Elecard Converter Studio User Guide Version 3.
Notices Elecard Converter Studio User Guide First edition: December 2006 Date modified: 11 September, 2013. For information, contact Elecard. Phone: +7-3822-492-609; Fax: +7-3822-492-642 More information can be found at http://www.elecard.com. For Technical Support, please contact the Elecard Technical Support Team: tsup@elecard.com Elecard provides this publication “as is” without warranty of any kind, either expressed or implied. This publication may contain technical inaccuracies or typographical errors.
CONTENTS 1. INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................................................................... 4 1.1 PREFACE .............................................................................................................................................................................. 4 1.2 USING THIS GUIDE ...............................................................................................................
1. Introduction 1.1 Preface Elecard Converter Studio is intended for professional conversion of media files at high-speed with high quality. The program converts video data into MPEG-1, MPEG-2, MPEG-4 ASP, AVC/H.264 (MPEG-4 Part 10), DV25, AVI Uncompressed and AVI HuffYUV formats. Audio data is converted into MPEG-1/2 Audio Layer I/II, AAC and WAV formats. 1.2 Using This Guide The guide is intended for users and developers.
2. Describing Elecard Converter Studio 2.1 Converter Studio Features Elecard Converter Studio is the program (series of programs) that performs the format conversion of media files at high-speed and with high quality. It supports the Watch Folder Mode that provides automatically converting of files from specified folder and can be started as Windows® service. The program allows user to use computing power of locally networked PCs for common task list encoding (distributed computing).
MPEG-1/2 Layer I/II, AAC, LPCM and WAV PCM audio encoding. Support of different audio formats allows selection of the optimal encoding format for every task. Work with DVD. Allows conversion of the whole DVD or only the selected parts. Advertisement insertion. Allows advertisements adding to a file during conversion. Specifying part for transcoding. Allows transcoding the specified part of the file. Chapter Points adding.
Features LPCM AAC Mobile √ √ AVCHD √ - Consumer √ √ Pro √ √ ProHD √ √ Supported Video Encoding Formats Maximal resolution limits MPEG-1/2 MPEG-4 ASP AVC/H.264 DV25 HEVC/H.265 √ (720x576) √ (MP@ML) √ √ (Main@3.1) √ - √ (MP@HL) √ - √ (MP@HL) √ √ (High@5.1) √ - √ (720x576) √ (HP@HL) √ (HP@HL) √ √ √ (High@5.1) √ (High@5.
2.
Elecard Converter Studio supports the following input formats: AVI Uncompressed files (RGB, YV12, YUY2) DV25, DV50, DV100, MPEG-4 SP/ASP (AVI, MOV files) AVS (Avisynth Script) MPEG-1/2 (MPEG PS/TS, VES, ES, XPL) MPEG-4 SP/ASP (MOV, MP4, MPEG PS/TS, VES, XPL) AVC/H.
3. Elecard Converter Studio Interface This section describes the Elecard Converter Studio GUI. Figure 1. Elecard Converter Studio – Main Window Batch List panel is the main program window that displays information about the tasks that will be converted. It also enables to manage tasks, change their settings and launch conversion process. Profiles panel contains the available profiles list with the brief description of their settings.
Statistics panel displays the encoding process information. 3.1 Main Menu The program main menu provides convenient access to the frequently used commands. All of the commands are divided into groups. Figure 1. Figure 2. Figure 3. Figure 4.
Figure 5. Figure 6. Elecard Converter Studio – Main Menu – Window Elecard Converter Studio – Main Menu – Help 3.2 Batch List Panel When you start Elecard Converter Studio for the first time, the Batch list is empty. Tasks will be created after media files are added to the Batch list for conversion. Each task has the following information: name, conversion profile, status and path of the output folder for the converted files. Figure 1.
— Load Batch List. Click this button to load the earlier saved list of tasks. When a new tasks list is loaded, the previous one is cleared. — Save Batch List. Click this button to save the Batch list in order to open and use it later. — Clear Batch List. Clears the Batch list. — Delete Selected Task. Deletes the selected tasks from the Batch list. — Fast Task Profile Changing. Allows quickly changing the conversion profile and the output folder of the selected tasks.
