TMPGEnc

TMPGEnc, written is one of the most versatile programs to encode AVI's to MPEG's. It probably has the most settings that can be changed to influence the final result and is therefore the most popular program for MPEG-encoding. You can also perform several other functions, like cutting and pasting of MPEG's.

1. History

TMPGEnc, short for Tsunami MPEG Encoder, was written by Hiroyuki Hori from Japan. The first release was done some time in the mid 1990's and it was distributed for free directly from Hori's website www.tmpgenc.net. It can also encode to MPEG-2 and since MPEG-2 technology is patented and therefore subject to royalty payments, this feature had a time limit of 30 days. But Hori would release at least one new version every month, so when your MPEG-2 time limit was expired you could download a new version and you would again start at day 0. We would call that ultimate creativity to keep a program with patented technology free for the public! However, in 2002, TMPGenc finally went commercial through a company called Pegasys. They sell a commercial version TMPGEnc Plus, which has a 14 day trial period. The freeware version, including the 30 days MPEG-2 limitation, can still be downloaded from Hori's original website. But updates are not as frequent anymore, so for uninterrupted MPEG-2 encoding, you will have to buy the commercial version. Anyway, it is definitely worth the modest price they charge for it. In 2004, Pegasys launched a completely new version called TMPGEnc Express. And the licensing and activation strategy is the complete opposite of the earlier free software philosophy of Hori. This product requires periodical activation, even long after you have bought the product...

2. Encoding quality

Quality of MPEG-encoding has been a topic of much debate. Of course there is the normal quality dependency on whether MPEG-1 or MPEG-2 is being used and the applied bitrate. But there even can be a quality difference between two MPEG's with the same bitrate encoded from the same source material. The issue is that encoding can be done using all kinds of different algorithms. Certain algorithms are better for low static video with a low level of detail and others are better for video with a lot of movement and lots of detail. The best encoder is the one that analyzes every frame (and actually a series of frames) in detail and then adapts its way of encoding it to that analysis. Unfortunately the encoding process takes an enormous amount of processing, so compromises have to be made between quality and the time it takes to do the encoding. So, having an encoder where you can make your own compromise between settings and required time is great to have. And this is exactly TMPGEnc's strong point.

3. TMPGEnc templates

TMPGenc comes with a number of templates containing a combination of settings. They are stored in the folder Template under the TMPGEnc folder. Examples of such templates are for VCD, SVCD, and DVD both PAL and NTSC. They can be loaded by selecting Load in the main window. If you load one of these predefined templates you will notice that certain settings can not be changed. This is done to prevent that settings are changed that will bring you outside the specification for the type that you selected. However you can unlock these settings by selecting Unlock in the Extra folder. You can also create your own templates by changing settings according your own preferences and press Save.

4. TMPGEnc Encoding quality settings

One of the nicest things of TMPGEnc is that you can influence the quality by changing all kinds of settings. Below I have listed a number of settings that you can use to improve your quality.

Motion Precision Search

The most obvious setting to influence quality can be found on the first tab of the Setting menu: Motion search precision. It suggests that you can make your own compromise between quality and encoding speed and that is what it does. If you are encoding MPEG-2 you can do a 2-pass VBR (Variable Bitrate) encoding, but this will double the encoding time. For DVD it is also a good idea to set DC Component precision to 10. For viewing on TV use Interlace, for PC Progressive. Interlacing is not allowed for VideoCD.

Block noise and other artifacts

One of the most disturbing artifacts in MPEG video is what people generally refer to as blockiness. It is the phenomenon that the image seems to be built up out of small squares. Specially if you use MPEG-1 for VCD this can be very noticeable. A very well known example when this occurs is on scenes with flowing water or a water surface with small ripples. One of the tools that can be used to decrease that effect can be found on the Quantize Matrix tab called Reduce block noise. It definitely works but it will also result in loss of some detail. You can refine it by changing settings for Intra block noise and Non-intra block noise at the bottom of the tab.

Another useful setting on this tab is Use floating point DCT. For the mathematicians among our readers: DCT is the Discrete Cosine Transformation, a matrix calculation used while calculating the MPEG. If this option is enabled the calculation will be done with larger precision yielding a general improvement in picture quality. Downside is that it takes more time so it will increase the encoding time.

The last one that I want to mention from this tab is No motion search for still picture.... This option will reduce blur around non moving objects with sharp edges. This is very useful for scenes with a title superimposed on the video. However, if such object makes small movements, the result will be worse than when this option is not used at all.

Filters to improve quality

Under the Advanced tab, TMPGEnc contains a number of extra filters. Two filters that can be used to improve quality are Noise reduction and Sharpen edge. Checking the box enables the filter. When you double click on the filter a window pops up where you can fine tune the selected filter. Nice thing about it is that you will see a preview window where the result of changing filter settings can be watched. The only filter that I personally ever use is the Noise reduction filter.

5. Batch encoding

Encoding costs a lot of time, so it is a process that you probably want to run overnight. If you have more files that you want to encode you can create a batch and have them all encoded one after each other without having to start each one yourself. You create a batch by starting as usual, loading the AVI and change the settings to your likings. But in stead of pressing Start, select File -> Add current project to batch list. Enter a name for the MPEG and a new window will open with the job in a job list. Leave it as is or close the window and return to the TMPGEnc main window. Now you can define the next job in a similar way. Once you have defined all the jobs, you can start Run in the Jobs window and the batch encoding will start. In the main window an extra checkbox will also appear where you can select if you want TMPGEnc to shut down the computer after it processed all the jobs. You can also save job lists and open them for later encoding.

6. Cutting and pasting MPEG's

This is very useful if your MPEG is too big for one VCD or SVCD. But you can also use it as a very basic mpeg editing tool. The tool can be found under File -> MPEG Tools -> Merge & Cut. Through Add, you can add MPEG's to a list. By selecting a file in the list and pressing Edit a preview window appears.

In this window you can play or move the slider to any position in the video. Begin and end point, defining the part of the video you want to use, are created by pressing { and }. The final result will be a new file in which all the selected parts are put behind each other. The original files will remain unchanged. If you want to use it to cut a file in two parts, you will have to use the tool twice. Once for creating a file containing the first part and once for creating a file containing the second part.

7.Multiplexing and de-multiplexing

TMPGEnc also offers the possibility to multiplex or de-multiplex video/audio files. The tools can be found under File -> MPEG Tools. Simple Multiplex will enable you to merge separate video and audio files into one file. With Simple De-Multiplex a file can be split into an audio and a video file. Multiplex and De-Multiplex let you work with files with multiple data streams.

8. Problems reading AVI's

TMPGEnc has several ways of accessing video files. Not every way is compatible with each of the different types of files. The way to read files is controlled in a priority list that can be found through Option -> Environmental Setting -> VFAPI plugin. A reader can be enabled or disabled by clicking on the check box and it's priority can be increased or decreased by right clicking on it. Hori recommends to use his own reader, AVI2(OpenDML), so this should have a high priority. However, in order to read Type-1 DV-AVI files (generated by most programs capturing through a Firewire port) you will have to use the DirectShow Multimedia File Reader so you should give that a high priority. In the case you are frameserving, you actually have to disable that, because TMPGEnc will refuse to open it when this reader is enabled.