| Sorenson Squeeze 4 |
| Written by Philip Roy | ||||||||||||||
| Monday, 07 March 2005 13:00 | ||||||||||||||
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First published in New Zealand Macguide Magazine - Issue 20
We've taken a look at compression programs previously when we looked at Discreet's Cleaner software back in Issue 5. However Cleaner is a program that appears to have ground to a halt, with no updates to it since we looked at it in September of 2002. One program that is thankfully under continued development and is of tremendous use to Mac users is Sorenson's Squeeze. Like the name of the product suggests, its aim is to get your big video files compacted into as best a format and size as possible to suit your needs.  Nice program, not the best lookSqueeze 4 requires Mac OS X 10.2 and higher, but you might be forgiven in thinking the program isn't up to date, as the interface isn't all that stunning. More specifically, the dark design grates a little with the rest of your Mac, but its simplified layout makes ease of use and the processes you perform quick to carry out. The Sorenson Squeeze interface is divided into six areas but you don't necessarily have to make use of every area during an optimisation process. One of the new features in this version of Squeeze is the ability to detach interface components so that you can move panels away from the rest of the application, resize them or even have them appear on a second monitor. The documentation promotes a simple 4-step approach to using the application:
...and it can be as simple as that.There are in fact a range of Sorenson applications (such as Sorenson Squeeze 4 for Flash MX and Sorenson Squeeze 4 for MPEG-4) whilst the Squeeze 4 Compression Suite includes all four codecs, and lets users compress video in a range of formats including Flash, QuickTime, RealMedia, MPEG-1, MPEG-2, and MPEG-4. Unless you want to only perform one specific task, it makes sense to spend a little more money and go for the all-encompassing Compression Suite. Flash compressionLike Cleaner, Squeeze has a range of compression formats and outputs stored as presets. It can also compress an individual file, batch process files through the use of a 'watch' folder or capture straight from a DV camera. The use of the Flash FLV compression codec is very useful. Because the program allows for effective cropping and editing of clips, it is easy to produce cropped Flash FLV files that can then be inserted into a global SWF file, allowing for a Flash movie to feature a range of streamed FLV movie files, all of varying sizes. Another new addition that shows that Sorenson Squeeze is up with the play in terms of formats and compression is the inclusion of High Definition (HD) options and the new Sorenson AVC Pro codec, generally known by most as the H.264 codec. This is a new standard that provides greater compression and is something that Mac users will experience more when Tiger (the next version of Mac OS X) comes out. The version of iChatAV that will be released with Tiger will use the H.264 format as the basis of its new multi-user conferencing software and Frank Casanova, senior director of product marketing for Apple's interactive media group is reported as saying that QuickTime users will get the H.264 upgrade for free in a software update this coming year. In short, Squeeze is ready to prepare files in a format that we are all going to become very familiar with soon.  Upsetting the presets Of course a program like Squeeze would be of no use if all you could do was work with a range of stored presets. Once you apply a setting, there are many aspects of a compression action that can be altered before committing the compression settings and changes you want applied to your source file. Just by double-clicking a preset (either before or after you have added it to a file) you can alter many of the options, such as the audio codec to be employed or the pass-rate to be used and save it as a new preset. Even more useful is that these can then be exported as a file to pass on to others who are also using Squeeze. This is exceptionally handy when working in a large company encoding video as the preset can be distributed to all users and imported by them into Squeeze, ensuring everyone has their encoding options exactly the same. With the overall emphasis on video compression it's also easy to forget that Sorenson Squeeze 4 compresses audio. As well as a large range of audio codecs available for compression of audio in video tracks (standards like Qdesign and QualComm), Squeeze will also allow you to input audio files and have them compressed and exported into formats such as AAC, AIFF, MP3 and WAV. It's easy to see Squeeze as quite a simple program, but that is because so much of its power and flexibility has been nicely tucked away underneath the first layer of the interface. It means that those new to video compression can be up and running within minutes of launching the program. Those wanting more refinement can then easily go one layer deeper and customise the program and its functions more. Whilst it is sad to see such a highly regarded program as Cleaner stall in mid-flight, it's pleasing to find an alternative that not only achieves what Cleaner had done previously, but goes beyond it in a more powerful yet more refined way. Not everything is rosy Published by kind permission NZ Macguide - © Parkside Media
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