main concept's cuda encoder released to public

[deadrats]

well folks, after many promises here it is:

http://downloads.mainconcept.com/mdl/mdl1.php?f0634616bb683d1411722cf101fd5869

http://downloads.mainconcept.com/mdl/mdl1.php?6e62328b8b07ceecaaae62e4c61f5fc2

you need to download and install both the main reference encoder and the cuda powered plug in, i have taken the liberty of sharing the direct download links with you guys (normally you have to provide an email address and they send you the links), so happy testing.

one note, the cuda plug in costs, get this, $1300 for the "pro" version and $2000 for the "broadcast" version, in addition to the cost of the base reference application. definitely not for the average home user but at least it should settle the argument of whether or not gpu powered encoders can match the quality of software based solutions.

[deadrats]

well just got through running some quick tests, source was a 6mb/s dvd spec mpeg-2 (progressive, 720x480, 16:9, ac3) and the target was mp4, 3 mb/s, aac, same resolution and aspect ratio.

using main concept's cuda powered avc encoder i saw and average of 76.3 fps when using the "best" quality setting and 84.5 fps when using the "fastest" quality setting.

for comparison, using media coder coupled with x264 with the "ultra fast" preset i saw an average of 86.44 fps and using the coda encoder i saw 81.21 fps.

quality wise, with this particular source vob, i would have to give the quality edge to x264 with both media coder's cuda avc and main concept's gpu avc set to "best" close behind, while the main concept gpu avc set to "fastest" was decent with some obvious blemishes.

quite frankly one would need to be high on crack to even consider buying main concept's solution, i would argue even if you could get it for free, either via piracy or as a gift, you still would be better served using free open source solutions as they also include some pretty good filters that main concept's solution lacks.

test rig: 4 gigs ddr2@667mhz, x4 620, gts 250 1 gig, source and destination hdd are ultra dense, low power, 5400 rpm (<--remarkably enough these hdd's actually outbench, using hdtach, 10k rpm raptors from a few years ago).

honestly, as much of a booster as i was of gpu accelerated encoding, it's becoming harder and harder to recommend any commercial encoding solution or any gpu powered solution, and in fact i am rapidly coming to the prediction that nvidia will cease to be a player on the desktop within 18 months.

i'm starting to become convinced that between amd's bobcat (with it's integrated gpu that includes a hardware uvd), the new 256 bit simd instruction set (avx), bulldozer's 256 bit fpu and beefy alu's, and sandy bridge's (and clarkdale's) integrated HD graphics that allow for hardware decoding of video (cyberlink and movavi already have solutions that can offload the decoding duties to on intel cpu's that have an integrated gpu, including clarkdale), i honestly see the need for a discrete gpgpu solution on the desktop disappearing.

i think nvidia has arrived at a similar conclusion as they have been aggressively targeting the hpc market and ibm recently announced blade servers based around nvidia gpu's.

ah well, as long as i can work with 1080p video faster than real time and play some games, what do i care what gpu is powering it all?