Is Windows Media Encoder the only option for high quality WMV encoding?
 

I've heard Canopus Procoder is pretty good as well. Just looking to hear from people who have experience creating really high quality WMV movies.

Is WME the fastest from a batching perspective?

thanks,

marc

I'd like an alternative too. Something on my system conflicts with WME and it locks up every time after clicking the encode button.

I use VideoCharge. No complaints here.

http://www.videocharge.com

offtopic, i just submitted my new handjob site for yourtoplist,

thanks

:)

right on :-)

I'm a stickler for quality. Have you ever compared the output of the video from videocharge to that of WME?

I've always heard that you can't get any better quality than with WME, so I'm hoping someone can tell me otherwise.

thanks.

I just tried the demo... any tips for using this program? My test clip turned out horrible (blocky and jerky).

I like the quality of WME, it's perfect for what I need, but for some reason a few months ago it suddenly started locking up everytime I tried to use it (I've tried a complete uninstall/reinstall).

For me, it's just about tweaking the various settings. I don't know what sort of documentation the trial gives you, but when the program was upgraded...new docs came with it.

As for comparing it to WME, I haven't done that. Sorry, can't help ya there.

for best quality it would be windows media encoder and its free :)

Canopus ProCoder ... multiple formats also!

Been using Procoder 2 for a good 12 months or so and
Honestly, pretty much the same quality results can be achieved with either procoder 2 or WME,
At the end of the day the quality comes down to the quality of your source and the settings you apply during encoding.
When you?re talking HQ wmv your talking 2 pass vbr.
For versatility and batch processing, Procoder 2 wins easy. However it is slower with wmv encoding compared to WME. But who cares when you batch overnight.

Well, I just used the broadband settings and came up with an almost acceptable clip as far as clarity, but still jerky. Over 8 megs for a 40 second clip. :Oh crap

I'll keep looking for other options :)

Every single app that encodes WMV files uses the same thing to actually encode it. Unless the app does 50 other things while encoding, you won't find one faster than the other.

While it may use the same codec, other aspects of the software can affect performance.

I had a good speedy encoding while demo'ing VideoCharge, faster than I remember WME doing the same clip.

WME will let me load the clip, choose my settings then go into "Not responding" shortly after I click the encode button. I've removed all other encoding software that I don't use trying to resolve any conflict. It worked fine for me forever until one day it developed this problem :(

i hear that Cleaner is fucking incredible, i have not had a chance to use it yet though....i have seen the results though, half the file size for the same quality as WME

http://www4.discreet.com/cleanerxl/ for more info

As said cleaner XL produces stunning wmv.

And its batch oriented so you can setup jobs with tons of clips and go on a vacation, adds watermarks, filters, etc.

Everyone told me the same but I used it and was not impressed. WME did the same quality job as Cleaner did for me. I could not see a difference between the two, and I was looking for one.

But maybe I'm an idiot. :1orglaugh Wouldn't be the first time.

sony's video vegas makes great wmvs, and video edit magic (much cheaper) also does a good job.

i've been perfectly happy with ulead video toolbox's wmv's, too. and i think sorenson squeeze does wmv's.

I would like to see a screen shot of your Cleaner XL settings. My results were nothing above any other encoder. :Oh crap

YES we have been using Video Vegas it for 3 years and the new batch encoding rocks and has a shat load of options .. :thumbsup :thumbsup

Amazingly, there is no clear consensus here. This makes for quite an interesting discussion :-)

I was hoping I would hear a majority ruling regarding the best encoder for WMV, but everyone likes something different for different reasons. That tells me that they all must create similar quality video, albeit some take longer than others.

cleaner... ive tried 3-4 versions, all seemed to be tempermental, locked up quite a bit. features are very similar to pro coder imo.

cleaner on mac for sure
pro coder on windows

so long as you use the same codec the result should be the same or very similar in terms of quality. the issue may be that the more advanced applications offer more options and need to be setup correctly for the desired result. example: WME might only allow you to encode to standard HxW and use bicubic for resize while other applications might not be so strict.

This thread is worth it's weight in gold. Letting newbs flounder around encoding video is what allows video savvy webmasters to stay ahead of the pack! :)

Cleaner6 on PC is garbage. Try loading 300 hosted movie clips into it (taint happenin'). Discreet did an awesome job of ruining this product between versions 5 and 6.

Pro Encoder is the way to go. Droplets save all your presets and filter settings. SImply drop your clips on the desktop (droplet) icon and it loads them with little delay. IMO Pro Encoder also has better tools for manipulating encoding settings.


SixNine
SoulCash.com

I'm just using the preset wmv settings at various bit rates. I haven't done any real side by side comparisions but the output was smaller and better than the way I previously did it.

What I really like about Cleaner XL is the relative stability and batch features, especially the png watermark encoding. The interface is shit and its tempermental, but once installed on a fresh version of windows on a dedicated pc, its been flawless for 2 years, maybe one crash every 4 or 5 months. :thumbsup

Great thread :) tnx MB!

Say I have 5 files, each 20-30 min RAW avi that I want to convert into one format, fex DVD quality with CD sound, what software can do that the easiest? I dont want several version of each clip, just one HQ clip of each AVI file

I gotta agree with all the cleaner people. I've used cleaner xl for over 8 months now, and it is very tempermental. But I don't make high quality videos. Ususally we are trying to get the smallest size possible, while having a decent video. I've found that you have to run cleaner all by it's self to get the fucking thing not to crash. Also, starting out with a nice .avi is what cleaner likes the most.

Adobe Premiere will, although its rather pricey.

Used discreet cleaner for years with excellent results and no problems but unless you are using it on a dedicated video editor/encoding machine you are wasting your time. Sony Vegas is good as well as is WME of course but encoding video is like anything else and a lot of time spent on trial and error tweaking settings pays dividends.

Yep Sony Vegas is the one.

:)

WME does the same thing to me..hit "encode" and it just locks up!
I've tried so many different settings and variables it's crazy!
If anyone has had it lock up on them before and figured out WHY it did that..would love to hear from you on that one!

It's got to be a conflict with some other program(s) we have on our systems.

The quality or bitrate can only be as high as the speed of the end user..... I find that 700kbps produces a fine quality that is streamable to the average dsl or cable user. But for a lan user you can bump that up to 1000kbps.
And I love to encode with Videocharge while im sleeping.....a batch is a beautiful thing.

Id check out videocharge...its only like 60 bucks.

ive used cleaner xl and sony vegas...id recommend either one

Sony Vegas