Installation

and
User Guide

Canopus Corporation
711 Charcot Ave.
San Jose, CA 95131

Copyright 2004 Canopus Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

 Notices & Warranties

Notice to Reader
This document contains proprietary information, which is protected by copyright. All rights are
reserved. No part of this document may be photocopied, reproduced or translated into another
language without the prior written consent of Canopus Corporation.

The information in this document is subject to change without notice. Canopus Corporation has
gone to considerable effort to make this users manual as accurate as possible at the time of
printing. Canopus cannot assume, however, any responsibility for any inaccuracies that may be
contained in the manual. In no event will Canopus Corporation be liable for direct, indirect, special,
incidental or consequential damages resulting from any defect or omission in the manual, even if
advised of the possibility of such damages.

Limited Warranty
By downloading or installing the SOFTWARE, you are consenting to be bound by Canopus
Corporations License Agreement and this Limited Warranty.

Canopus Corporation (Canopus) warrants that the enclosed PRODUCT MEDIA will be free of
defects under normal use for ninety (90) days from the date of purchase or delivery to Customer
for purchases made through an authorized Canopus dealer or through the Canopus Web site.
Except for the foregoing, the SOFTWARE is provided AS IS; Customer bears the entire risk of the
quality and performance of the goods, and Customer assumes the entire cost of all necessary
servicing or repair for defects. This limited warranty extends only to the Customer, who is the
original licensee. Customers sole and exclusive remedy and the entire liability of Canopus and
its distributors under this limited warranty will be, at Canopuss option, replacing the PRODUCT
MEDIA with a performing copy of the PRODUCT MEDIA within a reasonable time after receiving
notification of the defect or refunding the purchase price of the SOFTWARE and terminating
the License Agreement. In no event does Canopus warrant that the SOFTWARE is error-free or
Notices & Warranties

that Customer will be able to operate the SOFTWARE without problems or interruptions. If you
desire to contact Canopus regarding defective PRODUCT MEDIA, please see our Web site at
www.canopus.com. Please also see the Canopus Web site at www.canopus.com for SOFTWARE
or support questions.

Restrictions. This limited warranty does not apply if the PRODUCT MEDIA (a) has been altered,
except by Canopus, (b) has not been installed, operated, repaired or maintained in accordance with
instructions supplied by Canopus, (c) has been subjected to abnormal physical or electrical stress,
misuse, negligence, or accident. This limited warranty does not apply to the Software.

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 Notices & Warranties

DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTY. EXCEPT AS SPECIFIED IN THIS WARRANTY, ALL EXPRESS

OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION, ANY IMPLIED WARRANTY
OR WARRANTY OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE,
NONINFRINGEMENT, SATISFACTORY QUALITY OR ARISING FROM A COURSE OF DEALING,
LAW, USAGE, OR TRADE PRACTICE, ARE HEREBY EXCLUDED TO THE EXTENT ALLOWED BY
APPLICABLE LAW. TO THE EXTENT AN IMPLIED WARRANTY CANNOT BE EXCLUDED, SUCH
WARRANTY IS LIMITED IN DURATION TO THE WARRANTY PERIOD. BECAUSE SOME STATES OR
JURISDICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW LIMITATIONS ON HOW LONG AN IMPLIED WARRANTY LASTS,
THE ABOVE LIMITATION MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU. THIS WARRANTY GIVES YOU SPECIFIC
LEGAL RIGHTS, AND YOU MAY ALSO HAVE OTHER RIGHTS WHICH VARY FROM JURISDICTION
TO JURISDICTION. This disclaimer and exclusion shall apply even if the express warranty set forth
above fails of its essential purpose.

General Terms Applicable to the Limited Warranty

Statement and Software License
Disclaimer of Liabilities. IN NO EVENT WILL CANOPUS OR ITS DISTRIBUTORS BE LIABLE
FOR ANY LOST REVENUE, PROFIT, OR DATA, OR FOR SPECIAL, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL,
INCIDENTAL, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES HOWEVER CAUSED AND REGARDLESS OF THE
THEORY OF LIABILITY ARISING OUT OF THE USE OF OR INABILITY TO USE SOFTWARE
EVEN IF CANOPUS OR ITS DISTRIBUTORS HAVE BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF
SUCH DAMAGES. In no event shall Canopuss or its distributors liability to Customer, whether
in contract, tort (including negligence), or otherwise, exceed the price paid by Customer. The
foregoing limitations shall apply even if the above-stated warranty fails of its essential purpose.
BECAUSE SOME STATES OR JURISDICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW LIMITATION OR EXCLUSION OF
CONSEQUENTIAL OR INCIDENTAL DAMAGES, THE ABOVE LIMITATION MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU.

The Limited Warranty and the Software License shall be governed by and construed in accordance
with the laws of the State of California, without reference to principles of conflict of laws. If any

Notices & Warranties

portion hereof is found to be void or unenforceable, the remaining provisions of the Limited
Warranty and the Software License shall remain in full force and effect. Except as expressly
provided herein, the Software License constitutes the entire agreement between the parties with
respect to the license of the Software and supersedes any conflicting or additional terms contained
in a purchase order.

USB Hardware Key

ProCoder 2.0 is copyright protected by a USB HARDWARE KEY that must be installed before using
the SOFTWARE. The USB HARDWARE KEY is covered by a manufacturers warranty for a period of
one (1) year from the date of purchase. If you have any problems with your USB HARDWARE KEY,
please contact Canopus Technical Support. This limited warranty extends only to the Customer,
who is the original licensee. Customers sole and exclusive remedy and the entire liability of
Canopus and its distributors under this limited warranty will be, at Canopuss option, replacing the
USB HARDWARE KEY with a performing copy of the USB HARDWARE KEY if it stops functioning
and does not have signs of intentional tampering or physical damage. If there are signs of damage
to the USB HARDWARE KEY, the Customer will be charged a nominal fee for a replacement and
must return the damaged USB HARDWARE KEY before a replacement can be issued. This warranty
does not cover USB HARDWARE KEYS that are lost, stolen or damaged by acts of God.

iii
 Notices & Warranties
Notices & Warranties

iv
Table of Contents
 Table of Contents

Chapter 1: Introduction ................................................ 1

Welcome.............................................................................................................................2
Questions .....................................................................................................................2
Speed without Limits...................................................................................................2
Produce, Perfect, Process............................................................................................3
Multiple Outputs from Single Source .........................................................................3
High-quality Codec technologies ................................................................................3
Navigating this Manual .....................................................................................................3

Chapter 2: Installation .................................................. 5

Minimum System Requirements......................................................................................6
Recommended System Requirements.............................................................................6
Installing ProCoder ............................................................................................................7

Chapter 3: ProCoder Wizard ....................................... 11

Getting Started ................................................................................................................12
Convert a Source .......................................................................................................12
Choose Conversion Settings.....................................................................................14
Choosing Output Location.........................................................................................17
Confiming Your Settings............................................................................................18
Converting Files .........................................................................................................19
Conversion Finished ..................................................................................................19
Create a Watch Folder ...............................................................................................20
Other Watch Folder Options......................................................................................21
Table of Contents

Chapter 4: Using ProCoder .......................................... 5

QuickStart ........................................................................................................................24
Assigning a Target format .........................................................................................26
Converting the file......................................................................................................27
Source Tab........................................................................................................................28
Source Properties ......................................................................................................28
Advanced window .....................................................................................................32
Video Filter tab ...........................................................................................................34
Audio Filter tab...........................................................................................................39
Target Tab .........................................................................................................................42
Assigning Targets ......................................................................................................42
Modifying Targets ......................................................................................................44
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Customizing Advanced Settings ...............................................................................45

Advanced window .....................................................................................................46
Video Filter tab ...........................................................................................................48
Audio Filter Tab ..........................................................................................................53
Convert Tab ......................................................................................................................56
Playing converted files ..............................................................................................56
Presets and Profiles .........................................................................................................57
Loading and Saving Custom Settings.......................................................................57
Loading and Saving Target profiles ..........................................................................57
Queue Manager ...............................................................................................................58
Cancelling and managing jobs ..................................................................................59
Managing Jobs ..........................................................................................................60
Non-segmented and Segmented Jobs.....................................................................61
Clearing the Queue ....................................................................................................63
Watch Folders ..................................................................................................................63
Creating Permanent Watch Folders...........................................................................64
Removing Permanent Watch Folders........................................................................66
Creating Temporary Watch Folders...........................................................................66
Transcoding Settings ......................................................................................................67
Processing Options tab .............................................................................................67
Conversion Options tab.............................................................................................70
Default Target Folder Tab...........................................................................................72
Application Settings........................................................................................................73

Table of Contents
Settings ......................................................................................................................73
Confirmation ..............................................................................................................74
Advanced Features ..........................................................................................................74
Droplets ......................................................................................................................74
Command-line Automation .......................................................................................76
Premiere Plug-in.........................................................................................................78
EDIUS Plug-in.............................................................................................................79
Lets EDIT 1.03 Plug-in ..............................................................................................80

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 Table of Contents

Chapter 5: Helpful Hints ............................................. 81

Maximizing ProCoder performance ...............................................................................82
Close other tasks........................................................................................................82
Optimize drive speed.................................................................................................82
Disable automatic scanning applications .................................................................82
Use separate source and target drives .....................................................................82
Disable preview .........................................................................................................82
Using Filters ....................................................................................................................83
When to apply filters..................................................................................................83
Why filters are necessary ..........................................................................................83
Improving your Video .....................................................................................................84
Video is blocky or appears to break up ....................................................................84
Video appears fuzzy or blurry ...................................................................................85
Video has halos or blocks near objects ....................................................................86
Video appears to jitter ...............................................................................................86
Video movement appears jumpy..............................................................................87
Audio and video are out of sync ...............................................................................88
Video shows strange patterns or blocks ..................................................................89
Video appears stretched or squashed ......................................................................89
Cannot load encoded MPEG files into DVD authoring software .............................90

Chapter 6: ProCoder Reference .................................. 93

Source Options ................................................................................................................94
Audio Source .............................................................................................................96
Table of Contents

AVI Source .................................................................................................................96

DV Source ..................................................................................................................97
Flash Source ..............................................................................................................97
MPEG Source.............................................................................................................98
QuickTime Source .....................................................................................................99
Still Image Source....................................................................................................100
Windows Media Source ..........................................................................................101
Target Options ...............................................................................................................102
AVI Target .................................................................................................................106
DivX Target...............................................................................................................109
DV Target..................................................................................................................112
MP3 Audio Target ....................................................................................................114
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 Table of Contents

MPEG Target ............................................................................................................115

PCM Audio Target ....................................................................................................120
QuickTime Target .....................................................................................................121
QuickTime Export Target .........................................................................................126
Raw DV Target..........................................................................................................127
RealMedia Target .....................................................................................................128
Windows Media Target............................................................................................132
Video and Audio Filters.................................................................................................138
601 Correction - Expand Color Space ....................................................................138
601 Correction - Shrink Color Space .....................................................................138
709 Correction - SD/HD Color Space......................................................................139
Adaptive De-Interlace .............................................................................................139
Bitmap Keying Filter.................................................................................................140
Black/White Correction Filter...................................................................................142
Blur Filter ..................................................................................................................143
Circular Blur Filter ....................................................................................................143
Color Correction Filter .............................................................................................144
Color Safe Filter .......................................................................................................144
Crop Filter.................................................................................................................145
Fade In/Out Filter......................................................................................................147
Gamma Correction Filter .........................................................................................147
Gaussian Blur Filter ..................................................................................................148
Median Filter ............................................................................................................148

Table of Contents
Video Pulldown Filter...............................................................................................149
Video Rotate Filter ...................................................................................................149
Video Sharpen Filter ................................................................................................150
Video Temporal Noise Reducer...............................................................................151
Audio Fade In/Out Filter...........................................................................................152
Audio Lowpass Filter ...............................................................................................152
Audio Normalize Filter .............................................................................................153
Audio Volume Filter .................................................................................................153
ProCoder Preset Categories..........................................................................................154

Glossary................................................................. 155

Index...................................................................... 161

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 Table of Contents
Table of Contents

x
Chapter 1
Introduction
 ProCoder 2.0

Welcome
High-speed car chases, explosions and cherished memories just a few
of the reasons video professionals choose ProCoder for the highest-
quality video conversion and repurposing needs. In a production
environment, ProCoder 2.0 performs video magic by providing
important automation tools, such as watch folders, batch processing
and simultaneous output, while still providing powerful customization
and filter features.

Output an AVI animation from a 3D application, convert it to QuickTime

DV for editing in Final Cut Pro, then convert the output to NTSC and
PAL MPEG-2 for DVD authoring and distribution worldwide ProCoder
is there between every step of the process to ensure video quality is
preserved for archiving, broadcast and any other video application
imaginable. In a multi-format digital world, ProCoder bridges the gaps
between formats quickly and easily.

Thank you for purchasing ProCoder. We hope you find ProCoders

powerful features and easy-to-use interface helpful in your daily
workflow.

Questions
If you have any questions, comments or suggestions about ProCoder,
please let us know. In the unlikely event that you have difficulty using
or installing ProCoder, please refer to the rest of this manual. If you still
have trouble or would rather speak to a real person, Canopus Technical
Support staff are ready to assist you during normal support hours.
You can contact them via telephone at (408) 954-4506 on the Support
section Canopus Web site at www.canopus.com.

Key Features
1: Introduction

Whether youre encoding MPEG for DVD production or a Windows

Media Video for Web streaming, ProCoder makes conversion from one
video format to another quick and easy. Featuring Canopuss highly
optimized DV and MPEG codec technologies, ProCoder provides high-
quality output without the long wait and guesswork of similar tools.

Speed without Limits

Utilizing the full power of modern computer systems through
Canopuss Scalable Technology architecture, ProCoders conversion
speed increases with the power of your system. In some cases,
ProCoder can transcode files faster than realtime, beating out costly
hardware encoders.

2
 Chapter 1: Introduction

Produce, Perfect, Process

To simplify your workflow, ProCoder provides some powerful
manipulation tools to get your sources ready for conversion. Stitching
allows you to link multiple sources together to create a single seamless
result, preventing you from having to combine the sources in an editor.
Source filters provide useful enhancement tools, such as bitmap
overlay, cropping and volume adjustment, to ensure perfect input
before encoding, while target filters give you the flexibility to make
specific adjustments for particular output formats.

Multiple Outputs from Single Source

Encode a single source to multiple targets simultaneously, run multiple
conversion jobs back-to-back in batch mode, or use ProCoders drag-
and-drop preset icons to start conversion with a single click. ProCoder
provides the streamlined workflow to convert once and create all the
output formats you need.

High-quality Codec technologies

ProCoder includes Canopuss high-quality, high-speed, proprietary DV
and MPEG-2 codec technologies. Canopuss DV codec provides the
best picture quality preservation at the highest speed, reducing the
impact of multiple recompressions. Canopuss MPEG-2 codec employs
two-pass variable bitrate (VBR) compression and advanced motion-
estimation algorithms to provide the best possible final output.

Navigating this Manual

> To install ProCoder 2.0 on your system, go to
Chapter 2: Installation.

1: Introduction
> To learn about the easy-to-use ProCoder Wizard, go to
Chapter 3: ProCoder Wizard.

> For an overview on ProCoder 2.0 and its major features, go to

Chapter 4: Using ProCoder.

> For some helpful hints and tips on how to improve video
quality, go to Chapter 5: Helpful Hints.

> For a complete ProCoder Reference guide, go to

Chapter 6: ProCoder Reference.

> For definitons of common video and compression terminology,

go to the Glossary at the back of this manual.

3
 1: Introduction

4
ProCoder 2.0
Chapter 2
Installation
 ProCoder 2.0

Minimum System Requirements

> Intel Celeron, Intel Pentium III or
AMD Duron or AMD Athlon
800MHz CPU or faster
(Multiple processors and Hyper-Threading support included)
Info
> 256MB RAM (512MB RAM for HD encoding)

> 40MB free hard disk space

Your serial number is

> DirectX 9.0 or later
specific to your purchased
product. Do not share or > Windows 2000 Professional, Windows XP Home,
distribute this number. This Windows XP Professional
number is also necessary
for registration of your > USB 1.1 port for USB Hardware Key
product, which is required (also compatible with USB hubs)
for customer support, and if
it is compromised, it will no
longer be valid.
Recommended System Requirements
> AMD Opteron or Intel Pentium 4
1.5GHz or faster
(Multiple-processors systems recommended for automation)

> 1GB RAM (2GB RAM for HD encoding)

> Adobe Premiere Pro (if using export plug-in)

> Canopus EDIUS (if using export plug-in)

Info
> Canopus Lets EDIT v1.3 or later (if using export plug-in)
2: Installation

Before installing, make sure

the USB hardware key that
comes with your software is
NOT plugged in.

6
 Chapter 2: Installation

Installing ProCoder
To install ProCoder:

1. Insert the ProCoder CD-ROM in your CD drive. The CD launches

automatically if Windows Autorun feature is enabled. If Autorun is
not enabled, then go to My Computer, double-click on the CD-ROM
drive and run Setup.exe.

2. The Welcome screen appears. Click the Next button to go to the

next installation screen.

3. The License Agreement appears. Click the Yes button to accept the
terms of the license.

2: Installation

7
 ProCoder 2.0

4. The Customer Information window appears. Enter your name,

company name and serial number and click the Next button.

5. Choose a destination location for ProCoder. The ProCoder Installer

automatically suggests a default location. If you wish to change
this location, click the Browse button and select a new destination
folder. Click the Next button to proceed to the next screen.
2: Installation

6. The Select Program Folder window appears. Choose a folder name

and Start Menu destination and click the Next button to continue.

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 Chapter 2: Installation

7. After installing ProCoder, the installer begins installing QuickTime,

Windows Media, DirectX, and DivX software. This software allows
you to encode video files in these formats. If you already have
the latest versions of the software on your machine, the installer
moves to the next installation step until it finishes.

8. When the installation is finished, you must restart your computer

to complete the installation. Choose, Yes, I want to restart my
computer now and click the Finish button to restart your computer.

9. When then computer finishes restarting, plug-in the USB Hardware 2: Installation
Key that comes with your software. You can use the computers
on-board USB ports, a USB PCI card or a USB hub connected to
either of these ports. The USB Hardware Key MUST be connected
before starting ProCoder.

9
 2: Installation

10
ProCoder 2.0
Chapter 3
ProCoder Wizard
 ProCoder 2.0

Getting Started
The ProCoder Wizard is very easy-to-use. Its Wizard interface makes
converting your videos as straightforward as answering a few simple
questions. Simply launch the ProCoder Wizard by going to the Start
menu and choosing Programs > Canopus > ProCoder 2 > Canopus
ProCoder 2 Wizard.

The ProCoder Wizard lets you configure a conversion by simply

answering the questions displayed in the dialog. ProCoders online
help has more detailed information regarding the questions you will be
asked. Press the F1 key on your keyboard to access the online help at
any time.

The ProCoder Express Welcome screen appears when you launch the
application and gives you two choices Convert a Source File to a
different format or Create a watch folder. Make a selection and click
the Next button.
3: ProCoder Wizard

Convert a Source
If you choose to convert a source file, the Load Source screen appears.
Click the Load button to choose the video file you want to convert.

The ProCoder Wizard can load a variety of different video file formats
for conversion. If you cannot see the file you want to load but you know
12
 Chapter 3: ProCoder Wizard

it exists, the file may not be a supported source type. For example,
some file types, such as RealMedia files, cannot be loaded due to
licensing restrictions.

If the ProCoder Wizard has problems loading the selected file, please
make sure the file has the proper file extension for its format. For
example, an MPEG-1 file that should have the .mpg file extension may
be mislabelled with the .wmv file extension. Windows Media Player
may play the file properly but also display an error message about the
file extension not matching the file type.

Checking the Source

The Source Parameters section of the window shows the selected
sources file information. You can see a preview of the video and scrub
through it on the right side of the screen.

Changing Source Parameters

If you want to modify the In/Out points or change the cropping
parameters, click the Config Source File Settings option in the bottom
right-hand corner and click the Next button.

Setting In/Out points

Setting In and Out points on your video clip allows the ProCoder Wizard
to ignore portions of video at the start and end. For example, you may
have a few seconds of blank video at the beginning or end that you
dont need to encode.

3: ProCoder Wizard

Click and drag the scrubber below the Preview window to choose
where you want the final encoded video to start and click the Set In
Point button.

The timeline to the left of the scrubber turns gray, which means any
footage that appears before the scrubber will not be included in your
final converted video. Click and drag the scrubber to set the videos out
point and click the Set Out Point button. The timeline to the right of the
scrubber turns gray, which means any footage after this point will not
13
 ProCoder 2.0

be included in your final converted video.

The Default button restores the in and out points to their original
settings.

Advanced Settings
Advanced Settings let you set the video cropping mode for your source
video. Choose a cropping mode and click the Next button. If you
choose the Manual option, then click the Select Cropping button to
open the Crop dialog.

To modify more advanced source settings, click the Select Settings

button to open the Config dialog. The Config dialog lets you modify
additional parameters that affect your source video. This is only
recommended for advanced users and should be used with caution.

Choose Conversion Settings

Info Next, the Use Wizard or Select a History Entry screen appears. This
screen gives you three options you can use the Wizard to help
you select a target; select a generic target format and modify the
parameters yourself if you are an advanced user; or you can choose
the settings from a previous encoding job from the history list. The
last option is not available if you have not performed any previous
The ProCoder Wizard must
be running in order for encoding jobs. Click the Next button to proceed ot the next screen.
watch folder monitoring and
file conversion to occur.
3: ProCoder Wizard

14
 Chapter 3: ProCoder Wizard

Selecting a Target format

The Select Target screen appears and lets you choose the conversion
settings for your source video.

You can choose from any of the following formats.

> Web Video Create a QuickTime, RealMedia or Windows

Media for viewing on a Web page.

> CD-ROM Create video files in AVI, DivX, MPEG-1, QuickTime

or Windows Media format for delivery on CD-ROM.

> VideoCD Create MPEG-1 files that are ready to be used in

VideoCD authoring software.

> Super VideoCD Create MPEG-2 files that are ready to be

used in Super VideoCD authoring software.

> DVD Create high-quality MPEG-2 files that are ready to be

3: ProCoder Wizard
used in DVD authoring software.

> HD (High Definition) Create HD-compliant video streams that

can be viewed on an HDTV.

> Email Attachment Create a DivX or Windows Media file that

is small enough to send via email.

> Video Editing Convert your source video to a format that is

compatible with your video editing software.

After selecting your desired target format and clicking the Next button,
the Wizard begins asking you a series of questions so that it can choose
the appropriate settings for your final encoded video. Proceed through
the Wizards questions until you get to the Saving Your File screen.

15
 ProCoder 2.0

Selecting Generic Targets

Advanced users that know what output settings they want to use can
select a generic target type and bypass the Wizard questions. The
settings of the target can be specified later in the Job Summary screen
by clicking the Advanced Output Settings button.

