Expression Encoder: Which edition is right for you?
Did you know that the single best way to get video encoded for Silverlight, or indeed your Zune for that matter, is free? Yes that’s right, free. There is a version of Expression Encoder available for download from the Expression Website which has all the tools you need to prepare and encode your video and provides a range of Silverlight playback experiences – it doesn’t time out and it doesn’t cost you anything! In fact, we are encouraging anyone who currently uses Windows Media Encoder to give it a try.
If, however, you have purchased either Expression Studio 3 or Expression Web 3, then you get a whole lot more. This includes an additional output format H.264, support for Dolby Digital, the ability to encode for IIS Smooth Streaming and unlimited length screen captures. To help clarify what features come with what edition, refer to the table at the end of this post. It’s not an exhaustive list of features, but it should help you decide which version is right for you. We do want to stress again though, that there is no “trial version” as such; you can use the standard free edition for as long as you wish.
We would also like to take this opportunity to mirror the questions asked by the Blend team recently. We would love to hear what you like and what you don’t like about the latest version of Expression Encoder, as well as what you use the product for. Maybe you’re using it to stream live video in an innovative application using the SDK to drive the encoding engine automatically – whatever it is you do with Expression Encoder we’d love to showcase it.
| Edition | Expression Encoder Standard | Expression Encoder with IIS Smooth Streaming |
| Availability | Free Download | With Expression Studio 3 or Expression Web 3 |
| High performance multi-core/multi-processor encoding | Yes | Yes |
| Basic editing functions | Yes | Yes |
| Screen capture | 10 minute segments only | Yes |
| Live Encoding | Yes | Yes |
| Multichannel Audio | Yes | Yes |
| Input Formats | ||
| AVI | Yes | Yes |
| QuickTime (if installed) | Yes | Yes |
| MPEG-2 | No | Yes |
| DirectShow Filters | Yes | Yes |
| Dolby Digital | No | Yes |
| Output Formats | ||
| Windows Media (VC1) | Yes | Yes |
| H.264 | No | Yes |
| AAC-LC | No | Yes |
| IIS Smooth Streaming | No | Yes |