Streaming Media - August/September 2007 - (Page 98)

review Grass Valley ProCoder 3 Figure 1. The Watch Folder Manager, where you’ll set up and manage watch folders. By Jan Ozer ProCoder 3 is a competent, high-performance multi-format encoding tool with lots of great automation features but some interface issues. Most users will prefer Sorenson Squeeze’s simplicity for casual use, but Squeeze can’t match ProCoder’s ability to create droplets and profiles with multiple presets, not to mention its jaw-dropping performance on multi-core systems. Price: $499 http://www.canopus.com/products/ ProCoderSW/index.php SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS For example, ProCoder doesn’t do formats like MXF GXF , , LXF Omneon, Quantel, Panasonic P2, or Sony XDCAM. You , also don’t get features like an XML-based programming interface, FTP transfers, closed-caption insertion and extraction, or an XML titler. Finally, ProCoder can’t function as a node on a render farm controlled by Carbon Coder, which is a big issue for high-volume production houses. Recommended system requirements are modest. For the record, I tested ProCoder on a Hewlett-Packard xw8400 workstation with two 2.66GHz Quad-Core Xeons with 3GB RAM running Windows XP Professional SP2. Quality comparisons were enhanced by the dreamy 30" HewlettPackard LP3065 LCD monitor, driven by the NVIDIA Quadro FX 1500 graphics card. Functionality and Setup Let’s start with an overview of functionality, then dig in. During installation, Grass Valley installs four programs: ProCoder 3, the Job Queue Manager, the ProCoder 3 Wizard, and Watch Folder Manager. Briefly, ProCoder 3 is where you’ll perform most pre-encoding activities, including file selection, the creation of compression presets and profiles (essentially groups of presets), and the creation of batch files, which you can encode within ProCoder or hand off to the Job Queue Manager for encoding. The Watch Folder Manager (Figure 1) lets you create watch folders that trigger the encoding of files copied to that folder to selected parameters. Setting up watch folders is simple; you choose a directory for the watch folder, a target directory for the compressed files, then a preset or profile. When files appear in the watch folder, the Job Queue Manager starts encoding. For repetitive encoding tasks, you can also create a “droplet” from any preset or profile. Droplets sit on your desktop, and activate when you drag and drop a file onto them. The ProCoder3 Wizard (Figure 2) walks you through converting a file and creating a watch folder, using a simple workflow where you answer one question per screen. While the Wizard will certainly help novices accomplish both tasks, results won’t be optimal. For example, when encoding to QuickTime format for progressive delivery, the Wizard chose Sorenson Video 3, rather than the more widely used H.264, and produced a 512x384 resolution file, despite allocating close to 900Kbps to the video file. Either a larger resolution or lower data rate would be preferable. • Intel or AMD 800MHz or faster CPU • 256MB RAM (512MB RAM required for HD encoding) • 80MB free HDD space • DirectX 9.0 or later • Windows XP Home or Windows XP Professional • One free USB port (1.1 or higher) Grass Valley ProCoder ($499) is a competent, high-performance multi-format encoding tool with lots of great automation features but some interface issues. Most users will prefer Squeeze’s simplicity for casual use, but Squeeze can’t match ProCoder’s ability to create droplets and profiles with multiple presets, not to mention its jawdropping performance on multi-core systems. As you may know, ProCoder is developed by the same team that produces Rhozet’s Carbon Coder, a $5,000 encoding utility that I tested and liked earlier this year. At a basic level, the programs look and run similarly, though obviously Carbon Coder has more high-end functionality. 98 STREAMING MEDIA August/September 2007 http://www.canopus.com/products/ProCoderSW/index.php

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Streaming Media - August/September 2007

Table of Contents Sweet Sixteen Letters to the Editor Technology and Business Trends IBM Takes Webcasting to the Desktop ROI in the EDU Bank Serves Espresso, Enterprise Video Online Video Advertising: Hit or Miss MLB’s Foul Bawl A Crash Course in Flash Video Newspapers in Multimedia Metamorphosis Webcasting Large Entertainment Events: Seeing Through the Hype Webcasting With Windows Media Can’t Start A Fire . . . A WiMAX Primer Mobile Video at Last Telestream Episode Pro Grass Valley ProCoder 3 Silverlight Is No Flash Killer

Streaming Media - August/September 2007

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