Choose one of the output types and click the Next button.

About the Formats

AVI AVI is used for a variety of applications ranging from CD-ROM
video to video editing and archiving. It is really a file type, versus a
compression type. AVI files can contain many types of compressed
video data depending on the codecs installed on the system. Any
available DirectShow codec on the system can be used as the
compressor.

AVI (DV) DV AVIs are usually used by DV video editing software.

MPEG MPEG is commonly used as a delivery and distribution format

because it provides small files sizes. VideoCD, Super VideoCD and DVD
3: ProCoder Wizard

all use MPEG compression. Both MPEG-1 and MPEG-2 streams can be
created.

DivX DivX is a popular format that is very versatile. It is commonly

used for video archiving, Internet video and even home theater
applications.

QuickTime QuickTime is also more of a file type versus a format.

QuickTime files can contain many types of data depending on the
codecs available on the system.

Windows Media Windows Media files are often used or web video
and more recently, high definition video.

RealMedia RealMedia files are normally used for streaming video.

Raw DV Raw DV files are used by some DV video editing systems.

16
 Chapter 3: ProCoder Wizard

Choosing Output Location

After answering choosing your settings, the Saving Your File screen
appears. On this screen, you can choose where you want your encoded
video file to be saved and how the file should be named.

There are three questions in the Saving Your File screen.

> Where do you want to save the file?

> How should the file be named?

> If the file exists, do you want to overwrite it?

Where do you want to save the file?

Click on the ... button to choose the folder where you want your
converted files to be saved.

How should the file be named?

There are two options for this question. Choosing Use the Source File

3: ProCoder Wizard
Name gives the converted video the same name as the source file but
with the file extension (.mov, .m2p, .wmv) of the output type.

Choosing Specify New Name lets you give the converted video a
different file name. Simply type the new file name in the field.

If the file exists, do you want to overwrite it?

Checking this option lets the ProCoder Wizard automatically overwrite
any existing files in your Save folder if they have the same name as the
file youre currently encoding. Leaving this option disabled simply adds
a number to the file name to differentiate it from a file in the Save folder
that has the same name.

Click the Next button to move to the Job Summary screen.

17
 ProCoder 2.0

Confiming Your Settings

The Job Summary screen contains the information about your source
file, the target file and the output format. Verify that this information is
correct and click the Convert button to start converting your video.

Advanced Output Settings

If you are an advanced user and want to make some last minute
changes to your settings, click the Advanced Output Settings button to
open the Config dialog. Clicking on any of the settings gives you a brief
description at the bottom of the dialog.

Info
3: ProCoder Wizard

Folders watched in this

manner are only active while
the ProCoder Wizard is
running. Once the ProCoder
Wizard is closed, the folder
is no longer watched.
To create a watch folder When you are finished configuring your settings, click the Close button.
that is active regardless
of whether the ProCoder
Wizard is open, use the
ProCoder Watch Folder
Mananger to create a
Permanent Watch Folder.

18
 Chapter 3: ProCoder Wizard

Converting Files
You can monitor the conversion status of your file on the next screen.
The conversion status appears in Time elapsed, Time remaining, Total
time and speed in terms of realtime.

2.0x Realtime means conversion is occurring twice as fast as realtime,

or a 2-minute file will take 1 minute to convert.

Click the Stop button to abort conversion.

When conversion is complete, click the Next button to continue.

Conversion Finished
Congratulations, your conversion is complete! A list of converted files
appears at the bottom of the window.

3: ProCoder Wizard

Click the Open Target Folder button to access your converted videos.
When the folder opens, double-click on the file you created and it
should open in the appropriate media player. Watch the video and make
sure it looks okay. If you want to try encoding the file again, launch the
ProCoder Wizard and go through the Wizard interview again.

Click the Restart button to return to the start to set up another

conversion or click Finish to exit the ProCoder Wizard.

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 ProCoder 2.0

Create a Watch Folder

If you choose the Create a watch folder option on the ProCoder Wizard
Welcome screen, the Select Watch folder screen appears. Watch folders
are useful for streamlining the conversion process by automatically
encoding files that are placed inside it. If you create a Watch folder, the
settings you specify using the Wizard are used to convert any files that
are placed in the Watch folder.

By sharing a watch folder on the network, you can easily accept files
written by other computers for conversion.

Click the button to specify a Watch folder. Click the Next button to
proceed to the next screen.

To create a watch folder that will be active regardless of whether the

ProCoder Wizard is open, use the ProCoder Watch Folder Manager to
create a Permanent Watch Folder.
3: ProCoder Wizard

20
 Chapter 3: ProCoder Wizard

Monitoring Watch Folders

If you are can also monitor watch folders using the Wizard. The
conversion status appears in Time elapsed, Time remaining, Total time
and speed in terms of realtime.

2.0x Realtime means conversion is occurring twice as fast as realtime.

In other words, a 2-minute file will take 1 minute to convert.

Click the Stop button to stop conversion of the current file and go on to
the next file, if any.

Files to convert
A list of files remaining to convert appears in this section. Any files
that have been put into the watch folder that have not already been
converted or are in the process of conversion appear here.

Click the Clear List button to remove the remaining files from the list.
Removing the files from the list will skip conversion of those files.

3: ProCoder Wizard
Click the Unwatch button to stop monitoring the selected folder. Any
files that arrive in the watch folder will not be added to the list of files to
convert until monitoring resumes. After clicking Unwatch, the button
will change to Watch and you can click the Watch button to resume
monitoring the watch folder.

Watch Folder
This section shows the path to the folder being watched.

Other Watch Folder Options

You can drag and drop files into the Monitoring Watch Folders window
to begin encoding.

Moving or saving file shortcuts instead of the real files into the Watch
folder will also start the encoding process.

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 3: ProCoder Wizard

22
ProCoder 2.0
Chapter 4
Using ProCoder
 ProCoder 2.0

QuickStart
This QuickStart Guide gives you a basic overview of ProCoder 2.0s
conversion workflow.

To use ProCoder 2.0:

1. Click the Source tab.

2. Click the Add button and choose the file(s) you want to convert.
If you want to add multiple files to the Source List, hold down the
Shift or Ctrl keys and choose the files you want to convert. You can
also drag and drop files directly onto the Source List.
4: Using ProCoder

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 Chapter 4: Using ProCoder

3. The file(s) appears in the Source List.

4. If you want to trim your source video or add video and/or audio
filters, click the Advanced button. You can also access the
Advanced window by:

> Double-clicking the sources icon in the Source List.

> Right-clicking the sources icon in the Source List and choosing
Advanced in the contextual menu that appears.

> Clicking the sources icon in the Source List and pressing the
Enter key on your keyboard.

> Clicking the Source tab.

4: Using ProCoder

For more information, see the Advanced window section later in this
chapter.

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 ProCoder 2.0

Assigning a Target format

Your source video(s) is converted to one of several target formats. You
can choose the targets you want to create in the Target tab. To assign a
target to your source video(s):

1. Click the Target tab.

2. Click the Add button to choose your source files target format. You
can add as many formats as you like for the specific source file(s). If
you want to create multiple targets, simply hold down the Shift or
Ctrl keys to select the target formats you want to create. Click the
categories at the left to select different sets of presets.
4: Using ProCoder

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 Chapter 4: Using ProCoder

3. If you want to enhance the targets parameters, including adding

video or audio filters, click the Advanced button. The modifications
you make to the targets parameters in these tabs affect all the
files in the Source List in the Source tab. For example, if you have
five DV files in the Source List and you modify the parameters for
an MPEG target setting in the Target tab, then the modified MPEG
parameters will be applied to all five DV files you are converting.

Converting the file

To begin file conversion, click the Convert tab.

4: Using ProCoder

Your encoded video is saved to the path in the Target tabs Path field
unless you have set a global or local preset output in the settings. For
more information or if you want change the default target folder, see
Global ProCoder Settings.

You can stop encoding at any time by pressing the Stop button. If you
decide to stop encoding, the file output is still written up until the point
encoding was stopped (except for 2-pass encoding).

27
 ProCoder 2.0

Info If you simply want to pause encoding, click the Pause button. Click it
again to resume conversion from a paused state.

To enable or disable the Preview window, click the Preview box.

If the Shut down PC when finished option is enabled, the computer will
You may want to disable automatically shut down after it converts the file.
the Preview windows
to improve encoding To preview the output of a different target, click it in the Target List.
performance. This is
especially useful if you If you want to play the file after its encoded, click the file you want
are using ProCoder on an to view in the Output List on the right side of the window and then
older or slower system,
click the Play File button. The appropriate player for the file you select
launches and plays the file. If you want to open the destination folder,
click the Open Folder button.

Source Tab
The Source Tab lets you modify source video settings, enhancing and
repairing video before it is encoded to the desired Target format.

Source Properties
The Source Properties window appears when you click on the Source
tab. All of the resources necessary for managing and modifying your
source video parameters are available in this window.
4: Using ProCoder

Source List
The Source List displays all of the source files you are planning to
transcode. Use the buttons and options on the left to modify the list.

> Add Adds files to the list. You can also add files by dragging
and dropping them onto the Source List.

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 Chapter 4: Using ProCoder

> Remove Click the Remove button to remove the currently

selected file(s) from the list

> Remove All Click the Remove All button to remove all of files
from the list.

> Advanced Click the Advanced button to open the Advanced

window, which appears on top of the main ProCoder window.
Double-clicking on a item in the Source List also opens the
Advanced window. To close the Advanced window, simply
click the Close button. For more information on the Advanced
Window, see the Advanced Window section later in this
chapter.

> Stitch Check this option if you want ProCoder to connect all
the items in the Source List into one big file. The arrow keys
let you reorder the Source List before the files are stitched
together. Stitching is a helpful feature if you are, for example,
encoding two files, one an ad or commercial and the other
your main video clip. By enabling the Stitching feature, you can
encode both files into a single file that contains the commercial
before your main video clip. Its also useful if you have a
segmented source file that you need encoded into a single file.

> Double-clicking on a item in the Source List opens the

Advanced Window. For more information on the Advanced
window, see the Advanced Window section later in this
chapter.

Parameters
The Parameters section gives you a brief summary of your source files
settings. When you add a file to the Source List, ProCoder automatically

4: Using ProCoder
reads the file properties, analyzes its parameters and makes the
appropriate adjustments to read the Source correctly before it is
encoded.

For example, if you add an interlaced source file to the Source List,
the Parameters section tells you if the Bottom Field or the Top Field
appears first in the Interlacing field. While ProCoder does its best to
make the correct assessment, it may incorrectly identify which field
29
 ProCoder 2.0

is first. If this happens, you can use the Interlacing drop-down menu
to override ProCoder and choose the correct setting. You can also
override ProCoders automatic deinterlacing by applying the Adaptive
Deinterlace filter to your source video and modifying its parameters in
the Advanced window.

The following parameters generally apply to all file types. Depending on

your source file type, other parameters may appear in these sections.
Consult the Reference section of this manual for information on more
format-specific parameters. For more information on the Advanced
window, see the Advanced window section later in this chapter.

Source Parameters
> Length Displays the duration of the source file in
hours:minutes:seconds;frames.

> Source File Displays the source files current location on your
computer

Video Parameters
> Video Frame Size Displays the current frame size of the
source file in pixels.

> Frame Rate Displays the source files current frame rate in
frames per second. The higher the frame rate, the more frames
that are stored in the video file and the smoother playback
appears. At lower frame rates, playback will be jerkier.

> Video Codec Displays the codec used to read the source
files video. In order to play the video, your system needs to
4: Using ProCoder

have the appropriate codec module installed. If the appropriate

codec is not installed, the system will not be able to play the
video, and ProCoder will not be able to convert it to another
format. However, you can usually find the codec youre looking
Info for on the Internet and then download and install it, making it
available to the system and to ProCoder, as well.

> Interlacing Displays whether or not your source video is

interlaced or not. If your source file is interlaced, the drop-
While ProCoder is fairly
down menu displays which field is stored first (lower/bottom
accurate at determining or upper/top).
the interlacing properties
of your source video, its ProCoder determines how the frames of video are stored in
not always right. For best the source file. Non-interlaced video stores and displays entire
results, double-check this
parameter and set it to the
frames at one time. Interlaced mode splits each frame into
correct setting if its set sets of alternating lines, called fields, and displays each field
incorrectly. in succession. In ProCoder, the Bottom field is the Lower field,

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 Chapter 4: Using ProCoder

and the Top field is the Upper field. Specifying the incorrect
field order will result in a vertical jitter or ghosting during
playback.

> Aspect Ratio Displays the source files width-to-height

ratio and its pixels. The video aspect ratio is the display size
proportion of width to height. ProCoder has presets for both
standard (4:3) and widescreen (16:9) video aspect ratios. An
improper video aspect ratio will result in the image looking
stretched or squashed, i.e. circles will appear as ovals.

> The pixel aspect ratio determines the displayed shape of

each pixel. For computer use, pixels are normally square (1:1
ratio). However, for television and video use, pixels are mostly
(but not always) rectangular. ProCoder has presets for square,
television and DV standard, television and DV widescreen,
and anamorphic pixel sizes. An improper pixel aspect ratio
can cause the image to appear stretched or squashed, as well
as cause filtering and other processing to appear strange. For
example, a circle wipe may display as an oval wipe instead.

Audio
> Channels Displays whether the source files audio is single
channel (mono), stereo (left/right channel) or multi-channel
(surround).

> Sample Rate Displays the number of audio samples per

second in the source files audio. The fidelity or dynamic range
of the encoded audio depends on the sample rate. The higher
the sample rate, the wider the range of frequencies that can
be reproduced. The maximum reproducible frequency for a

4: Using ProCoder
given sample rate is one-half the sample rate. For example, a
standard audio CD uses audio that is at 44.100 kHz, or 44,100
samples per second. This equates to the ability to reproduce
sounds up to frequencies of 22,050 Hz. The combination of
sample rate and bits per sample determine the overall quality
of the audio.

> Bits / Sample Displays the size of each source files audio
sample in bits per sample. The more bits per sample, the more
accurate the digital recording will accurately represent the
sound changes in a source. The combination of sample rate
and bits per sample determine the source files overall audio
quality.

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 ProCoder 2.0

> Audio Codec Displays the codec used to play the source
files audio. In order to play the audio in a file, the system
needs to have the appropriate codec module installed. If the
appropriate codec is not installed, the system will not be able
to play the audio in the file. For the most part, ProCoder should
be able to read the majority of major audio codecs. If you dont
have the appropriate codec, you can usually find it on the
Internet and then download and install it, making it available to
the system and to ProCoder, as well.

Description
The Description section is a yellow box in the bottom right-hand corner
of the Source or Target tab windows. It gives you a brief definition of
the particular setting, button or parameter you are currently working on.
Click on one of the parameters to see its description in this box.

Info

Advanced window
If there is no audio data for The Advanced window lets you modify and tweak your source file
the source, then the Audio even further so it is at its highest quality before encoding. You can trim
Filter tab will not appear. the overall length of the file, add a video filter to clean up the image
or apply an audio filter in order to boost the overall volume or quality
in this window. The Advanced window has three tabs Setup, Video
Filter and Audio Filter.

To access the Sources Advanced window from the basic view, do one
4: Using ProCoder

of the following:

> Click the Advanced button

> Double-click the Source entry

> Right-click the Source entry and choose Advanced

> Click the Source tab

Setup
The Setup tab lets you trim your video using a variety of controls.

Scrubber/Play Controls Use the scrubber or play controls to choose

your In point and then click the In button. Then choose your Out point
and click the Out button.

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 Chapter 4: Using ProCoder

Trimming section Info

Because MPEG is composed

In Sets the In Point at the currently displayed frame. The In Points of a series of Groups of
Time and Frame number are listed in their respective boxes. Pictures (GOPs), trimming
MPEG files may not occur at
Out Sets the Out Point at the currently displayed frame. The Out the frame that appears in the
Points Time and Frame number are listed in their respective boxes. Preview window, but rather
at the nearest available GOP.
Because of this, ProCoder
Clip section cant guarantee the trimming
positions of MPEG files.

Time Displays the time for the frame at which the scrubber is stopped.
You can also use the arrow buttons to find a specific time at which you
want to set the In or Out point, or simply enter a time in the Time field.

Frames Displays the frame number at which the scrubber is stopped.

You can also use the arrow buttons to find a specific frame at which
you want to set the In or Out point. You can also simply enter a frame
number in the Frame box.

Total Displays the source files total duration after the In and Out
Points are set. This value is calculated automatically and cannot be
modified by hand. It can only be modified by setting the In and Out
points. Duration time is displayed in hours:minutes:seconds;frames.

4: Using ProCoder
Close button
The Close button closes the Advanced window and returns you to the
Source tab.

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 ProCoder 2.0

Video Filter tab

The Video Filter tab lets you apply filters to your video to help improve
image quality of your source files before they are converted. These
filters can be previewed in this tab, but are applied when the video is
being converted to its new format.

Video filters
601 Correction - Expand Color Space This video filter expands the
RGB range of the video from 16-235 to 0-255. Use this filter to create
output for a system that uses the full 0-255 range from input that uses
16-235.

601 Correction - Shrink Color Space This video filter shrinks the RGB
range of the video from 0-255 to 16-235. Use this filter when create
output for a system that uses the 16-235 range from input that uses the
full 0-255 range.

709 Correction - SD/HD Color Space This video filter is used to

convert video in the SD (601) colorspace to the HD (709) colorspace.
Broadcast HD video uses YCbCr colors following Rec. ITU-R BT 709-5
where as broadcast SD video follows ITU-R BT 601.

Adaptive De-interlace This video filter combines the fields of an

interlaced video sources fields back into whole frames using special
processing to preserve full resolution while ensuring smooth motion.

Bitmap Keying Superimpose a bitmap logo or graphic on the video.

This is often used to watermark video so it can be personalized.

Black/White Correction This filter lets you adjust and control the
levels of black and white pixels in your video. By adjusting the sliders,
4: Using ProCoder

you can specify at which point a pixel will become black and/or white.
The higher the setting, the more nearly black pixels will be converted to
true black and vice versa. This works best if you are encoding video for
the Web and need to adjust the black and/or white levels of broadcast
video so that they are truly black or white. Its also useful for making
white titles on a black background more legible when viewing on a
computer monitor.

Blur This filter blurs the video in a rectangular pattern.

Circular Blur This filter blurs the video in a circular pattern.

Color Correction This filter allows you to adjust the brightness,

contrast, hue and saturation of your video image.

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 Chapter 4: Using ProCoder

Color Safe Some colors that can be displayed on a computer cannot

be displayed on television or video output. This filter restricts the
colors in the source to only colors that are safe for television and video
broadcast.

Crop Remove unwanted edges on the video with this filter. This is
often used for removing any edge blanking or other unwanted video
information from the top or bottom of the video frame.

Fade In/Out This filter applies a fade in and/or out to your video in
order to aid the encoding process. You should use this filter if your
source video has a lot of fast motion in the first few frames. The fade
in gives ProCoder a running start so it can encode your video more
efficiently.

Gamma Correction This filter adjusts your videos gamma settings.

Gaussian Blur This filter applies a Gaussian blur to the video.

Median This filter is designed to improve picture quality by removing

single-pixel defects without affecting the sharpness. This is similar to a
despeckle filter.

Video Pulldown This filter offers conversion without interpolation

for progressive-to-interlaced (i.e. film-to-video) file conversion. This
preserves full spatial image quality and creates target fields that are
selected from the nearest temporal source frame. Displaying the
resulting file on a progressive display, such as a computer monitor,
produces very noticeable interlacing artifacts. However, displaying
this on an interlaced display, such as a television, produces very good
image quality. This method is generally used when cinematographic
footage is encoded to a DVD and played on a TV.

4: Using ProCoder
Video Rotate This filter provides 90-degree rotation and axis-flipping
for the video.

Video Sharpen This filter sharpens the video using the unshapen
mask technique.

Video Temporal Noise Reducer This filter removes noise by using

temporal noise reduction. Temporal noise reduction is effective for
removing analog noise.

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 ProCoder 2.0

Adding a Filter
To add a filter to the Video Filter list:

1. Simply click the Add button. The Add Filter dialog box appears
and gives you several filters to choose from. A brief description of
each filter is listed in the yellow Description box when the filter is
highlighted.

2. In the Add Filter dialog box, choose a filter by double-clicking on it.

The filters name appears in the Filter List and a preview of how it
affects your source video appears in the Result window adjacent to
the Original window. You can browse the different filter categories
on the left and choose filters from the right. Holding down Shift or
Control and selecting the desired filters lets you add multiple filters
to the Filter list.
4: Using ProCoder

3. Use the sliders to adjust the filter parameters to your desired

specifications.

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 Chapter 4: Using ProCoder

Removing a Filter
To remove a filter from the Filter List:

1. Highlight the filter in the list

2. Click the Remove button to remove the filter. If you want to remove
all the filters youve applied so far, click the Remove All button.

Loading and Saving filters

To save a custom setting for the currently selected filter:

1. Click the Save Preset button. A dialog appears asking you to name
and enter a short description of your preset.

2. Custom presets are stored along with the default presets and can
be categorized into folders and subfolders.

3. To add a customized filter preset, simply click Add and load it the
same way you would load a default preset.

4. To remove a customized filter preset, simply click Add to open the

Load Video Filter Preset dialog, click the filter preset you want to
remove, then click the Delete Preset button.

Preview Windows
The Original window displays what the original file looks like before
filtering. The Result window displays the original file with the filters
applied.

4: Using ProCoder
The Plus button enlarges both preview images, and the Minus button
makes both preview images smaller. If the preview image is larger
than the window, scroll bars appear allowing you to navigate through
the entire image. You can also click and drag on the image to navigate
through the image.

The Fit to Window button resizes the preview images to fit inside the
windows current size. No matter what size the window, this preview
mode preserves the aspect ratio assigned to the file. This button is
useful if you enlarged or reduced the preview image and want to view
the whole image in the window again.

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 ProCoder 2.0

The 1:1 button displays the video at 1-to-1 pixel size. (1 monitor pixel =
1 video pixel)

The Scrubber bar is used to find specific frames in the source video
that you want to use so you can see the effect of the filter(s) on the
specific frame. You can either click and drag the scrubber or use your
keyboards arrow keys to step through the videos individual frames.

Settings
This section displays the settings for the particular filter you are using.
Use the sliders to adjust the degree of modifications for each filter.

Large Preview
Clicking the Large Preview button opens a floating window that allow
you to modify the preview size. This is helpful for scrutinizing the finer
details of your video. You can use the scrubber bar to find specific
points in the video. You can resize the window as needed, and it
adjusts the size of the previews proportionally. It also contains the same
controls as the Video Filter tab.
4: Using ProCoder

The Orientation button switches the orientation of the preview

windows between horizontal and vertical.

