Minor update to Encode360 Beta 5 now available
December 28, 2006
Dan has fixed a few bugs that were present in the initial release of beta 5:
- Frame rate was sometimes calculated incorrectly which caused encoding to fail
- Percentage Complete was way off. Hopefully I’ve sorted this out now.
- Duration was always reported in seconds. Should now be reported in H/M/S.
- Output resolution said “N/A” when not autoscaling. It now correctly says the same as the Input resolution
You can download the new version from here
Encode360 Beta 5 almost in time for Noel
December 26, 2006
All,
I’m semi-pleased to release a new beta of Encode360. I say semi-pleased, because I’ve implemented a couple of nifty new features that are bound to please a number of people. I’m semi-unhappy, because I didn’t manage to get everything in here that I would’ve liked to. I’ve gone ahead and released anyway, as I was under pressure to resolve a number of outstanding bugs.
One of the key aspects of this beta is the scrappage of FFMpeg. It’s no longer required. Instead, I’m using a very impressive bit of code called MediaInfo which is specifically designed to gather vasts amount of info about different media formats. FFMpeg really was just a stop-gap until something better turned up, and I’m glad to say MediaInfo is doing an impressive job on discovering the details of nearly every file format I throw at it. However, there’s no telling what new problems might be introduced as a result. I haven’t had any, but someone else might. I’ll tackle issues as they arise. Just remember, this is a beta 
One of the niceties I had planned was DVD Ripping, provided you had DVD Decrypter installed. The problem with this is, DVD Decrypter is heavily out of date and doesn’t support a lot of newer DVD encryptions. In order to overcome this, you need something like AnyDVD to work around encryption, and then still use DVD Decrypter to pull out the relevant video / audio streams. I also still haven’t figured out the details of ripping a TV series instead of a movie.
If someone would be willing to help on this aspect of it, I’d be grateful for the help.
So! What’s new in beta 5 eh?
Added
- Automatic correction for Non-Square-Pixel videos. This should resolve most Aspect Ratio issues
- OGM File Support (Except for subtitles, although someone could probably build an PPS like the MKV one?)
- Added DVR-MS as a filetype (may or may not work. I can’t find a codec that works with this)
- Ability to set additional settings through Encode360.Exe.XML
- Video Buffer Size (Bitrate Modes Only - Default 3000)
- Video Buffer Max (Peak Bitrate Mode Only - Default 5000)
- Video Image Sharpness (Quality Based VBR Mode Only - Default 100)
- Video Keyframe Distance (Default 2000)
- Can move processed files to the Recycle Bin by specifying “RECYCLE BIN” as the move path
- PostProcessing Scriptlets
- If a PreProcessing Scriptlet exists, the filetype it’s for gets added to the supported format list
Changed
- Major Major Change - No more FFMPEG! Now uses MediaInfo 0.7.4.3 Libraries
- This has a lot of knock-on effects and is likely to have fixed a lot of reported bugs, but maybe caused new ones
- Fail-over to No Progress if MediaInfo can’t determine the source duration
- Selecting Output to Zune or Zune Bitrate now auto enables 2 channel downmix as well as setting all other Zune defaults
- Numerous failsafes implemented to prevent encodes from failing
- Expanded out the abilities of PreProcessing Scriptlets
- If using the MKV Subtitle PPS, you’ll need to re-download from here
Fixed
- Arithmetic error in timerPercentComplete_Tick would occur if WME couldn’t determine the source duration
- Default settings for 802.11b in an unconfigured environment were too high
- Numerous cosmetic and logging bugs
As always, Encode360 is DonationWare, and what with this being a one-man development project, it’s eating into vast amounts of my time for what at times seems to be a very thankless job. Additionally, this site has seen enormous traffic over the past few weeks, so I’ve had to up my hosting package, which incurs a direct cost on me. So if you feel that the app is worth it, please donate something and keep the project alive. You’ll feel better about yourself I promise
Download Encode360 2.0 b5 from here
No encode360 Christmas Present
December 24, 2006
Sorry folks, but I seriously doubt I’m going to have Encode360 2.0b5 done in time for Christmas. 
I’ve hit a number of technical issues that I’m just not going to have solved in time. Basically, I’ve managed to scrap FFMpeg so it’s no longer used, and has been replaced by MediaInfo (http:/mediainfo.sourceforge.net) Libraries.
This gives a number of really great advantages. Firstly, I’m no longer parsing a CLI output to get the relevant info I need as it’s all done through COM. Secondly and more importantly, if I bundle MediaInfo as part of Encode360, it ensures that everyone’s using the same version which makes debugging problems easier. And finally, MediaInfo gathers a FAR greater amount of info from each file, since this is what it’s designed to do - the FFMpeg CLI was only giving very basic info.
As well as this, I’ve been trying to work out a good method for ripping DVD’s straight to WMV. It’s pretty tricky as you’ve got decryption to worry about, and also getting the correct audio / subtitle streams based on your language. I might have to do some sort of UI specifically for DVDs.
