Sorenson Squeeze for MPEG2 at DVinfo.net

John Chia · November 22nd, 2005, 09:52 AM

how does Sorenson Squeeze perform with mpeg2 encoding?

mpeg2 encoding is my priority but i like SS's other formats

Dan Euritt · November 22nd, 2005, 05:11 PM

i believe that squeeze uses the mainconcept mpeg encoder, which does a pretty decent job... but you should look at procoder as well, i think that it's a better mpeg encoder.

Zach Mull · November 22nd, 2005, 07:05 PM

I agree with Dan. Squeeze is targeted toward web delivery. If MPEG-2 is your priority then it's not the best product for you.

John Chia · November 22nd, 2005, 09:29 PM

Thing is our systems are Mac (FCP) so i cant use Procoder.

we tried FCP's Compressor but the quality is subpar and its extremely slow,.

any recommendations?

Zach Mull · November 23rd, 2005, 02:38 AM

Hmm, the only thing I like about Compressor is that it seems faster than the other encoders on the Mac (well, that and it came free with FCP). Most people on this board like BitVice, but I don't find the quality that much better than Compressor when working with DV source, which is all I do, and it is painfully slow. When I used the demo it was at least 3 times slower than Compressor. Still, people on this board and on the DVD Studio Pro Apple forum who have way more experience than me say that BitVice blows away the quality of Compressor. I think Digigami encoders are supposed to be fast: http://www.digigami.com/products.html. But I don't know anyone who uses them. MainConcept is another option, but if you are going to use that then you might as well get Squeeze. Again I found little difference with DV source, but the speed is comparable to Compressor. You will have to play with the gamma a bit in MainConcept because it tends to make things darker than the source.

Squeeze is great for web formats, but if you are serious about MPEG-2 on a Mac then BitVice is probably the way to go.

Edit: I guess I should ask: what is your basis for comparison when you say Compressor is slow? If you are comparing to a system running on Windows then you may be out of luck. As far as I can tell, CPU clock speed is the biggest factor in determining speed of MPEG-2 encodes, so a 2Ghz G5 will be much slower than a 3Ghz Pentium 4 regardless of other factors.

John Chia · November 29th, 2005, 04:25 AM

i've tested Compressor, BitVice, Digigami and Popwire

it appears that Popwire's Compression Master 3.2 turns out tops
and guess what. Its the fastest of the lot as well!

November 22nd, 2005, 09:52 AM	#1
John Chia Regular Crew Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Singapore Posts: 32	Sorenson Squeeze for MPEG2 how does Sorenson Squeeze perform with mpeg2 encoding? mpeg2 encoding is my priority but i like SS's other formats

November 22nd, 2005, 05:11 PM	#2
Dan Euritt Trustee Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Carlsbad CA Posts: 1,132	i believe that squeeze uses the mainconcept mpeg encoder, which does a pretty decent job... but you should look at procoder as well, i think that it's a better mpeg encoder.

November 22nd, 2005, 07:05 PM	#3
Zach Mull Major Player Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Portland, OR Posts: 273	I agree with Dan. Squeeze is targeted toward web delivery. If MPEG-2 is your priority then it's not the best product for you.

November 22nd, 2005, 09:29 PM	#4
John Chia Regular Crew Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Singapore Posts: 32	Thing is our systems are Mac (FCP) so i cant use Procoder. we tried FCP's Compressor but the quality is subpar and its extremely slow,. any recommendations?

November 23rd, 2005, 02:38 AM	#5
Zach Mull Major Player Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Portland, OR Posts: 273	Hmm, the only thing I like about Compressor is that it seems faster than the other encoders on the Mac (well, that and it came free with FCP). Most people on this board like BitVice, but I don't find the quality that much better than Compressor when working with DV source, which is all I do, and it is painfully slow. When I used the demo it was at least 3 times slower than Compressor. Still, people on this board and on the DVD Studio Pro Apple forum who have way more experience than me say that BitVice blows away the quality of Compressor. I think Digigami encoders are supposed to be fast: http://www.digigami.com/products.html. But I don't know anyone who uses them. MainConcept is another option, but if you are going to use that then you might as well get Squeeze. Again I found little difference with DV source, but the speed is comparable to Compressor. You will have to play with the gamma a bit in MainConcept because it tends to make things darker than the source. Squeeze is great for web formats, but if you are serious about MPEG-2 on a Mac then BitVice is probably the way to go. Edit: I guess I should ask: what is your basis for comparison when you say Compressor is slow? If you are comparing to a system running on Windows then you may be out of luck. As far as I can tell, CPU clock speed is the biggest factor in determining speed of MPEG-2 encodes, so a 2Ghz G5 will be much slower than a 3Ghz Pentium 4 regardless of other factors.

November 29th, 2005, 04:25 AM	#6
John Chia Regular Crew Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Singapore Posts: 32	i've tested Compressor, BitVice, Digigami and Popwire it appears that Popwire's Compression Master 3.2 turns out tops and guess what. Its the fastest of the lot as well!