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 Chapter 4: Using ProCoder

Audio Filter tab

The Audio Filter tab lets you add audio filters to your source file to
help improve the audio quality of your target files. These filters can be
previewed in this tab and are applied to the source audio before any
target audio filters are processed.

Audio Filters
Lowpass filter The Lowpass filter removes high-frequency signals,
such as electrical noise and hiss, from the audio.

Audio Fade In/Out The Audio Fade In/Out filter is used to add a fade
in and/or fade out to the audio. This is most useful in conjunction with
the Video Fade In/Out filter.

Normalize The Normalize filter raises the audio to maximize volume

without clipping. Adjust the volume of a batch of clips so they are all at
the same level. This is a dual-pass filter and will increase your source

4: Using ProCoder
files overall conversion time.

Volume Lets you adjust the overall volume of the audio.

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 ProCoder 2.0

Adding a Filter
To add a filter to the Filter List:

Simply click the Add button. The Load Audio Filter Preset dialog box
appears and displays a list of filters to choose from. When the filter is
highlighted, a brief description of each filter is listed in the Description
box below when the filter is highlighted.

In the Load Audio Filter Preset dialog box, choose a filter by double-
clicking on it. The filters name appears in the Filter List, and you can
listen to a preview of how it affects your source video by clicking Play
Result here.

Removing a Filter
To remove a filter from the Audio Filter list:

1. Highlight the filter from the list

2. Click the Remove button to remove the filter.

4: Using ProCoder

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 Chapter 4: Using ProCoder

Loading and Saving filters

1. To save a custom setting for the currently selected filter, click the
Save Preset button.

2. A dialog appears asking you to name and enter a short description

of your preset.

3. Custom presets are stored along with the default presets and can
be categorized into folders and subfolders.

4. To add a customized filter preset, simply click Add and load it the
same way you would load a default preset.

5. To remove a customized filter preset, simply click Add to open the

Load Audio Filter Preset dialog, click the filter preset you want to
remove, then click the Delete Preset button.

Settings
This section displays the settings for the particular filter you are using.

4: Using ProCoder
Use the sliders to adjust the degree of modifications for each filter.

Preview
The Preview section lets you preview your audio with or without
filtering.

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 ProCoder 2.0

Target Tab
A Target is basically the video format of your converted source file. You
can assign multiple Targets to a single source file, which lets you create
different formats of the same source file in one shot.

You can create various kinds of the following types of media with
ProCoder, including:

> AVI

> DivX

> DV

> MPEG-1/MPEG-2/MPEG-4

> MPEG-1 Layer III (MP3) audio

> PCM WAV audio

> QuickTime

> RealVideo

> Windows Media

Assigning Targets
To assign a target to your source file:

1. Click on the Target tab.

4: Using ProCoder

2. Click the Add button. The Load Target Preset dialog appears.

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 Chapter 4: Using ProCoder

3. Click the entry of the file type you want to create in the left column,
then choose a preset from the right column. The Description box
tells you exactly which type of target file you have selected.

> System contains base settings for all the formats ProCoder
produces. These settings are a good starting point for creating
a custom setting.

> Audio contains PCM and MP3 settings for audio-only output
formats. These settings are good for exporting audio for use in
other applications and for conforming audio files.

> DV contains AVI, QuickTime and RawDV profiles for different

DV standards.

> Storage contains AVI, DivX, MPEG, or Windows Media

targets for use as archival storage formats.

> Handheld contains DivX, 3GPP and RealMedia 10 for video

files that are compatible with handheld devices, such as PDAs
and cell phones.

> HD contains DivX, MPEG and Windows Media HD settings

> CD/DVD contains DivX, Computer, VCD, DVD and SVCD

useful for video on CD and DVD media.

> Application Specific contains Editing Software, DVD

prodution/ authoring, Hardware, and STB profiles.

> Web contains MPEG, QuickTime, RealMedia, and Windows

Media profiles suitable for Web delivery.

4: Using ProCoder
> Image Sequence exports a series of still images.

You can also create your own categories and subcategories to store
and organize your own target presets.

4. The format you selected appears in the Target List. You can modify
a targets parameters in the Target Parameters section of the Target
tab. Customizable parameters are those with a white background
color. Depending on the setting, either enter the values you wish to
use or make a selection from the drop-down menu.

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 ProCoder 2.0

Modifying Targets
ProCoder offers a plethora of customizable parameters that help you
easily encode high-quality video. These parameters can be edited in the
Target tab either before or after you add videos to the Source List.

1. Click on the Target tab.

2. Click the Add button. The Load Target Preset dialog appears.

Info

You can also choose

File > Save Project to 3. Choose the target you want to use and click the OK button.
save both your source The chosen target appears in the Target List.
files and custom target
settings. Simply double-
click the saved project file
4. The targets basic parameters appear in the Target Parameters
to launch ProCoder and section. You can modify any of the parameters that arent grayed
continue working on or start out. Simply enter values in the fields, or use the drop-down menus
encoding the project. to modify the default target parameters.
4: Using ProCoder

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 Chapter 4: Using ProCoder

5. If you want to modify the targets more advanced settings, click the
Advanced button or double-click on the target in the Target List to
open the Advanced window. Use the Setup, Video Filter and Audio
Filter tabs to modify the desired parameters. When you are finished
modifying the advanced settings, click the Close button. For more
information on the Advanced window, see the Advanced window
section later in this chapter

6. If you want to save the changes for a custom target, click the Save
Profile button. Saved presets are visible in the Custom tab in the
Add Target dialog. If you quit ProCoder, the targets revert to their
default settings the next time you launch the program.

Customizing Advanced Settings

There are two different places in the Target tab where targets can be
modified. When you add a target to the Target List, its basic parameters

4: Using ProCoder
are displayed in the Target Parameters section of the tab, and you
can easily modify nearly all of these settings. See the next section for
more information on the Advanced window. If you want to modify the
selected targets more advanced settings:

1. Click the Advanced button in the Target tab.

2. In the Setup tab, the list of Target Parameters is expanded,

containing all the available parameters for the target you are
modifying. Keep in mind, however, that not all parameters are
available to all targets.

For example, there are generally more modifiable options for MPEG
streams than there are for DV streams due to the varying number
of parameters that are available for the MPEG codec.

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 ProCoder 2.0

Advanced window
The Advanced window in the Target tab is similar to the one used
in the Source tab except that the parameters you set affect only the
assigned target files and not the source file itself. Target filters are used
for enhancing and optimizing the final output files created using the
parameters you set for each specific target.

For example, if you are creating both MPEG and QuickTime files for
a particular source and you want only the QuickTime files to have an
extra brightness setting attached, then you can adjust the brightness
using the Color Correction filter on only the QuickTime Target preset
in the Target tab. This allows the brightness setting to only apply to the
QuickTime settings and will not affect the MPEG output.

The Target tabs Video Filter and Audio Filter tabs are identical to those
in the Source tabs Advanced window, but the parameters you set in
the Target tab only apply to the target you are modifying. For more
information on these tabs, see the rest of this manual.

To access the Targets Advanced window from the basic view, do one
of the following:

> Click the Advanced button

> Double-click the Target entry

> Right-click the Target entry and choose Advanced

> Click the Target tab

4: Using ProCoder

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 Chapter 4: Using ProCoder

Setup tab
The Setup tab lets you modify the parameters for the various different
presets available for all the different formats ProCoder can encode.
Since every format has its own set of parameters, this list changes
depending on the target you choose.

You can navigate through the settings quickly by using the tree-based
option list. Clicking on the profiles in the tree displays them immediately
in the Target Parameters section of the Advanced window. Some
profiles disable the modification of certain parameters in order to
ensure that the setting adheres to a formats particular spec. You can
only modify the parameters that have white backgrounds. When you
click on an option, a description of the option appears in the yellow box
under the parameter list.

Target path name

In the Target section of the Source tab or Setup tab in the Advanced

4: Using ProCoder
window, you can specify which folder you want the target file to be
saved in by entering a file path in the Path field. You can also press the
... button at the end of the row and choose the path in the dialog box
that appears.

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Video Filter tab

The Video Filter tab lets you apply filters to your video to help improve
image quality of your target videos before they are encoded. These
filters can be previewed in this tab, but are applied when the video is
being converted to its new format.

Video filters
601 Correction - Expand Color Space This video filter expands the
RGB range of the video from 16-235 to 0-255. Use this filter to create
output for a system that uses the full 0-255 range from input that uses
16-235.

601 Correction - Shrink Color Space This video filter shrinks the RGB
range of the video from 0-255 to 16-235. Use this filter when create
output for a system that uses the 16-235 range from input that uses the
full 0-255 range.

709 Correction - SD/HD Colorspace This video filter is used to

convert video in the SD (601) colorspace to the HD (709) colorspace.
Broadcast HD video uses YCBCr colors following Rec. ITU-R BT 709-5
where as broadcast SD video is following ITU-R BT 601.

Adaptive Deinterlace This video filter combines the fields of an

interlaced video sources fields back into whole frames using special
processing to preserve full resolution while ensuring smooth motion.

Bitmap Keying Superimpose a bitmap logo or graphic on the video.

This is often used to watermark video so it can be personalized.

Black/White Correction This filter lets you adjust and control the
levels of black and white pixels in your video. By adjusting the sliders,
4: Using ProCoder

you can specify at which point a pixel will become black and/or white.
The higher the setting, the more nearly black pixels will be converted to
true black and vice versa. This works best if you are encoding video for
the Web and need to adjust the black and/or white levels of broadcast
video so that they are truly black or white. Its also useful for making
white titles on a black background more legible when viewing on a
computer monitor.

Blur This filter blurs the video in a rectangular pattern.

Circular Blur This filter blurs the video in a circular pattern.

Color Correction This filter allows you to adjust the brightness,

contrast, hue and saturation of your video image.

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Color Safe Some colors that can be displayed on a computer cannot

be displayed on television or video output. This filter restricts the
colors in the target to only colors that are safe for television and video
broadcast.

Crop Remove unwanted edges on the video with this filter. This is
often used for removing any edge blanking or other unwanted video
information from the top or bottom of the video frame.

Fade In/Out This filter applies a fade in and/or out to your video in
order to aid the encoding process. You should use this filter if your
source video has a lot of fast motion in the first few frames. The fade
in gives ProCoder a running start so it can encode your video more
efficiently.

Gamma Correction This filter adjusts your videos gamma settings.

Gaussian Blur This filter applies a Gaussian blur to the video.

Median This filter is designed to improve picture quality by removing

single-pixel defects without affecting the sharpness. This is similar to a
despeckle filter.

Video Pulldown This filter offers conversion without interpolation

for progressive-to-interlaced (i.e. film-to-video) file conversion. This
preserves full spatial image quality and creates target fields that are
selected from the nearest temporal source frame. Displaying the
resulting file on a progressive display, such as a computer monitor,
produces very noticeable interlacing artifacts. However, displaying
this on an interlaced display, such as a television, produces very good
image quality. This method is generally used when cinematographic
footage is encoded to a DVD and played on a TV.

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Video Rotate This filter provides 90-degree rotation and axis-flipping
for the video.

Video Sharpen This filter sharpens the video using the unshapen
mask technique.

Video Temporal Noise Reducer This filter removes noise by using

temporal noise reduction. Temporal noise reduction is effective for
removing analog noise.

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Adding a Filter
To add a filter to the Video Filter list:

1. Simply click the Add button. The Add Filter dialog box appears and
gives you several filters to choose from. A brief description of each
filter is listed in the yellow Description box below when the filter is
highlighted.

2. In the Add Filter dialog box, choose a filter by double-clicking on it.

The filters name appears in the Filter List and a preview of how it
affects your source video appears in the Result window adjacent to
the Original window. You can browse the different filter categories
on the left and choose filters from the right. Holding down Shift or
Control and selecting the desired filters lets you add multiple filters
to the Filter list.
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3. Use the sliders to adjust the filter parameters to your desired

specifications.

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Removing a Filter
To remove a filter from the Filter List:

1. Highlight the filter in the list

2. Click the Remove button to remove the filter. If you want to remove
all the filters youve applied so far, simply click the Remove All
button.

Loading and Saving filters

To save a custom setting for the currently selected filter:

1. Click the Save Preset button. A dialog appears asking you to name
and enter a short description of your preset.

2. Custom presets are stored along with the default presets and can
be categorized into folders and subfolders.

3. To add a customized filter preset, simply click Add and load it the
same way you would load a default preset.

4. To remove a customized filter preset, simply click Add to open the

Load Video Filter Preset dialog, click the filter preset you want to
remove, then click the Delete Preset button.

Preview Windows
The Original window displays what the original file looks like before
filtering. The Result window displays the original file with the filters
applied.

4: Using ProCoder
The Plus button enlarges both preview images, and the Minus button
makes both preview images smaller. If the preview image is larger
than the window, scroll bars appear allowing you to navigate through
the entire image. You can also click and drag on the image to navigate
through the image.

The Fit to Window button resizes the preview images to fit inside the
windows current size. No matter what size the window, this preview
mode preserves the aspect ratio assigned to the file. This button is
useful if you enlarged or reduced the preview image and want to view
the whole image in the window again.

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 ProCoder 2.0

The 1:1 button displays the video at 1-to-1 pixel size. (1 monitor pixel =
1 video pixel)

The Scrubber bar is used to find specific frames in the source video
that you want to use so you can see the effect of the filter(s) on the
specific frame. You can either click and drag the scrubber or use your
keyboards arrow keys to step through the videos individual frames.

Settings
This section displays the settings for the particular filter you are using.
Use the sliders to adjust the degree of modifications for each filter.

Large Preview
Clicking the Large Preview button opens a floating window that allow
you to modify the preview size. This is helpful for scrutinizing the finer
details of your video. You can use the scrubber bar to find specific
points in the video. You can resize the window as needed, and it
adjusts the size of the previews proportionally. It also contains the same
controls as the Video Filter tab.
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The Orientation button switches the orientation of the preview

windows between horizontal and vertical.

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Audio Filter Tab

The Audio Filter tab lets you add audio filters to your target file to
help improve the audio quality of your target files. These filters can
be previewed in this tab and are applied to the target audio after any
source audio filters are processed.

Audio Filters
Lowpass filter The Lowpass filter removes high-frequency signals,
such as electrical noise and hiss, from the audio.

Audio Fade In/Out The Audio Fade In/Out filter is used to add a fade
in and/or fade out to the audio. This is most useful in conjunction with
the Video Fade In/Out filter.

Normalize The Normalize filter raises the audio to maximize volume

without clipping. Adjust the volume of a batch of clips so they are all at
the same level. This is a dual-pass filter and will increase your source

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files overall conversion time.

Volume Lets you adjust the overall volume of the audio.

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Adding a Filter
To add a filter to the Filter List:

1. Simply click the Add button. The Load Audio Filter Preset dialog
box appears and displays a list of filters to choose from. When the
filter is highlighted, a brief description of each filter is listed in the
Description box below when the filter is highlighted.

2. In the Load Audio Filter Preset dialog box, choose a filter by

double-clicking on it. The filters name appears in the Filter List and
you can listen to a preview of how it affects your source video by
clicking Play Result here.

Removing a Filter
To remove a filter from the Audio Filter list:

1. Highlight the filter from the list

2. Click the Remove button to remove the filter.

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Loading and Saving filters

1. To save a custom setting for the currently selected filter, click the
Save Preset button.

2. A dialog appears asking you to name and enter a short description

of your preset.

3. Custom presets are stored along with the default presets and can
be categorized into folders and subfolders.
Info
4. To add a customized filter preset, simply click Add and load it the
same way you would load a default preset.

5. To remove a customized filter preset, simply click Add to open the When encoding is either
Load Audio Filter Preset dialog, click the filter preset you want to stopped or completed, there
remove, then click the Delete Preset button. may be some delay before
ProCoder is available to the
system. This is normal, so
Settings please do not terminate the
This section displays the settings for the particular filter you are using. application during this time.

4: Using ProCoder
Use the sliders to adjust the degree of modifications for each filter.

Preview
The Preview section lets you preview your audio with or without
filtering.

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Convert Tab
The Convert tab is very straightforward. When you click it, the Convert
window appears. You can watch your files encode in the Convert
windows preview section.

To begin converting files, click the Convert button. The conversion

process begins, and you can keep track of how each file will look in the
preview window. If you are converting a batch of files, the Output List
lets you know which files have been encoded. The file at the bottom of
the list is the file that is currently being encoded. By clicking on a file
in the Output List, you can preview each target as its being encoded
in realtime. This is handy for checking the picture quality of your
converted files while they are being encoded. When ProCoder finishes
encoding all the files, youll hear ProCoders exuberant Done sound.
Dont worry, you cant miss it.

You can stop encoding at any time by pressing the Stop button. You
4: Using ProCoder

can play the partially encoded file up to the point at which encoding
was stopped. If you want to re-encode the file, press the Convert
button and ProCoder will start encoding from the beginning of the file.

Playing converted files

If you want to play a file after its encoded, click the file you want to
view in the Output List on the right side of the window and then click
the Play button. The appropriate player for the file you select appears
and plays the file. If you want to open the destination folder, click the
Open Folder button. You can only open files that are finished encoding,
so you should wait until ProCoder starts encoding the next file in the
batch and then trying to open the previous file.

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Presets and Profiles

Procoder 2.0 makes it easy to save and manage customized presets and
profiles.

Loading and Saving Custom Settings

To save a custom setting for the currently selected filter, click the Save
Preset button. A dialog appears asking you to name and enter a short
description of your preset.

To load a custom setting for the currently selected filter, click the Load
Preset button. The Settings dialog appears. Click the Custom tab and
select the preset you want to load.

To remove a custom filter setting, simply select the filter you want to
remove and click the Remove button.

Loading and Saving Target profiles

To save a custom setting for the current list of Targets, click the Save
Profile button. A dialog appears asking you to name and enter a short
description of your preset.

To load a custom Target setting, click the Add Target button. The Add
Target dialog appears. Click the Custom tab and select the preset you
want to load.

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Queue Manager
In addition to its normal conversion processes, ProCoder also provides
job queuing capabilities. Instead of waiting for the ProCoder application
to finish a conversion, you can queue jobs to the ProCoder Queue
Manager which takes over and performs conversion of queued jobs
much like the print spooler handles printing jobs. In this manner, the
ProCoder application serves as a job set-up tool and the user can queue
multiple jobs with different priorities and return later when they are
complete.

To queue a job:

1. To queue a job, set up the conversion in the ProCoder application

as you normally would, but instead of clicking the Convert tab and
starting conversion, click the Queue button below the Convert tab.

The Job Queueing window appears.

4: Using ProCoder

2. In the Job Name field, enter a name for the job. The jobs name will
appear in the Queue Manager.

3. Enter a description of the job in the Job Description field. The jobs
description will also appear in the Queue Manager.

4. Choose a Job Priority from the drop-down box. The higher the job
priority is, the sooner the Queue Manager will start the job. Higher-

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priority jobs are started before lower-priority jobs. The highest

priority is 9 which means the job will be started as soon as any
currently jobs are complete, unless there are more priority 9 jobs
already waiting.

5. Enable the Split for multiple CPUs option to allow ProCoder to split Info
a job into multiple segments to speed conversion of certain types
of jobs, which is especially useful on multi-CPU machines. To use
this option, the following conditions must be true:

> A single Source or the Stitch option must be enabled. The Split for multiple CPUs
option works only for certain
> There must be a single Target. conversions only. If this is
> Both Source and Target frame rates must be the same. greyed out it means that
ProCoder cannot split the
> Both Source and Targets must not use a Flexible Frame Rate. current job.

> File-splitting must not be enabled.

> Both source and target types must support this option.

6. Select the appropriate action to take an output file already exists

from the Target File Name drop-down.

> Rename if exists Rename the output file if a file of the same
name already exists

> Overwrite if exists Overwrite the output file if a file of the

same name already exists

7. Click the Queue button to add the job to the queue. The Launch
Queue Manager button launches the ProCoder Queue Manager so
you can view the status of the conversion queue.

4: Using ProCoder
Cancelling and managing jobs
Job management is handled by the ProCoder Queue Manager. There
are three ways that you can access the ProCoder Job Queue Manager:

> Clicking the Manage button on the left side of the ProCoder
application

> Clicking the Launch Queue Manager button in the Job

Queueing window

> Launching the Job Queue Manager separately by choosing

Start Menu > Programs > Canopus > ProCoder 2 > Job
Queue Manager.

See Managing Jobs in the next section for more information on using
the Queue Manager.
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Managing Jobs
The ProCoder Queue Manager is used to monitor the progress of
conversion jobs the system is processing.

You can launch the Job Queue Manager by clicking the Manage button
in the ProCoder application or by launching the ProCoder Job Queue
Manager by choosing by choosing Start Menu > Programs > Canopus
> ProCoder 2 > Job Queue Manager.

Any jobs that are pending or in progress are displayed in the list, along
with information about the job and any sub-sections.

Viewing Jobs
Each job is listed in the Queue Manager along with its segments, if the
job was set to split for multiple CPUs.

The job information is listed as follows:

> Name The name of the job as specified by the ProCoder

application

> Description The description of the job as specified by the

ProCoder application

> Priority Priority of the job from 1-9, 9 being highest. Queued
jobs with higher priority values will be processed before jobs
with lower priority values.

> User The method of submission for this job/segment. Jobs

normally appear as ProCoder while segments (parts of a job)
normally appear as Segment.
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> Progress The progress of the job or segment, in percent.

> Progress Bar A graphical representation of the progress of

the job or segment.

> Time The time of job/segment submission.

> Warning/Error Any warnings or errors in a job or segment

appear here.

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Non-segmented and Segmented Jobs

Two types of jobs can be submitted to the queue.

> Non-segmented jobs Jobs that have been submitted with

the Split for Multiple CPUs option disabled. These types
of jobs still use multiple CPUs when the codecs involved
support them. However, the job itself will be handled as a
single process which may leave some CPU resources still idle,
depending on the codecs and processing involved.

> Segmented jobs Jobs that have been submitted with the
Split for Multiple CPUs option enabled. Segmented jobs
allow ProCoder to analyze the jobs properties and split it into
multiple segments for faster simultaneous processing. By
segmenting jobs, processing power is used more efficiently
and conversion can occur faster, especially on systems will
multiple logical or physical CPUs.

Managing non-segmented Jobs

Non-segmented jobs appear as a single job entry in the list.

Changing job priority

You can change the priority of a job that has not started by right-clicking
the job and choosing Change Priority to select a new priority. Jobs with
higher priorities are processed before jobs with lower priorities.

Starting a job
Queued jobs start automatically as processing resources are available.
However, you can force a job that is in the QUEUED state to start by
right-clicking the job and choosing Start.

4: Using ProCoder
Stopping a job
To stop a running job, right-click the job and choose Stop. To restart a
stopped job, right-click it and choose Restart.

Pausing a job
A running job can be paused by right-clicking the job and choosing
Pause. To resume a paused job, right-click it and choose Resume.

