hardware encoders - an update?

From what I've gleaned, there is no timetable for the release of a UB version of BitVice.

I run BitVice in Rosetta on a Intel MacPro, and it is surprisingly fast in Rosetta.

Hardware coders on the Mac, either PPC or Intel are either pricey, and I mean pricey, or run only for DV such as FastEncoder from Lacie.

Compressor on a Intel desktop Mac is pretty good.

Intel Macs are the way of the future. I would seriously consider going that way as a dedicated encoder.

Hey,

This is what I do - might be a solution for you?

I use the following method and get excellent results without having to spend a fortune on Hardware encoders.

I call it - the poor man's hardware encoder...

Using FCP, export the footage by doing edit to tape, I have the G5 connected to a Canopus ADV-110 box via firewire, and then have either S-Video or RCA going directly into my Sony DVD-Recorder, and record the signal.

Or - I record directly onto the DVD-Recorder from source, and then rip the mpeg streams off the recorded DVD re-author in DVDSP.

Hope this helps!

Dan 😉

Compressor is remarkably usable on my MacBook Pro, alot better than it has been in terms of speed and quality, enough so that I am actually using it for some things (and I swore off Compressor years back when I got bitVice and also Digiami)

Also on the Intel Macs, I have run ProCoder and CinemaCraft - CinemaCraft gets 2x real times each pass just about on 8 bit (did not read 10 bit) and the encoder is not expensive for the light version - in other words almost 1:1 on a MacBook running emulation software. I have not used Bootcamp to see if it is faster

Try Optibase MPEG 2 Encoder for Mac. Comes in different configurations and flavors. Very good real-time encoder with kits of controls that puts Compressor to shame.
http://www.optibase.com/Content.aspx?id=79
Starts at $1995.

There is also Wired MediaPress Encoder card. Real-time encoding and also comes in different configuration. No need to buy 20K card from Sonic. It is PC only, and soon to be discontinued anyway.

Hey guys,

i guess like anything, it comes down to money.

if you have a budget, but need results, i would highly recommend Lacie's fast coder
http://www.lacie.com/products/product.htm?pid=10498
although this will give you fair quality, fast encodes times and its easy on the wallet.

on the other hand, if money is no object, i would HIGHLY recommend Optibase's Mac encoder
http://www.optibase.com/Content.aspx?id=79
they come in different prices and the most expensive model is capable of Dolby 5.1 surround, segment re-encode and almost perfect cadence correction! Optibase, arguably has one of the best mpeg2 algorithm's for its price range!

both options above are hardware based encoders (that have a fixed algorithm so you get consistent results) with easy to follow software, although Optibase's MovieMaker s200 software is really powerful and gives you a whole bunch of options!

if you are looking for software based solutions:
i really like Apple's compressor! advance conversions of both resolutions and Standards, easy to use interface and the presets alone work really well!

if you want an alternative, you can try Innobits Bitvice
http://www.innobits.com/
they have a simple, yet powerful GUI and the software developers know the art of compression and their tool is reasonably priced.

another good, low-priced software that others have recommended would be Digigami's MegaPEG Pro SD plug-in for QT. although kinda pricey for a QT plug-in, it does wonders!

i personally have all the above mentioned encoders and personally i use Optibase's encoder the most, since its a real-time encoder (in CBR mode) and provides consistent results.

of course, all above hardware/software are Mac based only.

PC have their own goodies 🙂

Mikey M. 🙂

Mikey

Yup use bitVice, Digigami and now Compressor once again (as mentioned it is getting better it seems) plus the FastCoder, a cool little gizmo - just wish it could do real 16:9, but for $99 not too bad 🙂

And the MacIntel is doing a heck of a job with ProCoder and CinemaCraft (both the "lighter" versions) - CinemaCraft light handles 8 bit but not 10, did not put ProCoder through the paces yest, the CinemaCraft is a bit more flexible in terms of minimum rates - but overall able to get effectively realtime encoding - each pass is almost 2 x real time (consistent 1.5+) and even Compressor is fast. Liking the MacIntel. Now if Apple can make DVD SP a little less buggy in the Universal version 🙂

Hey Keebler

if all you are doing is transferring home moives (i assume from VHS and or DV) then i would recommend against the Optibase soultion. it would be overkill and honestly a waste of money in your particular case. you may ask yourself why i say this:
first, although the more economical version of the Optibase has a analogue (RCA) input (for your VHS) you would essentially have to capture "on the fly".
if you are using S-Video, the break out cable does not supply this.
in addition, if you are capturing DV (firewire) the Optibase does not come with this input.
the optibase is geared towards more higher end prosumers, since the it has BNC (SDI) connections, which i am almost sure most VHS camcorders and or DV cameras dont have.

also, the optibase does not work like compressor or bit-vice, where you can have a QT file and it will compress it for you. it is a pass-through encoder, meaning that you must feed the encoder card a analogue or digital signal and then, in real-time, compresses your footage.

in your case Keebler, i would recommend get the fastcoder from lacie (if you are primarily working in NTSC) since it is chaep and it just works.

the best part of it, you can upgrade your CPU for the cost savings you will have!

all you would have to do now is capture the material how you already are, when you edit it, export a *.dv file, take it into the Fastcoders software, connect the fastcoder to a firewire bus and hit encode. *.dv encodes in real time with awesome quality (for what it is)!

summary:
-lose the optibase idea
-buy lacie's fastcoder
-if you can, buy a new CPU (with the money you will save if you want)
-capture the video how you already used to
-edit and export as *.dv
-import file into fastcoder software and hit encode
-be happy because you saved time, money and your video will look as good as it can (and if you bought a new mac with the money you saved, double happiness!)

Mikey M. 🙂

Hello Keebler,

Did you know that you can encode faster than real-time with BitVice on a quad G5?

Even with a dual G5 you can increase the throughput considerably. The trick is to let BitVice run several encodings simultaneously. Running several BitVice processes in parallel will give you the benefit of much better utilization of the CPU power of your Mac.

Unfortunately, because BitVice is a Carbon application, it cannot start new processes by itself. However, with the new droplet feature in BV 1.7, we have made it very easy for the user to run many BitVices at the same time (concurrently).

I have found that many Mac users have difficulties getting used to the thought of doing the work in parallel instead of serially. Therefore it may be hard for some of them to believe the tremendous speed difference this can make, when running on multi-CPU Macs. With applications written like BitVice it is safe to run as many instances as you like. They will work completely independent of eachother.

I have read this thread, so I understand your situation. If you could contact Innobits off-line I could give you some other advice targeted at your special kind of operation (MPEG-2 encoding from VHS sources). You might find yourself encoding much faster than the Fastcoder can, with BitVice quality. I would save the money for the Fastcoder and spend it on more RAM for your G5 (Dual or Quad) instead.

For more cool tips and tricks you may want to read some posts in our discussion forum, like this one for example.
http://www.innobits.com/f/index.php?topic=1188.0

Roger Andersson / Innobits AB, makers of BitVice MPEG-2 encoder for Mac.