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Wednesday, May 25, 2011

Best Free Video Encoder

Best Free Video Encoder

 
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Introduction

Although there's a debate on what encoding and transcoding is, we'll try to keep it simple here: we're going to talk about how to reduce the filesize of videos while retaining maximum quality. This is especially useful for copying a DVD/BluRay onto your computer, sending personal videos to your family over the web or for watching them on a mobile device. Some of these tasks can also be performed by a video converter.

Since encoding requires some knowledge, it will be helpful to understand some technical aspects of your original video and the output you want. Even when using automated detection tools, failing to understand some basic principles will result in weird-looking videos. For example, if you don't deinterlace an interlaced video, you'll end up with this:

Detail interlaced image.

Before we start, here are the basics you need to know.

  1. What codec and format are you going to use? As of now, H264, aac and .mp4 are the winning combination (best compatibility with modern devices, best quality/compression ratio).
  2. What quality/filesize/encoding speed do you want? You have to choose 2 out of 3, as each parameter affects the others.
  3. How to treat your source? Most of the time, the source is not optimized for playing on a computer: it can be interlaced, have black borders... You will need to learn interlacing, telecine, aspect ratio, cropping, bitrate and other notions so you can handle your source best. Tutorials are available at http://www.videohelp.com
  4. Is your source encrypted? Most encoders do not decrypt DVDs or blurays by themselves. You will need a decrypter like DVDFab HD, DVDshrink or DVD43 (on the fly). With some tools, it is best to copy the files on your HDD before encoding.
  5. Encoding is CPU intensive, so depending on the specs of your machine, it could take a very long time.

Discussion

Skipping on down...

Quick Selection Guide

StaxRip    Rating 9 of 10  Gizmo's Top Pick

Pros   Good quality/size/speed balance, clean interface, many features, reliable, good presets.
Cons   Not designed to encode from optical disks directly, no auto-detection tools.
Developer Home Page   http://staxmedia.sourceforge.net/
Download link   http://sourceforge.net/projects/staxmedia/files/StaxRip%20beta/
File               Size   28.2 MB   Version 1.1.7.1 beta   License Type Open Source Freeware (includes program code)   Installation Requirements .NET 3.5, Win 2000 - Win 7
Portable version available   Portable version available

MeGUI    Rating 9 of 10

Pros   Most comprehensive set of features, actively developed and updated, good presets.
Cons   Designed for experts rather than beginners, not designed to encode from optical disks directly.
Developer Home Page   http://sourceforge.net/projects/megui/
Download link   http://sourceforge.net/projects/megui/files/
File               Size   31.9 MB  Version 2008   License Type Open Source Freeware (includes program code)   Installation Requirements Win 2000 - Win 7
Portable version available   Portable version available

HandBrake    Rating 8 of 10

Pros   Multi-platform, simple, good presets (especially for Apple products), complete features, very clean interface, easy to encode dvds directly from optical disk.
Cons   No preview window in Windows, some presets resulting in slow encodes, limited input and output formats, some missing functions (trimming...)
Developer Home Page   http://handbrake.fr/
Download link   http://handbrake.fr/downloads.php
File               Size   5.73 MB   Version 0.9.5   License Type Open Source Freeware (includes program code)   Installation Requirements Mac OSX 10.5-10.6, Win2000-Win7, Linux (Ubuntu & Fedora specials)
64 Bit version available   64 Bit version available

Xvid4PSP    Rating 8 of 10

Pros   No indexing needed, source detection tools, very innovative interface, smart file navigation, designed to encode from optical disks directly.
Cons   Old latest stable version, beta version not finished. Presets could be better.
Developer Home Page   http://winnydows.com/
Download link   http://winnydows.com/#Downloads
File               Size   6.59 MB   Version 6.0.3 beta   License Type Open Source Freeware (includes program code)   Installation Requirements .NET 4.0, Win2000 - Win 7

RipBot264    Rating 8 of 10

Pros   Very simple and straightforward, complete set of tools, good presets.
Cons   Limited output formats, limited settings.
Developer Home Page   http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?t=127611
Download link   http://www.mediafire.com/?7jxxkg89xxjowuu
File               Size   28.8 MB   Version 1.16.5   License Type Unrestricted Freeware   Installation Requirements Win2000 - Win 7
Portable version available   Portable version available
Tags

Encoding, DVD, bluray, dvdrip, brrip, x264, avi, divx, mkv, xvid



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