Removing a job
To remove a job, right-click the job and choose Remove.

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Previewing a job
You can display a preview of a job in progress by right-clicking the job
and choosing Preview.

Managing segmented Jobs

Segmented jobs are handled in a similar way to non-segmented jobs.
However, once a segmented jobs is started, right-clicking the job only
presents the Remove option. Once the job has started and is split into
segments, you must choose a segment in order to pause, stop, preview
or manually start processing.

Changing job priority

You can change the priority of a jobs that has not started by right-
clicking the job and choosing Change Priority to select a new priority.
Jobs with higher priorities are processed before jobs with lower
priorities.

Starting a job
Queued jobs start automatically as processing resources are available.
However, you can force a job that is in the QUEUED state to start by
right-clicking the job and choosing Start.

Removing a job
To remove a job, right-click the job and choose Remove. Removing a
segmented job will stop and remove all of its segments as well.

Changing segment priority

If a segment has not started, the segment priority can be changed
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by right-clicking the segment and choosing Change Priority to select

a new priority. Segments with higher priorties are processed before
segments with lower priorities.

Starting a segment
Queued segments start automatically as processing resources are
available. However, you can force a segment that is in the QUEUED
state to start by right-clicking the segment and choosing Start.

Stopping a segment
To stop a running segment, right-click the segment and choose Stop. To
restart a stopped segment, right-click it and choose Restart.

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Pausing a segment
A running segment can be paused by right-clicking the segment and
choosing Pause. To resume a paused segment, right-click it and choose
Resume.

Previewing a segment
You can display a preview of a segment in progress by right-clicking the
segment and choosing Preview.

Clearing the Queue

There are options you can choose in the Tools menu to clear out the
queue, including:

> Clean List Removes all completed jobs

> Automatically Remove on Completion Removes a job upon

successful completion of encoding.

Watch Folders
A watch folder is used to automatically convert files placed into it.
ProCoder watches the folder for new files and when a new file arrives,
it is converted automatically according to the settings assigned without
needing user input. Info

In ProCoder, there are two types of watch folders:

> Permanent Watch Folders are set up by ProCoders Watch

Folder Manager tool. Files placed into permanent watch You can copy approximately
2000 files at once into the

4: Using ProCoder
folders are converted using the associated target profile and
Watch folder. If you need to
are active regardless of whether the ProCoder application
copy more than 2000 files,
is open and remain watched until removed using the Watch break them up into smaller
Folder Manager tool. groups before copying them
into the Watch folder.
> Temporary Watch Folders are set up using the ProCoder
Wizard. Files placed into a temporary watch folder are only
converted while the ProCoder Wizard is open. Once the
ProCoder Wizard is closed, the folder stops being watched and
returns to being a normal folder.

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Creating Permanent Watch Folders

To create a permanent watch folder:

1. If the ProCoder Application is open, click the Watch button to open

the Watch Folder Manager tool. Otherwise, run Watch Folder Setup
from the Start menu in Programs > Canopus > ProCoder 2. The
ProCoder Watch Folder Manager tool appears. Existing watch
folders appear in the Active Watch Folders area.

2. Click the ... button next to Watch Folder under New Watch Folder.
The Browse for Watch Folder dialog appears.
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3. Select the folder to watch for new files. To create a new folder, click
the New Folder button.

4. To convert files placed into subfolders of the selected folder, enable

the Include Sub Folder option.

5. Permanent Watch Folders use conversion settings from a preset.

Choose a preset from the drop-down menu.

Any custom presets you have saved from the ProCoder application
appear in this list in addition to the basic presets.

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6. Click the ... button next to Target Folder to select the output folder.
All files that arrive in the Watch Folder will be converted and the
output is written to the Target Folder.

The Browse for Target Folder dialog appears.

7. To output files in subfolders of the Watch Folder into matching

subfolders in the Target Folder, enable the Append Sub Source
Folder to Target option. If it is not enabled, files in subfolders of the
Watch Folder will be output to root of the Target Folder.

8. Click the drop-down next to Target File to choose what to do when

conversion creates a file with the same name as an existing file in
the Target Folder.

> Rename if exists renames the output file, appending a

number starting from 00 to the name to make it unique.

> Overwrite if exists overwrites any existing output file in the

Target Folder with the result of the conversion.

9. Click the Create Watch button to add the watch folder to the Active
Watch Folders list.

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Removing Permanent Watch Folders

To remove a permanent watch folder:

1. If the ProCoder Application is open, click the Watch button to open

the Watch Folder Manager tool. Otherwise, run Watch Folder Setup
from the Start menu in Programs > Canopus > ProCoder 2.

The ProCoder Watch Folder Manager tool appears. Existing watch

folders appear in the Active Watch Folders area.

2. To remove individual watch folders, select a folder in the list by

clicking on it then click the Stop Watch button. To remove all watch
folders, click the Unwatch All button.

Creating Temporary Watch Folders

Temporary Watch Folders are part of the ProCoder Wizard covered in
the Chapter 3: ProCoder Wizard.
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Transcoding Settings
The Transcoding Settings window lets you set parameters for
destination disks to save encoded files, as well as default processing
options for the entire application. Setting these parameters is useful
if you are going to be dealing with lots of source files from a single
or similar sources. To open the Transcoding Settings dialog, choose
Options > Transcoding Settings.

Processing Options tab

The Processing Options tab controls both Frame Rate Conversion and
Scaling and Letterboxing preferences.

Frame Rate Conversion

If your source and your target have different frame rates, there are
many different ways to converting the source frame rate to the target
frame rate.

> Always Pick Nearest Frame This option creates a target

frame by picking the nearest temporal frame from the source
stream. This preserves full spatial source image quality. Info
However, depending on the ratio between the source and
target frame rates, movement in the video may appear jerky.

> Always Interpolate This option creates a target frame

interpolating between the two nearest temporal source frames. NTSC-PAL conversions
This guarantees smooth movement. However, since every between formats that have

4: Using ProCoder
target frame is an interpolation between source frame, the specific NTSC and PAL
spatial quality is degraded and ghost images may appear. parameters are handled by
ProCoder automatically and
> Automatic Selection When the source or target frame rate do not use this setting.
is below approximately 23 fps, ProCoder will pick the nearest
frame instead of interpolating in order to avoid ghosting.

If ProCoder needs to interpolate frames for doing frame rate

conversions, ghost images might appear. Use the Automatic selection
option to avoid ghosting. If ghosting still occurs, then use the Always
pick nearest frame option.

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Source Playback Speed Adjustment

ProCoder normally does not alter the playback rate of sources in
order to preserve the sources original speed and visual intent. In
other words, objects always move at the same speed through video
regardless of the target frame rate and a 10-second source always
converts to a 10-second target.

However, in some circumstances it is advantageous to slightly alter the

source playback rate by a very small amount in order to aid conversion.
For example, a 29.97fps source can be sped up to 30fps playback for
conversion to a 15 fps output, removing the possibility of interpolation
artifacts and making the conversion faster.

It is also standard that 24fps film transfers to PAL DVD-Video are not
put through frame rate conversions. Instead, the 24fps film content
is encoded and authored as if it was 25fps content, resulting in a 4%
Info speed-up. This eliminates any interpolation or pulldown but makes PAL
DVDs of film transfers ever-so-slightly shorter in length.

Enable Source Playback Speed Adjustment Check this box to allow

ProCoder to alter the playback speed of sources up to the percentage in
the Max. Adjustment (%) box.
Be careful not to set
the Max. Adjustment
percentage too high Scaling and Letterboxing
because it can cause
undesirable results,
such as distored audio and
video playback.
4: Using ProCoder

If your source and your target have different frame sizes, there are two
different ways to handle this scenario. For example, you may have a
16:9 source file that needs to be encoded to a target file with a 4:3
aspect ratio frame size. Because of the different frame sizes, you either
have to scale and crop your Source file, or add black bars to the video
to compensate for the difference. If you want to crop your source file,
you should use the Crop video filter in the Source tab.

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Add Letterbox/Scale & Crop slider

Adjust the slider to the desired percentages. 100% letterbox, or sliding

it to all the way to the left, leaves the source frame completely visible,
with letterbox bars added if necessary. If the slider is at 0% letterbox,
the image will fill the entire space without letterboxing, but the sides
will be chopped off. Leaving the letterbox slider in the middle (50%) is
a mixture of adding letterbox bars and scaling the file to fit the space. If
you know you can afford to cut off a little of the video, then you should
have the bar more toward the middle. Experiment with these settings to
determine which ones are appropriate for your source files.

> 100% Letterbox Scales the source image so the entire image
fits within the target frame, which can result in unused areas
which become letterbox bars.

> 100% Scale & Crop Scales the source image so the target
frame is completely filled, resulting in no letterbox bars, but the
possibility that part of the source image that has spilled over
outside of the target frame has now been removed and is no
longer visible.

MPEG-1 compliant scaling

ProCoder normally converts full-D1 sources to MPEG1 SIF using the
Scaling and Letterboxing slider setting.

However, the MPEG specification states to convert a full-D1 (720x480/

4: Using ProCoder
576) source to MPEG1 SIF (352x240/288), crop 8 pixels from the left and
right sides of the source to create a 704x480/576 frame then scale it to
50% for a 352x240/288 frame.

Enable MPEG1 compliant scaling Check this box to have ProCoder

comply to the MPEG specification when converting full-D1 sources to
MPEG1 SIF.

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Crop when scaling D1 to DV (NTSC)

Enable this option when converting a NTSC D1 720x486 source to

NTSC DV 720x480. ProCoder will crop 4 lines from the top and 2 lines
from the bottom of the source frame during conversion. This results in
faster processing and higher quality since scaling is not performed.

Discard field when scaling height by 1/2

When using full-size interlaced source files, this option discards one
of the fields if you are scaling the file to half-size. In some cases, this
eliminates the need for applying deinterlacing filters to your source file
since discarding a field effectively deinterlaces the video.

Conversion Options tab

The Conversion Options tab controls various preview, loading and
system preferences.
4: Using ProCoder

Preview Options

Always Scale/Shrink To Aspect Ratio Correct Full Screen Display

Enable this option to have ProCoder always compensate for pixel
aspect ratio differences and provide an accurate on-screen display. It is
recommended to keep this option enabled.

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Preview Devices

Use Overlay on Desktop Enable this option to use video overlay

for preview. Video overlay is faster than standard video writes and
therefore causes less slowdown on conversions. You should disable
this option for remote desktop or if your preview stays blank.

Use Canopus DVStorm Analog Output Enable this option to use the
analog output of the Canopus DVStorm card for preview. This option
appears gray if a Canopus DVStorm card is not present.

Use Canopus VideoGate Enable this option to use the Canopus

VideoGate card for preview. This option appears gray if a Canopus
VideoGate card is not present.

Source Loading Options

4: Using ProCoder
Apply modified Source options to similar Sources Enable this option
to use modified source options on subsequent source files. With this
option enabled, subsequent sources of similar types will be loaded with
the same source parameters as the previous source of the same file
type. This is useful for Watch folders because it allows source files to be
adjusted automatically without the need for the user to interact with the
software.

For example, lets say you have an AVI file that does not have square
pixels and you set it so the pixel aspect ratio isnt square (i.e. DV NTSC).
If Apply modified Source options to similar Sources is enabled, the
next AVI source file you load will retain the same settings used before,
and will loads the file with the pixel aspect ratio set to DV NTSC, instead
of the default setting.

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System

Temp. Dir Some conversions need to save temporary files. Click the
Browse button to choose a location for your temporary directory.

Cache Dir ProCoder retains some information in order to speed

certain types of conversions. Click the Browse button to select the
location to use for ProCoders cache files.

Default Target Folder Tab

Global Default Target Folder This option sets the output location for
all formats and targets. Click the Browse button to select the folder you
want to use.

If you want the global settings to apply to all target folders, check the
4: Using ProCoder

Always use the Global Default Folder for all Targets option. Checking
this option disables and overrides any local settings you may specify in
the next section.

Local Default Target Folder Sets the output location for specific
target presets. The local defaults override the global defaults. This is
helpful for separating files that go to different projects or can be used to
separate different target formats from each other.

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To set the Local Default Target folder:

1. Uncheck the Always use the Global Default Folder for all Targets
option.

2. Select the desired target from the list by clicking on it.

3. Check the Use Local Default Folder for the selected Target option.

4. Click the Browse button to choose the folder to use.

5. Click the Apply or OK button.

Application Settings
The Application Settings window lets you set enable or disable
application-specific behaviors. To open the Application Settings, choose
Options > Application Settings.

Settings

4: Using ProCoder
Window Animation This toggles whether or not the windows slide
into place when they open or close.

Show Save Project Dialog on exit This toggles whether or not

ProCoder prompts you to save your projects when you exit the
application.

Disable Sound on Conversion finished This option disables

the exuberant Done sound that plays when ProCoder finishes a
foreground conversion.

Show Advanced options in basic view This option includes all

advanced options within the basic view. When the advanced options
are included in the basic view, the advanced view is only necessary for
source trimming and adding filters to sources and targets.

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Confirmation
Disable confirmation when removing Filter This option lets you
disable the prompt that appears when you want to remove a filter(s)
from targets or sources.

Disable confirmation when removing Source This option lets you

disable the prompt that appears when you want to remove a source
file(s) from the Source List.

Disable confirmation when removing Target This option lets you

disable the prompt that appears when you want to remove a target(s)
from the Target List.

Advanced Features
ProCoder 2.0s advanced features give you some options for
automating the application or integrating it into your workflow.

Droplets
You can automate your encoding by creating droplets. Droplets let you
save a specific set of parameters into a mini-application that launches
the ProCoder application with the predefined settings. Simply drag one
or multiple files onto the droplet to automatically encode all the files
to the selected settings. You can also double-click on a droplet, which
opens the ProCoder application with the Source List empty and the
droplets saved targets listed in the Target List.

To create a droplet,

1. Click the Target tab.

4: Using ProCoder

2. Click the Add button to add a target to the Target List. You can
have multiple targets encoding multiple files within your droplet.

3. Adjust the parameters for each target to your specifications. If

necessary, click the Advanced button of the desired target to
modify its advanced settings.

4. When you are finished adding and adjusting the targets, click the
Save Preset button. This preserves all of your modifications and
saves it to a custom preset. The saved preset can be selected later
in the Load Target Preset dialog box.

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5. Choose Tools > Create Droplet. The Create Droplet dialog appears.

6. Select the preset you created by selecting the appropriate category

and clicking on the preset at the right.

7. Choose a location for the droplet in the Folder section by clicking

the Browse button. The default location is the Windows Desktop.

8. Enter a name for the droplet in the Name field. This will be the
name of the Droplet executable file.

9. Choose the action the droplet should perform by clicking the Action
drop-down.

> Launch ProCoder Dragging files onto the droplet will launch
the ProCoder application with the dragged files as sources and
the droplets target settings applied.

> Launch ProCoder and Start Conversion Dragging files

onto the droplet will launch the ProCoder application with

4: Using ProCoder
the dragged files as sources and the droplets target settings
applied. Conversion starts automatically.

> Queue to ProCoder Job Manager Dragging files onto the

droplet will launch the ProCoder application with the dragged
files as sources and the droplets target settings applied. The
conversion job will be queued to the Job Manager. ProCoder
shuts down immediately after queuing the project.

10. Click the OK button. The droplet appears as an executable file in

the specified location. Info

11. To use the droplet, simply drag and drop one or more files onto the
droplet icon. The ProCoder application will open with the dropped
sources and droplets target settings. If the droplets action is to
You can only drag files onto
start conversion automatically or queue to the Job Manager, it will droplets. Dragging folders
do so. onto droplets will not work.

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You can also double-click on a droplet, which opens the ProCoder

application with the Source List empty and the droplets saved
targets listed in the Target List.

Command-line Automation
The Windows command-line interface can be used to process files
with ProCoder droplets and ProCoder projects, allowing another level
of automation and batch processing. You can either encode a single
file or multiple files through Droplets, and entire projects through the
ProCoder application. Simply create a Droplet or save a project file
using the ProCoder application.

ProCoder Application Options

ProCoder2.exe [/Start] [/Closeapp] [/Shutdown] [/Queue]
[/Log:<logfile>] [/Targetdir:<dir>] [Project file] [source files]

/Start Starts conversion immediately as long as one valid source and

target is loaded

/Closeapp Closes ProCoder after conversion finishes

/Shutdown Shuts down the PC after conversion finishes

/Queue Queue to job manager instead of converting within the

ProCoder application

/Log:<filename> creates a log file that details the conversion and

reports any errors that may have occurred.

/Targetdir:<dir> writes target files to the specified folder

4: Using ProCoder

[project file] the complete name and path of your ProCoder project
file. If the filename contains a space, you should enclose the entire path
in double-quotes (i.e. C:\Windows\Desktop\My project.PCP).

[source files]
any additional source files If the filename contains a
space, you should enclose the entire path in double-quotes (i.e. C:
\Windows\Desktop\My project.PCP).

Example:
ProCoder2.exe /Start /Closeapp /Log:C:\MyJobs\Job1.log /Targetdir:
D:\MyOutput C:\MyProjects\Job1.pcp D:\Misc\AdditionalFile.avi

Will start the ProCoder application with the the project file
C:\MyProjects\Job1.pcp.

Conversion will start automatically and the ProCoder application will be

closed automatically after conversion is complete.

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A log will be saved to the file C:\MyJobs\Job1.log and output will be

saved in D:\MyOutput.

In addition to the source files specified in C:\MyProjects\Job1.pcp,

D:\Misc\AdditionalFile.avi will also be used as a source.

ProCoder Droplet Options

<Dropletname>.exe [/Start] [/Closeapp] [/Shutdown] [/Queue] [/Log:
<logfile>] [/Targetdir:<dir>] [source files]

<Dropletname> The name of the saved droplet executable file

/Start Starts conversion immediately as long as one valid source

and target is loaded

/Closeapp Closes ProCoder after conversion finishes

/Shutdown Shuts down the PC after conversion finishes

/Queue Queue to job manager instead of converting within the

ProCoder application

/Log:<filename> creates a log file that details the conversion and

reports any errors that may have occurred.

/Targetdir:<dir> writes target files to the specified folder

[source files] any additional source files If the filename contains a

space, you should enclose the entire path in double-quotes
(i.e. C:\Windows\Desktop\My project.PCP).

Example

4: Using ProCoder
VCD-NTSC.EXE /Start /Shutdown /Log:VCD-NTSCStatus.txt /Targetdir:
D:\Output D:\My Video\Horse.avi E:\Video\Foo.m2p E:\TempVideo\
Bar.mov

Will start ProCoder with the VCD-NTSC settings (assuming a droplet

called VCD-NTSC was saved) with the source files D:\My Video\
Horse.avi, E:\Video\Foo.m2p and E:\TempVideo\Bar.mov.

Conversion will start automatically and the PC will be shut down after
conversion is complete.

A log will be saved to the file VCD-NTSCStatus.txt and output will be

saved in D:\Output.

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Premiere Plug-in
If Adobe Premiere is installed on your system, the ProCoder Installation
installs the ProCoder Premiere plug-in, which allows you to export your
Premiere timeline directly to ProCoder for encoding. This means you
can take either a complete finished project or a section of a project
for a quick preview and export it directly into ProCoder so it can be
encoded to multiple formats. You can also choose either the ProCoder
Full Exporter, which launches the ProCoder application, or the ProCoder
Easy Exporter, which launches the ProCoder Wizard.

To use the ProCoder Premiere plug-in (Easy Exporter):

1. In Adobe Premiere, choose the section you want to export to

ProCoder. This can be either the entire project or a section of the
project that you want to simply preview.

2. In Premiere, choose File > Export Timeline > ProCoder 2 Wizard

Exporter... . The ProCoder Wizard launches.

3. Source selection is skipped since the source is coming from the

Premiere timeline. The rest of the ProCoder Wizard operation is the
same as when using it as standalone application.

To use the ProCoder Premiere plug-in (Full Exporter):

1. In Adobe Premiere, choose the section you want to export to

ProCoder. This can be either the entire project or a section of the
project that you want to simply preview.

2. In Premiere, choose File > Export Timeline > ProCoder 2

Exporter... . ProCoder launches and the Target tab is enabled.
4: Using ProCoder

3. The Source and Convert tabs are disabled when you use the
Premiere plug-in and the Start button starts the conversion. The
rest of the ProCoder application operation is the same as when
using it standalone.

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EDIUS Plug-in
The ProCoder Installation installs the ProCoder EDIUS plug-in, which
allows you to export your EDIUS timeline directly to ProCoder for
encoding. This means you can take either a complete finished project or
a section of a project for a quick preview and drop it into ProCoder so
it can be encoded to multiple formats. You can also choose either the
ProCoder 2 Exporter, which launches the ProCoder application, or the
ProCoder 2 Wizard Exporter, which launches the ProCoder Wizard.

To use the ProCoder EDIUS plug-in (Easy Exporter):

1. In EDIUS, choose the section you want to export to ProCoder. This

can be either the entire project or a section of the project that you
want to simply preview.

2. In EDIUS, choose the Export to Tape function in the Monitor

window, then choose Canopus ProCoder 2 Wizard from the export
list. The ProCoder Wizard launches.

3. Source selection is skipped since the source is coming from the

EDIUS timeline. The rest of the ProCoder Wizard operation is the
same as when using it standalone.

To use the ProCoder EDIUS plug-in (Full Exporter):

1. In EDIUS, choose the section you want to export to ProCoder. This

can be either the entire project or a section of the project that you
want to simply preview.

2. In EDIUS, choose the Export to Tape function in the Monitor

window, then choose Canopus ProCoder 2 from the export list.

4: Using ProCoder
ProCoder launches and the Target tab is enabled.

3. The Source and Convert tabs are disabled when you use the
EDIUS plug-in and the Start button starts the conversion. The rest
of the ProCoder application operation is the same as when using it
standalone.

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Lets EDIT 1.03 Plug-in

The ProCoder Installation installs the ProCoder Lets EDIT plug-in for
Lets EDIT v1.03 and later, which allows you to export your Lets EDIT
timeline directly to the ProCoder Wizard for encoding. This means you
can take either a complete finished project or a section of a project
for a quick preview and drop it into the ProCoder Wizard so it can be
encoded to multiple formats.

To export from Lets EDIT 1.03:

1. Choose File > Create file from the timeline > ProCoder...

2. The ProCoder Wizard launches and the Use the Wizard or Select
a History Setting screen appears. Simply go through the Wizard
interview and convert your file.
4: Using ProCoder

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Helpful Hints
 ProCoder 2.0

Maximizing ProCoder performance

While adding more RAM, upgrading to faster CPUs and adding
additional CPUs are usually the best ways to increase ProCoders
performance, there are a few optimizations that you can do to increase
ProCoders speed without hardware upgrades.

