Quickly convert DVR-MS with Expression Encoder
Posted by onlydarksets on August 29, 2008
Way back when, I setup Expression Encoder to convert my DVR-MS files to WMV (for size and portability). One thing I found was the command-line switch to make the conversion run at close to real-time, even for HD. While I assume this will work with the new WTV format (and EE 2, for that matter), it’s not something I’m working on or maintaining anymore.
The switch is “/VideoComplexity 0″, and it reduces the computing time to process the video. I never noticed a difference between setting it to 3 or dropping it to 0, but YMMV.
“C:\Program Files\Microsoft Expression\Encoder 1.0\Encoder.exe” /Source “e:\HD_SOURCE.dvr-ms” /Target “E:\HD_TARGET.wmv” /VideoComplexity 0 /VideoProfile “HD Archive (CBR)” /Log On /Time
“C:\Program Files\Microsoft Expression\Encoder 1.0\Encoder.exe” /Source “e:\SD_SOURCE.dvr-ms” /Target “E:\SD_TARGET.wmv” /VideoComplexity 0 /VideoProfile “SD Archive (CBR)” /Log On /Time
I setup two different profiles (SD and HD), and had each bring the resolution down to 720×480 for SD or 720×404 for HD. Of course, this was all automated with commericials removed by DTb.
andy vt said
why 720×404 for HD?
onlydarksets said
That’s the max res supported by the Zune. My only purpose for converting the files was for portable devices. With the iPhone it maxes out at 640×480, so it’s even lower
andy vt said
gotcha. Does the iphone play wmv?
onlydarksets said
No – h.264/aac, which the Zune also supports (I have both – I’m a multi-platform sadist). I’m using Handbrake to convert to that. It’s pretty fast and the results are pretty consistent.