An industry leader in video compression tools

 

Quest for Speed

We are a group of dedicated image processing specialists with the goal of developing the highest quality video compression software for video developers, animators, and broadcasters. Software encoders can spend as much time or as little time as needed on each frame to provide the best quality. The first MPEG-1 encoder we assembled produced an amazingly high quality compressed video which proved we were throwing away the right parts of the video. But the encoding was rather slow. It would take 33 days (working 24 hours a day) to encode a 2 hour movie!

We rewrote most of the code into fast assembly language modules that took advantage of the dual computation units available in all (pre MMX) Intel Pentium processors. Today, our MPEG-1 encoder can compress a two hour move in less than two hours. Part of our development of fast, high quality encoding involved the assembly of visual and analytical analysis tools. Tools which highlight what parts of the video is being discarded and visually display decisions made in the encoding process. These tools are included with all of the PixelTools encoders available today.

The Results

Our MPEG-1 encoder, called Expert-1, was released in 1995 and quickly became known for its high quality and flexibility. Most of the MPEG encoding parameters are available for user modification. This makes this encoder ideal for a wide variety of encoding situations, from high bit rate, large frame size MPEG-1 (yes, MPEG-1 is not limited 352x240 frames sizes) through 1.5 mbps constant bit rate, and even low bit rate, small frame size Internet application. In 1996, we marked the release of our MPEG-2 encoder, Expert-2, which includes all of the features of Expert-1. The product produces both MPEG-1 and MPEG-2 streams.

Our next efforts were concentrated in upgrading our encoder engine to enable it to change encoding parameters during an encoding session in response to user written edit decision list file or in response to changes detected in the source material. Expert-DVD was released in November 1997. This product, specifically tailored to the generation of variable bit rate MPEG files for use in DVD applications, includes all of the features of Expert-1 and Expert-2. Expert-DVD is also used for segment encoding, where a small video clip (like a movie title) is needed that will splice shamelessly into a larger MPEG segment.

Our latest product, MPEGRepairHD,is a versatile MPEG encoding utility designed for professional users to increase the work flow of video production. MPEGRepairHD encodes faster than real-time HD content. The extensive analysis and repair functions of the utility make it a virtual MPEG post production workshop. MPEGRepairHD new single pass transcoding can change frame sizes, bit-rate, modify header flags, filter frames or even add logos to an existing MPEG stream.

Expert-HD™ is the first product to include the new encode engine which utilizes the latest Intel SSE2 instructions, multi-threading and multi-processors while maintaining the same high quality. It encodes 1280x720 content faster than real-time and D1 content at over twice real-time on the latest dual processor systems. Customer feedback through the years confirms that our encoders produce the highest quality streams.

The Pitch

Much of our efforts in the past nine years have been in custom products. We work for clients who need a special version of our encoders, decoders, or analyzers. Compressed video technology is showing a large increase in its utilization. We are able to help clients in accomplishing specialized tasks with our extensive experience in the compression and delivery of video as well as our existing flexible module code base and Dlls.

The Dream

We were founded in 1994 to fulfill the explosive demand for MPEG compression software for the video-on-demand industry. At the time, most video professionals were impressed in the high compression ratio available from the nascent MPEG-1 algorithm implementations, but felt the quality was not sufficient for Hollywood. We believed that, through careful encoding, MPEG-1 can look great and embarked on the development of Expert-1 an ultra-high quality MPEG-1 video software compressor.

The Algorithm

MPEG is a lossy compression algorithm which means that some video data is discarded. Once the video is compressed, it can never be restored exactly to its original form. The clever part of MPEG encoding is to toss those parts of the original video data that will not be noticed when viewing the resultant compressed stream. Hardware MPEG compressors have the additional burden of compressing an entire frame in about 1/30 of a second. Software can creatively store and recall any data that it processed. We keep working everyday to develop our software within the current industry standards and achive the fastest speed possible.

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