Close other tasks

Close any other applications that are running. Any background
applications will take CPU cycles from ProCoder and slow conversion.

Optimize drive speed

Defragmenting the source and target hard drive can significantly
increase read and write speeds. Putting sources and targets on separate
physical disks or writing to a fast network drive will also improve
ProCoders performance to a certain degree.

Disable automatic scanning applications

Anti-virus software and recycle bin protection software can
significantly increase disk and CPU loads. Consider temporarily
disabling these types of software while ProCoder is running.

Use separate source and target drives

Minimize the number of sources read from the same drive and
minimize the number of targets written to the same drive. This will
reduce the amount of seeking the drive needs to do, reducing the
amount of delay introduced by disk access.

Disable preview
5: Helpful Hints

Disabling the preview can result in faster conversions. While this is

usually a very small speed increase, it can be a measurable amount,
especially in longer jobs.

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Using Filters
When to apply filters
ProCoder lets you apply filters on both Sources and Targets. It is
important to know where to apply a filter in order to achieve the best
result and keep ProCoder running at optimal speed.

Source filters
If a filter is applied only for a particular Source, it should be applied to
the Source.

Target filters
If a filter should always be applied regardless of the Source, it should be
applied to the Target.

Why filters are necessary

Cropping unwanted data
Broadcast formats often have a larger frame than is normally visible.
If your output target is for computer use, it may be helpful to apply
the Crop filter to remove the portions of the frame containing garbage
or static (overscan) that are not normally visible when viewing it on a
television.

Improve or correct sources

Use Source filters to apply filters that enhance or improve the source
quality, such as Color Correction.

Enhance encoding of specific targets

5: Helpful Hints
Use Target filters to apply filters that are useful for certain encoding
types, such as Blur for streaming formats.

Expand/shrink 601 color range

Different video editing systems and encoders use different color
ranges to represent the minimum and maximum values. Use the 601
Correction filters to convert between 0-255 and 16-235 ranges when
converting for systems that do not use the same ITU BT.601 conversion
methods.

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Improving your Video

Even when using an intelligent tool like ProCoder, sometimes things
just dont seem quite right. This section illustrates some common video
encoding problems and how you can fix or avoid them.

Video is blocky or appears to break up

> Result > Original image

The video image appears to break up into different moving blocks.

Parts of previous video may appear in different locations. Notice in
the example that elements of the correct video seem to be mixed with
the older video. After some time, the image may recompose itself,
producing a correct image

Cause: DVD media reading problem

If you are seeing this type of problem after authoring a DVD and playing
it back on a set-top DVD player, it could simply be a difficulty reading
the DVD-recordable media. Try the same disc in a computer-based DVD
player. If it plays in the computer without problems, try a different set-
top player or a different brand or type of DVD-recordable disc. Many
5: Helpful Hints

set-top players cannot reliably play all DVD-recordable discs.

Cause: Use of seek or trick-play in the player

If you were playing the file and playback was okay until you used the
players fast-forward, rewind or scrubber to reposition the playback
location, then its probably not a problem at all. Depending on the
format and player, the video may take until the next keyframe to start
displaying properly. Try letting the file play through from start to end
without interrupting it to verify. If the video displays correctly in a
straight-through playback, then the output file is fine.

Cause: Video bitrate too low or not enough keyframes

If the break-up only appears after scene changes, then the video bitrate
is too low to handle the large change in the video. Increase the video
bitrate to allow faster recomposition. Alternatively, if the target format

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supports keyframing, decrease the keyframe interval, thus increasing

the number of keyframes. Keyframes provide a full video frame so large
changes can be tracked and better compensated for.

Cause: Video bitrate too high

When using a hardware decoder, such as for MPEG playback, in some
cases a video bitrate that is too high can cause the to image break up.
If the video bitrate is at or near the maximum setting, try reducing it a
bit. If it plays on a software-based player but not on a hardware-based
player, this may also be because the bitrate is too high.

Video appears fuzzy or blurry

> Result > Original image

The video appears fuzzy or blurry. When played zoomed, it appears

blocky, almost like viewing something through a frosted glass window.

Cause: DV playback not set to full quality

If the problem occurs only with Microsoft DV AVI files, the problem may
be due to the Digital Video decode setting being set to Low. When set
to Low, DV files are decoded in low resolution, regardless of what the

5: Helpful Hints
resolution of the actual file is.

To fix this problem in Windows Media Player:

1. Open Windows Media Player, and look for the Options selection in
the menu (usually under Tools).

2. Look for a setting called Digital Video that has a slider with Small at
one end and Large at the other. In Windows Media Player 9, this is
found by clicking the Advanced button in the Performance tab.

3. Set the slider to Large.

4. Close all open programs including Windows Media Player, then

open the file for playback again. The file should now play in full
resolution.
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Cause: Video resolution too low

When stretched to the original size, a low-resolution image will appear
blocky. If you want or need to view the image at the same size as the
original, you should increase the video frame size. In order to preserve
quality and avoid similar effects due to too low a bitrate, the bitrate
should be increased when increasing the video resolution.

Cause: Video bitrate too low

Depending on the encoding format, a video bitrate that is too low can
also produce blocky video as shown above. Increase the video bitrate
to see if this is the case. If increasing the bitrate does not help, the
video frame size needs to be increased.

Video has halos or blocks near objects

> Result > Original image

The video appears to have halos around the edges of objects and/or
block-like noise around near objects. There does not seem to be a loss
of resolution, just loss of sharpness and some changes to colors.
5: Helpful Hints

Cause: Video bitrate too low

This type of effect is usually caused by setting the video bitrate too low.
Increase the video bitrate to get a better result. If increasing the video
bitrate produces too large a file, keep the video bitrate the same, but
decrease the video frame size. When the choice is available, choosing
Optimize for Quality instead of Optimize for Speed should also help.

Video appears to jitter

Movement in the video seems to jitter up and down. Moving objects
may seem to take two steps forward then one step back.

Cause: Single-field detail in interlaced output

If the video appears to have vertical jitter or flashing horizontal edges,
the source image may have single-field detail. This usually occurs with
still images used for video. ProCoder normally makes the appropriate

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adjustments to avoid this situation, but if you still have trouble, try
applying an antiflicker or deinterlace filter to your source before
bringing it to ProCoder.

Cause: Improper source interlacing field order

For interlaced sources, the interlacing mode may not be set correctly.
Verify that the proper interlacing field order is set in the Advanced
Source Configuration.

Cause: Improper target interlacing field order

For interlaced output, the target field order may be incorrect for the
playback device. Check the requirements of the intended playback
device to determine the proper interlacing setting.

Video movement appears jumpy

> Result > Original image

Movement in the video does not appear smooth it seems to jump

instead of move in a fluid fashion. Objects in motion seem to jump or
flash to the next position like a strobe effect.

5: Helpful Hints
Cause: Video frame rate too low
If the video frame rate is too low, motion in the video will not appear
smooth. Increasing the frame rate will help to improve the fluidity of
motion but will also make the file size larger. Generally speaking, a
frame rate below 15fps will result in unsatisfactory playback.

Cause: Streaming connection speed too slow

Users viewing a streaming file that was made for a faster connection
speed may see this type of snapshots in time effect. The user need a
faster connection to the streaming server, a progressive download file
should be used instead.

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Cause: Playback machine too slow

Some formats play with different frame rates depending on the speed
of the viewers machine. Try playback on a faster computer to see if it
plays better.

Audio and video are out of sync

Audio and video do not play in synchronization with each other. For
example, a person talking may show their lips moving, but their speech
may not be audible until a second or two later.

Cause: Use of seek or trick-play in the player

If you were playing the file and playback was in-sync until you used
the players fast-forward, rewind or scrubber to reposition the playback
location, then its probably not a problem at all. Depending on the
format and player, audio/video synchronization cannot be guaranteed
after repositioning the playback point. Try letting the file play through
from start to end without interrupting it to verify. If synchronization is
maintained in a straight-through playback, then the problem is trick-
play and not the output file.

Cause: Video and audio playing from different devices

If you are playing the video on one device and using a different
device for audio, synchronization is not guaranteed. For example, DV
files playing audio from the PC but using a connected DV camera or
converter for video output will be unsynchronized. This is because
there is a slight delay between the DV camera or converter gets the DV
data from the PC and when it outputs the decoded analog video. Thus,
in this situation audio will appear to come slightly before the video.
5: Helpful Hints

Cause: Set-top DVD audio decoder problems

If youre seeing the problem using a set-top DVD player for playback,
it could be a problem with the player itself. Some set-top DVD players
have problems with audio synchronization, especially when the audio
is AC3 format. Try a commercially-produced DVD in the player and see
if it has the same problem. Also try playing your DVD with a software-
based DVD player.

Cause: DVD authoring error

If your problem exists with an authored DVD, it could be a problem with
the DVD authoring. Substandard DVD authoring can also cause audio/
video sync problems. Try reauthoring the DVD with a different DVD
authoring application.

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Video shows strange patterns or blocks

> Result > Original image

The video shows strange patterns or blocks of different data.

Cause: Corrupt video file

The data of the video file is probably corrupt. Check to see that the
source file does not show the same problem, as any problems in the
source will be faithfully reproduced in the output. If the problem only
occurs in the output, try writing the file to a different drive or directory,
or try a different compression format.

Video appears stretched or squashed

5: Helpful Hints
> Result > Original image

The video appears to be stretched in one direction. Circles now appear

as ovals and people are taller or wider than they should be.

Cause: Widescreen MPEG-2 output

If your output is widescreen MPEG-2, then this is not a problem. Some
MPEG-2 playback software does not properly size the video playback
according to the aspect ratio set in the MPEG-2 file. Thus, widescreen
MPEG-2 files play back squashed. Authoring a widescreen DVD using
this file and playing that DVD on a DVD player will produce a correct
widescreen result.

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Cause: Player does not compensate for pixel and frame

aspect ratio
Some media players do not compensate for video with non-square
pixels and thus do not display video in the proper aspect ratio. This is
not a problem with the encoding or ProCoder, it is a problem with the
player. Try to find a player that properly compensates for non-square
pixel playback.

Cause: Incorrect source aspect ratio setting

Check the aspect ratio setting in your source file. If it is set incorrectly,
ProCoder will interpret the shape of the video image incorrectly
and therefore process it incorrectly. ProCoder never does anything
to stretch or squash the image widescreen sources converted to
standard screen size will be scaled to fit into the standard width, a
process known as letterboxing, as shown in the image below.

> 4:3 Letterboxed video

Cannot load encoded MPEG files into DVD

5: Helpful Hints

authoring software
Your DVD authoring software does not accept the MPEG files you made
with ProCoder.

Cause: File naming problem

Some DVD authoring applications do not recognize the standard .m2p
file extension for MPEG-2 program streams. Instead, they want files
named .mp2 or .mpg instead. Try renaming the output file from .m2p to
.mp2 or .mpg and try again.

Cause: Incorrect MPEG-2 file type

Not all DVD authoring applications support MPEG-2 elementary streams
(.m2v files and associated audio files) and MPEG-2 program streams
(.m2p files), some will only accept one or the other. Check your DVD
authoring softwares documentation to see which type it supports and
verify that you are creating the correct type with ProCoder.
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Cause: Software does not accept MPEG files

Some DVD authoring applications do not accept MPEG files as sources.
If this is the case, you will need to use ProCoder to output a different
file type (usually VOB) that the authoring application will accept or use
a different authoring application. Consult your authoring softwares
documentation to find out what file types it accepts.

5: Helpful Hints

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Chapter 6
ProCoder Reference
 ProCoder 2.0

Source Options
Most sources contain these options, and they all have the same
meanings. Some options may not appear in certain sources.

Source
Source File
Displays the name of the source file.

Length
Displays the length of the source in hours:minutes:seconds;frames for
drop-frame timecode and hours:minutes:seconds:frames for non-drop
frame timecode.

Video
Select Video Stream
Specifies whether to use the Original Video of the source or not.
> Original Video Use the video in the source.

> None Do not use the video in the source and treat it as an
audio-only stream.

Video Frame Size

Displays the size of the source as width x height in pixels

Frame Rate (fps)

Displays the number of frames per second of the source.
6: ProCoder Reference

Video Bitrate (kbps)

For non-fixed bitrate codecs, displays the video bitrate in kilobits-per-
second. Generally, the higher the bitrate, the better the video quality is.

Video Codec
Displays the video codec used to decode the video stream.

Interlacing
Displays the interlacing mode of the video stream. This option
determines how video frames are read from the video stream. If the
Interlacing mode is set improperly, the video may not play smoothly.

> Non-Interlaced (Progressive) Entire frames are stored in the

stream instead of separate fields.

> Lower/Bottom Field First Frames are stored as separate

fields with the lower field first.

> Upper/Top Field First Frames are stored as separate fields

with the upper field first.
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Aspect Ratio
Displays or selects the aspect ratio of the source image, as width x
height, width:height or a width-to-height ratio for the video frame and/
or the display pixels.

Audio
Select Audio Stream
Selects whether to use the audio from the source (if any), to use
alternate audio from another file or to ignore the source audio entirely.

> Original Audio Use the audio in the source.

> Alternate Audio Use audio from an alternate file. Select the
source for the audio in the Audio Stream Source field.

> None Do not use the audio in the source and treat it as a
video-only stream.
Audio Stream Source
If Alternate Audio is selected for Select Audio Stream, select the file to
get audio from by clicking the ... button. Audio can be retrieved from
any supported source type.

Channels
Displays the number of channels in the audio source.

Sample Rate (kHz)

Displays the sampling rate or number of samples per second, of
the source in thousands of samples per second. The reproducible

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frequency range of encoded audio depends on the sample rate.

Bits / Sample
Displays the audio sample size for the source in bits per sample. The
more bits per sample, the better the representation of changes in the
audio level and the better the audio quality. The combination of sample
rate and bits per sample determine the overall quality of the audio.

Audio Bitrate (kbps)

For non-fixed bitrate codecs, displays the audio bitrate in kilobits-per-
second. Generally, the higher the bitrate, the better the audio quality is.

Audio Codec
Displays the audio codec used to decode the source audio.

Notes
Not all sources will include all of the common parameters. Some
parameters are available only in certain cases. Most parameters are
read-only and are for informational purposes only.

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Audio Source
Common Options
Not applicable.

Audio-specific options
Source
Movie Properties
Click the ... button to display the detected movie properties.

Track Mode
Select whether to use a particular track or all available tracks.

Notes
No notes.

AVI Source
Common Options
See Source Options.

AVI-specific options
No AVI-specific options exist.
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Notes
AVI files with odd (not evenly divisible by 2) width or height cannot be
imported. Please use only AVI files with even width and height.
To load AVI files with odd width or height, try using an AviSynth
script to crop or matte the AVI to even width and height, then use the
AviSynth script as a source.

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DV Source
Common Options
See Source Options.

DV-specific options
Source
DV Format
Specifies the DV format DV/DVCAM or DVCPRO. If your source does
not process correctly, try changing this setting.

Video Info
Decoding Mode
For Panasonic 24p DV sources, specifies whether it should be decoded
as 23.976fps progressive or 29.97fps interlaced

Preview playback will still

Notes occur at 23.97 fps interlaced,
even if 29.97 fps is selected.
No notes. Processing, however, will be
performed properly at 29.97
fps if it is selected.

Flash Source
Common Options
See Source Options.

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Flash-specific options
Source
Movie Properties
Click the ... button to display the detected movie properties.
Info
Track Mode
Select whether to use a particular track or all available tracks.

Notes Closed Caption (line 21)

Flash sources that have odd (not evenly divisible by 2) width or height preservation requires setting
will be cropped to even width and height on import. the Track Mode option to a
specfic video track.
ProCoder only decodes video from Flash files. It cannot decode the
audio.

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MPEG Source
Common Options
See Source Options.

MPEG-specific options
Program/System Stream
Stream Type
Displays the stream type for multiplexed sources.

Flags
Lists any flags in the stream.

Video Stream
Select the stream ID to use if there is more than one stream present.

Video
Use timestamp
Enable this option to use the timestamps in the stream for setting
precise in/out points.

Stream Type
Displays the stream type of the source video stream.

Display Size
Indicates the intended display size which may be different from the size
of the encoded frame.
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Use Film Decode

Enable this option to ignore the 3-2 pulldown flag in an applicable video
stream and provide 23.976 fps output.

MPEG Aspect ratio

Displays the intended display aspect ratio of the source.

Video Bitrate (kbps)

Displays the video bitrate and mode of the source.

VBV Buffer Size (KB)

Displays the VBV buffer size of the source in kilobytes.

Profile@Level
Displays the Profile and Level the source is compliant to.

Chroma Format
Displays the chroma format of the source.

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QuickTime Source
Common Options
See Source Options.

QuickTime-specific options
Source
Movie Properties
Click the ... button to display the detected movie properties.

Track Mode
Select whether to use a particular track or all available tracks. Info

Audio
Track Mode
Closed Caption (line 21)
Select whether to use a particular track or all available tracks. preservation requires setting
this option to a specfic video
track.
Notes
QuickTime sources that have odd (not evenly divisible by 2) width or
height will be cropped to even width and height on import.

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Still Image Source

Common Options
See Source Options.

Still Image-specific options

Video
Multi-Image Files
Enable this option to load a sequence of images as a video source.

Wild Card File Name

Specify the file naming convention for multiple image files here. Use
the standard ? to specify any character and * to specify any number
of characters. For example, Video1?.jpg will read Video1a.jpg,
Video1b.jpg, but not Video10a.jpg while Video*.jpg will read
Video1a.jpg, Video1b.jpg and Video10a.jpg

File List
Click the ... button to display a numbered list of files matching the Wild
Card File Name.
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Start Point
Set the number for the first file to use in the image sequence using the
numbering from the File List. 1 is the first file.

End Point
Set the number for the last file to use in the image sequence using the
numbering from the File List. 1 is the first file.
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FramesPerImage
Sets the number of frames each image should create. For example, if
there are 30 images and FramesPerImage is 4, the source output will be
120 frames.

Notes
Image files with odd (not evenly divisible by 2) width or height cannot
be imported. Please use only image files with even width and height.

Images loaded in a still image sequence must all have the same width
and height. Images that do not have the same width and height as the
first image will be skipped during multi-image import

Windows Media Source

Common Options
See Source Options.

Windows Media-specific options

Source
Video Streams
In multistream video sources, select which track will be used as the
source video for the encoded file

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Audio
Audio Streams
In multistream audio sources, select which track will be used as the
source audio for the encoded file

Notes
Windows Media files with odd (not evenly divisible by 2) width or
height cannot be imported. Please use only Windows Media files with
even width and height.

To load Windows Media files with odd width or height, try using an
AviSynth script to crop or matte the video to even width and height,
then use the AviSynth script as a source.

If you load a Windows Media file that was encoded with interlaced
video, and you want to read the video as interlaced, you will need to
manually set the Interlacing control to the correct mode (Upper/Lower
field first).

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Target Options
Most targets contain these options and they all have the same
meanings. Some options may not appear in certain targets, may be in
different locations or may only appear under certain circumstances.
Certain settings may be disabled when using target presets.

Options
Target File Splitting (Advanced)
Choose Splitting Method
Selects the automatic file-splitting method. Automatic file-splitting can
divide output files into separate files for easier archiving or transport.
File-splitting is not related to multiplexing. File-splitting cannot be used
with multi-pass encoding. Not all formats support file splitting or all
options available for file splitting.

> No Splitting Do not automatically split output files.

> Split using Time Interval Start a new output file when the
current outputs video length reaches the specified maximum
time.

> Split using max. Size Start a new output file when the
current outputs file size reaches the specified maximum size.

Interval Time for Splitting (Minutes)

Sets the time interval to split output files at in minutes. For example, if
the interval time is set to 10 minutes, a 35-minute source will be split
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into 4 output files.

Max. File Size for Splitting (MB)

Sets the size to split output files at in megabytes. For example, if the
max file size is set to 650 MB and the total output size is 1.5 GB, there
will be 3 output files.

Quality/Size
Click the ... button to bring up the Quality/Size Configuration
window. The Quality/Size Configuration window displays the media
requirements for your conversion parameters and can set the bitrate
to an appropriate value based on the number of media you want to
output.

For example, if your target media is a single CD-R (650MB) and your
current setting will output 800 MB, the Number of media will be 2. You
can then adjust the Quality slider until the Number of media reads 1.
Alternatively, you can enable the Fill Media if possible option, then
set the number of media to 1. ProCoder will automatically calculate an
appropriate bitrate to fit within the media requirements, if possible.
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This option is only available under the following circumstances:

> The target supports a user-specified bit rate for encoding

> Split using max. Size is enabled

> There is only a single source or the Stitch function is enabled.

Destination
Base Name
Sets the name of the output file. A few special substitution strings can
be used in the Base Name and ProCoder will replace them with the
values during its processing. Periods are not allowed in the base name.

> %s is replaced by the name of the source file (without

extension) unless the Stitch function is used, in which case %s
will be replaced by {Stitched Sources}

> %n is replaced by the file-splitting segment number of the

output file. If file-splitting is disabled, %n will be 0.

> %% is replaced by a percent-sign (%).

Path
Sets the output location for the target file(s). Click the ... button to set
the output folder.

Use source filename if required

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Enable this option to automatically append the source filename to the
output filename when the following is true:

> There is more than one source

> The Stitch option is not enabled

> The %s substitution string is not present in the Base Name

File Name
Displays the output file name or an example if one of the substition
strings is used.

Video
Use Video
Choose how ProCoder will output video for the target.

Use always
A video track is always output. If the source has no video, a black video
track is generated.
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Use if Exist
If the source has video, that video will be output. If the source has
novideo, no video track is generated.

Dont Use
A video track is not generated, even if the source contains video.

Width
Specifies the width of the output video frame in pixels.

Height
Specifes the height of the output video frame in pixels.

Video Bitrate (kbps)

For non-fixed bitrate codecs, sets the video bitrate in kilobits-per-
second. Generally, the higher the bitrate, the better the video quality is.

Frame rate
Sets the number of frames per second for the output video. The higher
the frame rate, the smoother motion will appear, but the video requires
more bits. A good balance between video frame rate and video bitrate
is the key to high-quality playback.

Interlacing
For formats the support interlaced output, this option sets the
interlacing mode for the output. This option determines how video
frames are stored in the video stream. If playback hardware or software
does not use the same interlacing method, the video may not play back
smoothly.
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> Non-Interlaced (Progressive) Entire frames are stored in the

stream instead of separate fields.

> Lower/Bottom Field First Frames are stored as separate

fields with the lower field first.

> Upper/Top Field First Frames are stored as separate fields

with the upper field first.

Aspect Ratio
Sets the aspect ratio of the video image, as width x height, width:
height or a width-to-height ratio for the video frame and/or the display
pixels. If available, click the ... button to select either a video frame
aspect ratio or a pixel aspect ratio.

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Audio
Use Audio
Selects whether the target will contain an audio track.

