PluginPac FrameServer released!

satish wrote on 4/17/2003, 9:41 PM
This plugin was built for VV3c and above, but works fine with VideoFactory too.

Download it from http://www.debugmode.com/pluginpac/frameserver.php

Tested in WinME and XP (should work for other win OSs as well)
Tested with VV3c and Vegas 4.0.
Tested with Windows Media player, VirtualDub, Tmpegenc, CCE, Avisynth, Procoder and a few other encoders/software.
Of course tested with Vegas->Vegas frameserving.

Instructions to use are available in the download webpage.

Thanks due to DDogg for his immense help in testing the plugin and pointing to sources of information related to frameserving.

Link at the creative cow forum by a user who verified that it works in VideoFactory - href=

- Satish

Comments

CraigF wrote on 4/17/2003, 10:13 PM
For those of you who may not know what this does, here's a brief explanation.

Many VideoFactory 2.0 users use TMPGEnc or some other external encoder to create MPEG1 or MPEG2 files. Since VideoFactory doesn't support external encoders out of the box, users are required to "make movie" to disk and render as an AVI, then when that is finished, transcode that AVI to MPEG with the external encoder such as TMPGEnc. This adds a lot of time and uses a lot more disk space than if you were able to encode directly to your final format from the timeline.

Enter the PluginPac FrameServer. After installing the FrameServer you can "make movie" to disk selecting "PluginPac FrameServer". You specify a filename and click save. At this point the VideoFactory launches the plug-in and waits for you to do the next step. Open your encoder of choice, and have it encode this new file. Once you start encoding, VideoFactory will then send your timeline to the encoder one frame at a time.

Craig
discdude wrote on 4/18/2003, 7:00 AM
Awesome, too bad we can't use your other plugins in Video Factory.

Looks like I have another suggestion for Sonic Foundry about Video Factory 3.

Thanks Satish.
ANDREMIKE wrote on 4/18/2003, 11:51 AM
DO I need to download TMPGEnc for this plugin too work or is it part of it?

Is using TMPGenc really that much better?
discdude wrote on 4/18/2003, 12:24 PM
TMPGEnc is a standalone MPEG encoder. It is not bundled with the Satish's frameserving plugin. You need to download it separately at http://www.tmpgenc.net.

You can also theoretically use this plugin with almost any other standalone encoder like Windows Media Encoder, Real (Helix) Producer, etc. I say "theoretically" because I haven't tested it myself with anything other than TMPGEnc and Screenblast Image Editor (a Viscosity clone).

Normally, if you want to use an standalone encoder, you would have to:
1) Render it to uncompressed AVI from within Video Factory.
2) Open the huge uncompressed AVI in your standalone encoder.

With the frameserving plugin, you don't have to create that uncompressed AVI. Instead, you create a tiny dummy or "signpost" file. The plugin will send data to the standalone encoder one frame at a time as needed (hence the "frameserver" name).

Bottom line, the frameserver plugin eliminates the need for the creation of a huge intermediate AVI file if you want to use a standalone encoder.

I hope this makes everything clear.
CraigF wrote on 4/18/2003, 1:06 PM
Discdude, good explanation. The concept of a FrameServer is hard to comprehend until you see it. I first used a frameserver with Premiere 6.0 paired with TMPGEnc. Until I used it, it wasn't exactly clear what it was doing.

Since VideoFactory is generally used by hobbyists and "video newbies", I had a feeling that the FrameServer plug-in would generate a lot of questions, but I still urged Satish to post it here.

Bottom line is that if you don't have the MPEG2 encoder add-on for VideoFactory 2, AND you've been creating an AVI file, then using an external program to create an MPEG2 file, then this frameserver plug-in is for you.

Craig
Klavisha wrote on 4/18/2003, 7:35 PM
TMPGEnc works fine encoding from a compressed NTSC (and I assume PAL) AVI file rendered in VF. Compressed AVI is still a large file, but nowhere near as huge as uncompressed.
discdude wrote on 4/18/2003, 7:57 PM
It is true that TMPGEnc works fine with an AVI compressed with DivX or the like. However, most codecs are lossy. That means that you lose quality when rendering to a compressed file. The plugin frameserver is lossless.

If you want to use an external encoder, the frameserver plugin is the way to go.
Klavisha wrote on 4/18/2003, 8:47 PM
Quite right, discdude - I'm sold! I'm on my way to download the plugin immediately.