Download page for HC Companion
2.7 [HCC]
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OVERVIEW
Video Encoding, HCenc, HC Encoder, HCenc_025,
Video converting, Audio Encoding, MPG, MP4, AVI, AVISynth, ffmpeg, batch,
batch processing, crop, rotate, borders, margins, mplex, custom resolution,
volume control, video re-encoding,, sample rate, bitrate, AC3, M2V, batch
process, multiple videos, process many videos at once,
What HCC DOESN'T Do
What HCC DOES Do
batch, batch processing, crop, rotate, borders, margins, mplex, custom resolution, volume control, video re-encoding,, sample rate, bitrate, AC3, M2V, batch process, multiple videos, process many videos at once, Video Encoding, HCenc, HC Encoder, HCenc_025, Video converting, Audio Encoding,, MPG, MP4, AVI, AVISynth, ffmpeg,
HC Companion 2.7 Is Shareware
What do I do now to get started?
What do I do now to get going?
If you haven't read the OVERVIEW yet, then
do it now so you will have a good understanding of how our HC Companion
program works.
NOTE: If you want the full capability and documentation for these programs (mplex, ffmpeg, hcenc_02x, then you should DOWNLOAD them separately, since the downloads have the complete package for each utility. You can find the downloads on this web page.
What do I download?
Of course as mentioned above, you need the AVISynth and HC Companion
install downloads. Once you have downloaded them, then run the setup programs.
How do I use it once I've installed it?
You can read the program description below by clicking
here. This tells you how to run the program and other interesting notes.
REQUIRED Download Files List:
After you have downloaded the SetupHCC_2.7.exe and AVISynth_258.exe installation programs, then install them by running them. Then you can go to the installation folder for the HCC Companion program and run the HCC.EXE program and you are off and running ;)
Download
our SetupHCC_2.7.EXE:
Click on the following link.
DOWNLOAD the HC Companion 2.7 program file.(about 7 MB)
Install:
1. Installing HC Companion:
a) Just download the SetupHCC.exe file and
SAVE it to your desktop folder or any folder of your choice.
b) Double-Click on the SetupHCC.exe file to
INSTALL IT
c) That's it. You are done.
Download Problems:
When you click on the above link to download, your browser usually
gives a couple of methods for downloading:
1) Open it (or) Open this file
from its current location
2) Save to disk (or) Save this file to
disk
ALWAYS choose method 2 ("Save this file to disk"). That's
how you save the downloaded file. Don't choose method 1 because, before
opening the file, it gets saved into some hidden temporary internet folder
that most users can't get access to.
Download
AVISYNTH_258.EXE
DOWNLOAD the AVISynth_258.exe program file.(about
7 MB)
Run the AVISynth_258.exe setup program to install the AVISynth program.
This
program is required for the HC Encoder program to be able to run.
Visit the AVISynth
home page on the Internet
Install:
1. Installing AVISynth:
a) Just download the AVISynth_258.exe file
and SAVE it to your desktop folder or any folder of your choice.
b) Double-Click on the AVISynth_258.exe file
to INSTALL IT
c) That's it. You are done.
Other Downloadable Files List:
Download
HC023.ZIP (Older version)
DOWNLOAD the HCEnc_023.exe program file.(about
7 MB)
The HC Encoder download is a ZIP file and not a setup EXE program.
You need to take the ZIP file and UNZIP it into some folder of your choice.
It could be a new folder that you create on your desktop, or anywhere else
for that matter. Just make sure you unzip it in such a manner that all
of the subfolders that are in the ZIP file are kept in tact.
Visit the HCenc home page on the Internet
Download
HC025.ZIP (Latest Release)
DOWNLOAD the HCEnc_025.exe program file.(about
7 MB)
The HC Encoder download is a ZIP file and not a setup EXE program.
You need to take the ZIP file and UNZIP it into some folder of your choice.
It could be a new folder that you create on your desktop, or anywhere else
for that matter. Just make sure you unzip it in such a manner that all
of the subfolders that are in the ZIP file are kept in tact.
Visit the HCenc home page on the Internet
Download
FFMPEG.rev13665.zip (Last version that worked with Windows 98)
DOWNLOAD the FFMPEG.rev13665.zip program
file.(about 7 MB)
This is the very last version of the ffmpeg program that was able to
run on a Windows 98 machine. It's because the ffmpeg program needed the
PThreadGC2.DLL file and the newer versions of ffmpeg do NOT contain this
DLL. It's because the newer versions use features of Windows XP and above
to perform the same functionality that the DLL provided. Hence, the newer
versions of ffmpeg can NOT run on Windows 98.