> Use Always The target will always contain an audio track,
even if the source does not contain audio.

> Use if Exist The target will contain an audio track if the
source contains audio. If the source does not contain audio,
the target will not have an audio track.

> Dont Use The target will not have an audio track, even if the
source contains audio.
Channels
Sets the number of channels and if applicable, the channel type for the
audio output. Common options are:

> Stereo Two channels of audio (left/right).

> Mono One channel of audio.

Sample Rate(kHz)
Sets the sampling rate or number of samples per second, of the audio
in thousands of samples per second. The reproducible frequency range
of encoded audio depends on the sample rate.

Bits / Sample
Sets the audio sample size in bits per sample. The more bits per

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sample, the better the representation of changes in the audio level and
hence the better the audio quality. The combination of sample rate and
bits per sample determine the overall quality of the audio.

Audio Bitrate (kbps)

For non-fixed bitrate codecs, sets the audio bitrate in kilobits-per-
second. Generally, the higher the bitrate, the better the audio quality is.

Audio Codec
Selects the audio codec used to decode the source audio.

Notes
Not all targets will include all of the common parameters. Some
parameters are available only in certain cases.

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AVI Target
Common Options
See Target Options.

AVI-specific options
Video
Video Encoder
Selects the video encoder to use. Some video encoders may expose
additional options.

Color Format
Sets the color format to use for encoding. The appropriate color format
normally depends on your application.

> Automatic ProCoder will select an appropriate color format

based on the color format requested by the codec. Automatic
is not always available as a selection.

> RGB24 Uses the 24-bit RGB color representation.

> YCbCr Uses the YCbCr color representation.

Use Default Quality

Enable this option to use the codecs default quality setting. If this
option is enabled, the Video Quality option will be hidden.
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Video Quality
Sets the video quality level for encoding. The higher the video quality,
the better the output will appear but encoding will take longer. If
the codec allows specification of both video quality and bitrate, the
combination of both settings will determine the visual quality of the
final output.

Use Default Keyframe Interval

Enable this option to use the codecs default keyframe interval.
In temporal compression, most frames of video are represented as the
change from a previous frame. Keyframes are full independent video
frames in the output. Having more keyframes generally results in better
video quality but creates larger files when bitrate is not constrained.
When bitrate is constrained, more keyframes provides better random
access and higher fault-tolerance, but too many keyframes can reduce
video quality.

Max keyframe interval

Sets the maximum keyframe interval. This is the maximum number
of frames between keyframes. Some codecs will still insert additional
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keyframes if there is a large change in the video content so keyframes

may occur more frequently than the interval set here.

In temporal compression, most frames of video are represented as the

change from a previous frame. Keyframes are full independent video
frames in the output. Having more keyframes generally results in better
video quality but creates larger files when bitrate is not constrained.
When bitrate is constrained, more keyframes provides better random
access and higher fault-tolerance, but too many keyframes can reduce
video quality.

Audio
Audio Encoder Type
Select the audio encoder to use. DirectShow codecs appear in the
drop-down list. To use older ACM (Video for Windows-compatible)
codecs, select ACM codecs... from the drop-down list and choose the
ACM codec in the ACM Driver field.

ACM Driver
Select the ACM driver to use for audio compression. This option only
appears if ACM codecs... is selected for the Audio Encoder Type.

Format Type
Some ACM drivers support more than one compression algorithm.
Select the audio format to use. This option only appears if ACM
codecs... is selected for the Audio Encoder Type.

Format
If the the audio compressor supports multiple predefined audio formats

6: ProCoder Reference
(sampling rate, bits / sample, channels), select the desired format here.

Quality
Sets the quality level for audio encoding. The higher the quality level,
the better the output will sound but encoding will take longer. If the
codec allows specification of both quality and bitrate, the combination
of both settings will determine the audio quality of the final output.

Multiplexer
A/V interleaving period
AVI files alternate video and audio in chunks. This setting determines
the spacing between the audio chunks with respect to the video.
Higher interleaving periods allow for better bitrate control, but some
applications require a specific interleaving period to maintain audio/
video synchronization. In general, it is best to use the default value.

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Index Format
The Index Format determines the compatibility of the output file with
different AVI-compatible applications.

> Non-compatible(AVI2 only) The output AVI will only be

compatible with DirectShow-based video applications.
Applications that use the older Video for Windows AVI access
methods will not be able to open the AVI.

> Compatible(AVI1/AVI2) The output AVI will be compatible

with both DirectShow-based and Video for Windows-based
video applications. However, Video for Windows-based
applications may not be able to access beyond the first 1, 2 or
4 GB of the AVI content, depending on the application.

To avoid size restriction problems, use ProCoders automatic

file-splitting function to generate multiple output files within
the size your application supports.

Notes
AVI file output must have even (evenly divisible by 2) width and height.
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DivX Target
Common Options
See Target Options.

DivX-specific options
Video
Profiles

Selects the profile to conform to. The DivX profile sets a certain constraints
on various parameters to ensure that DivX-compatible hardware devices
will be able to properly play the video. Select User Defined if you are not
concerned with complying to a profile.

Variable Bitrate Mode

Specify the bit rate control mode used by the DivX compressor.

> 1-pass Contant bitrate encoding is used. Quality may vary if

the video complexity changes through the content.

> 1-pass quality-based Constant-quality encoding is used. The

bitrate may vary through the encoding but the encoder will
always try to achieve the same quality level throughout the
content. This option is only available if User Defined is selected
for the Profiles option.

> Multi-pass Multi-pass encoding performs an analysis on the

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video before encoding to determine the best allocation of bits,
providing less quality variation through the content.
Passes
Sets the number of passes the encoder should perform during multi-
pass encoding.

Video Quality
This sets the quality in terms of encoding speed. The slower the
encoding speed is set, the higher the resulting video quality.

Interlace mode
Selects the interlacing processing of the DivX compressor.

> Progressive The compressor expects progressive input

frames. If the source is interlaced, ProCoder will deinterlace the
frames before providing the output to the codec.

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> Interlaced The compressor expects interlaced input frames.

> Basic Deinterlace The compressor expects interlaced input

frames and deinterlaces them within the compression process.

> Intelligent Deinterlace The compressor expects interlaced

input frames and deinterlaces them within the compression
process, taking pulldown into consideration.

MPEG4 Tools
Use B-frame
Enable this option to allow creation of B frames. B frames derive
content from both past and future frames so use of B frames provides
the better compresion. B frames are not allowed in some profiles.

Use Quarter Pixel

Enable this option to allow quarter-pixel motion estimation, versus the
normal half-pixel motion estimation. Quarter-pixel motion estimation
provides better compression but is not allowed in some profiles.

Use GMC
Enable this option to allow Global Motion Compensation. GMC
provides better compression efficiency when there are pans and zooms
in the video content but it is not allowed in some profiles.

Video-Advanced
Max keyframe interval
Sets the maximum keyframe interval. This is the maximum number
of frames between keyframes. Some codecs will still insert additional
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keyframes if there is a large change in the video content so keyframes

may occur more frequently than the interval set here.

In temporal compression, most frames of video are represented as the

change from a previous frame. Keyframes are full independent video
frames in the output. Having more keyframes generally results in better
video quality but creates larger files when bitrate is not constrained.
When bitrate is constrained, more keyframes provides better random
access and higher fault-tolerance, but too many keyframes can reduce
video quality.

Keyframe threshold
This option determines how often keyframes are generated. As the
keyframe threshold is set higher, keyframes are generated less often.
This results in smaller file size, but can have a negative impact on the
video quality.

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Complexity Modulation
To achieve the best compression in multi-pass encoding, the
compressor needs a hint at the motion properties of the source. The
Regular Motion setting is good for general video content, but if there is
a high or low degree of motion in the content better compression can
be achieved by choosing an appropriate value here.
> Highest Motion Use this setting for extremely-high motion
footage such as first-person running.

> High Motion Use this setting for high motion footage such as
tracking moving objects across a background.

> Higher Motion Use this setting for intermittent motion

footage such as first-person walking.

> Regular Motion This setting works for most video footage.

> Lower Motion Use this setting for less-active footage such as
a stationary view of the inside of a shopping mall.

> Low Motion Use this setting for low motion footage such as
a speaker giving a slide presentation in front of a screen.

> Lowest Motion Use this setting for extremely-low motion

footage such as a talking head.

Use Psychovisual Enhancements

Enable this option to have the compressor use properties of the human
visual system to allocate bits. This is useful for video intended for viewing

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by humans but not for video intended for computer analysis.

Temporal Noise Reduction Used

Enable this option to use temporal (time-based) noise reduction during
compression.

Spatial Noise Reduction Pass

Select what type of spatial noise reduction to use.

> None Dont use spatial noise reduction

> 1 frame Use 1 frame analysis to reduce spatial noise

> 2 frame Use 2 frame analysis to reduce spatial noise

> 3 frame Use 3 frame analysis to reduce spatial noise

Spatial Noise Reduction Level

Specifies the level of spatial noise reduction to use. Higher levels reduce
more spatial noise but may also reduce detail.
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A/V interleaving period

AVI files alternate video and audio in chunks. This setting determines
the spacing between the audio chunks with respect to the video.
Higher interleaving periods allow for better bitrate control, but some
applications require a specific interleaving period to maintain audio/video
synchronization. In general, it is best to use the default value.

Index Format
The Index Format determines the compatibility of the output file with
different AVI-compatible applications.

> Non-compatible (AVI2 only) The output AVI will only

be compatible with DirectShow-based video applications.
Applications that use the older Video for Windows AVI access
methods will not be able to open the AVI.

> Compatible(AVI1/AVI2) The output AVI will be compatible

with both DirectShow-based and Video for Windows-based
video applications. However, Video for Windows-based
applications may not be able to access beyond the first 1, 2 or
4 GB of the AVI content, depending on the application.

To avoid size restriction problems, use ProCoders automatic

file-splitting function to generate multiple output files within
the size your application supports.

Notes
DivX file output must have even (divisible by 2) width and height.
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DV Target
Common Options
See Target Options.

DV-specific options
Destination
AVI 1/2 Index Format
The Index Format determines the compatibility of the output file with
different AVI-compatible applications.

> AVI1 + AVI2 (OpenDML) The output AVI will be compatible

with both DirectShow-based and Video for Windows-based
video applications. However, Video for Windows-based
applications may not be able to access beyond the first 1, 2 or
4 GB of the AVI content, depending on the application.
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To avoid size restriction problems, use ProCoders automatic

file-splitting function to generate multiple output files within the
size your application supports.

> AVI2 (OpenDML) The output AVI will only be compatible with
DirectShow-based video applications. Applications that use the
older Video for Windows AVI access methods will not be able
to open the AVI.

DV type
The DV Type determines the structure of the data within the AVI file.

> DV Type 1 The output DV AVI file contains one DV data

stream containing both video and audio. This type of DV AVI
is compatible with DirectShow-based video applications and
codecs only.

> DV Type 2 The output DV AVI file contains DV video as a

vids stream and DV audio as an auds stream. This type of DV
AVI is compatible with both DirectShow-based and Video for
Windows-based video applications and codecs.

A/V interleaving period

AVI files alternate video and audio in chunks. This setting determines
the spacing between the audio chunks with respect to the video.
Higher interleaving periods allow for better bitrate control, but some
applications require a specific interleaving period to maintain audio/

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video synchronization. In general, it is best to use the default value.

Canopus Reference DV
Enable this option to create a Canopus Reference AVI. Canopus
Reference AVI files are DV Type 2 AVIs and can surpass the AVI filesize
limits by creating separate reference data files. The AVI files points to
these data files and accesses the AVI as if it was one large AVI file.
Reference AVI files cannot be moved or renamed without using special
tools such as the Canopus Ref. AVI Manager. This option is only available
when the encoder is set to Canopus DV.

DV Format
Set the DV encoding format here. DV and DVCAM use the same
encoding format but DVCPro25 uses a different method.

> DV/DVCAM Select this option if you require DV or DVCAM

format output.

> DVCPro25 Select this option if you require DVCPro25 format

output.
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Profile
Use Profile
Enable this option to use a settings profile. Profiles automatically set
certain parameters.

Select Profile
If Use Profile is selected, choose a profile from the drop-down box.

Video
Encoder
Selects the video encoder to use. Some video encoders may expose
additional options.

Video Standard
The DV format handles NTSC and PAL video differently. Select the
appropriate video standard for your output.

Use Line21
Select the action to take when Closed Caption (Line21) data is present
in the source. Not all sources support Closed Caption data.

> Use if Exist If Closed Caption data exists in the source,

include it in the DV output.

> Dont Use Closed Caption data is not output, even if the
source contains Closed Caption data...

Notes
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The DV specification states that DV data is always Lower/Bottom Field

first. However, ProCoder allows you to change the output setting in
order to work with decoders that do not follow the specification.

MP3 Audio Target

Common Options
See Target Options.

MP3 Audio-specific options

There are no MP3 Audio-specific options.

Notes
MP3 does not stand for MPEG-3, it stands for MPEG-1 Layer III audio.
There is no MPEG-3 format specification.

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MPEG Target
Common Options
See Common Target Options.

MPEG-specific options
Video-VOB Output
Use Marker Point if exist
Enable this option to use marker points as chapter points when
ProCoder is launched from an editing application. If this is option
enabled, marker points from the application providing data to ProCoder
will be used for chapter point creation instead of the specified Chapter
Method. If this option is disabled, or no marker points are received from
the application providing data, chapter points will be created following
the specified Chapter Method. This option is only available when the
Stream Format is set to DVD (VOB Files).

Chapter Method
Sets the chapter creation method. This option is only available when
the Stream Format is set to DVD(VOB Files).

> Periodic Sets a chapter point at the specified chapter interval.

> No Chapter Point No chapter points are set.

Chapter Interval (mins.)

Sets the chapter interval in minutes. For example, if the chapter interval

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is set to 5, a 13-minute source will have 3 chapter points set at the
start, 5 minutes and 10 minutes. This option is only available when the
Stream Format is set to DVD (VOB Files).

Stream
Stream Format
The Stream Format specifies the type of MPEG stream to output.
Different stream types have different constraints.

> Video CD Create VideoCD (VCD) compliant output.

> SVCD Create Super VideoCD (SVCD) compliant output.

> DVD(MPEG Program/Elementary Stream) Create DVD

compliant output for authoring.

> DVD (VOB Files) Create DVD VOB compliant output for
burning directly to DVD.

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> HDV HD-1 Mode Create HDV compliant output compatible

with JVCs GR-HD1 and JY-HD10 HD camcorders.

> Generic ISO MPEG stream Create a generic ISO compliant

MPEG output.

Stream Type
Select the stream type depending on your application requirements.
Available stream types depend on the selected Stream Format.

> MPEG-1 System Stream Output as a multiplexed stream

with audio and video.

> MPEG-2 Program Stream Output as a multiplexed stream

with audio and video.

> MPEG-1 Elementary Stream Output as separate audio and

video elementary streams.

> MPEG-2 Elementary Stream Output as separate audio and

video elementary streams.

> MPEG-2 Transport Stream Output as a multiplexed transport

stream with audio and video.

Video
Video Standard
MPEG files for broadcast handle NTSC and PAL formats differently. Set
the Video Standard here. This option also affects which frame sizes are
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available.

Quality/Speed
The Quality/Speed setting determines the quality vs speed trade-off the
encoder uses.

> High Speed Optimize encoding for the highest speed.

> High Quality Balance encoding speed versus quality.

> Highest Quality Optimize encoding for the highest quality.

> Mastering Quality Perform all encoding optimizations to

produce the absolute best quality at the specified bitrate
setting without regard to encoding speed. This option
should not be used for performance benchmarking as it is an
exhaustive process that can take 10-20 times longer than the
other modes.

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Bitrate Type
Select the bit rate control type here. The available rate control types
depend on the selected Stream Format.

> CQ (Constant Quality) Encodes to achieve constant quality,

varying bitrate up to the specified maximum.

> VBR (Varible Bitrate) Encodes using variable bitrate. The

specified video bitrate defines the base or average bitrate.

> CBR (Constant Bitrate) Encodes using a constant average

bitrate. Quality may vary depending on the complexity of the
source footage.

Number of passes
For VBR encoding, select 1 pass or 2 pass encoding.

> 1 pass Single-pass VBR encoding varies the bitrate on-the-fly,

starting at the specified bitrate, increasing toward the specified
maximum in complex segments and decreasing toward the
specified minimum in less complex segments. In general,
single-pass VBR output will be as-large or larger than CBR
output at the same video bitrate.

> 2 pass Two-pass VBR performs an analysis pass before

the encoding pass. The analysis pass determines the best
bit allocation for the encoding pass. The actual bitrate varies
between the specified minimum and maximum bitrates. The

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increases and decreases in bitrate are balanced to keep the
average bitrate to the specified video bitrate.

Max Bitrate(kbps)
Specifies the maximum bitrate in thousands of bits per second for
non-CBR encoding. The encoded bitrate will not exceed the maximum
bitrate.

Min Bitrate(kbps)
Specifies the minimum bitrate in thousands of bits per second for non-
CBR encoding. The encoded bitrate will not drop below the minimum
bitrate.

Quantization Level
The Quantization Level determines the picture quality for CQ encoding.
Higher quantization levels provide better picture quality but require
more bits to encode.

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Reservoir Buffer Size (KB)

Valid only in 1-pass VBR mode. The output file size is at least
[average bitrate] * [duration] [Reservoir Buffer Size].

Expense Buffer Size(KB)

Valid only in 1-pass VBR mode. The output file size is at most
[average bitrate] * [duration] + [ExpenseReservoir Buffer Size].

Profile/Level
Determines the profile and level compliance of the MPEG output. The
profile and level impose restrictions on various parameters in order to
guarantee compatiblity with MPEG hardware devices.

Put Sequence Headers on each GOP

Enable this option to add sequence headers at each GOP. Some
applications require sequence headers at every GOP.

Aspect Ratio Code

The Aspect Ratio Code tells the decoder what the intended display
frame size is.

VBV Buffer Size (KB)

Specifies the video buffer verifier size in kilobytes. This is used by the
encoder to ensure the stream can be properly decoded by hardware
players.

Max GOP size

Sets the maximum GOP (Group Of Pictures) size. Larger GOPs provide
better compression while smaller GOPs provide faster access.
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GOP Structure
Specifies the maximum distance between I and P frames, which
determines the GOP (Group Of Pictures) structure.

> Automatic Sets the GOP structure automatically based on

the content.

> I-Frame only Creates output without P and B frames.

> 1 frame (IPPP ...) Creates output with a maximum of 1 frame

from I to P frames.

> 2 frames (IBPBPBP...) Creates output with a maximum of 2

frames from I to P frames.

> 3 frames (IBBPBBP...) Creates output with a maximum of

3 frames from I to P frames. This is the standard for DVD-
compliant MPEG streams.

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Picture Structure
The compression process can compress interlaced fields separately or
combined as a frame to improve efficiency. This option sets the picture
structure for the compression process. This is does not affect the
interlacing mode of the output.

> Always Field Always compress interlaced fields separately.

This option should be avoided except in special circumstances.

> Always Frame Always compress interlaced fields together as

frames. This method is compatible with all known DVD players.

> Automatic Selects the optimal mode for each frame. The
output may not play correctly in all players.

Use Closed GOP

Enable this option to encode closed GOPs. Closed GOPs do not allow
prediction between frames at the ends of GOPs. Some DVD-authoring
software requires Closed GOPs, as does multi-angle DVD content.

Chroma Format
For profiles and levels that support multiple color sampling formats,
select the desired format here.

Intra DC Precision
The DC Precision determines how many bits are used for the
coefficients of the Discrete Cosine Transform function. If you have very
complex footage, increaseing the number of bits can help improve the
video quality...

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Use Strict GOP bitrate control
Enable this option to use strict bitrate control in each GOP. Some
applications require that the GOP bitrate does not fall below the
minimum. With this option enabled, padding bits will be inserted into
the GOPs if necessary to adhere to the minimum rate.

Create DVD Compatible Stream

Enable this option to add extra checks to ensure the stream is
compatible with certain PAL DVD players. It is recommended to leave
this box checked.

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Audio
Audio Stream Type
Select the audio stream type here. Elementary streams and VOB file
output support both MPEG audio and PCM audio.

Error Protection
Enable this option to add CRC error checking data into the audio
stream. Some applications require error checking data.

Copyright Flag
Enable this option to indicate the audio is copyrighted. The flag is
informational.

Original Flag
Enable this option to indicate the audio is an original work. The flag is
informational.

Emphasis
Select whether the audio was recorded with emphasis. This is used by
the decoder to restore the audio to its original sound. Emphasis was
frequently used for phonodisc recordings.

> None The audio was not recorded with emphasis and no de-
emphasis is required on playback.

> 50/15 The audio was recorded with 50/15 emphasis and de-
emphasis is required on playback.

> CCITT.J17 The audio was recorded with CCITT.J17 emphasis

and de-emphasis is required on playback.
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Notes
MPEG output must have a width that is an even multiple of 16 and a
height that is an even multiple of 8.

PCM Audio Target

Common Options
See Common Target Options.

PCM Audio-specific options

There are no PCM Audio-specific options.

Notes
The PCM Audio exporter writes uncompressed PCM audio WAV files.

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QuickTime Target
Common Options
See Common Target Options.

QuickTime-specific options
Internet-Streaming
Streaming Mode
Select a Streaming Mode from the drop-down list. The Streaming Mode
determines how the QuickTime file will be handled when it is requested
for streaming playback.

> No Internet streaming The output is not intended for

streaming. If requested for streaming playback, the file will
need to be downloaded before playback can begin.

> Fast Start Sets the output so playback can begin before
the download is complete. This a good choice for files being
delivered via HTTP.

> Fast Start-Compressed Header Sets the output so playback

can begin before the download is complete. This is a good
choice for files being delivered via HTTP that do not contain
hint tracks. Files of this type cannot be used by a streaming
server.

> Hinted Streaming Sets the output for hinted streaming

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playback. This is the best choice for playback from a streaming
server.
Settings
Click the ... button to access the Hint Exporter Settings. This option is
only available if Hinted Streaming is selected as the Streaming Mode.

Video
Frame Rate Type
Select the type of frame rate to use for encoding.

> FrameRate Fixed Sets a fixed frame rate for encoding.

> FrameRate Flexible Allows variation of the frame rate to

optimize encoding.

> Max FrameRate Specifies a limit to the maximum frame rate

which leaves more bits available for each frame.

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Encoder
Select the encoder for QuickTime to use from the drop-down list.
Any additional QuickTime codecs that are installed on the system
will appear in addition to the default codecs that are installed with
QuickTime.

Codec Options
Click the ... button to access the codec options for the selected
codec. Not all codecs have options and some do not have modifiable
parameters.

