Episode 6.4.0.50

Episode is a handy application that successfully combines the reliability of server based encoding with the ease of desktop environments.

Episode takes full advantage of the OS X multithreaded and multiprocessor environment. Episode is one of the best tools for producing high quality content.

Here are some key features of "Episode":

Transcodes many compressed and HD formats:
· MPEG-1/-2/-4, WMV9, H.264 (in both MainConcept and x264 codecs), H.263, MXF, GXF IMX, VC-1, DV, WebM, 3GPP/3GPP2, M4A, M4V, MOV, QuickTime codecs, Flash 8 and 9, and many other formats. ProRes is available for Mac OS X and also Windows Server 2008, for Episode Engine.
· Allows advanced conversions such as NTSC-PAL standards conversion and telecine insertion and removal.
· Includes full 10-bit 4:2:2:4 pro format support for optimized picture quality.
· Provides an easy-to-use graphical workflow builder that monitors folders and auto- matically transcodes files as they are dropped in, and delivers them to specified out- put folders.
· Workflow builder includes many pre-made workflow templates and full flexibility to build your own workflows.
· Includes one-click clustering with built-in file sharing and parallel batch processing so you can assign multiple Episode instances on networked computers to work on transcoding tasks simultaneously, enhancing transcoding speed.
· Provides Split-and-Stitch distributed and segmented encoding that you can use to split up large encoding tasks into smaller pieces. The pieces can be worked on by a cluster and then stitched back together to quickly provide a finished output.
· Includes fully configurable advanced preprocessing filters, such as black and white restoration, HSV and gamma correction, noise removal, image sharpening, as well as audio normalization, balance, fade in/out, and others.
· Provides preview functionality for before and after comparison.
· Allows adding bumper and trailer intro and outro movies to content.
· Permits adding picture-in-picture animation or movie watermarks.
· Supports 5.1 and 7.1 channel surround sound encoding.
· Optional, licensed Pro Audio option adds support for Dolby AC-3, AAC-HE, AAC-LC, and AMR audio codecs.

Requirements:

· Intel based Mac or Apple PowerPC G5 (no longer supports G4).
· Minimum 1 GB RAM.
· QuickTime 7 or later.
· 20 GB hard drive

Limitations:

· 30 days trial
· Encoding jobs are limited to 30 seconds or half the duration of the input file.

What's New in This Release: [ read full changelog ]

New Features:
· It is now possible to recreate sub-folders scanned via a monitor recursive search within the deployment root folder.
· New Closed Caption Support. Insert closed caption data into H.264 video streams from source 608 captions or via new Caption Import Filter.
· New Caption Import Filter. Users can select a .SCC caption file for insertion into MPEG2 or H.264 output files.
· New Rotate Filter. Rotate source video 90 degrees clockwise or counter-clockwise, 180 degrees, or flip video on the vertical or horizontal axis.
· It is now possible to control the addition of CLAP data to .MOV outputs
· Workflow Priority has been increased from 3 levels to 20 levels of priority.
· Improved workflow status and history display.
· Improved API performance and features.
· New Maximum Bandwidth Control in FTP Deployment Task.

Fixes and Improvements:
· Many improvements to the status, priority and history subsystem of Episode improving responsiveness and stability, especially in high volume - large cluster e...