Which TmpgEnc ???

[emann]

I am capturing DV home movies from a DV camcorder and want to burn DVDs with simple one layer menu pointing to each clip.

I am starting to try the different TmpgEnc versions with alot of help from the forums here and actually having SUCCESS after 2 years of on & off trying & getting frustrated with all different ways of doing this.

My question is which TMPGenc(s) to buy/use.

There is Plus 2.5, Xpress 3.0, or DVD Source Creator 2.0 to do the encoding. Does it matter which?

It seems that Plus is a litttle older and can't use the AC3 plugin. But if I author in TmpgEnc Author, can I use the AC3 plugin there to make my audio AC3?

DVD Source seems to be XPress, but without as much flexibility. Do I need the flexibility of XPress if I am just doing DV to DVDs?

And I can't use the free Tmpgenc since it is just Mpeg-1 right?

Thanks for all the help

[reboot]

True about the free version. I have used them all at one time or another, and prefer tmpgenc plus 2.5x because it's got more stuff I can fiddle with
They're all slow compared to most other encoders, so before you buy, I would suggest you download and try as many others as you can.
Mainconcept mpeg encoder, CCE and Canopus Procoder are all much faster (in most cases).

[zero_net]

I use tmpgenc plus as well.

It's the best

[pbhalerao]

I use Mainconcept Encoder. It is faster than TMPGEnc and I could not detect much difference in quality between TMPGEnc Plus and mainconcept - at least not to my (average) eye for home movies.

[sanjayk]

I have been using TMPGEnc for quite some time. Its good and offers lot to tweak around. Others like mainconcept, CCE, procoder are also good encoders and certainly much faster than TMPGEnc.

As for AC3 plugin. See the grab below from TMPGEnc site (pegasys-inc.com)

[SatStorm]

Use the latest TMPGenc plus.

I don't like xpress (and the final picture quality IMO is the same with TMPGenc plus)

[burnman99]

Use the latest TMPGenc plus.

I don't like xpress (and the final picture quality IMO is the same with TMPGenc plus)

I agree. I tried the trial version of express and was not impressed. I'd go with TMPGenc plus (it's the version I own).

Later!

Rog