Wednesday, April 11, 2007
Video Conversion And Encoding Tools And Services: A Mini-Guide
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If you work with video on or offline sooner or later you are going to want to convert it from one format to another, or to make sure that you encode the raw footage from your camcorder in the best possible way.
Photo credit: Kiyoshi Takahase Segundo
Poorly encoded or converted video can end up looking horrible, and a lot of the ugly-looking grainy movies you see online are the victims of bad conversion practices.
In this mini-guide to converting and encoding your videos, I take you through some of the options available to you, from free to professional-level solutions.
Video encoding is the process of taking your original movie, as recorded by your video camera, web-cam or whichever capture device you use, and preparing it for delivery in a particular medium. If you want to create a project to be watched on HD-DVD, for instance, you would choose to encode your video differently to if you wanted to publish that same video over the web, using a streaming service like YouTube.
While your HD-DVD would need to be in a high-quality, high-resolution, HD-DVD compatible format, your YouTube video would benefit from being compressed to a small file size for web delivery, and preferably to the YouTube specifications.
Converting video is the process of taking one type of video file and changing it into another. Let's say you wanted to download a YouTube video, and convert it to play on your iPod, TV-set or Free Software operating system. This would involve converting the video from its native format (in this case Flash video) and into the appropriate format for the device you are using to watch the video on.
There is just one caveat: video never improves by being converted, and the fundamental law of video encoding and conversion is 'garbage in, garbage out'. While this mini-guide won't teach you how to get the best out of your video encoding and conversion, it will give you some ideas about the tools you can use to set about it, and the differences between them. You own additions are very welcome in the comments section.
Each tool or service in the mini-guide is broken down by the following criteria:
- An overview of what differentiates the service from its competitors
- Price, if applicable, for using or purchasing the service or tool
- Input file types accepted - the video formats that you can convert from
- Output file types accepted - the video formats that you can convert to
- Any advanced features included, such as the ability to choose between VBR and CBR encoding, video cropping etc.
- Batch encoding possible - whether you can encode several videos at the same time, or just one at a time
- System requirements - the operating system and specs required to run the software
- Access - where you can purchase, download or otherwise access the software
Desktop - Free
There are no shortage of free solutions for those looking to convert their video on the cheap, many of which make use of the command-line Linux applications MPlayer and FFMpeg, repackaging them for ease of use and cross-platform appeal. For those looking to go direct to the source, there are a great many flavor of FFMPEG and MPlayer / MEncoder to explore, across the range of operating systems.
For those looking for an easy way to make use of these powerful free applications and related technologies, you might want to take a look at the following free-to-download applications:
MPlayer / MEncoder OSX
- Overview: This Mac front-end to the popular cross-platform MPlayer gives you an easy-to-use graphical interface for the quick conversion of your video files in a number of popular formats
Price: Free
Input file types: An incredible range, including:
- MPEG-1 (VCD) and MPEG-2 (SVCD/DVD/DVB) video
- MPEG-4 in all variants including DivX, OpenDivX (DivX4), DivX 5 (Pro), XviD
- Windows Media Video 7/8 (WMV1/2)
- Windows Media Video 9 (WMV3) (using x86 DLL)
- RealVideo 1.0, 2.0 (G2), RealVideo 3.0 (RP8), 4.0 (RP9) (using Real libraries)
- Sorenson v1/v3 (SVQ1/SVQ3), Cinepak, RPZA and other QuickTime codecs
- DV video
- 3ivx
- Intel Indeo3 (3.1, 3.2)
- Intel Indeo 4.1 and 5.0 (using x86 DLL or XAnim codecs)
- VIVO 1.0, 2.0, I263 and other H.263(+) variants (using x86 DLL)
- MJPEG, AVID, VCR2, ASV2 and other hardware formats
- FLI/FLC
- HuffYUV
- Various old simple RLE-like formats
- Output file types: As above
- Advanced features: Movie rescaling, extracting and overlaying subtitle files, preserving aspect ratio, two-pass encoding, cropping and numerous in-depth editing options for all encoding variables
- Batch encoding: No
- System requirements: This particular version is a Mac implementation, designed to run on Mac OS X. You can find MPlayer and MEncoder in a number of other platforms at the MPlayer website
- Access: Download from SourceForge
Riva FLV Encoder
- Overview: In addition to their other commercial encoding solutions Riva offer this free FLV encoder. Given that FLV is by far the most popular video format on the web, this may well prove to be all that you need to convert videos for publication on the web
- Price: Free
- Input file types: You can bring in files using any of the following formats:
- Output file types: FLV
- Advanced features: Video cropping, adding custom-colored borders, deinterlacing
- Batch encoding: No
- System requirements: Windows 98 or above, 64 MB RAM, Pentium 1 GHz or above
- Access: You can download FLV Encoder from the Riva website
Super
- Overview: Super is a very versatile, easy-to-use Windows encoder that provides a front-end for Free Software solutions including MPlayer and FFMpeg. All codecs are built right in, making Super a must-have free tool that is as powerful as it is easy to use
- Price: Free
- Input file types: Super goes beyond even the comprehensive line-up of formats featured in MEncoder. Within the long list of supported formats are:
- 3gp/3g2(Nokia,Siemens,Sony,Ericsson)
- asf
- avi (DivX,H263,H263+,H264,XviD,MPEG4,MSmpeg4 etc..)
