Program run through

Let’s start by taking a brief look at TMPGEnc 4.0 XPress functions.

Start:

In the above screenshot we can see the applications splash screen.

Once the application has started we are greeted with the main TMPGEnc 4.0 XPress project window in the above screenshot. In this window we can see options to start a new project, open an existing project, MPEG tools (a collection of basic MPEG tools), batch encode tools, and the help button.

Source:

In the above screenshot we can see the main source window. From here we can select a file for encoding by selecting the Add file option, select the source wizard which will guide the user through selecting the input file format, and lastly the add slideshow option.

Selecting the Add file option opens a standard file selection window, where we can select the files we wise to add to our project.

Selecting the source wizard opens a window with the various options, these are, Import a video file, import a DVD-VR or DVD-RAM file and an option to import a file created with Windows Media Center Edition (DVRMS).

Selecting the Add Slideshow option opens the window in the screenshot above and allows the user to add pictures and audio. The slideshow editor also offers the possibility to add a transition effect between two pictures and automatically adjust the duration to the audio background duration.

Format:

The format window allows the output file type to be selected along with the various supported options.

In the screenshot above we can see the many output formats that are supported by TMPGEnc 4.0 XPress. The user can even add its own setting templates based on the available output format.

Once the output format has been selected, various other options are available, including target screen size, bit-rate and output quality.

In our above screenshot we can further fine tune our target file with a myriad of options. If needed, the user can retain those settings while accessing the full encoder’s options, allowing in-depth format tweaking.

Encode:

Now the target file is ready to encode. It’s now a simple matter of clicking on the encode button and waiting for the file to be rendered.

Preferences:

Above we have the applications preferences dialog. In this dialog the user can select how the application behaves.

Help file:

Lastly we have the applications help file. This file is in Adobe Acrobat format and is large and well laid out, with good illustrations on how to get the best out of TMPGEnc 4.0 XPress.

On the next page we will take a look at how TMPGEnc 4.0 XPress performs…