Figure 1. Batch List — Shortcut Menu Add File(s) to Batch List... — adds media files to the Batch list. The task parameters must be adjusted before the encoding process start. For more information see the Task Parameters Changing section. Add File(s) to Batch List with profile... — adds media files to the Batch list with profile. In this mode, when the file is opened, the encoding profile and output folder must be specified in the appeared window.
etc. There is overall information about the encoding parameters of every profile: audio and video format, bitrate and optional filters presence. Figure 1. Profiles Panel There are control elements at the upper-left corner of the panel. — Add New Profile. Allows saving the open task parameters as profile. After saving, the profile appears in the profiles list and can be applied to other tasks. — Delete Profile. Deletes a profile from the available profiles list.
Figure 1. Profiles – Shortcut Menu In addition to the controls, there is the Speed/Quality slider. Some profiles allow speed/quality ratio adjustment for encoding. Use the Fastest mode in order to adjust the maximum encoding speed. And vice versa, the Highest mode provides the maximum quality. The optimal speed/quality ratio is set with the Optimal mode. Note: Speed/quality ratio should be adjusted before applying a profile. 3.
— Logo and Advertisement Insertion overlays a static picture on the video during conversion and inserts advertisement in the file. For more information see Section “Logo and Advertisement Insertion”. — Audio Encoding Parameters allows setting audio parameters and using optional filters for work with audio streams. For more information see Section “Audio Encoding Parameters”. 3.5 Preview Panel The Preview panel allows viewing the source video and controlling its playback.
track encoding will be started, and the frame where the track encoding will be finished. — Go to the beginning/end of the part for encoding. Sets current position to the first/last frame of the part for encoding. — Remove the encoding part boundaries. Disables the partial encoding mode. The selected track will be converted entirely. — Adds chapter points. Adds key frames to the specified positions during the encoding process. For more information see Section “Add Chapter Points”.
Figure 1. Messages Panel 3.7 Cluster Panel The Cluster panel allows Converter Studio to use computing power of locally networked PCs for common task list encoding (distributed computing). The cluster node works in one of the following modes: Independent Watch Folder. The nodes working in this mode perform folder monitoring independently of one another and of main computer. Work folder, profile, and additional settings are specified for each node. Controlled by main computer.
node click the Add cluster node command from the shortcut menu (right-click opened) or click the button dialog. . Set the selected node parameters on the appeared Cluster node parameters Figure 2. Table 1. Cluster Node Parameters Dialog Cluster Node Parameters Dialog Controls Control Description Address Port Work mode Spesifies the IP address of remote computer on which the Converter Studio service is installed.
Figure 1. Cluster Shortcut Menu Add cluster node — adds cluster node to the available nodes list. Delete cluster node — deletes cluster node from the available nodes list. The same operation can be done with the button click. Clear the list — clears the available nodes list. The same operation can be done with the button click. Skip the current task — allows the current task skipping on any node. Selet the node and click the Skip the current task command.
will be displayed in the form corresponding to the selected work mode. The Watch Folder mode is described in the Watch Folder Mode section. 3.8 Watch Folder Mode The Watch Folder mode provides the automatic conversion of any media files that are located in a folder or on a FTP server using the selected profile. If this mode is enabled, the program monitors the folder or FTP serner content, creates tasks for every media file in Batch list and starts encoding.
Tools – Watch Folder Mode Figure 2. The following table describes the Watch Folder Mode controls. Table 1. Watch Folder Mode Controls Control Enabled Watch Subdirectories Копировать с FTP Input Folder Output Folder Копировать на FTP Profile Speed/Quality Description Enables/Disables the Watch Folder mode. In this mode the program automatically scans the selected folder (or FTP server).
3.9 Statistics Panel The Statistics panel displays various information about the converting process. In particular, it displays the currently encoded task name, the number of encoded frames, the encoding speed, the remaining encoding time, disk free space. In the Streaming mode the CPU usage chart is depicted as well. The panel allows user to select the cluster node for statistical information displaying, to skip the task encoding in the File mode, and to stop the encoding process. Figure 1.