- dat
- fli, flc, flv (used in Flash)
- mkv
- mpg (Mpeg I,Mpeg II)
- mov(H263,H263+,H264,MPEG4 etc..)
- mp4(H263,H263+,H264,MPEG4)
- ogg
- qt
- rm, ram, rmvb
- str (Play Station)
- swf (Flash)
- ts (HDTV)
- viv
- vob
- wmv
- Output file types: As above
- Advanced features: Easy configuration of the essential output video parameters (size, fps and video bitrate) during file conversion, unique advanced H.264 profile & level selection, built-in Multimedia File Analyzing engine (Portions by MediaInfo) to show tags and internal structure of ALL source files with a double click, and a lot more besides
- Batch encoding: Yes
- System requirements: Super is compatible with ''most Windows operating systems''
- Access: You can download Super direct from its website
Desktop - Budget
There are plenty of options for those willing to pay a small amount to get their encoding done, and this list just touches the tip of the iceberg. The benefits of budget solutions are that they generally package up and improve upon free tools, making them easier and more accessible to use. Drag and drop ease is the name of the game here.
While the features of these applications are not often as numerous as those in the next section on professional tools, they will certainly suit the needs of many users. If you don't have a lot of time to learn the intricacies of video encoding, but want easy an easy way to produce good looking video, these applications may well suit you.
Visual Hub
- Overview: Visual Hub is the nearest Mac users can get to the fantastic Windows-only Super. Providing an incredibly easy-to-use, super-speedy solution to quickly encoding your videos, it also has extensive advanced options for those who want to go beyond the presets. Visual Hub manages to outperform Quicktime Pro in terms of both speed and the formats it will comfortably process
- Price: $23.32
- Input file types: Visual Hub claims to support ''nearly every video format'' and in testing this proved to be the case
- Output file types: Visual Hub will encode videos to the following formats and devices:
- iPod
- PSP
- DV
- DVD
- Tivo
- AVI
- MP4
- WMV
- MPEG
- Apple TV
- Flash - FLV and SWF
- Advanced features: Cropping, resizing, setting bit rate, live previewing of video, stitching multiple videos and granular control of most encoding options round out a full feature-set
- Batch encoding: Yes
- System requirements: Mac OSX 3.9 and higher, Universal Binary
- Access: You can download and purchase Visual Hub from its website
AVS Video Converter
Quicktime Pro
- Overview: In addition to offering lots of other extra features to its free counterpart on both Mac and Windows, Quicktime Pro has an impressive line-up of encoding options in addition to a good range of video effects
- Price: $29.99
- Input file types: The range of formats that you can import is impressive:
- 3DMF (Mac OS 9 & Windows)
- 3GPP
- 3GPP2
- AIFF
- AMC
- AMR
- Animated GIF
- AU
- Audio CD Data (Mac OS 9)
- AVI
- BMP
- CAF (Mac OS X)
- Cubic VR
- DLS
- DV
- FLC
- GIF
- GSM
- JPEG 2000
- JPEG/JFIF
- Karaoke
- MacPaint
- MIDI
- MPEG-1
- MP3(MPEG-1, Layer 3)
- M3U(MP3 Playlist files)
- MPEG-2
- MPEG-4
- MQV
- M4A, M4B, M4P (iTunes 4 audio)
- M4V (iTunes video)
- PDF (Mac OS X)
- Photoshop
- PICS
- PICT
- PLS
- PNG
- Quartz Composer Composition (Mac OS X)
- QCP (Mac OS 9 & Windows)
- QuickTime Image File
- QuickTime Movie
- SD2 (Mac OS 9 & Windows)
- SDP
- SDV
- SF2 (SoundFont 2)
- SGI
- SMIL
- Targa
- Text
- TIFF
- TIFF Fax
- VDU (Sony Video Disk Unit)
- Virtual Reality (VR)
- Wave
- Output file types: Quicktime also has a well-rounded list of export formats, which can be further extended via the use of third-party plug-ins. The standard set includes:
- 3GPP and 3GPP2
- AIFF
- AMC
- AU
- AVI
- BMP
- DV Stream
- FLC
- Image Sequence movie exporters
