++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++README.TXT+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Application : Canopus ProCoder Demo Version : 1.25 DEMO Homepage : http://www.canopus.com Support Email : support@canopus.com Copyright : (C) Copyright 2002, Canopus Corporation. All rights reserved. Release Date : 11/22/02 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Canopus ProCoder Demo --------------------- Thank you for your interest in Canopus ProCoder! ProCoder is a highly versatile multiple source to multiple target format conversion tool. It places emphasis not only on speed but also on quality of the files that it outputs. We hope this demonstration version will give you a taste of the transcoding power and flexibility that the full version of ProCoder provides! This document is intended to address outstanding issues and limitatations as of the release of this software and to act as a guide in case these issues or circumstances are met while using ProCoder Demo. For detailed information on how to USE ProCoder Demo, please refer to the online help accessible from the Help menu and the PDF manual that was decompressed during the installation. TABLE OF CONTENTS: Section 1: Demo Version Limitations Section 2: Known Issues (ProCoder Centric) Section 3: Known Issues (Third-Party Centric) SECTION 1 Demo Version Limitations ------------------------ * All output is watermarked with Canopus ProCoder logo * Output length is limited to 5 minutes * Demo will time-out and stop functioning after 30 days * Due to licensing restrictions, playback and import of MPEG2 files is not supported. However, if you have a Microsoft DirectShow(r) compliant MPEG2 decoder installed, ProCoder will import MPEG2 files. * When using 2-pass encoding, sources must be trimmed to 5 minutes or less in length. SECTION 2 Known Issues (ProCoder centric) ------------------------------- * MPEG CUSTOM PRESETS SAVED FROM VERSIONS OF PROCODER PRIOR TO v1.2: Due to the significant advancements in the MPEG target, MPEG presets saved from earlier versions of ProCoder may not load with correct VBV buffer sizes. To fix any existing custom presets, please load the preset, and change the Format setting in Basic Settings of the Target to something else, then change it back to the former setting and verify that it has your desired parameters. This will set the VBV buffer size back to the default value for the selected format. You can then replace your old custom preset with the new one. * MULTIPLE AUDIO CODECS: If multiple audio codecs for a particular format are installed (for example, multiple MP3 codecs), only the codec with the lowest priority will be available for selection in ProCoder. You can change the codec priority in the Windows Multimedia control panel. * SAVING PROJECTS: If you save your projects, you may not be able to open them, if your hard drive letter or folder name changes. Please make sure that you save to a hard drive letter/folder name that will not change. If you do change the hard drive letter or folder name, you will render your project invalid and will not be able to load the project's source files. * CODEC INSTALL/UNINSTALL: If you own a Canopus hardware or software product and uninstall that product, you may run into an issue with ProCoder not working correctly. If ProCoder does not run correctly after you uninstall another Canopus product, please re-install ProCoder to resolve this problem. Uninstalling ProCoder should NOT affect existing installs of Canopus hardware or software. * WINDOWS MEDIA MULTIPLE TARGETS: Due to the way that Windows Media codecs prior to Windows Media 9 operate, simultaneous conversion to multiple Windows Media outputs might result in some video artifacting. This is typically seen as "pink or green" artifacts and discoloration of the video after the first target file. The best way to avoid this issue is to convert to one (1) Windows Media destination type at a time or to use WindowsMedia 9 series codecs only. * RUNNING MULTIPLE INSTANCES OF PROCODER: When you open multiple instances of ProCoder, it may take up to a few minutes to open up the new instance. This time depends on the speed and resources of your system and also on the intensity of the current project being run by ProCoder at the time of the new instance being started. * STOPPING FILE CONVERSION: Pressing the "stop" button during a conversion will sometimes yield an invalid or inaccurate file. The "stop" button should not be used as an editing tool (IE: To make a shorter clip). Please use the "In" and "Out" points if you wish to edit the length of your file. Also note that files which are being converted using a 2-pass method will yield NO output if the 2nd pass has not been initiated. * FILTER PREVIEW: While the video filter configuration delivers WYSIWYG regarding all lumina and chromina values, it does not work in WYSIWYG mode regarding the video size. When using for example the bitmap keying filter, the exact position of the keyed bitmap might differ from the final output. Furthermore, filter preview for targets will not necessarilly be WYSIWYG, especially when the source and target have different frame or pixel aspect ratios. * ODD FILE WIDTH OR