ProCoder v's MC Encoder

[ChrissyBoy]

Can anyone comment on the differences in terms of quality/speed/ease of use between ProCoder 1.5 & Mainconcept MPEG encoder 1.4?

Bit of a lame question but as a user of the latter i just wondered whether the former brings much to the party. My uses are DV to DVD MPEG, AVI to DVD or SVCD MPEG and re-encoding of MPEGS (SVCD to SVCD for example)

[BJ_M]

im doing a comparison also -- results are not in yet ...

"quality/speed/ease of use"

speed --- main concept , canopus is no snail either -- but mastering setting is slow -- but better quality

ease of use - canopus maybe in that the dropper function is great , but canopus doesnt read vdr frame serve (MC does) , nor allow you to change things like matrix tables. you can set more things in MC.

quality -- reencoding mpeg - canopus uses the ligos decoder only it seems . visually i dont like this decoder .. canopus does a good job of conversions between pal / ntsc and as mentioned before - does a great job on interlaced source (its de-interlacing filter is also really really good and you can stack them) .. they both have very good I frame insertion on scene changes - in master quality on canopus and if you remember to enable it on MC ...

i can post a compare between all of them -- squeeze, canopus, tmpgenc , MC , CCE , vegas

[lordsmurf]

I prefer Procoder.

[kenmo]

im doing a comparison also -- results are not in yet ...

"quality/speed/ease of use"

speed --- main concept , canopus is no snail either -- but mastering setting is slow -- but better quality

ease of use - canopus maybe in that the dropper function is great , but canopus doesnt read vdr frame serve (MC does) , nor allow you to change things like matrix tables. you can set more things in MC.

quality -- reencoding mpeg - canopus uses the ligos decoder only it seems . visually i dont like this decoder .. canopus does a good job of conversions between pal / ntsc and as mentioned before - does a great job on interlaced source (its de-interlacing filter is also really really good and you can stack them) .. they both have very good I frame insertion on scene changes - in master quality on canopus and if you remember to enable it on MC ...

i can post a compare between all of them -- squeeze, canopus, tmpgenc , MC , CCE , vegas

Yes please post the results..

[accountwiz]

While I found MC to be very fast, I don't think it's output compares to Canopus' ProCoder Express. For a $59 program, I'm stunned by how clear the mpg's it produces are. It has a very user-friendly batching mechanism, too, so I just start it before bed and wake up to great finished product. There seems to be no demo, but it was worth every penny to me and I think you would love it, too.

[Ziffelpig]

Procoder,now if only I could figure out how to create a custom 352x480 Half D1 template.

[SatStorm]

Between Mainconcept, Procoder and TMPGenc, Mainconcept has the most blur picture of all. The less macroblocks also...

TMPGenc is better but you have to learn to set it up.

Procoder is inbetween those two.

But if you count that TMPGenc has better picture and Mainconcept offers you realtime mpeg 2 capturing from any analgue source, also that both encoders are much more flexible Procoder, then you are with something that has potention but it doesn't offer you something more, which is what a program needs to be a good alternative.

CCE SP 2.50 with avisynth is still the best of course in term of picture quality (I have only this demo version of this program, just to compare it with the other encoders), but as I already said with avisynt. As a standalone application is very limited.

[ChrissyBoy]

Thanks for the replies.

BJ_M: I'd like to see that uber comparison post if you get a chance.

It seems the jury is still out. I like the speed of MC. If i want better quality (sometimes the source and/or the usage doesn't warrant it) i use tmpgenc/cce - but it is always an overnight job & can be quite complex . I was hoping ProCoder would be better quality but just as quick. Maybe it is... I will use the demo when i get the time to run a few tests.

I notice v2.0 is on the horizon & Canopus are accepting pre-orders. It may be i wait for that.

Thanks again.

[BJ_M]

Thanks for the replies.

BJ_M: I'd like to see that uber comparison post if you get a chance.

It seems the jury is still out. I like the speed of MC. If i want better quality (sometimes the source and/or the usage doesn't warrant it) i use tmpgenc/cce - but it is always an overnight job & can be quite complex :oops: . I was hoping ProCoder would be better quality but just as quick. Maybe it is... I will use the demo when i get the time to run a few tests.

I notice v2.0 is on the horizon & Canopus are accepting pre-orders. It may be i wait for that.

Thanks again.

when you buy 1.5 now -- you get 2.0 when its out (so they say)

[Gazorgan]

I use Maincept more because I haven't quite figured out how to make changes in Procoder (yep, 1/2 D1). For straight VCD conversions procoder is pretty good (and a lot quicker than TMPG). Mainconcept usually opens and converts files that TMPGEnc barfs on ( WMV/ASF) and is less VBR sensitive.

[tphaggerty]

I have CCE Basic, TmpgEnc, MC 1.5 and Procoder 1.5. Settled on ProCoder to do all of my conversions. I have a working half D1 template, you need to start with a MPEG2 profile (I have it at home, will try and remember to post the specifics).

MC works nicely and very fast, but I found (over and over again) that it would seem to "lose it" about an hour or so into an encode and generate large macroblocks and "tearing". Nothing I did (including trying to contact the developers) did anything to stop it. Drove me nuts.

I could never get CCE Basic to work, it was always very soft and fuzzy.

Procoder 1.5, though expensive (2.0 is supposed to be cheaper) does allow frameserving through AVISynth and VitualDub and produces the best looking coversions, in my eye, by far from 8mm DV. Mastering Quality is worth it if you have the time. I have also found that, once I settled on my template, I really haven't had to do much tweaking. I have played around with open/closed GOPs and GOP length to try and get DVD-Lab and Ulead MF2 to allow quicker chapter point setting, but everything else works great. Where Procoder seems to shine is that mid-level bitrate (4500/4700) that allows transfer of a 2-hour 8mm tape to one DVD (which is perfect for those of use converting home video).

[upshot]

could you give a quick step-by-step on how to framserve with Procoder?? I like to use my advc-100 and occasionally would like realtime MPEG2.....

Thanks....

[lordsmurf]

could you give a quick step-by-step on how to framserve with Procoder?? I like to use my advc-100 and occasionally would like realtime MPEG2.....

Thanks....

I don't think it can do this.

[upshot]

Guess I'll just have to wait for 2.0.... Then at least I can use the "watched folder" option to automate the process...

[qlizard]

I've found procoder to result in amazingly clear output from interlaced home movies. I've compared to MC but not to TmpgEnc or CCE. It is fairly easy to set up a 1/2 D1 or any other template. If I remember right, you choose "user defined" as the output type, then go to the appropriate tab and change to 352. You then name the template 1/2D1 or whatever. There is also a convenient plug-in to frameserve from premiere.

[DaveS]

Procoder,now if only I could figure out how to create a custom 352x480 Half D1 template.

Ziffelpig - to create a custom template, start w/ an existing template and add that as your target. then change it to be what you want (size, etc.). click the 'save profile' button on the target tab (right under the remove all button). that profile will then show up in the window that comes up when you add another target (it will be in the custom tab).

something I haven't tried is tools/create droplet which is supposed to create a profile that you can drag & drop files with to convert (e.g. to use the procoder wizard). I think if you have a profile set up w/ the wizard, you could drop an avi file onto the wizard and it would convert...!