EncodeHD Beta & New Website Launched!
I’ve finally gotten everything together and ready to rock! 
So firstly, let’s talk EncodeHD. Look at the current beta release (0.71) as a ‘technology preview’ of sorts. The idea here is to verify that we’ve got the primary encoding mechanisms up to scratch. So what I’m looking for here is to make sure that video converts for all devices as expected and that the quality is good (or great).
The key things to note for EncodeHD are:
- Outputted video is MPEG4 and H.264 with AAC (or AC3) audio, NOT WMV (this is not strictly for X-Box 360 anymore)
- This means that 5.1 audio for the X-Box 360 is not yet supported in these formats
- Subtitles are also not yet possible, although I’m looking into it
As of now, there’s still a lot of unimplemented functionality that will be added later. If you want to see something in particular, please let me know. However, if it’s going to cludge up the interface and start making things complex, I may not implement requests. We’ll have to see.
One of the nice things about EncodeHD is that it has built-in bug reporting. If you hit a problem, it will ask you if you want to submit a bug report – including all the details I need to help solve the issue. If however, the problem is with video output, it may not detect any problems. In this case, could I ask you to email my bug-tracking system: cases@dcunningham.fogbugz.com, and attach the EncodeHD.Log file which you can find in your Temp folder (Click Start > Run and type %TEMP% to access it).
EncodeHD is available for download in the EncodeHD section.
Now, onto the website redesign. I’ve scrapped the forums as you might have noticed. I’m afraid it was proving difficult for bug-tracking, so that’s why I’ve implemented the FogBugz system. This can be used for submitting questions and bug-reports on all of my apps. Otherwise, comments are still enabled on posts. To counter for the lack of Forums, I’ve added a FAQ to each application. If you think something should be added here, please drop me an email via the Contact Form.
So, that’s it. Please let me know your thoughts on both EncodeHD and the site!
Dan
Will EncodeHD support simple (almost 1 click) conversion of files to h.264 in MP4 containers (for Xbox 360) or whatever container is best able to serve 5.1?
As you are well aware, most items come native in .mkv containers and your Encode360 does a bang up job of making them WMV’s currently…just hoping you do something like import a 360 tab in the GUI with options to easily output to 360 in .mp4 or whatever…thanks again for Encode360
The idea is to have a 1-click solution – however the X360 doesn’t support 5.1 through H.264. EncodeHD can output H.264 with AC3 passthrough, if the AppleTV preset is selected.
Will a Linux version be available? I’d be happy to try it out on my Playstation3.
Afraid not, although if the project gained enough support, it might be possible to port it using Mono – though I have no experience with this at all.
It’s called Encode360 for a reason. Get an Xbox!
Actually, it’s called EncodeHD – precisely because it supports more than the Xbox
Will be interesting to see if the output h.264 results are DXVA compliant, so our PCs can benefit from hardware acceleration. Nice work!
I’m using EncodeHD, It seems great and really speedy,but i have a question,
¿what container and codec it uses in the xbox360 profile?
Video is either MPEG4 or H.264. Ummm, I *think* mainline profile 3.1 but can’t remember off the top of my head. Audio is 2 channel AAC – all in the MP4 container.
Dan
Trying this out now. Hope it can get to a point where it does 5.1 for my 360. Right now i use mkv2vob and have to stream all videos to my playstation 3, but i have 3 other xbox 360s in the house, so if I could get the videos to play on all of those, I’d be in business. Trying out EncodeHD now on a sample VOB, so let’s see how it works.
Just tried it now, I’ve been using Encode360 to reencode music vids to my Zune 80gb, which Encode360 does an excellent job.
Unfortunately, the same source music vid when I use EncodeHD, and selecting Zune profile, the resulting .mp4 file has lipsync problems on my PC, and it also stayed the same resolution as the source.
I’m on 64-bit Vista, but I’m very much looking forward to this. I’ve used Encode360 for a lot of my Zune/Xbox 360 requirements in the past.
One feature I would like to see with this is the ability to watch a folder. I think this is the biggest downfall with MKV2VOB (and that it messes up the ratio when it has to reencode files).
I think all the work you have done upto now has been more than worth it for me!
I tried your new app encode hd 0.71 and the first .MKV file i converted, streamed to my Xbox 360 perfectly.
It also played back on my pc perfectly also.
Personally for me the only thing i wish EncodeHD had was a priority feature as it is very hard on resources!
Apart from that it is a very nice first beta program!
Well done Dan
I think all the work you have done upto now has been more than worth it for me!
I tried your new app encode hd 0.71 and the first .MKV file i converted, streamed to my Xbox 360 perfectly.
It also played back on my pc perfectly also.
Personally for me the only thing i wish EncodeHD had was a priority feature as it is very hard on resources!
Apart from that it is a very nice first beta program!
Well done Dan
very good idea
PLEASE prioritize getting 5.1 in a file that the 360 can read. This is the only thing its missing in my opinion.
I would agree Bryan no 5.1 for the Xbox is a deal breaker for me on this one.