4. Adding Files for Conversion When you start working with Elecard Converter Studio, first open media files and add tasks for conversion. There are some methods to add a new task: Click the Add File(s) to Batch List button on the Batch List panel or click the right mouse button to open the shortcut menu and select Add File(s) to Batch List…. Figure 1. Batch List Panel – Add File(s) to Batch List Select required files for conversion in the appeared window.
Figure 1. File Menu Change encoding parameters if it is necessary and save the task in the Batch list. Click the Save to batch list button on the Task Parameters panel or click the Save Task to Batch List button on the Batch List panel. For more information about task settings see the Task Parameters Changing section. Another method to add a new task: On the File menu, click Open Media Files… or press CTRL+M to open the Open Media File(s) dialog box.
Figure 1. Open Media File(s) Dialog Box This method allows opening both a separate file and also a group of files by using different modes of task setting. First, you should set a files list. So, click button and select media files for conversion in the open window. To clear the files list use button. The following table describes Open Media File(s) dialog box controls. Table 1.
Control Add to Batch list Use profile Profile Speed/Quality Description Adds tasks to Batch list automatically according to the selected mode. Allows applying one profile to all tasks. If different settings are required for encoding, then this option must be disabled and tasks should be set separately. Allows the user to select the most suitable profile from the profiles list.
5. Saving, Applying and Changing Task Parameters The task has the Init waiting status if its profile is not specified. It means that the task will not be executed. Even if the task is ready for conversion, in some cases task parameters should be changed. There are some methods to change task settings. These methods differ from each other in features (from simple mode, when the ready profile is applied to the task, up to completely adjustable mode, when all settings are available to the user). 5.
Figure 1. Batch List – Fast Profile Changing In the open dialog box you can change the profile, adjust the Speed/Quality ratio and specify the output folder for saving of the encoded files. Figure 1. Fast Task Profile Changing Dialog Box The following table describes Fast Task Profile Changing controls: Table 1.
Control Description provides the maximum quality. The optimal speed/quality ratio is provided with the Optimal mode. 5.3 Task Parameters Changing To change any task parameters (add filters, disable unused tracks, etc.) click the Change Task Parameters button. Then the Task Parameters panel opens. You can also double-click the selected task in the Batch List panel to open this panel or use the shortcut menu by right-clicking the task. Figure 1.
Figure 1. Figure 2.
Figure 3. Task Parameters – DVD Tab Note: Converter Studio provides support of subtitles during conversion of DVD files. When media data is multiplexed into Transport Stream format, DVD subtitles are transformed to DVB subtitles. Otherwise the encoded video can be overlaid with one selected subtitle track. 5.5 Stream Type Parameters Click button to open the Stream Type Parameters group. It allows changing the output file parameters: stream type, compatibility, the number of encoding passes.
Figure 1. Task Parameters – Stream Type Parameters The following table describes Stream Type Parameters controls. Table 1.
Control Description Stream Type Allows selecting the output stream type. Depending on the selected stream type some audio and video encoding formats can be unavailable. Elementary — output audio and/or video streams will be saved into separate files without multiplexing. MPEG-1 Systemm — output streams will be multiplexed into System Stream and will be saved into the single file. MPEG-2 Program — output streams will be multiplexed into Program Stream and will be saved into the single file.
5.6 Video Encoding Parameters Click to open the Video Encoding Parameters group. It allows adjusting general settings for video encoders. By selecting a track from the video list (if there is a list of tracks), you can apply individual settings for every track. Select the Use these settings for all video tracks check box if the open file has several video tracks, and it is necessary to adjust the same settings for every track.
Control Description Encoding Format Specifies the video encoding format. The list of available video formats is formed according to the selected stream type. There are individual settings for some be Profile and Level formats. Click the Advanced button to open them. MPEG-1 – MPEG-1 video MPEG-2 – MPEG-2 video MPEG-4 – MPEG-4 ASP video AVC/H.264 – AVC/H.
Control B-frames Frame Encoding Type Description Specifies the maximum number of B-frames which have bidirectional prediction for encoding in GOP. B-frames significantly enhance video encoding quality. Use two B-frames for MPEG-2 and MPEG-4 ASP encoding and three B-frames for H.264 encoding. For MPEG-2, MPEG-4 ASP and AVC/H.264 video formats the following values are available: 0-3 Selects the video frame encoding type.
