Encoding With SUPER

Files can be loaded two different ways. At the top of the menu there's an option to Add Multimedia Files. This will open a dialog where you can select any media file. Alternatively, you can simply drag the files into SUPER's file list. If you want to make sure SUPER will be able to read your files you can use the built-in player (via the Play button) to find out. If your source files play SUPER can encode them.

Information About Source Files

Many options in SUPER are best set to match your input source(s). That means analyzing the file, which SUPER will do if you double-click on it in the file list. The information for different file types will vary, but in general you should note the resolution (Width and Height), framerate (Frame rate), and DAR (Display Aspect ratio) of your source. If you're using an AviSynth script as input SUPER can't give you this informtion, although AviSynth generally can.

General Options

Once you have your files selected you'll need to set some options for the output.

1. Select the Output Container

The output container list allows you to pick not only by format, but also by device type. This allows you to make sure SUPER gives you output that will playback on the intended device.

2. Select the Output Video Codec

The options available for video codec will depend on the container selected. Special purpose containers like VOB (DVD-Video) will have more restrictions than some (like AVI), but more options than others (like OGG).

3. Select the Output Audio Codec

Like the video codec selection, which codecs are available will vary by container selection.

4. Encoder Selection

Unless you have problems encoding you should generally leave this set to whatever SUPER selects by default. In some cases only one of the available encoding tools can handle the job, in which case the entire section will be grayed out.

5. DirectShow Decoding

The author of SUPER recommends DirectShow decoding for speed and quality. Most formats should be handled fine without DirectShow, so it's mostly a matter of personal preference.

Video Settings

Like most things in SUPER, the range of available video options is determined by your output format. For example, VOB output will only give you options for DVD-Video compliant streams. More generic formats like AVI will allow many more options for most settings.

6. Video Scale

This is where you set the output resolution. To match the input resolution select No Change.

7. Aspect

Aspect sets the Aspect Ratio (AR) of the output file. In most cases you'll want to match the input AR here.

8. Frame/Sec

Here you can set the framerate of the output file. This should almost always match the input source or else you risk audio sync problems.

9. Bitrate kbps

The appropriate bitrate for encodes varies greatly by the source video and output format specifics. SUPER doesn't give you complete control over the specific values available, but that can sometimes be adjusted in the Options.

10. Options

The options include some quality presets, of which I usually use High Quality and Top Quality. 44K Audio should only be selected for VCD or SVCD output, and even then it may not be necessary. It's generally better not to downsample if you can avoid it. H.264 Profile¹ is only available for that particular video codec (AVC/H.264). Crop/Pad can be useful for removing or adding the black borders found on widescreen or letterboxed DVDs. Other Options gives you access to different encoder options depending on the format.

Audio Settings

As with video, a number of options may be available, depending on the output format. Unlike video, however, there isn't a lot of fine tuning to be done since the standard values for sampling frequency, number of channels, and bitrate generally must be fixed at standard values.

11. Sampling Frequency

Most audio should have a Sampling Frequency of 48000, which was initially used for DVD, but has also been adopted for other formats. VCD and SVCD are supposed to used 44100, but most players shouldn't have a problem with the higher 48000, which should sound slightly better when starting with a DVD source.

12. Channels

Currently SUPER can encode 1, 2, or 6 channel audio, depending once again on the audio format being used.

13. Bitrate

The selection of bitrates depends on the codec used. Your choice should also take into account the number of channels. For example, 2 channel AC-3 is fine at 192 or 224, but 6 channel should be set to either 384 or 448.

14. DVD Audio Track

If you're using DirectShow to decode the default audio stream delivered by your playback filter will be used. If you want to use a different audio stream you won't be able to decode with DirectShow. Rather than changing your decoder you could also run the DVD files through a program that reauthors, removing unwanted audio streams.

Output Information

This area shows you a summary of the output file that will be created, including details about the video, audio, and container.

16. Encode (Active Files)

Active files are those checked in the file list. Once a file has been encoded, the SUPER will remove the checkmark and set the status to done. Use the Encode button to start the process.

Disabling or Copying Streams

Both the video and audio settings start with two options, Disable Video/Audio and Stream Copy. Disabling obviously results in output without either video or audio, depending on which you've disabled. This can be useful for ripping the audio from a DVD for example. Stream Copy keeps both video and audio, although one or the other is kept the same as the source file in the output. This is useful for keeping the origina AC-3 (Dolby Digital) sound from a DVD when encoding to MPEG-4.

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1 AVC Profiles You can find an explanation of AVC/H.264 Profiles in our Glossary. Follow the link provided or your browser's back button to return here. Return to Guide Where to go from here How to play MP4 files Instructions for playing back MP4 files. How to Play MPG and MPEG files Instructions for playing back MPG and MPEG files. How to play AVI Instructions for playing back AVI files. How to play MOV files Instructions for playing back MOV files. How to play 3GP files Instructions for playing back 3GP files. Xbox 360's video playback capabilities tested - DivX, XviD, subtitles and more This article covers video files that work or don't work directly with the Xbox 360 games console

Version History
v1.0 2008.03.15 Original version by Rich "vurbal" Fiscus