- JPEG/JFIF
- JPEG 2000
- MacPaint
- MIDI
- MPEG-4
- Photoshop
- PICT
- PNG
- QuickTime Image File
- QuickTime Movie
- SGI
- System 7 Sound
- Targa
- Text
- TIFF
- WAV
- Advanced features: In addition to the usual granular control of encoding options, Quicktime Pro has a good range of video effects, including alpha gain, blur, color tint, contrast, lens flare and zoom among others
- Batch encoding: Yes
- System requirements: Quicktime 7 for OSX requires a 400 MHz Intel or Power PC G3 or faster Macintosh computer, at least 128MB of RAM and Mac OS X v10.3.9 or later. For Windows users the minimum requirements are a Pentium processor-base PC or compatible computer, at least 128MB of RAM and Windows 2000 Service Pack 4 or XP
- Access: You can purchase a key for Quicktime Pro from the Apple website
Desktop - Pro
If you decide to take your video production to a professional level, and have the knowledge or will to learn, professional video encoding and conversion tools may well appeal. Going beyond the simple controls of budget alternatives, professional video encoding tools give you a lot more control over the encoding process, allowing you to change fine, granular details until you get things just right.
While these tools are not incredibly difficult to use those without any knowledge of the intricacies of encoding may well find themselves wishing for less options rather than more. In the right hands these tools can work wonders, but if you don't know what you are doing, you are unlikely to see any greatly marked improvement in video output.
Sorensen Squeeze
- Overview: Squeeze manages to tread the fine line between offering a vast range of pro-caliber encoding options and ease-of-use that will not scare away novice videographers. With a vast range of presets, those with no idea as to how to make manual changes to encoding settings can choose an appropriate setting without even having to think about it.
While keeping life simple for the professional and amateur compressionist, however, Squeeze also integrates seamlessly with leading video production applications and finished work distribution options
- Price: $499.00
- Input file types: Squeeze accepts the following formats for conversion:
- AAC
- AIF/AIFF
- ASF
- AVI
- DV
- MOV
- MP3
- MPEG-1
- MPEG-2
- MPEG-4
- WAV
- WMA
- WMV
Output file types: Squeeze will publish your videos to the following formats:
- aacPlus
- AAC
- AIFF
- DV
- DVD
- DVD disk burning
- Sony PSP
- 3GPP
- FLV (Sorenson Spark, and On2 VP6)
- HD for MP1, MP2, MP4, and RealMedia
- MOV
- MP3
- MPA
- MPG (MP1 and MP2)
- MP4 AVC (H.264)
- MPV
- RM
- SVCD
- SWF
- VCD
- WAV
- WMV
- Advanced features: Squeeze has an extensive range of advanced features which include Flash player creation, pixel aspect ratio control, direct burning of DVDs and adjustable frame cropping, in addition to vast, numerous encoding options
- Batch encoding: Yes
- System requirements: Windows users require Windows 2000 or XP, a Pentium III processor or later, 128 MB of RAM, Quicktime 7 or later, and DirectX 9.0 or later.
Macintosh users require G4 or later PowerPC or Intel processor, OSX 10.3 or later, 128 MB of RAM, Quicktime 7 or later, Flip4Mac if they intend to use the WMV format
- Access: You can purchase Sorensen Squeeze from the Sorensen website as a mail-order CD-ROM or direct download
Telestream Episode
- Overview:Episode is a relatively recent, Mac-only challenger to Sorensen Squeeze, and rivals both the ease of use and full feature-set of its competitor. With Standard and Pro editions and an optional Flash video upgrade, Episode high-definition encoding options that will suit video professionals working in broadcast and top-tier video publishing. Features include surround sound encoding support and a range of the latest high definition formats.