Figure 3. Task Parameters – Picture Transformation 1 The following table describes Picture Transformation 1 controls: Table 3.
Control Postprocessing (deblocking) Input picture type Description Uncompressed/HufYUV. See example below. Removes the MPEG compression artifacts by using deblocking and deringing filters. For MPEG-4 AVC/H.264 streams this option must be enabled. See example below. According to the picture type all filters will be set for picture transformation in order to provide maximum quality of the output stream.
Figure 4. Figure 5.
Figure 6. Figure 7. Picture Transformation – Denoising Task Parameters – Picture Transformation 2 The following table describes Picture Transformation 2 controls. Table 4.
Control Deinterlacing Description contrast, saturation, hue, gamma. Allows converting interlaced video into progressive. Two deinterlacing modes are available: High Speed — Uses the fast bicubic method. Deinterlacing does not affect conversion speed. High Quality — Uses the more qualitative adaptive method, but deinterlacing speed is lower. See examples below. Double frame rate Field order Allows convertion of interlaced video into progressive format using the frame rate doubling.
Figure 9. Task Parameters – Picture Transformation 2 Table 5. Task Parameters – Picture Transformation 3 Controls Control Description Frame rate Allows frame rate changing. The necessary frames will be added or removed to/from the video stream. Output picture type Cropping Allows user to set type of the output frame, if the frame rate is changed. Resizing Method Frame Size Elecard Converter Studio Allows cropping a frame from any side. Values must be set to the appropriate fields in pixels.
Control Aspect Ratio/Method Description Controls aspect ratio change when video frame is resized. 5.8 Logo and Advertisement Insertion Click button to open the Logo and advertisement insertion group of parameters. These parameters allow logo insertion and advertisement addition to the beginning or to the end of the file during conversion. To insert logo into the video, select the required video track and select the Insert logo check box. Then click and select BMP file in the open window.
Figure 10. Task Parameters – Logo and Advertisement Insertion The following table describes Logo and advertisement insertion controls. Table 6. Task Parameters – Logo and Advertisement Insertion Controls Control Description Bitmap Path X/Y Use Transparent Color Specifies the path of BMP file that is used as the overlaid logo. Sets the logo position in the picture. If BMP file with logo has not alpha channel, then transparent color can be set.
5.9 Audio Parameters Click button to open the Audio Parameters group of parameters. It allows the user to select encoding format, to change settings and to set audio frequency and level. When one audio track from the available tracks list is selected, you can set individual settings for it or apply the first track settings to all presented audio tracks in the file. Figure 11. Task Parameters – Audio Parameters The following table describes Audio Parameters controls. Table 7.
Control Description Channel Mode AAC profile Number of Channels Stereo downmix mode Bitrate Resampling Frequency Level Correction MPEG-2 — format that is optimized for low bitrate audio streams. AAC — format with stronger compression abilities and better quality than the MPEG format. WAV — uncompressed audio data in WAV file. Stream copy — mode of the original track copying from the input file to the output file without conversion.
displayed in the Preview window.
6. Advanced Encoding Settings The following section describes the advanced settings of encoders and MPEG multiplexer. Click the Advanced button to open these settings. If you do not understand the options that are described below, we urge you not to change them and rather use the preconfigured profiles.
6.1 AVC/H.264 Video Encoder Advanced Settings Figure 13. AVC/H.264 Video Encoder Advanced Settings – Page 1 The following table describes the first page of AVC/H.264 Video Encoder Advanced Settings controls. Table 8. AVC/H.
Control Pulldown B-frames mode Scene Change Detection Adaptive GOP Max rate Buffer size Init Fullness Adaptive quantization mode Strength Transform size Entropy coding RD optimization Elecard Converter Studio Description Allows converting of video from 23.976 4 fps to 29.97 fps or 23.976 4 to 59.94 fps. The conversion is performed by adding special headers to the stream. Therefore the number of frames is not changed in the stream.
Chroma format Selects the chroma format for video encoding: Monochrome – video encoding without chroma component. 4:2:0 – chroma format with half horizontal and vertical color resolutions. The most commonly used and set as delault chroma format (including the Blu-ray Disc format). Search range Use subblock search Number of reference frames Field order Slice count Deblock mode Alpha offset Beta offset Video format Elecard Converter Studio 4:2:2 – chroma format allowable only in High Profile 422.
