MainConcept MPEG Encoder VS. TMPGEnc Plus

AudioIvan wrote on 3/26/2003, 5:44 AM
Yello!
Can someone do a detailed comparison of the encoders.Why? I did test encoding with MainConcept MPEG Encoder & TMPGEnc Plus & I think the second one gave me better results,plus supports DVD2AVI projects.Why these two encoders ?
Because I think they are more affordable comparing to CCE SP.
At least I can buy those two or maybe just one,which one?

TNX up front for any suggestion.
AudioIvan

Comments

DigVid wrote on 3/26/2003, 6:19 AM
Okay, I've used the TMPGEnc from vers 12 - vers 2.510-Plus and I love TMPGEnc!

I am also using the newest CCE-Basic and with it's CCE-SP rendering engine I find it both fast and much better quality (overall) than my beloved TMPGEnc. Now, the work I do involves nature videography (lots of trees, water, clouds, fire and other details that wreak havoc on MPEG2 or 1 for that matter). Also, I shoot DV (which is already compressed). If your shooting talking heads any of the above will work fine.

So, I get this new Vegas4+DVD and wonder how I am going to integrate my encoders with it because of the odd way it uses "system" MPEG2s as "elementary" demanding that I mux in the case of the CCE-Basic (which I prefer).

Well, I gave the Main Concept encoder a chance (out of convenience) and guess what? I like it about as much as the other two. It does an incredible job of encoding my complex videos and find that its single-pass VBR "default" setting to be better than anything I saw with the TMPGEnc and even as good as the required 2-pass VBR encodes I was getting from the CCE-Basic. This has made life easier.

So, now I have no need for the CCE-Basic or the TMPGEnc (as Vegas4 does much more than TMPGEnc effects and such). Hey, I'm amazed...


- Finally, on an added note to SoFo. I do wish future versions of DVDA would incorporate a way to import "elementary" MPEG2 streams directly, just for universality.
akg wrote on 3/29/2003, 2:20 AM
Do you rander mpeg1 with TMPGenc??
I think you`ll still love TMPGenc !!
AudioIvan wrote on 3/29/2003, 3:07 AM
I do just mpeg2 (DVD's) only.
By the way I did get a trial copy of CCE SP & I'm impressed with the quality.
It is a bit tricky to find "the best settings" but if you read the manual carefully you'll find that every encoding it's different prior to you personal needs of quality.However I'm not planing to buy CCE SP & I'm not willing to use any "FIXED" versions.Reason 1:TOO EXPENSIVE!!!
Reason 2:I preffer hardware encoder which is aproximately(up & down depends on the quality that offers) priced as CCE SP.
DigVid wrote on 3/29/2003, 5:56 AM
Yes, I still love TMPGEnc! There are way too many wonderful and useful design elements built into the Tsunami not too love it. I couldn't believe how wonderfully comprehensive it was when I used to down load it for free (for years). When it finally was available for $50 I was there in a flash. I mean it was the least I could contribute to such a wonderful product.

Now, that being said, The CCE-Basic will perform (almost) as well as it's bigger brother CCE-SP. It's just that it is limited in the amount of passes it can do (2) and in many options that I usually don't want to mess with anyway. At $58 it's a good buy. However, one must mux video files made in it's sole (and best) 2-pass VBR mode, as these are saved only as elementary streams. So, TMPGEnc once again comes to the rescue. My only fear is that since the CCE-Basic elementary files don't originate for TMPGEnc, there may be a compatibility issue muxing them in that program.

So finally, I am left with the Main Concept encoder found inside Vegas4, and my feeling is that the encoding quality is very close to that of the CCE and yet it produces the DVD-A required muxed video only file, since PCM and ac3 currently can't be muxed (my audio types of choice) and that is NOW what I use (at least for DVD-A)...
AudioIvan wrote on 3/29/2003, 6:48 AM
Multipass VBR
Executes encoding processing by multiple passes, specifying
minimum, maximum and average bitrates. At least two
passes are necessary. For the first pass, CBR or One-pass
VBR is executed to check the complexity of the images.
In this pass, a file, where the complexity of images are described
for each frame, is created. For the second or later
passes, bit allocation is planned for each frame based on
this information on complexity and actual encoding is executed
accordingly. Cinema Craft Encoder supports three or more(up to 9)pases.The optimal setting depends on the footage, but roughly speaking,
16 to 40 is recommended. If the bitrate is relatively high,
greater value may cause better result.
CCE SP ONLY!!!
Advanced bias settings,image quality,bitrate....
CCE SP ONLY!!!
About muxing,demuxig there are few free tools that can do exactly the same job like TMPGEnc,Plus building VOB's.
Anyway my best metod is:CCE vbr-3 passes,DVD compliant,ES,video only encoding,mux with TMPGEnc, in DVD-A~final product, or from CCE change output extension ES then in
DVD Maestro.There are so much options today it is more than easy to do almost anything.
RixWare wrote on 4/4/2003, 2:42 PM
AudioIvan, you mention that you use a hardware encoder. Which one, and how much $$?

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