Canopus ProCoder questions at DVinfo.net

Barry Gilbert · August 1st, 2003, 07:57 PM

I am trying out the Canopus ProCoder program.

Everything went fine durning the install, or so I thought. I keep getting this message when I try to start the program : error #7 "Please connect the hardlock and try again"

Does anyone have an idea what I have done wrong or what I should do to correct this problem?

Thanks,
Barry

Mike Rehmus · August 3rd, 2003, 04:47 PM

Go to the Canopus forum and ask the question. ProCoder is fairly specialized. Probably not a lot of us use it. Testing Testing

Chris Hurd · August 3rd, 2003, 08:04 PM

Procoder uses a dongle, that might be the "hardlock." I don't see how or why a trial version would be prompting for one, however. Agree with Mike; this is a question for the pro's at the Canopus forum.

Rob Lohman · August 11th, 2003, 05:23 AM

Hardlock is indeed the same as dongle. It is looking for one. If I
remember correctly ProCoder just runs as a demo if it can't find
one. If you can get into the application you have no problem.

David Hurdon · March 19th, 2004, 08:33 AM

I became aware today that Procoder has an Express version for $60 that includes a plug-in for 6.5/Pro. I'm wondering if it does its encoding faster or better than the Main Concept1.3b/WME plug-ins? I'm particularly interested in the QT output since there is no way to do it well (file size to quality ratio) without the relatively expensive Squeeze software.

David Hurdon

Rob Lohman · March 20th, 2004, 05:39 AM

In my opinion the ProCoder MPEG2 encoder is definitely better
than the MainConcept one. BUT, do check out the exact
specifications of the product before buying to know for sure you
are getting what you want (express must have some things less
then the full version). Then again, $60 might not be too much
to take a "chance".

David Hurdon · March 23rd, 2004, 06:18 AM

Thanks Rob. I did buy it and have played some with it. It does the best job of QT files I've seen without the Sorensen Squeeze version of the codec (pro), although my results were washed out compared to wmv running side by side, and the file size double that of the MS format. Still the best ratio of quality to size I've been able to make. It also does a very nice MPEG-2, and I'll take the time to test its speed versus Main Concept when I can. I do a lot of web/CD encoding and having the extra tool kit is worth the price. One feature that grabbed me was its variety of input types. I imported a 500 kbps wmv and re-encoded it to 106 kbps wmv. This is a one-minute, fast cuts, camera moves piece and considering that, the results were amazing. I was looking for a way to repurpose for the web many hours of seminar material the client wanted (and got) on CD, done at 500 kbps. This is it, and compared to the cost of recapturing and exporting 18 hours of DV material they're giving it away. I'm told Windows Movie Maker 2 will do the same thing, but not on win2kpro, which is my O/S.

David Hurdon

Andrew Kiu · April 20th, 2004, 06:37 PM

Canopus Product detail missing on B&H ??!!!

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/cont...=312378&is=REG

Is this a package with Canopus DV RAPTOR RT 2 MAX with EDIUS 2 ???

I send email to B&H and no answer....

Frank Granovski · April 20th, 2004, 06:41 PM

They are probably closed now. It's after 9:00 PM in NY. I'm sure they'll reply tomorrow.

Jason Bixby · August 31st, 2005, 07:40 AM

i hear that for the fastest encoding speed, you should use two hard drives. One where the source file is and the other when you want the encoded files to go. I want to use raptor drives. Regarding the source drive and the drive where files are, does it matter if the source drive is a raptor drive or not. Will using a regular 7200 rpm drive as the source give me the same speed as if i was using a raptor.

Jason Bixby · September 1st, 2005, 09:30 AM

no one can help

Glenn Chan · September 1st, 2005, 01:02 PM

Unless your encoder is close to real-time speed, I doubt having 2 10k rpm drives over 2 7200rpm drives would help. Even then, you'd get a very maginal speed increase.