Figure 14. AVC/H.264 Video Encoder Advanced Settings – Page 2 The following table describes the second page of AVC/H.264 Video Encoder Advanced Settings controls. Table 9. AVC/H.264 Video Encoder Advanced Settings – Page 2 Control Use of specified mode in I/P/B frame Use out of picture MV Elecard Converter Studio Description Enables/disables use of the spacial prediction modes for I, P, B frames. Enables/disables use in the motion predicion process of motion vectors over picture boundaries.
Control Cb/Cr chroma qp offset Quantizer for I/P/B slice in CQ mode Fix source/output frame rate Use Aspect Ratio Sample Aspect Ratio Write HRD parameters Write Access Unit Delimiter Write End of Sequence Write Closed Captions Elecard Converter Studio Description Specifies the quantization offset for Cb and Cr chroma components. Spesifies the quantizers for I-frames (reference frames), P-frames (predicted frames) and B-frames (bidirectional predicted frames) in the CQ (Constant Quantizer) mode.
6.2 AVC/H.264 Hardware Video Encoder Advanced Settings Figure 15. AVC/H.264 Hardware Video Encoder Advanced Settings Table 10. AVC/H.264 Hardware Video Encoder Advanced Settings Control Field order Slice count Pulldown Elecard Converter Studio Description Specifies the order of fields in the encoded video stream. Specifies the number of independent slices.
Control Scene Change Detection Entropy coding RD optimization Number of reference frames Max rate Buffer size Init Fullness Fix source/output frame rate Use Aspect Ratio Sample Aspect Ratio Write HRD parameters Write Access Unit Delimiter Write End of Sequence Write Closed Captions Elecard Converter Studio Description 59.94 fps. The conversion is performed by adding special headers to the stream. Therefore the number of frames is not changed in the stream.
6.3 MPEG-1/2 Video Encoder Advanced Settings Figure 16. MPEG-1/2 Video Encoder Advanced Settings The following table describes MPEG-2 Video Encoder Advanced Settings controls. Table 11. MPEG-1/2 Video Encoder Advanced Settings Controls Control Intra DC Precision Elecard Converter Studio Description Specifies the effective precision of DC coefficients in intra coded macroblocks.
Control Chroma Format Description 11 bits — it is used only for MPEG-2 HL/HP encoding The 10-bits precision is recommended to use. Specifies the resolution of chrominance data.
Control Write picture_display_extension Write sequence_end_code Description Specifies whether the picture_display_extension should be in the video stream. Specifies whether the sequence_end_code should be added at the end of the stream. 6.4 MPEG-4 Video Encoder Advanced Settings Figure 17.
The following table describes MPEG-4 Video Encoder Advanced Settings controls. Table 12. MPEG-4 ASP Video Encoder Advanced Settings Controls Control Scene change detection Adaptive GOP Max rate Buffer size Skip frames for VBV compliance Field order Quantizer for I/P/B slice in CQ mode Quantization mode Adaptive motion estimation Chroma motion estimation Use 4MV Alternative vertical scan Short header Elecard Converter Studio Description Enables/disables the scene change detection (SCD) mode.
Control Description playback on devices that support only H.263 standard (for example 3gp video for iPod or mobile phones). Enables insertion of VBV parameters into the encoded stream. Format of MPEG-4 sequence header allows declaration of the VBV model parameters (VBV buffer size, average bitrate) used in the video encoding process. The parameters declaration is optional. Enables insertion of GOV headers into the encoded stream. MPEG-4 video stream can be devided into Groups Of VOPs (GOV).
track. Click the required parameter and type the value. Other parameters are common for the whole stream. The following table describes controls of the Multiplexing Advanced Settings dialog. Table 13. Multiplexing Advanced Settings Controls Control Transport Stream ID PCR Interval Use Padding Required Bitrate Stream ID Stream PES ID Correct Bitrate Language Shift (ms) Description This is a 16-bit field. It identifies the transport stream among other streams over the network.
