Best MPEG 2 encoding solution

[silverbeetle]

I'm about to leap into making DVD's and I would love some peoples opinions on MPEG 2 encoders. I'll be using all raw DV footage and I'm very fussy about quality so i was wondering how encoders like TMPGEnc compare to other commercially available encoders? I'll be happy to hear comments on both software and hardware solutions.

What has worked best for your DVD projects and what has sucked? Limitations??? Any info would be greatly appreciated

[Mirror_Image]

What is your "not-to-exceed" budget?

[silverbeetle]

umm, good question... would probably depend on comparisons of the products features and cost. let's say for this exercise $300-$400 US dollars... i'm in aussie dollars so it'll probably end up double that for me :p

[homerpez]

If we're talking legitimacy (you plan on purchasing an encoder using actual funds)... TMPGEnc Pro version, or whatever it's called now. For that price and under, it's best. I would keep bbMPEG around, too, for re-multiplexing purposes (FREE).

Overall, nothing comes close to CinemaCraft encoder for MPEG-2... but in LegitLand, it costs an arm, two legs and a lobotomy.