Visit the FFMPeg home page on the Internet
Download
FFmpeg-svn-22140.zip (Latest Release)
DOWNLOAD the FFmpeg-svn-22140.zip program
file.(about 7 MB)
This is the latest version of ffmpeg. We suggest that if you have Windows
XP, to use this version. If a later version comes out, you can try it,
BUT we can't know in advance if the new version will work properly ;(
This version has some improvements over the Windows 98 version listed above,
so we do NOT recommend using the Win98 version of ffmpeg.
Visit the FFMPeg home page on the Internet
Download
mjpegtools-1.9.0-mingw-bin.zip (Latest Release)
DOWNLOAD the mjpegtools-1.9.0-mingw-bin.zip
program file.(about 7 MB)
This is the latest version of the mjpegtools library. It contains a
ton of cool utilities that are free to use. We of course use the MPLEX.EXE
program from it. But there's many more, if you are an advanced user.
Visit the mjpegtools
home page on the Internet
Screen Snap Shots
Main Screen
Video Options Settings
Cropping and Borders and Rotate Settings
Applying some settings to ALL or some other videos in your project
list
BATCH Status screen shows what project entries are to be proceessed
and a nice progress meter
Video Encoding, HCenc, HC Encoder, HCenc_025, Video converting, Audio Encoding, MPG, MP4, AVI, AVISynth, ffmpeg, batch, batch processing, AC3, M2V, batch process, multiple videos, process many videos at once, crop, rotate, borders, margins, mplex, custom resolution, volume control, video re-encoding,, sample rate, bitrate,
Basic program description:
The HC Encoder is a wonderful encoder because it's relatively fast and
produces very high quality video when compared to other similar products.
So, even if HC Encoder wasn't free, it would still be worth it.
GENERAL BACKGROUND
Using the HC Encoder is NOT a joyful experience, if you have many videos to encode. If you need just one or two at a time, no big deal. But when you have many, then it becomes a real chore to set up all the AVS files and the INI files in order to run it from a BATCH file.
That's where HC Companion comes in. It sets up all the AVS and INI files automatically. And can execute the batch automatically for you. Another problem about HC Encoder is that it just encodes video. The Audio stream is totally left out and so the resulting M2V file is video only. That's where the HC Companion program comes in. Our HC Companion program will automatically produce a new MPG file that uses the video output from HC Encoder AND it has the AUDIO stream from the original video and optionally re-encoded with specified bitrates and sample rates and volume control etc... So, this HC Companion program saves the user a lot of time messing around with AVS files and INI files and M2V files and AC3 files and navigating through multiple utility programs to get the job done. The HC Companion will easily allow you to pick a video or many videos and you specify your encoding options and then click the "RUN BATCH" button and then you are done. After all the magic is done, you will have a new MPG file in a folder of your choice. It's just that easy.
If you have downloaded this program, you probably understand all of
what I just mentioned above. Okay, now on to all the cool options that
we provide.
What Do I Need To Get Started?
This paragraph will describe what you need for everything to work as expected. Of course all the creating, encoding and merging is all done behind the scenes so that the user only sees a progress bar indicating how far along in the process the re-encoding has completed. But just so you know what's happening behind the scenes, here's a brief description. In order for all this to work, the system needs to have the HC Encoder program to re-encode your videos. The HC Encoder program REQUIRES that you have AVISYNTH program installed. Once you have the video encoded (M2V). You need the FFMPEG program to get the audio from the source video (AC3). Then you need to merge the video file (M2V) with the audio file (AC3) with the MPLEX program to create your final re-encoded video file.
HCENC_023.EXE or HCENC_024.EXE
This is the HC Encoder program. The encoder engine comes with our HC
Companion installer. If you want the full blown HC Encoder program that
comes with it's own user interface, you can download it from our web site
at www.smatters.com/hccompanion. Of course you can scour the Internet to
find the latest version if you wish.
AVISYNTH
This is the AVISYNTH program that allows the HC Encoder program to
read most video formats including of course MPG files. This program can
be downloaded from our web site at www.smatters.com/hccompanion. Of course
you can scour the Internet to find the latest version if you wish.