On the plus side, I’ve managed to fix a number of bugs that have been reported. The only thing I’m fairly stumped about, is codec issues. They can manifest in a number of ways, usually “No Codec Found” or “Protected Memory” errors. There really is not a lot I can do about these. And it seems it doesn’t matter if it works in Windows Media Player - it’s Windows Media Encoder that has issues dealing. The best troubleshooting tip is to try encoding directly in WME. If it works, then it’s likely a problem with Encode360, if not, then it’s codecs.
If someone has the time, I’d appreciate if someone would help put together a repository of video files in every format we can. At that point we can probably start figuring out an optimal codec setup.
Dan
Encode360 beta 4 now available
December 19, 2006
Dan Cunningham just released a new version of Encode360. This is the best solution to convert video files for proper playback on you XBOX 360 console and Zune player.
Encode360 beta 4 changelog:
Added
- Force Quality Based Audio option
- Force 2-Channel Downmix option
Changed
- Lots of audio encoding changes. You don’t need to know the technical details, except for that 2-pass audio encoding modes use CBR audio, unless forced to Quality based VBR. These are the only two encoding options that don’t cause an overwhelming amount of problems.
- Audio bitrates are now validated to ensure that the encoding mode / codec supports them
- Reverted back to configuring AC3Filter when using 5.1 audio (main culprit of the Invalid Media Format errors)
- Moving a processed file no longer fails if the file is in use (ie, being seeding by a torrent application). Will write a warning to the log instead
Fixed
- Monitor / Create / Move files options couldn’t be removed if you had saved settings
- Deleting or moving a file in a monitored folder would cause an error
- Component checks could cause an error if a specific component wasn’t found
Rolled-up beta 3a changelog:
Fixed:
- Selecting Zune as output resolution while using a Bitrate mode resulted in a "SelectedIndex" error
- Using the /Auto commandline switch with Monitor mode resulted in a "No files selected" error
- Minimise to System Tray didn’t minimise the PostView and Advanced Settings windows if they were open
Download it from here
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New blood and Transcode 360 for Vista released
December 12, 2006
If you were a little concerned over the future of Transcode 360 allow me to allay those fears. Its been only a fortnight since runtime shared a limited release of the source code with James Botham, and runtime is really impressed with how quickly James has gotten to grips with it.
James has completed porting the project to .NET 2.0, dealt with the changes introduced by Vista Media Center, deciphered my arcane installer script and written some Windows Firewall helper application to simplify installation. His enthusiasm has even rubbed off on runtime, such that he has keen to dabble with MCML and perhaps work on a newer, flashier, user interface for the Vista crowd.
If you’re running Vista RTM you may be interested to know that James has released an early beta build, be sure to check out the release notes and forum posts as there are a couple of known issues that can easily be worked around.
Download Transcode 360 Vista RTM Beta over here and feel free to leave feedback in the forums.
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Encode360 has found a new home
December 11, 2006
Hey Guys,
Apologies for being so quiet over the past few days. We’ve been working very hard on beta 3, trying to add a lot of new features, and generally make the application easier to use for the average joe, and more customisable for the advanced people. I’ve also been busy on setting up a new website / forum specifically for Encode360.
Please note that all future developments on Encode360 will be housed at http://dcunningham.net. The new forums are at http://dcunningham.net/forum
The UI has had a complete overhaul in order to streamline the process and not scare away the non-techies, however the additional customisation abilities should certainly keep the more advanced user interested.
Here’s a screenshot of the current iteration. There’s still a huge amount of work to be done on this, and it’s likely that the interface will be re-jigged a bit, but just to give you an idea of where it’s going:
Head on over to the new forums to discuss!
Dan
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Encode 360 Beta 2c now available
December 1, 2006
Encode360 2.0 to beta 2c is now available. This new release sort out some problems, mainly x64 support. It should now work!!! Smile Please remember to follow the install instructions below, and most importantly, install WME - otherwise you’ll get application execution errors. This is because the COM Interop for WME doesn’t find the required DLLs and bombs out. I don’t know if there’s anything I can do to fix this
You can get it at this link:
http://www.stalltheball.com/360/Encode360_2.0b2c.Zip
Changed
- Specifically compiled for x86 architecture to force x64 to switch to emulation.
- Better definitions on logging
- Removed "Show in Explorer" option. It’s just too buggy.
- Better error checking on support routines
- Determining output resolution no longer happens if Autoscaling isn’t switched on
- If a component is missing, the relevant page is opened and now the application also exits to prevent errors
Fixed
- If the video bitrate can’t be discovered with FFMpeg, you can still continue
- Not auto-scaling outputted the file at a weird resolution
- UI culture-handling. Should now work regardless of your regional settings
- x64 FFDShow wasn’t being recognised correctly
- Parsing FFMpeg was a bit dodgy on MKV files. This is fixed, but further investigation needs to be done to get the encoding part working properly.
- Version number information wasn’t consistent across all forms / notify icons
Dan
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