Nevertheless, Episode has an easy-to-use interface that nobody could call confusing or difficult to master. Advanced features are tucked away behind simple drag and drop presets, offering a best-of-both worlds solution for the wealthy video enthusiast
- Price: $395 (standard), $895 (pro), $100 (Flash 8 support for either version)
- Input file types: The standard edition features the following range of input formats:
- MPEG-1 (muxed)
- MPEG-2 (program, elementary)
- MPEG-4 (.mp4)
- DV
- MOV
- Windows Media 9
- AVI
- 3GPP / 3GPP2
- MP3
- ATSC A / 52
To which the professional edition adds the following:
Output file types: Output options for the standard edition include:
- MPEG-1 (.mpg)
- MPEG-2 (.mpg, .m2v)
- MPEG-4 (.mp4)
- MOV
- Windows Media 9
- WMA Pro
- DV
- 3GPP / 3GPP2
- .amc
- Flash Video 8 (optional)
- M4A
- AIFF
- VC-1
- ATSC A / 52
The professional edition adds the following output support:
- 3GPP and 3GPP2 - H.264 High Profile
- GXF
- HDV
- IMX
- MPEG-2 (.ts)
- MXF
- Surround Sound
- Advanced features: Among the long list of advanced features offered by Episode (PDF warning) are an extensive collection of video filters thsat include gamma correction, time-code burn-in, visible watermark, smoothing and RGB correction. Other features include 80 professionally designed settings templates, A / B comparison previews, 2-pass encoding and automatic frame-rate conversion
- Batch encoding: Yes
- System requirements: Mac OSX 10.4 or higher, running on a G4, G5 or Intel processor, with Quicktime 7 or higher installed and a minimum of 512MB of RAM (1GB for HD video)
- Access: You can purchase Episode from the Flip4Mac website
Autodesk Cleaner
- Overview: Cleaner is a well-established contender in the world of professional video encoding, and is often used as a point of comparison for newer services. With over 60 supported media formats Cleaner 6.5 for Mac can encode to more output formats than any other application on the market. Cleaner is packed with over one hundred professionally designed presets, which means that you can get started with drag-and-drop ease, but also have the option of a great many advanced features for the video professional
- Price: $599
- Input file types: Among the vast range of supported formats supported by Clearner are:
- DV
- Quicktime
- AVI
- MPEG-1
- MPEG-2
- MPEG-4
- MPEG Layer I Audio
- MPEG Layer II Audio
- AIFF / AIFC
- AU
- Sound Designer II
- WAV
- OpenDML
- And ''other video, audio, animation, and still-image formats''
Output file types: Cleaner has support for the following output formats:
- Quicktime
- RealVideo & ReadAudio
- Windows Media 7
- MPEG-1
- MPEG-2
- Kinoma
- DivX
- FLV
- SWF
- MP3
- DV
- MPEG Layer II Audio
- AVI
- AIFF / AIFC
- WAV
- And ''other video, audio, animation and still-image formats''
- Advanced features: Among its many advanced features Cleaner features automated batch encoding for hundreds of video files, A / B setting preview mode, dual-processor support and a range of audio and video filters
- Batch encoding: Yes
- System requirements: Mac G4 or greater processor, running OSX 10.3 or higher, with a minumum of 512MB of RAM and a display card supporting 16-bit color and 1024 x 768 resolution minimum. No Universal Binary at time of writing.
There is also a Windows-based version of Cleaner
with a different spec-list, called Autodesk Cleaner XL
Access: You can purchase Autodesk Cleaner 6.5 from its website
Online Solutions
One easy alternative to encoding and converting video from your own computer is to make use of the growing number of online solutions geared up to providing this service for you. For those of you that have a good, fast Internet connection this can prove to be a very welcome alternative to the desktop solution, especially if your home computer is less than powerful.
Video encoding takes up serious processing and hardware resources, not to mention time. Online solutions allow you to simply upload your files, choose the format you want to convert to and then let someone else's computer take the strain for you. Once the conversion has taken place, you can download the file or files.
Hey!Watch
- Overview: Hey!Watch allows you to quickly and efficiently convert your video files from an easy-to-use browser-based setting. In Robin Good's full review of the service, he described an excellent service accessible from any device capable of accessing the Internet, capable of importing video directly from a big selection of online video sharing sites in addition to uploaded files, and with a highly impressive list of encoding output formats including some barely seen elsewhere.