Quote:

Will using a regular 7200 rpm drive as the source give me the same speed as if i was using a raptor.

The raptor is obviously a faster drive.
But if the bottleneck is not in the hard drive (which it probably isn't), there's a neglible speed difference between the two.

2- If you want to see if a faster hard drive would help, you could try doing your own test using a software RAM drive (i.e. RAMdisk).

Maybe someone has done their own test.

Jose Skaf · May 5th, 2006, 02:50 AM

HI all:

I have a problem I haven´t been able to get by for a couple of months. After exporting from Avid Xpress to QTRef I encode my videos with Canopus ProCoder, but the final result has a strange effect on the aspect ratio. It puts two black lines on each side of the video and squeez it a bit. This happens with when converting to every formant: QT, WM, DV, etc...

Any help on this?

Dan Euritt · May 5th, 2006, 03:15 PM

could it be a problem with the qtref format? i'd be looking to frameserve off of the xpress timeline to procoder with the satish workaround, or if that's not possible, export in the same format(dv?) that the footage was shot in originally.

some of the formats you quoted, i.e., wm(windows media?), are typically for web use only, so be sure that you are using square pixels for a format that'll be played back on a computer only.

Jose Skaf · May 8th, 2006, 03:06 AM

Ok fixed the problem!!
Thanks a lot!

August 1st, 2003, 07:57 PM	#1
Barry Gilbert Regular Crew Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Winnsboro, SC Posts: 96	Canopus ProCoder questions I am trying out the Canopus ProCoder program. Everything went fine durning the install, or so I thought. I keep getting this message when I try to start the program : error #7 "Please connect the hardlock and try again" Does anyone have an idea what I have done wrong or what I should do to correct this problem? Thanks, Barry __________________ "No matter how good she looks; somebody, somewhere is tried of putting up with her crap." Randy Brazell

August 3rd, 2003, 04:47 PM	#2
Mike Rehmus Wrangler Join Date: May 2002 Location: Vallejo, California Posts: 4,049	Go to the Canopus forum and ask the question. ProCoder is fairly specialized. Probably not a lot of us use it. Testing Testing __________________ Mike Rehmus Hey, I can see the carrot at the end of the tunnel!

August 3rd, 2003, 08:04 PM	#3
Chris Hurd Obstreperous Rex Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: San Marcos, TX Posts: 27,368 Images: 513	Procoder uses a dongle, that might be the "hardlock." I don't see how or why a trial version would be prompting for one, however. Agree with Mike; this is a question for the pro's at the Canopus forum. __________________ CH Search DV Info Net \| 20 years of DVi \| ...Tuesday is Soylent Green Day!

August 11th, 2003, 05:23 AM	#4
Rob Lohman RED Code Chef Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: Holland Posts: 12,514	Hardlock is indeed the same as dongle. It is looking for one. If I remember correctly ProCoder just runs as a demo if it can't find one. If you can get into the application you have no problem. __________________ Rob Lohman, visuar@iname.com DV Info Wrangler & RED Code Chef Join the DV Challenge \| Lady X Search DVinfo.net for quick answers \| Buy from the best: DVinfo.net sponsors

March 19th, 2004, 08:33 AM	#5
David Hurdon Major Player Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: Toronto, Canada Posts: 484	Canopus Procoder Express in P.6.5? I became aware today that Procoder has an Express version for $60 that includes a plug-in for 6.5/Pro. I'm wondering if it does its encoding faster or better than the Main Concept1.3b/WME plug-ins? I'm particularly interested in the QT output since there is no way to do it well (file size to quality ratio) without the relatively expensive Squeeze software. David Hurdon __________________ Site:http://www.faceliftmarketing.ca Blog:http://www.websitevideo.blogspot.com

