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Sorenson Media Squeeze 6 Test Drive

Nov 23, 2009 12:00 PM, By Jan Ozer

           

Table 2. Squeeze single- and multiple-file encoding times for the Mac. N/As mean that the encoding tool wasn't capable of loading multiple instances (AME, Episode).

Mac performance comparisons

In my tests, Squeeze's Mac performance was mixed, with WMV performance outstanding and H.264 performance a clear step backward. Let's discuss the good news first. When producing Windows Media Video files, my 2.93GHz, dual quad-core processor Intel Xeon-based Mac Pro proved slightly faster in single-file encoding time, and an absolute screamer in multiple-file encoding compared to Episode Pro.

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You'll have to load multiple instances of Squeeze to get these results since the Mac version doesn't encode WMV files in parallel, but if you're in a hurry, you'll find the effort well worth it. Note that I couldn't complete this eight-instance encoding test with Squeeze 5 because the program kept crashing.

Single-file H.264 encoding time dropped by 85 percent, and I was unable to load multiple instances of Squeeze and encode to H.264 format. Strangely, though I could produce WMV files with multiple open instances of Squeeze, the H.264 and VP6 presets were unavailable in all open instances beyond the first. I queried Sorenson about the issue, but I haven't heard back.

As with Windows, with equal quality and much faster encoding, Adobe Media Encoder is a great choice for H.264 production on the Mac. Between Episode Pro and Squeeze, I would definitely go with Squeeze, though the quality difference is minor, and I would avoid Compressor unless producing at the lowest-possible data rates simply wasn't an issue.

Overall, with Squeeze 6, Sorenson appears to have made a good thing better, though I wish I could have tested VP6 encoding performance and quality to be sure. On both platforms, WMV is top-notch, so if you're producing in that nearly obsolete format, Squeeze is a great choice. H.264 performance is an issue, but if you're a quality-comes-first producer (as I am), you'll take the quality and won't worry about the slower encoding.