Bits / Pixel
Select the number of colors to reproduce in the output from the
drop-down list. The number of bits per pixel, also called the color
depth determines the number of colors that can be simultaneously
reproduced. More bits per pixel allow for representation of more
colors. Some encoders only support certain color depths. The common
options are:

> 256 Colors (8 bits per pixel) Up to 256 colors can be

represented. This color depth is useful for animations and
other content with flat colors and little gradation.

> 32,768 Colors (16 bits per pixel) Up to 32,768 colors can be
represented. This is a good trade-off between reproduction of
color gradation and file size.

> Millions of Colors (24 bits per pixel) Up to 16.7 million colors
can be represented. Most photographic image formats use 24
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bits per pixel. This is often refered to as True Color.

> Millions of Colors (32 bits per pixel) Up to 16.7 million colors
can be represented along with a 256-level transparency value.

> 256 Grays (8 bits per pixel) Up to 256 shades of gray can be
represented. This is fine for video that does not require color.

Spatial Quality
Determines the spatial compression for each frame in terms of the
video quality. Least provides the highest amount of compression but
poorer image quality. Spatal compression reduces the information size
of each frame by eliminating redundant information and/or discarding
information. Best provides the least amount of compression but results
in larger output size.

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Temporal Quality
Determines the temporal compression for successive frames in terms
of the video quality. Temporal compression eliminates redundant
information from one frame to the next. Least provides the highest
amount of temporal compression but has poorer image quality. Best
provides the least amount of compression but results in larger output
size.

User define Key frame

Enable this option to manually set the number of frames per keyframe
instead of letting the compressor determine the optimal keyframe
interval.

Frames / Keyframe
Sets the number of frames per keyframe. For example, a setting of 10
would generate 3 keyframes in a 30-frame source.

In temporal compression, most frames of video are represented as the

change from a previous frame. Keyframes are full independent video
frames in the output. Having more keyframes generally results in better
video quality but creates larger files when bitrate is not constrained.
When bitrate is constrained, more keyframes provides better random
access and higher fault-tolerance, but too many keyframes can reduce
video quality.

User define Limit Data Rate

Enable this option to set a limit to the data rate of the output. This is
useful for applications that have fixed bandwidth, like video being read
from CD.

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Max. Data Rate(kbps)
Set the maximum data rate for the stream, in thousands of bits per
second.

Use Precise NTSC Scale

ProCoder uses a precise NTSC frame rate (29.97002997... fps) which is
based on the industry-standard rate/scale information of 30000/1001.
However, some video editing applications such as versions of Adobe
Premiere prior to 6.5 do not properly import files with precise Rate/
Scale information. Instead, these applications expect files with an
incorrect rate/scale of 2997/100.

Only disable this option if your editing requires an incorrect rate/scale

or you are using Adobe Premiere versions prior to 6.5.

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Use Line21
Select the action to take when Closed Caption (Line21) data is present
in the source. Not all sources support Closed Caption data.

> Use if Exist If Closed Caption data exists in the source,

include it in the DV output.

> Dont Use Closed Caption data is not output, even if the
source contains Closed Caption data...

Audio
Encoder
Select the audio encoder to use from the drop-down list.

Codec Options
Click the ... button to access the codec options for the selected codec. Not
all codecs have options and some do not have modifiable parameters.

Attributes
Title
Enter the title of the file. This value is added to the files metadata and
may be used by content management systems or shown by during
playback.

Author
Enter the author of the file. This value is added to the files metadata
and may be used by content management systems or shown by during
playback.
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Copyright
Enter the copyright information for the file. This value is added to the
files metadata and may be used by content management systems or
shown by during playback.

Keywords
Enter keywords for the file. This value is added to the files metadata
and may be used by content management systems or shown by during
playback.

Description
Enter a description of the file. This value is added to the files metadata
and may be used by content management systems or shown by during
playback.

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Time Code
Add Time Code Track
Enable this option to add a time code track to the file.

Display Time Code Mode

If Add Time Code Track is enabled, select the time code display mode
here. This option is only available if the Frame Rate Type is set to
FrameRate Fixed. QuickTime generates the timecode display from the
file information during playback.

> Do not display time code Time code is not displayed on the
video.

> Display inside of video frame (top) Time code is displayed

within the video frame, over the video at the top of the frame.

> Display inside of video frame (bottom) Time code is

displayed within the video frame, over the video at the bottom
of the frame.

> Display outside of video frame (bottom) Time code is

displayed outside the video frame beneath the bottom of the
video frame.

Notes
Available encoders for the QuickTime exporter depend on the installed
QuickTime codecs.

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QuickTime Export Target

Common Options
See Common Target Options.

QuickTime Export-specific options

Destination
Select Exporter
Select a QuickTime Exporter from the drop-down list. Additional
exporters may be available with updates to QuickTime.

> 3GPP Export a 3GPP video file.

> AIFF Export an AIFF audio file.
> FLC Export an AutoDesk Animator animation file.
> QuickTime Movie Export a QuickTime movie file.
> uLaw Export a uLaw audio file.
> AVI Export an AVI file using QuickTime codecs.
> Wave Export a WAV audio file.
> DV Stream Export a DV stream file.
> Image Sequence Export an image sequence.
> MPEG-4 Export an MPEG-4 file.

Exporter Settings
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Click the ... button to access the QuickTime Exporter settings. The
options in the QuickTime Exporter settings come from QuickTime itself
and vary depending on the selected exporter. Available encoders for
the QuickTime exporter depend on the installed QuickTime codecs.

Notes
ProCoder cannot verify output file names from the Image Sequence
exporter. This means the Image Sequence exporter will automatically
overwrite any existing files that have the same file name as the project
being encoded. To avoid confusion, make sure all Image Sequence
outputs use different file names and remove any similarly named files
from the output location before performing conversion.

The name.img filename is used as a placeholder and is not written.

Also, the output file shown by ProCoder does not represent the actual
file(s) written when using the Image Sequence exporter. Please check
the output folder to see the files that have been written.

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Raw DV Target
Common Options
See Common Target Options.

DV-specific options
Destination
DV Format
Set the DV encoding format here. DV and DVCAM use the same
encoding format but DVCPro25 uses a different method.

> DV/DVCAM Select this option if you require DV or DVCAM

format output.

> DVCPro25 Select this option if you require DVCPro25 format

output.

Video
Video Standard
The DV format handles NTSC and PAL video differently. Select the
appropriate video standard for your output.

Use Line21
Select the action to take when Closed Caption (Line21) data is present in
the source. Not all sources support Closed Caption data.

> Use if Exist If Closed Caption data exists in the source,

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include it in the DV output.

> Dont Use Closed Caption data is not output, even if the
source contains Closed Caption data...

Audio
Audio Locked Mode
When locked audio mode is enabled, the number of audio samples
per video frame follows a constant size pattern and the audio clock is
precisely synchronized with the video. Locked audio ensures proper
audio/video synchronization throughout the output since the number of
audio samples per frame is always correct and there is no possibility of
too many or too few audio samples.

Notes
The DV specification states that DV data is always Lower/Bottom Field
first. However, ProCoder allows you to change the output setting in
order to work with decoders that do not follow the specification.

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RealMedia Target
Common Options
See Common Target Options.

RealMedia-specific options
Destination
2-Pass Encoding
Enable this option to perform 2-Pass Encoding. This generates higher-
quality video performing an analysis pass to determine bit allocation
before performing the encoding. 2-Pass Encoding cannot be used in
conjunction with ProCoders automatic file-splitting.

Video
Encoder
Select the encoder to use from the drop-down list.

Video Mode
Select an option to optimize the encoding for the desired result.

> Normal Optimize for normal video.

> Smoothest Motion Optimize to provide the smoothest

motion.

> Sharpest Image Optimize to provide the sharpest image.

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> Slideshow Optimize for slideshow presentation.

Audio
Audio Type
Select the type of audio to encode for.

> Voice Select this option if the source is mostly voice.

> Music Selct this option if the source contains music or other
non-voice sounds.

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Profile
Profile Selection
Click the ... button to show the Video Profiles Quick-Selection dialog.
You can select one or more streams from the dialog.

Active Profiles
If more than one profile is selected, select the profile to view or modify
from the drop-down list. The Profile-Stream, Profile-Video and Profile-
Audio sections will change to reflect the active profile.

Use default settings

Disable this option to customize the settings for the active profile.

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Profile-Stream
Avg. Bitrate (kbps)
Set the average bitrate for the stream in kilobits per second. Higher
bitrates provide better quality but create larger files.

Max. Bitrate (kbps)

Set the maximum bitrate for the stream in kilobits per second. Higher
bitrates provide better quality but create larger files. This option is only
available if VBR encoding is selected.

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Profile-Video
Max. Frame Rate (fps)
Specify the maximum frame rate for the output. The encoder will
attempt to maintain this frame rate, but the rate may be reduced when
scenes are complex.

VBR Encoding
Select the encoding type here. VBR encoding methods cannot be used
if more than one profile is enabled.

> CBR Selects constant bitrate encoding. The bitrate will

correspond to the Avg. Bitrate setting.

> VBR Average Bit Rate Selects varible bitrate encoding

maintaining the average bit rate. The video quality may vary
as the encoding rate varies, but the average bit rate will
correspond to the Avg. Bitrate setting.

> VBR Video Quality Selects variable bitrate encoding

maintaining the video quality. The average bit rate is ignored
but the encoding rate will not exceed the Max. Bitrate setting.
VBR Quality
The VBR Quality setting determines the quality of video when the
VBR Encoding type is set to VBR Video Quality mode. Higher values
specify better video quality. A value of 100 will attempt to achieve a
near-perfect reproduction of the source. The specified quality level may
not be achieved depending on the specified frame size and frame rate.

Use Loss Protection

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Enable this option to use Loss Protection. Loss Protection provides

better video quality for less-reliable connections but sacrifices effective
bandwidth.

Seconds / Keyframe
Specifies the keyframe interval in terms of the number of seconds per
keyframe. For example, if set to 10, a 30-second source will have 3
keyframes. More keyframes generally results in better video quality but
creates larger files.

Startup Latency (sec)

Sets the amount of time allowed before playback must start. A larger
latency increases picture quality but takes more time to start playback.

Profile-Audio
Encoder
Select the audio encoder to use from the drop-down list.

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Attributes
Title
Enter the title of the file. This value is added to the files metadata and
may be used by content management systems or shown by during
playback.

Author
Enter the author of the file. This value is added to the files metadata
and may be used by content management systems or shown by during
playback.

Copyright
Enter the copyright information for the file. This value is added to the
files metadata and may be used by content management systems or
shown by during playback.

Keywords
Enter keywords for the file. This value is added to the files metadata
and may be used by content management systems or shown by during
playback.

Description
Enter a description of the file. This value is added to the files metadata
and may be used by content management systems or shown by during
playback.

Notes
Use the Profile Selection option to configure individual streams of a
multi-stream RealMedia target.

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Windows Media Target

Common Options
See Common Target Options.

Windows Media-specific options

Destination
Output File Type
Select the type of file to output.

> WMV file (Audio/Video) Select this option to create a

Windows Media video file with only video or both video and
audio.

> WMA file (audio only) Select this option to create a Windows
Media audio file with only audio.

Info Profile
Load Profile
Click the ... button to load a profile saved using the Save as Profile
option.

You can load Windows Save as Profile

Media Profiles created Click the ... button to save the current settings as a profile. This is a
by sources other than different profile from ProCoders Target Profiles and can only be loaded
ProCoder. in the Windows Media target.
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System Profiles
Click the ... button to show the System Profiles dialog. You can select a
Windows Media profile from various versions of Windows Media in the
dialog.

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Video-Basic

Multi Bitrate Streams

Click the ... button to display the Video Stream Properties dialog where
you can view the currently selected streams, add new streams, rename
streams or remove streams.

Select Video Stream

If more than one stream is defined, select the stream to view or modify
from the drop-down list. The Video-Basic and Video-Advanced sections
will change to reflect the selected stream.

Encoder
Select the video encoder to use from the drop-down list.

Bitrate Mode
Select the bitrate control mode from the drop-down list.

> CBR Selects constant bitrate mode. The bitrate will

correspond to the Video Bitrate(kbps) setting. CBR mode is

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most useful for streaming.

> Quality Based VBR Selects Quality Based variable bitrate

mode. The bitrate will vary in order to maintain the quality
specified in the VBR Quality setting.

> Constrained VBR Selects Constrained variable bitrate mode.

Constrained VBR mode varies the bitrate up to the Maximum
Bitrate (kbps) setting in order to maintain video quality.

> Unconstrained VBR Selects Unconstrained variable bitrate

mode. Unconstrained VBR mode varies the bitrate to maintain
the selected video quality without a maximum bitrate limit.

Number of Passes
Select the number of passes to use for encoding from the drop-down
list. 2-pass encoding provides better quality but takes longer to encode.

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VBR Quality
Sets the quality level for encoding. Higher values result in better video
quality at the expense of larger file size. This option is only available
when Quality Based VBR is selected as the Bitrate Mode.

Maximum Bitrate (kbps)

Sets the maximum bitrate for encoding. Higher values result in better
video quality at the expense of larger file size. This option is only
available when Constrained VBR is selected as the Bitrate Mode.

Target Global Settings

Flexible Frame Duration
Enable this option to allow flexible frame durations in the output.
Flexible frame duration is most useful for video with freeze-frames and
pauses since it allows a static frame to span more than one frame of
output.

Video-Advanced
Buffer Window (ms)
Sets the streaming buffer window size in thousandths of a second. A
larger buffer size results in smoother streaming but a requires longer
delay before starting playback.

Maximum Buffer Window (ms)

Sets the maximum size of the streaming buffer in thousandths of a
second. This option is only available if Constrained VBR is selected as
the Bitrate Mode.
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Video Codec Complexity

Select the video codec complexity from the drop-down list. Higher
complexity requires more processing power to encode and play back.

> Auto Allow automatic selection based on the complexity of

the source.

> Offline Selects a complexity appropriate for offline editing

and playback.

> Min Sets the minimum complexity. This allows a greater

number of systems to play the result.

> Max Sets the maximum complexity. This limits the types of
systems that can play the result.

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Seconds / Keyframe
Specifies the keyframe interval in terms of the number of seconds per
keyframe. For example, if set to 10, a 30-second source will have 3
keyframes. Having more keyframes generally results in better video
quality but creates larger files when bitrate is not constrained. When
bitrate is constrained, more keyframes provides better random access
and higher fault-tolerance, but too many keyframes can reduce video
quality.

Image Quality
The Image Quality slider sets the balance between frame rate and
image quality. A value of 0 maximizes the frame rate at the expense
of image quality and a value of 100 maximizes image quality at the
expense of frame rate.

Audio-Basic
Multi Bitrate Streams
Click the ... button to display the Audio Stream Properties dialog where
you can view the currently selected streams, add new streams, rename
streams or remove streams.

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Select Audio Stream
If more than one stream is defined, select the stream to view or modify
from the drop-down list. The Audio-Basic and Audio-Advanced sections
will change to reflect the selected stream.

Encoder
Select the audio encoder to use from the drop-down list.

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Bitrate Mode
Select the bitrate control mode from the drop-down list.

> CBR Selects constant bitrate mode. The bitrate will

correspond to the Audio Bitrate(kbps) setting. CBR mode is
most useful for streaming.

> Quality Based VBR Selects Quality Based Variable Bitrate

mode. The bitrate will vary in order to maintain the quality
specified in the VBR Quality setting.

> Constrained VBR Selects Constrained variable bitrate mode.

Constrained VBR mode varies the bitrate up to the Maximum
Bitrate(kbps) setting in order to maintain audio quality.

> Unconstrained VBR Selects Unconstrained variable bitrate

mode. Unconstrained VBR mode varies the bitrate to maintain
the selected audio quality without a maximum bitrate limit.

Number of Passes
Select the number of passes to use for encoding from the drop-down
list. 2-pass encoding provides better quality but takes longer to encode.

VBR Quality
Sets the quality level for encoding. Higher values result in better video
quality at the expense of larger file size. This option is only available
when Quality Based VBR is selected as the Bitrate Mode.

Maximum Bitrate (kbps)

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Sets the maximum bitrate for encoding. Higher values result in better
video quality at the expense of larger file size. This option is only
available when Constrained VBR is selected as the Bitrate Mode.

Audio-Advanced
Buffer Window (ms)
Sets the streaming buffer window size in thousandths of a second. A
larger buffer size results in smoother streaming but a requires longer
delay before starting playback.

Maximum Buffer Window (ms)

Sets the maximum size of the streaming buffer in thousandths of a
second. This option is only available if Constrained VBR is selected as
the Bitrate Mode.

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Attributes
Title
Enter the title of the file. This value is added to the files metadata and
may be used by content management systems or shown by during
playback.

Author
Enter the author of the file. This value is added to the files metadata
and may be used by content management systems or shown by during
playback.

Description
Enter a description of the file. This value is added to the files metadata
and may be used by content management systems or shown by during
playback.

Rating
Enter a rating for the file. This value is added to the files metadata and
may be used by content management systems or shown by during
playback.

Copyright
Enter the copyright information for the file. This value is added to the
files metadata and may be used by content management systems or
shown by during playback.

Notes
Use the Multi Bitrate Streams option to add/remove/rename audio and
video streams. Use the Select Video Stream and Select Audio Stream

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options to configure individual streams of a multi-stream Windows
Media target.

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Video and Audio Filters

601 Correction - Expand Color Space

Description
The 601 Correction - Expand Color Space Filter expands video RGB
values from the ITU-R BT 601 recommended 16-235 range to the full 0-
255 range. This filter is useful when transcoding files between different
systems that use different YUV-RGB conversion methods. If you feel
your result is missing brilliance the reason might be that the codec of
your source file or the target codec are not handling the conversion
between RGB and YCbCr properly. This filter can correct this.

Options
There are no options.

Notes
The Canopus DV and MPEG codecs use the ITU-R BT 601
recommended range of 16-235.

601 Correction - Shrink Color Space

Description
The 601 Correction - Shrink Color Space Filter shrinks video RGB
values from the full 0-255 range to the ITU-R BT 601 recommended
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16-235 range. This filter is useful when transcoding files between

different systems that use different YUV-RGB conversion methods.
If you your converted file looks too much enhanced in contrast the
reason might be that the codec of your source file or the target codec
are not handling the conversion between RGB and YCbCr properly. This
filter can correct this.

Options
There are no options.

Notes
The Canopus DV and MPEG codecs use the ITU-R BT 601
recommended range of 16-235.

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709 Correction - SD/HD Color Space

Description
This video filter is used to convert video in the SD (601) colorspace
to the HD (709) color space. Broadcast HD video uses YCbCr colors
following Rec. ITU-R BT 709-5 where as broadcast SD video is following
ITU-R BT 601. Those color spaces are fairly close to each other so you
typically will not see a difference. Because of this, ProCoder wont
automatically perform this conversion, which maximizes performance.
For the most correct handling in the broadcasting area, however, it is
advised to use this filters when converting between HD and SD video.

Options
There are no options.

Notes
No notes.

Adaptive De-Interlace
Description
The Adaptive De-Interlace Filter is used to apply custom deinterlacing
settings when converting an interlaced source to a non-interlaced
target.

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Options
Settings
Detection
Selects the deinterlacing method to use.

> Adaptive Uses motion detection to determine whether to

interpolate or discard fields.

> Interpolate from dominant field Overwrites the non-

dominant field by interpolating from the dominant field.

> Discard non-dominant field Retains only information from

the dominant field an discards information from the non-
dominant field.

Threshold Adjusts the motion detection error threshold for the

Adaptive Detection mode. Higher values result in less motion
detection, while lower values yield greater sensitivity to motion.

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Notes
If this filter is not applied, ProCoder will automatically perform
deinterlacing when necessary. Adding this filter overrides the basic
deinterlacing process and allows control of the deinterlacing settings.

Bitmap Keying Filter

Description
The Bitmap Keying Filter is used to superimpose a text or graphic
overlay onto the video. This is often used for adding station logos,
copyright information and other watermarks to video. Images can be
keyed by color or using an embedded alpha channel.

Options
Settings
Filename
Click the ... button to select a graphic file to use.

Configuration
Click the ... button to access the Bitmap Keying Option window.
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The left image is the original image. The image at the right shows the
area to be transparent in a blue-gray color. If using the Color Key, select
a color in the image to make transparent by clicking on the left side
image or by adjusting the R, G and B sliders at the bottom and adjust
the Luminance and Color tolerance sliders to achieve the desired
transparency.

If the image contains an alpha channel, enable the Alpha Channel

option to use the images alpha channel information to determine the
transparency. Disable the Alpha Channel option to pick a color instead
of using the images alpha channel. Enable the Invert Mask option to
swap the transparent and opaque regions of the image.

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Position
> Top Left Places the graphic at the top left of the video frame.

> Top Center Places the graphic horizontally centered at the top
of the video frame.

> Top Right Places the graphic at the top right of the video frame.

> Left Places the graphic vertically centered at the left of the
video frame.

> Center Places the graphic at the center of the video frame.

> Right Places the graphic at the vertically centered at the right
of the video frame.

> Bottom Left Places the graphic at the bottom left of the video
frame.

> Bottom Center Places the graphic horizontally centered at the

bottom of the video frame.

> Bottom Right Places the graphic at the bottom right of the
video frame.

Scale
Adjust the Scale slider to change the size of the keyed image. Image
scaling always preserves the correct aspect ratio of the image. A value
of 100 scales the image so it fits within the video frame and fills the

6: ProCoder Reference
frame horizontally and/or vertically.

Offset
Adjust the Offset slider to change the position of the keyed image.
Higher values move the image further toward the center of the video
frame. A value of 100 positions the image at the center of the frame.

Notes
No notes.

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Black/White Correction Filter

Description
The Black/White Correction Filter is used to adjust the black and white
levels of the video. This is useful when converting between computer
video and broadcast video.

Options
Settings
White Threshold
Adjust the slider to determine the minimum value considered to be white.

White Transition Range

Adjust the slider to determine the range of values that are transitioned
to white. Values in this range are ramped from the original value toward
white.

Black Threshold
Adjust the slider to determine the minimum value considered to be
white.

Black Transition Range

Adjust the slider to determine the range of values that are transitioned
to black. Values in this range are ramped from the original value toward
black.

Notes
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Only black and/or white levels are adjusted. This filter does not apply a
global luminance change.

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Blur Filter
Description
The Blur Filter is used to reduce detail. This filter applies a simple blur.
Blurring can help compression by reducing video complexity.

Options
Settings
Radius
Sets the radius of the blur. Higher values result in more blurring.

Notes
No notes.

Circular Blur Filter

Description
The Circular Blur Filter is used to reduce detail. This filter applies
a circular blur. Blurring can help compression by reducing video
complexity.

Options
Settings

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Radius
Use the slider to set the radius of the blur. Higher values result in more
blurring.

Notes
No notes.

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Color Correction Filter

Description
The Color Correction Filter can adjust the brightness, contrast, hue and
saturation of the video.