- Price: Encode credits, purchased in batches of 5 or more, are $0.10 each, and can be used for one encoding job each
- Input file types: In addition to being able to instantly grab video from all of the major video sharing websites, Hey!Watch also supports the following video formats:
- avi
- mp4
- 3gp
- psp
- mpeg
- mpeg ts
- dvd
- flv
- svcd
- vcd
- vob
- asf
- mov
- rm
- mjpeg
- mpeg2video
- 3g2
- Output file types: As above
- Advanced features: Chief among Hey!Watch advance features is the very useful ability to import video directly from online video sharing websites without first having to download the files to your own computer. Furthermore, users can create their own encoding settings rather than using the extensive presets, setting such variables as bit rate, frames-per-second, video dimensions and codecs
- Batch encoding: Yes
- System requirements: The only system requirement is a device capable of accessing the Internet
- Access: You can sign up for an account at the Hey!Watch website
Zamzar
- Overview:Zamzar is a free online file conversion service not exclusively dedicated to video, but nevertheless offering a good range of encoding presets for those looking to quickly convert video files from the web. While it doesn't have nearly as many video formats as Hey!Watch, and doesn't offer control over encoding settings, it is a simple tool that will suit those not interested in getting involved with these more advanced features
- Price: Free
- Input file types: In addition to audio, image and document conversions, Zamzar supports the following video formats as source footage:
- 3gp
- avi
- flv
- gvi (Google video)
- m4v
- mov
- mp4
- mpg
- rm
- rmvb
- vob
- wmv
- Output file types: Zamzar can output video files to the following formats:
- 3gp
- aac
- ac3
- avi
- flac
- flv
- gif
- mov
- mp4
- mpg
- ogg
- wav
- Advanced features: The Zamzar web browser button is a browser plug-in that allows you to quickly convert media from any web page you are visiting, without having to go to the Zamzar website first
- Batch encoding: No
- System requirements: Access to the Internet only
- Access: You can use Zamzar, without having to register, by going to the website
Media Convert
- Overview: Media Convert is another free website for converting your online media straight from your web browser. Like Zamzar it is not exclusively focused on video conversion, and can be used also to convert documents and audio files, as well as to take screenshots of websites. However, while Zamzar does not feature customization options, Media Convert has limited options available to the user before encoding begins, such as choosing your video bitrate, codec and framerate
- Price: Free
- Input file types: Media Convert has a reasonably extensive list of video input options:
- 3gp
- amv
- asf
- avi
- dv
- fli
- flv
- gvi
- mkv
- mov
- mp4
- mpg
- ogm
- rm
- swf
- vob
- wmv
Output file types: Media Convert will export your video files to:- avi (DivX mpeg-4)
- 3gp
- swf (Flash)
- amv (for Chinese MP4/S1 MP3 players)
- mpeg-2
- mov
- mp4 (iPod and PSP)
- mp3 (sound track extraction)
-
- JPEG (frame extraction)
- Advanced features: Options include setting framerate, bitrate, fps and video dimensions
- Batch encoding: No
- System requirements: Internet access
- Access: You can use Media Converter, without registering, by visiting the web site
Additional Resources
If you would like to learn more about the encoding / conversion process, and how to get the best results from the tools featured in this mini-guide, you might want to take a look at some of the following links:
Originally written by Michael Pick for Master New Media and originally published as: "Video Conversion And Encoding Tools And Services: A Mini-Guide"
| 2009-09-14 05:28:11 |
maurice |
Super is a conversion tool for the more demanding video-"geek". The options are many and FFMpeg encoder does not always do the job when converting a .MP4 batch. MEncoder is than a safer way to go. I have tried various other programs and got kinda stuck with super because they are one of the few that have the option to change the bitrate to more than 5000. To get best quality when converting to MPeg-II you will need this option.
I have been using super for a respectable time now and am happy but Super is definetely in for an update concerning errors one might get.
| 2009-09-13 08:00:40 |
video encoding expert |
This is one of the most informative articles about video converting and encoding. fantastic job!
however it is a bit old and needs to be updated.
some new great competitors are now available.
for example:
on2's flixcloud.com
and digital-blonde's betterencoding.com
| 2008-11-25 12:24:12 |
Jan Hoelschi |
here is a new solution in the world of video conversion...
the new Media Encoding Cluster is an Open Source Online Distributed Encoding Solution with an Embedded Web Interface to Control the Encodings,
please visit http://www.codergrid.de
| 2007-04-12 10:34:10 |
Michael Pick |
Thanks for the feedback.
I guess that the ease of use is relative to having to do things the really long way around with FFMPEG and MEncoder, but there is always room for improvement, especially when you look at how easy the mac equivalent Visual Hub makes it for the user. One of the problems is the sheer amount of choice presented by Super in terms of encoding options.
I'd be interested to hear whether your bad experiences were with the Super interface, or with it failing to complete encoding jobs?
Hope you managed to find something preferable in the meantime.
| 2007-04-12 07:54:31 |
csaba |
I like this comparison, but I am not sure, that SUPER is an easy to use program. I have tried it several times, but never worked for me.. I hope, others have better experiances.
