Best MPEG2 encoder

[Tariq]

Hi,

I am looking to purchase an MPEG2 encoder and I am torn between 2.

1) Sony Vizaro
2) Cinema Craft Xtream

I am going to be using it for music videos and full-length movies.

Can anybody tell me which is better and why? I have called both companies and they both say there product is better then the other.

[Guest]

Please observe forum rule 12: Do not ask what's best. Thank you.

[Dalamar]

Although I always agree with structured rules, Rule 12 really does push the envelope, in my books. I don’t post much but I read every day and I see lots of people wanting help, from "those that know". Now If I wanted information about joining VCD files I would do some home work and narrow down the list of potential programs, but in the end I would like to ask "those that know" that in their opinion which gives better results (AKA which is best). I generally site the codec comparison Doom9 does which at the end tells us which codec performed the best. Now he can tell us which is the best but I cant ask, hows that for logic.:confused:

I guess what it boils down to is, instead of asking which is best; try asking if people have had problems with either of the models. You can list features and see is they are supported and if people were happy with the way they were implemented.


Cheers
Dalamar

[SurfDrifter]

Originally posted by Tariq
Hi,

I am looking to purchase an MPEG2 encoder and I am torn between 2.

1) Sony Vizaro
2) Cinema Craft Xtream

I am going to be using it for music videos and full-length movies.

Can anybody tell me which is better and why? I have called both companies and they both say there product is better then the other.

Actually, it's not an answer to your question, but can you tell me the price of these encoders, since I'm interested in buying one in the near future?

[Arky]

The Xstream is very probably superior to the Vizaro, which is highly-respected but not as up to date as CCE's new offering. The Xstream is $50k. You should be able to pick up a secondhand Vizaro for considerably less than that.


Arky ;o)

[SeeMoreDigital]

Originally posted by Arky
Xstream is $50k. You should be able to pick up a secondhand Vizaro for considerably less than that. Put me down for two please!

One for me and one for Donald ;)

[SurfDrifter]

Originally posted by Arky
The Xstream is very probably superior to the Vizaro, which is highly-respected but not as up to date as CCE's new offering. The Xstream is $50k. You should be able to pick up a secondhand Vizaro for considerably less than that.


Arky ;o)

Hmm, i believe with a fraction of money you could get the same results. For instance you buy CCE SP for 2000$ and Blackmagic Decklink Xtreme for 895$. This is what you do.

1) You capture 10-bit uncompressed video with Declink and
2) You make a 2-pass VBR encoding with CCE SP.

Assuming that your CPU will encode at 2.00+ speeds, the total amount of time capturing and then encoding to .m2v, will the same or faster of a 2-pass VBR encoding using CCE Xtreme.

You would only need about 3000$ to create the same (probably... correct me if I'm wrong)quality and same amount of time and save 47.000$ for sth else!

P.S: You could save more money, if you buy CCE Basic and do a 2-pass VBR, therefore costing only 1000$!!!

[Arky]

Originally posted by SurfDrifter
You would only need about 3000$ to create the same (probably... correct me if I'm wrong)quality and same amount of time and save 47.000$ for sth else!

Well, it would certainly be very close, but don't forget that, whereas CCE Pro uses almost the same software encoding engine as CCE-SP, Xstream has a completely rewritten encoding engine, which (according to the blurb, at least) adjusts the quantization matrices in a more advanced manner. Now quite how this influences real-life encodes is something most of us mere mortals have yet to see. My guess is that 99% of the time, the differences will be extremely difficult to see, at least with 'clean', high quality source footage.

Originally posted by SurfDrifter
P.S: You could save more money, if you buy CCE Basic and do a 2-pass VBR, therefore costing only 1000$!!!

Hehe - what, and miss out on all the fun of that AWESOME bitrate allocation dialogue? To me, this is no mere gimmick - it has powerful capabilities which really help with high-end authoring.

That aside, though, I totally agree, in principle, with your approach to 'Decklink + SP', since the savings are
H-U-G-E-!, and the image quality differences will not, generally, justify the enormous premium.

...still, betcha WANT an Xstream, all the same, right..?!? ;)


Arky ;o)

[SurfDrifter]

Originally posted by Arky
...still, betcha WANT an Xstream, all the same, right..?!? ;)
Arky ;o)

Yup! I must admit that I'd like to play with that toy!
Why hassle with intermediate uncompressed files and huge filesizes that hog the system? I need it!!! :)

[ron spencer]

vizaro

http://www.marshallgraphics.com/MGS-Specials.html

[Cheesus]

How do the Sonic Series encoders fit in? Are they on a par wtih the Vizaro or Xstream?
I currently use a SD1000 card but am thinking of upgrading to the SD2000, mainly for the segment re-encode function. This would be a pretty expensive upgrade though. I'm wondering if it's worth it.

[Arky]

On the basis of a number of posts from seasoned professionals on professional forums, I understand CCE-SP is capable of consistently superior results to the SD-2000 hardware card. Therefore, the Xstream would be expected to significantly outperform the SD-2000 on a number of levels.


Arky ;o)



P.S., if you haven't already done so, you might like to check out this (brief!) shootout:

http://videosystems.com/mag/video_mpeg_encoder_shootout/index.html

[dvdboy]

I have to say, the people who I know who used the SD-2000 were NOT very impressed with it, the encodes would macroblock everywhere at everything except high-ish bitrates. You needed the segment based re-encode to piece together a decent encode!

I've never used the Vizaro, but it's predecessor (VA 1100 I believe it was called) was very nice indeed. I'm not sure what changed between them except that the Vizaro is a single board and the VA 1100 is a huge box!

DVD-Boy

EDIT - Just realised my post made no sense - listen to Kolak and stay away from SD-2000s!!

[kolak]

I currently use a SD1000 card but am thinking of upgrading to the SD2000, mainly for the segment re-encode function. This would be a pretty expensive upgrade though. I'm wondering if it's worth it.

DON'T UPGRADE TO SD2000!!!!!
SD2000 is a shit (sorry for language). I work on SD2000 and I always have the same problem: BIG BITRATE PEAKS and VERY SMOOTH IMAGE without details. The dark scene always have artefacts (blocking)!!! Somethimes SD2000 adds to material some shit!
If you use CBR mode and set 8 Mbit you'll get peaks 11mbit (sometimes more:() and you can't use segment re-encoding in CBR mode. It's nightmare. CBR mode is unussles!!!
You beeter buy CCE SP and Decklink card. I never had problems with bitrate peaks in CCE.
The most important is : CCE produce better quality then SD2000!!!!
That's not an advertising for CCE- that's a fact.