Table 14. Program Parameters Controls Control Program Number Program PMT ID Description This is a 13-bit field. It specifies the PID in Transport Stream. The value is defined by the user and is selected from the available value list in accordance with Table 2-4 (ISO/IEC 13818-1). This is a 16-bit field. It specifies the program to which the program_map_PID is applicable. If this is set to 0x0000, then the following PID reference will be the network PID.
7. Tools 7.1 Feature Viewer All program features are realized with additional models that are enabled automatically. This tool allows the user to view the program features and the relevant module states. To open Feature Viewer press CTRL + F or select Tools/ Feature Viewer in the main menu. Figure 20.
7.2 Advertisement Schedule Editor Advertisement Schedule Editor allows the user to create a schedule file that contains information about the advertisement inserting order into the conversion task. The schedule can describe several advertisement trailers which must be shown at the specified time. To start Schedule Editor press CTRL+R key combination or click Advertisement schedule editor on the Tools menu. Set the required parameters in the Advertisement Schedule Editor window. Figure 21.
service can be used both in the local Watch Folder mode and in the network service control mode (cluster node creation). To use the service in the local Watch Folder mode, start Converter Studio, select the Converter Studio Service... command from the Tools menu, set the required parameters in the open window and close the program. To start the service, click Start->All Programs->Elecard ->Elecard Converter Studio->Service>Start Service.
Control Description Speed/Quality Allows the adjustment of the encoding speed/quality ratio. The Fastest mode is adjusted to the maximum encoding speed. And vice versa, the Highest mode provides the maximum quality. The optimal speed/quality ratio is provided with the Optimal mode. Overwrite Existing Output Files Allows overwriting the existing files without confirmation when converting is over.
Figure 24. Tools – Batch List Filter The following table describes the Batch List Filter controls. Table 16. Tools – Batch List Filter Controls Control Use Batch List Filter File Size Frame Size Stream Type Video Format Audio Format Description Enables/Disables the Batch list filter according to the specified parameters. Sets the Batch list filter according to the specified file size, in KB. Sets the Batch list filter according to the specified video frame size.
Figure 25. Tools – Console Converter Studio Command line allows the work mode selection and parameter settings. The command line format is following: csConsole.exe /mode -i “file” -o “file” -p “profile” [/additional parameters] where /mode – Sets the application work mode: /single – Single File mode /watch – Watch Folder mode -i «file» – Sets the path of input file in the Single File mode or the path of source folder in the Watch Folder mode.
csConsole.exe /single -i "С:\input.mpg" -o "С:\output.mp4" -p "Sony PSP" -speedquality "Optimal" -prefix "enc_" /overwrite csConsole.
8. Converter Studio Preferences To change the Elecard Converter Studio preferences, select Preferences in the program main menu. Figure 26. Converter Studio Preferences The following table describes Preferences controls. Table 17. Converter Studio Preferences Controls Control Use default Folder Elecard Converter Studio Description Allows the default output folder specification.
Control Index File Name Extension Indexing Input Files Priority Resources Output File Name Prefix Overwrite Existing Output Files Shutdown computer after encoding Sound after encoding Show Hints Show Save Batch List Dialog on Exit Auto Loading of Last Batch List Confirm Rewriting of Tasks Check the Encoder Settings Elecard Converter Studio Description Specifies the default index file name extension. Creates the index file before opening MPEG files.
9. Cluster Node Installation and Adjustment When the program is installed, the Converter Studio Service is registered in the system and the service control shortcuts are created. For the correct work of Converter Studio Service as the cluster node it is necessary to add the service to the Windows firewall exceptions. Start Control Panel->Windows Firewall, select the Exceptions tab, and click the Add Program... button. Add program 'C:\Program Files\Elecard\Elecard Converter Studio ProHD\csService.exe'.
10. Hot Keys Table 18. Key Combination CTRL+O CTRL+M CTRL+D CTRL+ALT+S CTRL+SHIFT+S CTRL+ALT+O CTRL+ALT+X CTRL+ALT+С CTRL+W CTRL+S CTRL+R CTRL+ALT+F CTRL+F CTRL+I CTRL+P CTRL+A F1 F5 F6 F7 F8 F9 F11 [ ] * Elecard Converter Studio Hot Keys Command Open Media File.. Open Media Files... Open DVD... Save Batch List Save Batch List as...