March 20th, 2004, 05:39 AM	#6
Rob Lohman RED Code Chef Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: Holland Posts: 12,514	In my opinion the ProCoder MPEG2 encoder is definitely better than the MainConcept one. BUT, do check out the exact specifications of the product before buying to know for sure you are getting what you want (express must have some things less then the full version). Then again, $60 might not be too much to take a "chance". __________________ Rob Lohman, visuar@iname.com DV Info Wrangler & RED Code Chef Join the DV Challenge \| Lady X Search DVinfo.net for quick answers \| Buy from the best: DVinfo.net sponsors

March 23rd, 2004, 06:18 AM	#7
David Hurdon Major Player Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: Toronto, Canada Posts: 484	Thanks Rob. I did buy it and have played some with it. It does the best job of QT files I've seen without the Sorensen Squeeze version of the codec (pro), although my results were washed out compared to wmv running side by side, and the file size double that of the MS format. Still the best ratio of quality to size I've been able to make. It also does a very nice MPEG-2, and I'll take the time to test its speed versus Main Concept when I can. I do a lot of web/CD encoding and having the extra tool kit is worth the price. One feature that grabbed me was its variety of input types. I imported a 500 kbps wmv and re-encoded it to 106 kbps wmv. This is a one-minute, fast cuts, camera moves piece and considering that, the results were amazing. I was looking for a way to repurpose for the web many hours of seminar material the client wanted (and got) on CD, done at 500 kbps. This is it, and compared to the cost of recapturing and exporting 18 hours of DV material they're giving it away. I'm told Windows Movie Maker 2 will do the same thing, but not on win2kpro, which is my O/S. David Hurdon __________________ Site:http://www.faceliftmarketing.ca Blog:http://www.websitevideo.blogspot.com

April 20th, 2004, 06:37 PM	#8
Andrew Kiu Regular Crew Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: BRUNEI Posts: 108	Canopus Product detail missing on B&H ??!!! Canopus Product detail missing on B&H ??!!! http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/cont...=312378&is=REG Is this a package with Canopus DV RAPTOR RT 2 MAX with EDIUS 2 ??? I send email to B&H and no answer.... __________________ Andrew

April 20th, 2004, 06:41 PM	#9
Frank Granovski Outer Circle Join Date: May 2002 Location: Hope, BC Posts: 7,524	They are probably closed now. It's after 9:00 PM in NY. I'm sure they'll reply tomorrow.

August 31st, 2005, 07:40 AM	#10
Jason Bixby Tourist Join Date: Aug 2005 Posts: 4	canopus pro encoder hardware options newbie help i hear that for the fastest encoding speed, you should use two hard drives. One where the source file is and the other when you want the encoded files to go. I want to use raptor drives. Regarding the source drive and the drive where files are, does it matter if the source drive is a raptor drive or not. Will using a regular 7200 rpm drive as the source give me the same speed as if i was using a raptor.

September 1st, 2005, 09:30 AM	#11
Jason Bixby Tourist Join Date: Aug 2005 Posts: 4	no one can help

May 5th, 2006, 02:50 AM	#13
Jose Skaf New Boot Join Date: Dec 2005 Posts: 5	Canopus ProCoder 2.0 problem. HI all: I have a problem I haven´t been able to get by for a couple of months. After exporting from Avid Xpress to QTRef I encode my videos with Canopus ProCoder, but the final result has a strange effect on the aspect ratio. It puts two black lines on each side of the video and squeez it a bit. This happens with when converting to every formant: QT, WM, DV, etc... Any help on this?

May 5th, 2006, 03:15 PM	#14
Dan Euritt Trustee Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Carlsbad CA Posts: 1,132	could it be a problem with the qtref format? i'd be looking to frameserve off of the xpress timeline to procoder with the satish workaround, or if that's not possible, export in the same format(dv?) that the footage was shot in originally. some of the formats you quoted, i.e., wm(windows media?), are typically for web use only, so be sure that you are using square pixels for a format that'll be played back on a computer only.

May 8th, 2006, 03:06 AM	#15
Jose Skaf New Boot Join Date: Dec 2005 Posts: 5	Ok fixed the problem!! Thanks a lot!