FFMPEG.EXE
This program comes with our HC Companion program. We have the last
version of FFMPEG that worked with Win98 and we also have the latest current
version as well. They are located in our program folder as FFMPEG98.EXE
and FFMPEGNT.EXE. The reason we keep both is because the current
version does NOT work with Win98. So, if we determine that you are running
Win98, we run the old FFMPEG program, otherwise we run the latest version
of FFMPEG. Of course you can scour the Internet to find the latest version
if you wish.
MPLEX.EXE
This program comes with our HC Companion program. Of course you can
scour the Internet to find the latest version if you wish.
VIDEOS
You of course need some video files to re-encode ;)
So, basically, once you have installed the AVISYNTH program and the
HC Encoder and HC Companion, you are all set to rock and roll.
Creating or Editing Projects
All project files are stored in the AllUsers \ Application Data \ HCCompanion
folder. A project file contains all the info about a project. Such as what
source movies you are re-encoding and what the NEW MPG filenames should
be and of course all of the video options and audio options that you have
selected. By saving this info into a project file, you can come back at
a later date and real quickly make a few small changes, like a different
bit rate, and then click the "RUN BATCH" button and you are off and running
quickly. If you want special customizations, you can click "CREATE BATCH"
and it creates all of the AVS and INI files for you and of course the BATCH
file (HC_BATCH.BAT) that executes the project. You can edit these files
to your liking before running the batch file.
Encoding Options
We DO NOT provide all the possible options that the HC Encoder program has at its disposal. We DO however provide ALL of the basic needs like BITRATE and ASPECT and RESOLUTION. If you want to tweak some custom settings for the HC Encoder program, then you can use this program to create all the AVS and INI files and the final HC_BATCH.BAT file as well. Then you could manually edit the INI files to your liking so that the HC Encoder does exactly what you want. This way, at least 80% of the work is already done for you by HC Companion.
PATH SETTINGS
Source Video File:
This is where you select a video file to re-encode with the HC Encoder.
Just browse to a valid movie file. It works best if your videos are MPG,
although it does work with other formats like FLV etc... Some formats just
simply do not work.
Dest Video File:
This is where you select a FOLDER that specifies where the resulting
re-encoded MPG video file will be saved. By default, the destination folder
will be the SAME as the source folder. This is not a problem because the
filename has ".NEW.MPG" appended to the source filename. If however, your
source folder doesn't have enough disk space free, you can specify a different
folder for the outputs. It's up to you. If you have a bunch of videos from
a lot of various folders and you want to work with the re-encoded files,
it's probably easier to specify the same destination path for all of your
videos in your project.
VIDEO OPTIONS
VIDEO QUALITY:
MAX BITRATE:
There are two main methods of encoding videos. One is bit rate based
and the other is quality based. The bit rate method allows only so many
kilobits of data per second of video. You can predict what resulting file
size you will have for a re-encoded video file pretty easy with a calculator.
The bit rate method is not a constant bit rate. It uses a VARIABLE bit
rate. That means low motion scenes get less bits while the fast motion
areas get more bits. So, if you specified a value of 1000 for the bit rate,
then portions of the movie might be encoded with 500 while other portions
might be encoded with 1500. The HC Encoder is smart enough to make it so
that by the time the whole video is done re-encoding, it would have used
an AVERAGE of 1000 for the file. As a rule of thumb, a high quality movie
can be re-encoded with a value of 1800 for the MAX BITRATE and still look
very very nice. Values around 1100 are pretty decent and 800 gives you
videos that are acceptable and around 600 you start to get in the realm
of noticeable quality loss. It's all personal opinion.
NOTE: You can specify a CUSTOM bit rate that's not listed in the pulldown
list. You can also bring up the CUSTOM bit rate feature by clicking on
the bit rate text box.
QUALITY:
The quality based method allows you to pick what quality you want to
preserve in the video. So, what does this mean? It means that the encoder
NOR YOU can predict a resulting file size. It also means that low motion
scenes will get just enough bits to achieve the desired quality and the
high motion scenes of course will require much more bits to achieve the
same specified quality. So, what does this mean? It means that if you are
concerned with file sizes AND you want good quality in low motion scenes,
then you can control this by selecting a decent quality setting (0 thru
10) AND set your MAX BITRATE to a value that's low enough to cause the
high motion scenes to not gobble up tons of disk space, but yet high enough
for the low motion scenes to attain their desired quality. This may take
a little trial and error. Quality values that are 10 thru 21 give you lower
quality.