HEIGHT: Due to inherent problems with odd Widths and heights of certain files when converting to various codecs, ProCoder will not allow files with odd width or height to be accepted for conversion. This issue may be addressed in a future version of ProCoder. * LARGE NUMBER OF SOURCE CLIPS: ProCoder has no "hard" limit to how many files you can encode at one time. The limit is basically how much system memory you have. Each file takes a certain amount of system memory to buffer codec information. This amount ranges anywhere from 1 to 10MB depending on the source. When converting a large number of files ProCoder will pop up a warning window that you do not have enough system memory to proceed. You can alleviate this by adding more memory to the system, or breaking up your large project into smaller ones. -ProCoder HAS been tested to convert 1000 files with no issues (This system was equipped with 1GB of RAM). -ProCoder HAS been tested to output a continuous file that was 12 hours in length with no issues. These QA milestones were set to ensure that it is possible to do this. Of course, depending on the source clips used, your results may vary. SECTION 3 Known Issues (Third Party centric) ---------------------------------- * PREMIERE TIMELINE EXPORT PLUG-IN: When you use non-realtime filters or transitions you will have to render the timeline first in order for these effects to appear in your final output from ProCoder. This is due to the way that Premiere feeds information to ProCoder. Realtime transitions and filters WILL render to the final file as seen from the timeline, these do not need to be rendered before output. * PREMIERE TIMELINE EXPORT PLUG-IN: File stitching is always on when exporting from the Premiere timeline. There is no current method to "batch" process multiple files from the Premiere timeline directly. * PREMIERE TIMELINE EXPORT PLUG-IN: Due to the way that Premiere handles different video formats on the timeline, occasionally stuttering or errors may occur when exporting. This happens most often when mixing various file types (most notably, audio formats) from the timeline for export. We suggest you use ProCoder to convert all these files to a similar format, then assemble them to the timeline and export to avoid this situation. * ProCoder / DVD PLAYBACK SOFTWARE: Installing DVD playback software on the same system ProCoder is running on could cause problems. If you encounter problems with MPEG-2 conversion or ProCoder after installing DVD playback software on your machine, please uninstall the DVD playback software and try again. * BETA AND "WORK-IN-PROGRESS" CODECS: Please note that ProCoder will utilize codecs that are designed to output to its various destination formats. Some of these codecs may have inherent bugs within the codec itself. Make sure you are up to date with the latest version of these codecs and check the FAQ or webpage of the codec to potentially resolve issues with the codec itself. * FRAUNHOFER MP3 CODEC ISSUE: The Fraunhofer MP3 Codec in some cases can not tolerate choosing 48 kHz in ProCoder. Please select lower sample rates. * DVD/MPEG-2 PLAYBACK IN WINDOWS MEDIA (AND OTHER NON-DEDICATED PLAYERS): Please note that playback of DVD/MPEG-2 video files should be performed in a dedicated playback software. Sync, artifacting and other issues may arise by attempting to use a non-dedicated playback engine. If a file appears to have any of these issues and you are using WindowsMedia or another "multi-format" playback software to view these types of files, try using a dedicated DVD/MPEG-2 playback software to verify your file output is correct. * IMPORT OF SORENSON PRO ENCODED FILES: Files encoded by Sorenson Pro with the "Bidirectional Prediction" option enabled can not be imported properly. If you need to use those files as sources for ProCoder, please encode them with "Bidirectional Prediction" disabled. * MPEG-2 PICTURE STRUCTURE AUTOMATIC ENCODED FILES: Files encoded with the Picture Structure set to "Automatic," while often providing increased compression efficiency, may not properly decode in all MPEG-2 software or hardware players, including the Ligos decoder engine used in ProCoder. As a result, you may not be able to import MPEG-2 files created with the Picture Structure set to "Automatic" back into ProCoder. If you need to use these files as sources in ProCoder, please use a Picture Structure setting other than Automatic. * MPEG-2 3-2 PULLDOWN FLAG ENCODED FILES: Files encoded with the 3-2 Pulldown flag set may not properly decode in all MPEG-2 software or hardware players, including the Ligos decoder engine used in ProCoder. As a result, you may not be able to import MPEG-2 files created with the 3-2 Pulldown flag set back into ProCoder. If you need to use these files as sources in ProCoder, please do not set the 3-2 pulldown flag. * WINDOWS MEDIA 8 CODECS: Depending on your Windows Media Player installation, you may need to manually install the Windows Media 8 codecs in order to play certain Windows Media Files. The Windows Media 8 codecs installer is included on the ProCoder CD - \extras\wmpcdcs8.exe Thanks again for your interest in ProCoder, and we hope you enjoy this demo version! The ProCoder Team