Question about Sorenson Squeeze at DVinfo.net

Jesse Redman · October 31st, 2006, 01:48 PM

I have read (some here) and heard about the capabilities of Sorenson Squeeze. So I bought a copy.

I am getting better results with Vegas and Camtasia.

I know it must be "operator error". I have set the resolution correctly, the data transfer rate to 6400 Kbps and the minimum quality to 100%. I've used 1 pass, 2 pass, different codecs, etc. everything comes out OK but not excellent.

This seems to be true whether I process to a .mov, .swf, mp4 or other file format.

Does anyone have a suggestion about what I may or may not be doing?

Garrison Hayes · October 31st, 2006, 02:05 PM

What i'd recommend is that you play aroung with resoloution setting...that happened to me at first but i matched my res. and everything was all good. not to mention if you're exporting your video to a lower grade file format (out of your editing suite) then it wont get any better when you're putting it out in SS.

Jesse Redman · November 1st, 2006, 03:07 PM

What I am doing, is creating a file, that is the same resolution in Squeeze as it is in (for instance Camtasia or Vegas). I am outputting the same resolution with both applications, same file format, high quality output with both (all) programs. I am also starting with the same file for each application.

The Squeeze versions have more compression "artifacts" than the other mentioned programs, regardless of file format and regardless of settings in Squeeze.

It seems that I don't have as much latitude in Squeeze to control the amount of compression.

Any help would be appreciated.

Imran Zaidi · November 5th, 2006, 01:06 PM

I only use Sorenson Squeeze for Flash encoding, and for that purposes, I've found it to be really good. I haven't purchased the On2 codec, but I use the 2pass of what's included. One thing is to always do your resolution resizing and frame reducing in your editing software before processing it through squeeze.

For example, I use Vegas. I take the original video and then reduce the resolution and frame rate in one go. For 24p projects, I usually bring it down to 12fps, and for 30i projects, I encode at Half NTSC which is 14.985. Then, in Squeeze, I simply keep it at that resolution and adjust to 12 frames and 15 frames depending on which type of video and then let it simply process in 2-pass.

Of course you don't have to reduce frame rate like that, but I use it for some commercial web sites and often need to encode one time for the least common denominator. And in most videos, you won't notice the frame rate difference much. As always, videos with less motion encode best for the web, and those usually are ok whether in 12 or 15 or 24 or 30.

Not sure if any of this helps you since my method for compression is Flash only, but I've found this simple process to keep my Flash video as clear as possible without shilling out the extra for the On2 codec, and without too much fuss. Again, the key I've found is to not resize or re-framerate it in Squeeze - do that in your editing software. Use Squeeze only for compressing.

Also, Squeeze works best when trying to 'squeeze' the best quality out of videos that need to be compressed as much as possible. I'm not sure that I'd use it for encoding higher resolution/less compression files so I'm not sure that would be a good test of its capability.

Jesse Redman · November 5th, 2006, 04:13 PM

Imran,

Thanks for the reply. I think my expectations were in the wrong place and you may have pointed to the areas where Squeeze has it's strengths.

Thanks again,

October 31st, 2006, 01:48 PM	#1
Jesse Redman Regular Crew Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Cedar Park, Texas Posts: 182	Question about Sorenson Squeeze I have read (some here) and heard about the capabilities of Sorenson Squeeze. So I bought a copy. I am getting better results with Vegas and Camtasia. I know it must be "operator error". I have set the resolution correctly, the data transfer rate to 6400 Kbps and the minimum quality to 100%. I've used 1 pass, 2 pass, different codecs, etc. everything comes out OK but not excellent. This seems to be true whether I process to a .mov, .swf, mp4 or other file format. Does anyone have a suggestion about what I may or may not be doing? __________________ - Jesse XL2 - Vegas - DVDA - Sound Forge - Acid Pro - Cubase SX 3

October 31st, 2006, 02:05 PM	#2
Garrison Hayes Regular Crew Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Atlanta, Ga USA Posts: 110	Ss What i'd recommend is that you play aroung with resoloution setting...that happened to me at first but i matched my res. and everything was all good. not to mention if you're exporting your video to a lower grade file format (out of your editing suite) then it wont get any better when you're putting it out in SS. __________________ I'm in love... With my Panasonic AG-DVX100B. Triple M.

November 1st, 2006, 03:07 PM	#3
Jesse Redman Regular Crew Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Cedar Park, Texas Posts: 182	What I am doing, is creating a file, that is the same resolution in Squeeze as it is in (for instance Camtasia or Vegas). I am outputting the same resolution with both applications, same file format, high quality output with both (all) programs. I am also starting with the same file for each application. The Squeeze versions have more compression "artifacts" than the other mentioned programs, regardless of file format and regardless of settings in Squeeze. It seems that I don't have as much latitude in Squeeze to control the amount of compression. Any help would be appreciated. __________________ - Jesse XL2 - Vegas - DVDA - Sound Forge - Acid Pro - Cubase SX 3

November 5th, 2006, 04:13 PM	#5
Jesse Redman Regular Crew Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Cedar Park, Texas Posts: 182	Imran, Thanks for the reply. I think my expectations were in the wrong place and you may have pointed to the areas where Squeeze has it's strengths. Thanks again, __________________ - Jesse XL2 - Vegas - DVDA - Sound Forge - Acid Pro - Cubase SX 3

November 5th, 2006, 01:06 PM	#4
Imran Zaidi Trustee Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Orlando, FL Posts: 1,315	I only use Sorenson Squeeze for Flash encoding, and for that purposes, I've found it to be really good. I haven't purchased the On2 codec, but I use the 2pass of what's included. One thing is to always do your resolution resizing and frame reducing in your editing software before processing it through squeeze. For example, I use Vegas. I take the original video and then reduce the resolution and frame rate in one go. For 24p projects, I usually bring it down to 12fps, and for 30i projects, I encode at Half NTSC which is 14.985. Then, in Squeeze, I simply keep it at that resolution and adjust to 12 frames and 15 frames depending on which type of video and then let it simply process in 2-pass. Of course you don't have to reduce frame rate like that, but I use it for some commercial web sites and often need to encode one time for the least common denominator. And in most videos, you won't notice the frame rate difference much. As always, videos with less motion encode best for the web, and those usually are ok whether in 12 or 15 or 24 or 30. Not sure if any of this helps you since my method for compression is Flash only, but I've found this simple process to keep my Flash video as clear as possible without shilling out the extra for the On2 codec, and without too much fuss. Again, the key I've found is to not resize or re-framerate it in Squeeze - do that in your editing software. Use Squeeze only for compressing. Also, Squeeze works best when trying to 'squeeze' the best quality out of videos that need to be compressed as much as possible. I'm not sure that I'd use it for encoding higher resolution/less compression files so I'm not sure that would be a good test of its capability.