hi everyone, i have just installed nero vision express 6 on my pc, and want to use it for everything to do with video capture/editing/encoding/burning/movie backup etc but have noticed a lot of people saying that the mpeg2 encoder on this program is pretty crappy compared to a stand alone program, is this correct. I have been using different programs to do different things, and just want i easy to use program that will do everything and retain good quality. currently i use sonic MyDVD to capture my digital video to my pc in mpeg2 format (either 720x576 or 352x576) i use arcsoft SHOWBIZ to do basic video editing and re-encoding of WMV/AVI vids to MPEG2, then i use nero 6 to copy the finished mpeg2 video file to dvd-r disc to playback on my tv. i dont bother with creating special dvd projects using fancy menus, im happy just to copy an mpeg2 video onto a disc and let the dvd player use its default menus to list the videos on the disc. the problem with using arcsoft SHOWBIZ to re-encode avi or wmv files etc to mpeg2 is it can take 3 to 4 hrs to to convert a 1 hr avi or wmv file, is this also the case when using other encoding software, and if not, what is the best free software on the market to do all the things i want to do, the main thing being able to convert any video file type to mpeg2. i also use dvd shrink to backup dvd movies, so is nero 6 recode2 ok for doing this type of backup, or should i keep using dvd shrink, its a great program, and am happy to continue using it. hope someone understands where im coming from, or where im going to re this thread, and all advice is greatly appreciated.....GLEN
Well whatever you use DONT use "Nero vision express" as it is probably the worst program that has ever been created for DVD authoring...Even if your Source files are allready 100% DVD compliant it will Still re-encodethe File which totally ruins the Quality and is a step that isn"t even needed and it takes hours to do.... If you want fast encodeing to Mpeg2/DVD like about Real Time on a 2.0ghz PC then use the "MainConcept Encoder" as it is One of the Fastest encoders there is and it is a pretty Good Quality encoder when set up properly... For DVD authoring I like useing DVDLab cuz you can make your DVD as Basic or as Complicated as you wish... But there is No Freeware that I know of that will do any of this and there are No Good all in One Package Programs that will do everything you need to do from captureing to editing to encodeing and DVD authoring.. Most Programs that say they can do everything usually don"t do anything Very well that Is why I use a Wide variety of programs to do what I need done depending on what I need done....
thx minion. yeah, i havent used nero except for burning/copy stuff to dvd. i used to use roxio to do all my backup files etc to cd-r/dvd-r but i found the new nero xpress does it better. i just got the new nero vision 6, but i only use the nero express. ok, i have now been using MainConcept MPEG Encoder 1.4.2 (trial) and its absolutely brilliant. fast, easy, smaller file size, but it has its limits in a few areas unlike TMPGEnc 3.0 xpress (trial) which im also using to compare between the 2. MainConcept (us$149) is fast and is good quality has a dv/analog capture option has a great closable capture screen is easy to use only encodes certain file formats to mpeg only (i still cant work out the "file splitter" option, as i thought it was an option to split long vids into shorter parts b4 encoding them, but id doesnt do that) TMPGEnc 3.0 EXPRESS (us$58) not as fast as MME, but is good quality has bigger end file size than MME has a crappy preview screen that u cant close has a brilliant file merger/cutting editor is able to encode any file format to any other file format (not restricted to mpeg) it doesnt have a capture option easy to use so i guess you get what u pay for with these 2 programs. if TMPGE had a capture option, id go with that even if it had a higher price that it is now simply cos it could capture, and do file cutting and merging, which i think is a great bonus over MME. i guess at the end of the day, i could get both and use them according to my needs for each project i want to do. i dont bother with creating fancy effects or menus on my vids, i just copy the final mpeg2 video to a dvd-r disc using nero xpress, and it plays in my dvd set top player using its own built-in menu screen, listing the videos that are on the dvd-r disc. these are only home videos and vids i download from the net etc. thanks for your input, i had a feeling nero had its limits re it video package at least, but for most other stuff i find it brilliant. thanks again minion.....GLEN
