Expression Encoder 4 SP1 released with new IIS Smooth Streaming features

The Microsoft Expression Encoder team recently announced the release of Expression Encoder 4 Service Pack 1 (SP1), containing some great new features for live and on-demand IIS Smooth Streaming. As you probably know, Smooth Streaming is a technology that dynamically adjusts playback rates and quality to provide each end user with the highest quality content that their bandwidth and playback device will allow.

First of all, Expression Encoder now supports encoding using NVIDIA CUDA-accelerated graphics processing units (GPUs). For encoding offline files, this can mean cutting encoding time by half. If you are using Expression Encoder 4 Pro to do live Smooth Streaming, expect to see significant increases in the number of simultaneous streams that a single encoder can produce. In other words, with Expression Encoder SP1 installed on a NVIDIA CUDA-accelerated laptop or workstation, you can now create more content at higher bit rates with less computer effort.

Second, Expression Encoder 4 Pro SP1 now includes templates for live Smooth Streaming. This includes auto-generation and publishing of media players for Silverlight as well as Apple iPhone® and iPad® devices. You will also find new encoding presets for Windows Phone 7. With these features, you can now set up to do live adaptive streaming for a live event that reaches PC, Mac, Windows Phone 7, and iOS devices in just a few minutes.

Third, SP1 adds some other new features that enable customer-requested Smooth Streaming scenarios. For live events, Expression Encoder 4 now supports live screen capture encoding and simultaneous live push/pull streaming. Other improvements include support for the HE-AAC codec and Digital Rights Management (DRM) content keys, improved de-interlacing, and captioning updates.

The bottom line is that you now get great new features and the performance of a hardware encoder for a software price, taking encoding for IIS Smooth Streaming to a new level of simplicity, reach, and cost-effectiveness.

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2 Comments

  • I did a test of an mpeg 2 input source, 640x480. Hardware is a nVidia Quadro FX 3800 with CUDA, the first time was normal without using the GPU and the second time, I ran it with the GPU setting on. The output file was H.264 for IIS live smooth stream.

    In my case it took longer to encode the video when I was using the GPU setting on and my CPU usage was still very high during the process.

    In contrast, I have another video encoder software, Xillisoft Video Converter Ultimate that has CUDA support for H.264. When I ran the same video through it, it was about 5 times faster than not using CUDA and the Expression Encoder version. In addition, the entire time that Video Converter Ultimate was encoding the video, my system CPU (Core i7) was barely being taxed.

  • Hi Zoddd,

    This is a great question to post on the Expression Encoder forum (http://social.expression.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/encoder/threads). When you post there, please provide more information, including OS, the type of PC you are using, etc. Also, please note which file format were you encoding to (e.g., a WMV file), and whether you encoded with the same parameters with both Expression Encoder and the Xilisoft Video Converter.

    -Chris

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