Product Reviews

Squeeze is a batch encoding tool that supports major formats including Mpeg, Flash, Windows Media, RealMedia and QuickTime. It's bolstered with excellent workflow tools, control of format-specific features like DVD chapters and Flash cue points, and integration with VST plug-ins.

The various editions are split into those dedicated to Flash video and those that output to the additional formats. Both lines come in a standard and Pro version. The latter bundles two plug-ins (the On2 VP6 codec and Bias SoundSoap SM), which cost a considerable $269 (about £135) to add to the standard version.

The command line interface is exclusive to the Pro version and will benefit larger workflows seeking automation. Average desktop users can automate too, with watch folders that automatically encode movies dropped into them.

If you plan on superimposing Flash video - perhaps a presenter against a background - then adding On2 VP6 is essential, as Flash's H.264 implementation doesn't support alpha channels.

SoundSoap's noise reduction features will be superfluous if you prefer technical controls, but its simple controls to remove noise such as clicks and crackles are ideal for those without such expertise.

The main window is divided up into presets on the left, and a viewer and batch list on the right. The viewer lets you crop video and compare video with filters against the original by dragging a slider. Presets are broken down into audience, filter and publish categories. The latter allows you to specify which FTP servers or applications the output will be sent.

There's a wider range of filters in this version, with new inverse telecine and telecine 2:3 pulldown filters. An HSV filter has also been added to complement existing colour adjustment filters, catering for colour reproduction issues that arise from compression technologies. Sequences of filters can also be stacked up in a single preset.

Finally, audience presets contain audio and video compression settings, and this version lets you attach filter and publish presets to them. This cuts down the amount of dragging to just one item if you need to reuse a group of settings.

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Managing presets is also improved with a Spotlight-style search box and a list of favourites. They're simple but effective ways to manage the large quantity of presets that ship as part of Squeeze.

When creating new presets, Squeeze exposes low-level settings for each codec, and they're covered in the documentation. The format constraint options ensure output is valid for your target platform - you can't create an Mpeg-4 for PSP that uses an unsupported resolution, for example. The only thing underwhelming about these extensive technical features is the documentation's presentation, which could be slicker.

There are plenty of codecs too - Squeeze can use Apple and Sorenson's H.264 encoders, while the MainConcept codec is only available on Intel Macs. Each variant provides its own advanced settings, with the latter providing AVC profile and CABAC coding settings where Apple's codec does not.

Squeeze's format support is also spot on, and a VC-1 encoder is provided for Blu-ray authors even though DVD Studio Pro lacks such authoring support right now. Also, Flash users will benefit encoding to the new F4V format, which lets you play back H.264 in Flash Player 9. However, RealMedia is limited to PowerPC users - Sorenson told us that no native Intel codec is available on the Mac.

Disappointingly, Squeeze still refuses to handle files with names longer than 31 characters. It's most annoying in automated workflows where such files sit untouched in a watch folder without warning.

It's Squeeze 5's use of multi-core processors that will draw many in. We tested it using QuickTime files containing one minute of DV footage. Encoding with the Sorenson Video 3 Pro codec, we saw a reduction in encoding time of around a quarter when encoding two files simultaneously rather than successively. The performance boost will depend on the codec though - the improvement was marginal when encoding to Mpeg-2 for use on DVD.

Also, the MainConcept H.264 encoder would only encode a single file at a time, whether it was set to 1, 2 or multiple passes of the footage. Switching to Apple's H.264 codec enabled simultaneous encoding, though this loses out on encoder settings specific to MainConcept. However, where the destination platform permits, this is a great way to save time and undoubtedly a strong point.

To target the full range of formats, Squeeze 5 Pro for Mac works out more expensive than the Windows equivalent at nearly £400. It's a good tool if you need specific format support, but Final Cut Studio users should consider other options - WMV support can be added to Compressor. For Flash video, Squeeze is reasonably priced at about £150 and features like watch folders and automatic upload can smooth your workflow.