Best Encoder?

[Joe Riggs]

Which one delivers the highest quality encodes, which is the fastest, and which ones do certain tasks better than the others ?

Apple's Compressor
Adobe Media Encoder
Handbrake
Sorenson Squeeze
Telestream Episode


I'm trying to find at least an agreed upon peer opinion on which is the best for web streaming delivery.

Having only used 2 of the above programs myself, I would say compressor does deliver a slightly superior result than Adobe but it is pain stakingly slow. I have yet to use Compressor 4 though so maybe they sped things up.

 

[Dunkan Wolf]

Telestream Episode if you have a fast workstation. It scales really well with multi core systems.

 

[Stacey Spears]

I assume you are asking about H.264 encoding. x264 is probably the king of H.264 encoding. No one has really wrapped it with a GUI that exposes all the settings. I think Handbrake is built on x264, though not sure what settings they use. That makes all the difference in the world. I think Adobe is built on Main Concept. I know several companies that stopped using Main Concept when they changed ownership.

MSU has an annual codec shootouts. Appears the last one they published was in 2012, which is a lifetime ago. Technology marches on.

In terms of H.265, it is too early to tell. x265 is one to watch as it will probably advance the fastest. Main Concept and Vanguard are common SDKs that 3rd parties use to build the app on.

None of the ones you mention are really used to author premium content for optical disc as they don't expose the scene-by-scene re-encoding feature that is required. If you really want good advice on encoding, Reduser is not the best forum. I recommend Doom9 for encoder questions, of course most of them use for "backup" whatever that means. And there is a lot of attitude on Doom9, but it really is your best resource for encoding.