RESOLUTION:
The resolution option is straightforward. Pick one that suits you.
Keep in mind that only 720x480, 352x480, 352x240 are DVD compliant. So,
if you are making a DVD out of these files, then pick one of those resolutions.
Also keep in mind that if you are interested in smaller file sizes, then
pick 352x480. It's half the resolution of the 720x480, BUT you get far
better quality for the same bit rate. For example: a 720x480 video encoded
with 800kbps will look WORSE than the same video encoded with 352x480 and
800kbps. Now if you go smaller and use 352x240 it starts looking noticeably
less sharp.
ASPECT RATIO:
The ASPECT ratio is a no brainer. If you don't know what an aspect
ratio is, then you probably shouldn't be using this program ;)
4:3 is the standard TV Letterbox aspect, and 16:9 is the WideScreen aspect.
AUDIO OPTIONS
BITRATE:
This allows you to select the AUDIO encoding bit rate. A value of 192
is a good default to use. If you are re-encoding a high quality movie that
has a sound track encoded with 384, then you will probably want to select
the same bit rate. But if you are interested in saving space, then 192
is very good. You can go lower if you wish, but realize that once you get
around 64kbps, then the sound starts to sound fuzzy (distorted). You can
counteract this by choosing MONO instead of STEREO. Of course you won't
get the stereo effect, but at least it won't be fuzzy. You can also counteract
the distortion by using a smaller SAMPLE RATE. So, instead of 48Khz, you
could go down to 22Khz. But again, although the fuzziness will go away,
it will start to sound more and more muffled. So, you decide what's more
important, file size or sound reproduction quality.
CHANNELS:
You can pick from MONO and STEREO. No great explanation needed here,
except that if you are getting fuzziness (distortion) in the sound DUE
TO LOW BITRATE, you can switch to mono.
SAMPLE RATE:
If you expect your re-encoded videos to be burned onto a playable DVD,
then you MUST use 48Khz. No if ands or buts. If you don't plan to use them
on a DVD player, then you can feel free to use whatever sample rate you
want. Just beware that as you lower the sample rate, the sound becomes
more and more muffled, BUT you can also use a lower bit rate without getting
the distortion. So, it's a give and take.
VOLUME %:
This option allows you to make the sound LOUDER or QUIETER. A value
of 100% means no change in the volume. A value of 200% means to double
the volume and a value of 50% means to cut the volume in half. NOTE: If
you increase the volume too much, you may start to hear distortion in the
audio, so be careful.
SPECIAL EFFECTS
BORDERS (BLACK MARGINS):
BORDERS MODE:
There are many options for settings up borders. Let's say you have
a video that is SQUARE visually. If you want to create a video that is
a 4:3 or 16:9 aspect, then of course you will need to add some black stripes
on the sides of the video. OR you could just STRETCH (fatten) the video
to fit into the 4:3 or 16:9 output video. So, here are the available border
options.
PIXEL UNITS:
If you picked CUSTOM BORDERS, then you need to enter the 4 values for
Left, Top, Right, Bottom. The larger the numbers you enter, the thicker
the border margin.
ROTATE:
You can rotate the video left or right or 180 degrees if you wish.
It's most useful if you have a video that was recorded in a ROTATED fashion
and you want to un-rotate it ;) Example: I had shot a video with
my Canon Sure Shot camera of a real nice fireworks display. I had the camera
rotated as I was videoing. When I went to play it back on my computer,
I realized that I had to tilt my head in order to watch it on my computer.
I was dissappointed, but now I can rotate the video so that it's back to
normal again ;) Yippie!!!!
CROP SOURCE PIXELS:
Sometimes you may have a video in which the important part is only
a small area of the video (maybe just the upper right area).. Also, you
may have a video that LOOOOOKS like it's a 4:3 video when in fact it's
a 16:9 video. IE: The video has thick black bars on the left and right
sides. Well, it would be DUMB to reencode the video with those black bars.
You may as well chop them off so that all your bit rates is going to work
for the real video area ;) So, you can CROP the video by using this
option. HINT: You can use the "Preview Borders/Crops" feature to get a
visual idea of how your settings will affect the final mpg output video.
