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
