lot of RAM and also VERY FAST RAM! For example DDR SDRAM @ 333 or 400 Mhz. MPEG 1-2-4 encoding uses a lot of memory accesses, so faster RAM, faster encoding.

Another point is to have 2 Hard Disks (instead of 1) and one must be as big as you can pay (I have 30 + 60 GB, but next year I'll buy a 120 GB hard disk).

[Thorn]

ItsMe: Wouldn't those timing problems be considered a defective chipset, not a problem with the processor? Granted, if it's a crapshoot for good AMD chipsets that's a consideration, but if you get a good system together that shouldn't be a factor.

Assuming you put together a stable system, the real AMD vs. Intel decision is horesepower vs. cost, unless you have a lot more cash than free time to figure this stuff out . You might want to think about what your main uses for computing are as well. Multi-processor rigs are no faster than the fastest processor for applications that only use one processor. However, a dual athlon may be cheaper and faster for encoding than some of the intel single-chips. One last thing to consider: if you're getting the latest intel (with hyperthreading) that may make a difference because someone said on these boards that the hyperthreading does improve encode time (relative to the same clock speed). The intel 3GHz (w/hyperthreading) is going to give you the best performance hands down, but will probably be too expensive for you. Most of us ride the trailing edge of innovation because you can upgrade more often at a fraction of the cost.

[ItsMe]

Thorn: Yes, I am refering to the chipset, not the processor. Its a good idea to research AMD based sytems fully befor putting one together. I myself have built AMD/VIA systems in the past and have not had too many problems. I am not knocking AMD, they are good. Its just that I have fewer problems with Intel based systems.

tuco1979:
Isn't a capture card or Firewire card hardware?

I do agree, software does usually give you better results, especially when using multi pass. However I do not see much difference when transcode DV material using the Vidac compaired to a software encoder.

Filtering is not only available with software encoders. The Vidac has several filters built into its hardware. You can for instance set the harware to use dynamic filtering that adjusts the filter with the Q-Factor. There is also a temporal filter built into the hardware for better quality compression.

There are a lot of affordable boards coming onto the market that use Intels new PE chipset. This chipset supports hyperthreading when using the new 3Ghzs P4 as Thorn said. Hyperthreading should give you a performance boost up to 30-40%. Hyperthreading capablilty is in fact already built into the basic P4 archetecture, but it is not implimented as far as I can tell in earlier CPU's.

As always, if you can afford to wait for prices to come down, then wait.

[tuco1979]

tuco1979:
Isn't a capture card or Firewire card hardware?

I do agree, software does usually give you better results, especially when using multi pass. However I do not see much difference when transcode DV material using the Vidac compaired to a software encoder.

Yes it is but you are mainly going to have an issue with hardware and motherboard chipset when you get higher end hardware. A cheap sub $100 USD capture board or Firewire card normally don't have a prefrence between intel and amd, though more highend cards like the Matrox RT (I think that the name of it) and the Canpous cards are pretty specific to what hardware they can be run on.

In general, to reduce your problems, use stable, proven products that have been out for awhile. The latest, greatest hardware will have some hiccups whether it is intel or amd. I have an amd system with a via chipset and my system is rock solid. Last time I had a blue screen was back in august when I was experimenting with some software. Just some food for thought.