I've been reading a lot of posts, and the consensus here in the forum is that ProCoder 2 beats CCE-SP. Well, I beg to differ. I went over to a friend who has both ProCoder 2 and CCE-SP, and we did a little test. We made a copy of his LOST Season #1 Disc One (6.79 GB) using both Encoders. We used Mastering Quality for Procoder and 4 Passes for CCE-SP. It was a reduction of 54% acording to DVD-RB log. The results were interesting. When it comes to color accuracy, I've got to admit ProCoder was a bit better, but that was it. Procoder disappointed me a little when it came to reproduce areas of fast motion like fire and smoke from explosions. I could see some pixelation in some of the flames and at the top of the smoke column after the jet engine exploded. Also CCE-SP was a bit faster even with the 4 Passes. If you could only have one encoder, I'd pick CCE-SP. I think it's the best one overall.
Hmmm.... I can't comment on ProCoder 2 because I haven't use it yet. However, I'm pretty much satisfied with my CCE SP 2.70. Maybe soon I'll get ProCoder just to see/test and compare with CCE SP 2.70, but as of right now, I'm good with what I have.
I can definitely see the appeal of ProCoder 2 if the movie doesn't require major compression or if the movie doesn't have a lot of action. Otherwise CCE-SP rules.
I have seen screenshots of both programs too, and procoder seems to soften edges. In one set, Gandalph (LOTR) looked like he was 10 years younger with Procoder compared to the origional and the CCE builds. I saw one comparison where some guy (papasmurf or something) spoke about how he preferred the procoder copy because there was less noise in the product then the origional. IMO that is not a better copy, it is a manipulated copy. To introduce, or take away, any aspect of an origional copy (even if the end result is a more pleasing alteration) makes the new copy inaccurate and therefore (IMHO) a less desireable reproduction. I have used both and I find CCE offers better reproduction, particularly in action sequences, and it takes less time to complete. My computer crashed a few weeks ago, and I never bothered to re-up my ProCoder. IMO it just isn't worth it.
Like I said before, I wouldn't mind using ProCoder for minor or average compression, say up to 80%. My test was done with a 54% compression and flaws were more evident with ProCoder even using Mastering Quality Settings. In other tests we did, like backing up my House MD Season One, ProCoder's output look a bit better. I guess the slow paced action and lack of explosions or other Special FX made all the difference. The one big drawback with this one was speed. PC2 takes forever...
Yep, I'm good with DVD-RB Pro + CCE SP 2.70 (3 passes) with 8X DVD+R Taiyo Yuden on my 55" Sony Widescreen HDTV, plus I strongly deemed that CCE SP 2.70 is faster than any encoders out there. Anything that takes more than 3 hrs to encode a movie is just too much time consuming for me.
I also tend to prefer cce sp 2.70. It's considerably faster than pc2 and even if pc2 is better, the differences are very minute. I can also multi-task while running cce where pc2 continually keeps popping up on the screen interupting what I am doing. I very rarely do more than 2 passes although I will run 3 passes if reduction level is 55% or more (number gets smaller 54%, 53%, etc).
mord, A year or two ago several members ran tests using cce sp at different passes, even all the way up to 10. They concluded that anything over 4 was for the most part a waste of time and saw no improvement. Personally on large folders, I can not see an improvement between 3 and 4 passes and is why I never do more than 3 passes. On smaller average size folders 6.5 gb and under I can not see enough of an improvement in video quality to justify the additional time it takes to run 3 passes vs 2 passes and is why I run only 2 passes on most of my folders. Just my personal opinion of course.
I do believe that jdobbs even feels more than 3 passes is a waste of time and does not make much noticeable difference. It is somewhere in the big loooooooong thread, lol. http://forums.afterdawn.com/thread_view.cfm/122/97052
just putting in my 2cents,,i did planet of the apes the new one,,which now i can do with rebuilder pro,,with procoder2 and cce with 2 passes,and procoder won hands down,and i even left the DTS audio in,,and the compression was around 53%,,for me its procoder2,,just my 2 cents,,,cheers
Again, I'm good with DVD-RB Pro + CCE SP 2.70 with 3 passes, don't need ProCoder 2 yet, not now, not in any rush.
I think this may have a little something to do with what people use: CCE Basic $58 Procoder2 $499 CCE sp $1950 Lots of folks here are using the Basic with good results. If a person takes the time to trim the fat, I think that is where a lot of quality can be gained.