Options
Settings
Brightness
Use the slider to adjust the brightness.

Contrast
Use the slider to adjust the contrast.

Hue
Use the slider to adjust the hue.

Saturation
Use the slider to adjust the saturation.

Notes
No notes.

Color Safe Filter

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Description
The Color Safe Filter restricts the color range of video to broadcast-safe
colors. This is important to ensure proper playback when producing
video for broadcast.

Options
Settings
Video Standard
Select the broadcast standard to restrict the color range to. NTSC and
PAL standards have different safe color ranges.

Correction Method
Select the correction method to use out-of-range colors.

> Reduce Luminance Reduce the luminance of out-of-range

colors to make them safe. This option is best for footage shot
by a camera.

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> Reduce Saturation Reduce the saturation of out-of-range

colors to make them safe. This option is best for computer-
generated and animation sources.

Gamma
Gamma correction factor
Use the slider to set the gamma correction factor for modified colors, if
necessary.

Notes
No notes.

Crop Filter
Description
The Crop Filter is used to remove unwanted sections of video from
the edgse of the frame when encoding for computer display. Captured
analog footage often has noise or distortion at the edges of the video
frame. This noise or distortion is usually unseen as it occurs in the
overscan area of the image, a portion which is displayed beyond the
viewable television area.

Options
Cropping
Current Setting

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The current cropping setting is displayed here.

Cropping Rectangle
Click the ... button to display the Crop window.

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Drag the handles to define the new video frame. Grayed-out areas will
be removed from the video. Click the Full button to reset the video
frame to the full frame.

Scale after Crop

Enable the Scale after Crop option to scale the cropped video frame to
fill the video frame. This will remove the cropped region and stretch the
remaining video to fill the gap, maintaining proper aspect ratio. There may
be areas of black remaining if the aspect ratio of the remaining video does
not match the original video frame.

Constrain by Aspect Ratio

Enable the Constrain by Aspect Ratio option to restrict the cropping
rectangle to the aspect ratio of the uncropped video frame. This will
ensure the remaining video will entirely fill the frame when Scale
after Crop is enabled. This option only affects the Crop window. The
Horizontal Cropping and Vertical Cropping settings are not affected by
this option.

Horizontal Cropping
Left
Sets the position in pixels of the new left edge of the video. This is also
the number of pixels removed from the left edge of the video.

Right
Sets the position in pixels of the new right edge of the video.

Right (offset)
Sets the number of pixels to remove from the right edge of the video.
6: ProCoder Reference

Adjusting this value also changes the value of the Right setting.

Vertical Cropping
Top
Sets the position in pixels of the new top edge of the video. This is also
the number of pixels removed from the top edge of the video.

Bottom
Sets the position in pixels of the new bottom edge of the video.

Bottom (offset)
Sets the number of pixels to remove from the bottom edge of the
video. Adjusting this value also changes the value of the Bottom
setting.

Notes
No notes.

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Fade In/Out Filter

Description
The Fade In/Out Filter can be used to reduce visible compression
artifacts at the start or end of the video.

Options

Settings
Fade In Select
Enable this option to apply a fade in to the video.

Fade In duration (sec)

Select the number of seconds that the fade in lasts.

Fade Out Select

Enable this option to apply a fade out to the video.

Fade Out duration (sec)

Select the number of seconds that the fade out lasts.

Notes
No notes.

Gamma Correction Filter

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Description
The Gamma Correction filter adjusts video for differences between
computer gamma levels.

Options
Settings
Gamma
Use the slider to select the gamma level appropriate for your content.

Notes
No notes.

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Gaussian Blur Filter

Description
The Gaussian Blur Filter is used to reduce detail. This filter applies
a Gaussian blur. Blurring can help compression by reducing video
complexity.

Options
Settings
Blur Radius
Sets the radius of the blur. Higher values result in more blurring.

Notes
No notes.

Median Filter
Description
The Median Filter is designed to remove single-pixel noise from video.

Options
There are no options.
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Notes
No notes.

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Video Pulldown Filter

Description
The Video Pulldown Filter is used to convert non-interlaced sources to
interlaced targets without interpolation.

The most commonly used pulldown is 3:2 pulldown, used for

converting film footage for playback on NTSC devices. DVD video is
for example very often making use of this method. When your source
is 23.976 frames per second progressive and your target is 29.97
frames per second interlaced, this filter will produce footage following
the 3:2 pulldown rule. However, pulldown might be usefull for more
conversions because it entirely avoids bluring caused by interpolation
it will not modify the actual image data of your source video but rather
prepare it for playback on an interlaced device. Occasionally, depending
on your source and target frame rates, stuttering can happen in the
playback. In that case it is recommended to remove this filter and use
interpolated results which is automatically created during conversion.

Options
Field Order
Output Field Order
Select the desired output field order from the drop-down list. Set it to
Auto to have ProCoder determine the best field order for each source.

Notes

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No notes.

Video Rotate Filter

Description
The Video Rotate Filter can rotate and flip the video. This filter is useful
for preparing rotated video for portrait-mode display and for flipping
video for rear-projection dislay.

Options
Settings
Flip Horizontal
Enable this option to flip the video horizontally about a vertically
centered axis so left becomes right and right becomes left.

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Flip Vertical
Enable this option to flip the video vertically about a horizontally
centered axis so top becomes bottom and bottom becomes top.

Rotate +90 degrees

Enable this option to rotate the video clockwise by 90 degrees so the
upper-right becomes the lower-right.

Rotate -90 degrees

Enable this option to rotate the video counter-clockwise by 90 degrees
so the upper-left becomes the lower-left.

Notes
No notes.

Video Sharpen Filter

Description
The Video Sharpen Filter enhances fine details of the video. It is
essentially the opposite of a blur and is useful for sharpening blurry
video. It can also be used as a post-processing filter for transcoding
or filter operations that unintentionally blur, such as scaling or
deinterlacing, in order to obtain sharper video results.

Options
6: ProCoder Reference

Settings
Radius of the blur
Select the radius of the filter effect using the slider. The radius controls
how wide the edge rims. Start with smaller amounts and adjust the
radius value until you achieve an acceptable result.

Amount to blend
Sets the level of detail enhancement. Larger values will make details
more obvious.

Threshold for smoothness detection

Sets the threshold for detecting smooth areas. Higher values prevent
detail enhancement in smooth regions of video.

Notes
No notes.

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Video Temporal Noise Reducer

Description
The Video Temporal Noise Reducer Filter reduces noise in video by
analyzing previous frames. This filter is recommended to clean noisy
video sources such as old analog recordings.

Options
Settings
Radius of chrominance blur
Use the slider to determine the chrominance blur radius. Larger value
will remove larger amount of chrominance noise. Use smaller values
to maintain color sharpness. Use zero value to completely disable
chrominance blur, other video noises(impulse, scratches, lines etc) will
still be removed.

Threshold for luminance locking

Sets the threshold for luminance locking and also helps in pixel change
detection. Larger values allow large change in intensity to be locked
but may cause motion blurring. Smaller values adversely affects the
per formance of noise filtering. Use smaller values for video containing
more motion and vice versa.

Threshold for chrominance locking

Sets the threshold for chrominance locking and also helps in pixel
change detection. Larger values allow for more shifts in color to be
locked. Smaller values adversely affects the performance of noise

6: ProCoder Reference
filtering. Generally the threshold of chrominance lock can be higher
than the threshold for luminance locking.

Pixel refresh rate

Determines the maximum number of times a pixel can be locked
beyond which all corresponding prior information is flushed. However
the pixel is still filtered with spatial techniques.

Threshold for new scene detection

Determines the percentage of pixels in the frame that must change for
the frame to be considered a new scene. Small values may cause false
scene change detection and vice versa. For new scenes, all the pixels
prior information is flushed, however they are still filtered with spatial
techniques.

Notes
No notes.

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Audio Fade In/Out Filter

Description
The Audio Fade In/Out Filter can be used to fade audio in and out.

Options
Settings
Fade In Select
Enable this option to apply a fade in to the audio.

Fade In duration (sec)

Select the number of seconds that the fade in lasts.

Fade Out Select

Enable this option to apply a fade out to the audio.

Fade Out duration(sec)

Select the number of seconds that the fade out lasts.

Notes
No notes.

Audio Lowpass Filter

Description
6: ProCoder Reference

The Lowpass Filter can be used to remove high-frequency noise from

the audio. This is useful when humming or buzzing is present in the
audio.

Options
Settings
Cut-off Frequency (kHz)
Sets the maximum audio frequency in kilohertz for audio to be
preserved. Any sounds with a frequency higher than the selected
frequency will be removed from the audio.

Notes
No notes.

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Audio Normalize Filter

Description
The Normalize Filter is used to equalize the audio volume level.

Options
Normalize Method
Audio Normalize Method
Select the method of normalizing audio.

> Normalize to Mean RMS of sources Sets the average audio level to the average volume
level of all sources. This option is useful for equalizing audio levels when multiple sources
are stitched.

> Normalize Peak to specified DB level Adjusts the audio level so the loudest sound is
occurs at the specified decibel level.

DB Level
Normalize to DB level
Sets the decibel level to normalize the maximum peak audio level to. This option is only acvailable
when the Audio Normalize Method is set to Normalize Peak to specified DB level.

Notes
No notes.

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Audio Volume Filter
Description
The Volume Filter can be used to change the audio volume level.

Options
Settings
Volume
Set the volume adjustment level using the slider. A value of 1.00 leaves the volume level
unchanged. Values lower than 1.00 reduce the volume level while values greater than 1.00 increase
the volume level. 2.00 is the maximum value and represents doubling the volume.

Notes
No notes.

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ProCoder Preset Categories

Audio CD/DVD
> PCM > DivX

> MP3 > Computer

> VCD
DV
> AVI > DVD

> QuickTime > SVCD

> RawDV Application Specific

> Editing Software
Storage
> AVI > DVD production/
authoring
> DivX
> Hardware
> MPEG
> STB
> WM
Web
Handheld > MPEG
> DivX
> QuickTime
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> 3GPP
> ReadMedia
> RealMedia10
> WindowsMedia
HD
Image Sequence
> DivX

> MPEG

> WindowsMedia

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Glossary
 ProCoder 2.0

Authoring Refers to the process of taking your converted video files

and creating a DVD, VideoCD or Super VideoCD using a authoring
software package. Authoring software lets you do things like add
chapters or menus to your disc and allows it to be played on many
set-top players or computers. Examples of authoring software include
Adobe Encore DVD, Ulead DVD Workshop, Roxio Easy CD Creator and
Nero Burning ROM.

AVI Short for Audio Video Interleave, an early video format developed
by Microsoft for playback on Windows-based computers. AVI has been
officially replaced by Windows Media Video but is still a popular format
for both DV and CD-ROMs.

Bitrate The measurement of the number of data bits per second in

a file. Eight bits form one byte. Video files are normally measured in
thousands of bits, or kilobits per second (kbps). The higher the bitrate,
the larger the resulting file for a specified amount of time. Generally, the
higher the bitrate, the better the quality of the video.

Bitrate, Constant A video encoding mode where each frame of video

is encoded with a constant number of bits. There can be some variation
in particular frames, but the overall average bitrate remains the same
over a given time period. Constant bitrate video is generally easier to
play back than variable bitrate video because it provides a constant
flow of data.

Bitrate, 2-pass Variable A video encoding mode where two passes

are performed on the video. The first pass analyzes the complexity
of the video and the second pass encodes the video using different
bitrates depending on the results of the analysis. 2-pass variable bitrate
can produce better-looking video by reserving bits from areas of low
complexity for use in areas of higher complexity.

Codec Short for compressor/decompressor, a codec is software that

Glossary

compresses video for storage purposes and then decompresses it for

playback purposes. Codecs vary in quality - some are good for Web
video while others are better for broadcast-quality video.

Data Rate The amount of data that is used in the video. Data rate is
usually represented in thousands of bits per second or kilobits per
second (kbps), however, it can also be represented in other units such
as megabytes per second (MB/sec). Bitrate is a particular measurement
of data rate.

DivX A popular video compression method used for a wide range of

purposes including Web video and High Definition video storage and
playback. DivX uses MPEG-4 technology to achieve low bitrates and
small file sizes.

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 Glossary

DV In general use, stands for digital video, meaning any digital

representation of video. However, more recently it refers to the
Consumer DV format which is a video compression format used in
miniDV camcorders. In ProCoder, DV refers to the Consumer DV format.

DVD Popular format for storing and delivery high-quality video. DVDs
use MPEG-2 video to provide broadcast-quality playback, as well as
interactivity such as menus and chapter-points. DVDs can be played on
set-top DVD players, as well as computers with a DVD-ROM drive and
appropriate software.

Frame Rate The number of video frames shown per second. In

general, the higher the frame rate, the smoother the playback.

Frame Size Refers to the pixel size of your converted video. Youll
encounter a frame size option when you try to create CD-ROM or
HD video. For CD-ROM video, 320x240 is half the size vertically and
horizontally of full-screen video (640x480). For HD video, resolutions are
much higher so your options are 1920x1080 interlaced for 1080i, and
1280x720 for 720p.

MPEG Short for Motion Picture Experts Group, the MPEG video
format was created to provide a standard for compressing large-sized
digital video files into a smaller size. MPEG-1 was intended for video
delivered on CD-ROM, but can also be used for Web delivery. MPEG-
2 is a broadcast-quality video format that is used for DVDs and digital
television.

MPEG-1 Elementary Streams MPEG-1 Elementary streams carry

either audio or video, but not both.

The file extensions for MPEG-1 elementary streams are .mpv or .m1v
for video elementary streams and .mpa or .m1a for audio elementary
streams.

Glossary
MPEG-1 System Streams MPEG-1 System streams carry both video
and audio together in a multiplexed (mixed) arrangement where audio
and video data occur together.

The file extension for MPEG-1 system streams is .mpg but elementary
streams are often named .mpg as well.

MPEG-2 Elementary Streams MPEG-2 Elementary streams carry

either audio or video, but not both. Higher-end DVD authoring software
usually requires video in MPEG-2 elementary stream format.

The file extensions for MPEG-2 elementary streams are .m2v for video
elementary streams and .m2a for audio elementary streams.

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MPEG-2 Program Streams MPEG-2 Program streams carry both

video and audio together in a multiplexed (mixed) arrangement where
audio and video data occur together. Some DVD authoring applications
require MPEG-2 Program streams for input.

The file extension for MPEG-2 Program streams is .m2p but some
programs use .mp2 or .mpg instead.

MPEG-2 Transport Streams MPEG-2 Transport streams carry one

or more MPEG-2 Program streams. Transport streams include extra
data to provide additional robustness and are often used for satellite
transmissions and off-air HDTV broadcasts.

The file extension for MPEG-2 Transport streams is .m2t but some
programs use as .ts or .tp instead.

MPEG-4 Streams MPEG-4 streams can carry both video and audio as
well as additional data together in a multiplexed (mixed) arrangement.
MPEG-4 is often used for low-bandwidth video playback on handheld
devices and on low-bandwidth devices such as wireless phones.

The file extension for MPEG-4 streams is usually .mp4 but MPEG-4
streams are sometimes wrapped in QuickTime or AVI files.

Noise For video, typically refers to noticable dots, lines, or patterns

that should not be in the video. Noise is generally noticable in poor-
quality source video.

NTSC Short for North American Television Standards Committee.

NTSC defines a particular way a video signal can be communicated.
The NTSC broadcast format is used primarilly in the United States,
Canada and Japan. NTSC signals cannot be displayed by non-NTSC
devices, such as PAL format televisions. NTSC signals are displayed at
29.97 frames per second.
Glossary

Overscan Area Most video output devices, such as televisions, dont

show the entire video frame that is available. A small amount of the
videos edges is hidden and not shown. Essentially, the video image
shown is slightly smaller than the actual image being received. The
unseen edges are called the overscan area.

PAL Short for Phase Alternating Lines. PAL defines a particular way
a video signal can be communicated. The PAL broadcast format is
used primarilly in Asia (except Japan), Australia and Europe. PAL
signals cannot be displayed by non-PAL devices, such as NTSC format
televisions. PAL signals are displayed at 25 frames per second.

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 Glossary

Progressive Download A method of viewing video where the viewer

receives enough of the video file to start playback while it continues
to receive the remainder of the video during playback. Progressive
download allows the viewer to start watching the video before it has
been fully downloaded.

QuickTime Apples popular format for audio and video playback.

QuickTime supports a variety of additional interactivity features though
they are not used often. Mac OS systems use QuickTime as the primary
video format.

RealMedia A popular streaming video format created by

RealNetworks. RealMedia files provide varying quality video depending
on the capabilities of the client machine and the encoded video.

Resolution Typically refers to the frame size, but can also refer to
the density of pixels. 640x480 is generally considered full-screen for
computer video players.

Source video In ProCoder, source video refers to the source video file
you are going to convert.

Streaming The process of simultaneously receiving and viewing

video. Streaming video playback displays video as it is received, with
minimal, if any delay before playback begins. For good streaming video
quality, a fast connection to the streaming server is required.

Streaming Server A server which stores and delivers streaming

content. A streaming server is usually a special machine running
streaming server software that both stores and manages its viewers.
Examples of streaming servers include QuickTime Streaming Server,
Real Server and Windows Media Server.

Super VideoCD A CD-based video delivery format that uses MPEG-2

compression to provide better-than-VHS quality video playback and

Glossary
limited interactivity, such as menus and chapters. Super VideoCDs are
popular because they use standard CD media and can be played in both
computers as well as hardware Super VideoCD players and some DVD
players. Super VideoCD is sometimes shortened to SVCD.

Synchronization Refers to the audio matching the video being

displayed. The easiest way to check synchronization is to make sure the
dialog being spoken matches the mouth movements of the speaker.

Target video In ProCoder, target video refers to the video file created
after you convert your source file.

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VideoCD A CD-based video delivery format that uses MPEG-1

compression to provide near-VHS quality video playback and limited
interactivity, such as menus and chapters. VideoCDs are popular
because they use standard CD media and can be played in both
computers as well as hardware VideoCD players and some DVD
players. VideoCD is sometimes shortened to VCD.

VOB Abbreviation for Video OBject. VOB is the native file format for
DVD-Video discs. VOB files contain the audio and video data for the
DVD and may also contain additional information, such as subtitles.

Watch folder A folder or directory that is monitored by ProCoder so

that it can encode any files that are placed inside it.

Windows Media A popular video format developed by Microsoft.

Windows Media Video is the successor to the AVI format and is a
common format for streaming video as well as video archiving and
delivery.
Glossary

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Index
 Index

Symbols E
601 Correction - Expand Color Space 34, 138 EDIUS Plug-in 79
601 Correction - Shrink Color Space 34, 138
709 Correction - SD/HD Color Space 34, 139 F
Fade In/Out 35
A Fade In/Out Filter 147
Adaptive Deinterlace 34 Flash Source options 97
Add Letterbox/Scale & Crop slider 69 Frame Rate Conversion 67
Advanced Features 74
Application Settings 73
Audio Fade In/Out Filter 152
G
Gamma Correction 35
Audio Lowpass Filter 152 Gamma Correction Filter 147
Audio Normalize Filter 153 Gaussian Blur 35
Audio Source options 96 Gaussian Blur Filter 148
Audio Volume Filter 153
AVI Source options 96
AVI Target options 106 I
Improving your Video 84
Audio/Video Sync 88
B Blocky Video 84
Bitmap Keying 34 Cant load DVD 90
Black/White Correction 34 Fuzzy or Blurry Video 85
Black/White Correction Filter 142 Halos or Blocks 86
Blur 34 Jumpy Video 87
Blur Filter 143 Strange Patterns or Blocks 89
Stretched or Squashed Video 89
C Installing ProCoder 7
Circular Blur 34
Circular Blur Filter 143
Color Correction 34
L
Lets EDIT Plug-in 80
Color Correction Filter 144
Color Safe 35
Color Safe Filter 144 M
Command-line Automation 76 Maximizing ProCoder performance 82
Median 35
Index

Conversion Options tab 70

Convert Tab 56 Minimum System Requirements 6
Playing converted files 56 MP3 Audio Target options 114
Crop 35 MPEG-1 compliant scaling 69
Crop Filter 145 MPEG Source options 98
MPEG Target options 115
D
DivX Target options 109
Droplets 74
DV Source options 97
DV Target options 112

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 Index

P S
PCM Audio Target options 120 Scaling and Letterboxing 68
Premiere Plug-in 78 Source Options 94
Preset Categories 154 Source Playback Speed Adjustment 68
Presets and Profiles 57 Source Tab 28
Categories 154 Advanced window 32
Loading and Saving Custom Settings 57 Audio Filter tab 39
Loading and Saving Target profiles 57 Adding a Filter 40
ProCoder Wizard 12 Loading and Saving filters 41
Choose Conversion Settings 14 Preview 41
Selecting a Target format 15 Removing a Filter 40
Selecting Generic Targets 16 Settings 41
Choosing Output Location 17 Source Properties 28
Confiming Your Settings 18 Video Filter tab 34
Advanced Output Settings 18 Adding a Filter 36
Conversion Finished 19 Loading and Saving filters 37
Converting Files 19 Preview Windows 37
Convert a Source 12 Removing a Filter 37
Changing Source Parameters 13 Still Image Source options 100
Create a Watch Folder 20
Monitoring Watch Folders 21
Other Watch Folder Options 21
T
Target Options 102
Target Tab 42
Q Advanced window 46
Queue Manager 58 Assigning Targets 42
Cancelling and managing jobs 59 Audio Filter Tab 53
Clearing the Queue 63 Adding a Filter 54
Managing Jobs 60 Audio Filters 53
Viewing Jobs 60 Loading and Saving filters 55
Non-segmented and Segmented Jobs 61 Preview 55
Managing non-segmented Jobs 61 Removing a Filter 54
Managing segmented Jobs 62 Settings 55
QuickStart 24 Customizing Advanced Settings 45

Glossary
Assigning a Target format 26 Modifying Targets 44
Converting the file 27 Video Filter tab 48
QuickTime Export Target options 126 Adding a Filter 50
QuickTime Source options 99 Loading and Saving filters 51
QuickTime Target options 121 Preview Windows 51
Removing a Filter 51
R Video filters 48
Transcoding Settings 67
Raw DV Target options 127
RealMedia Target options 128 Processing Options tab 67
Recommended System Requirements 6
U
Using Filters 83
When to apply filters 83
Why filters are necessary 83

163
 Index

V
Video Filters 138
601 Correction - Expand 138
601 Correction - Shrink 138
Video Pulldown 35
Video Pulldown Filter 149
Video Rotate 35
Video Rotate Filter 149
Video Sharpen 35
Video Sharpen Filter 150
Video Temporal Noise Reducer 35, 151

W
Watch Folders 20, 63
Creating Permanent Watch Folders 64
Removing Permanent Watch Folders 66
Windows Media Source options 101
Windows Media Target options 132
Index

164