Sorenson Media (http://www.sorensonmedia.com) has announced the immediate availability of Sorenson Squeeze 8.5. This latest version of Squeeze is the purportedly the fastest version yet of the encoding and transcoding application. It provides speed increases, based on process improvements in the Squeeze video encoding engine, including:
° Single output acceleration: Full Squeeze 8.5 optimization for each of the major output formats, including MP4, QuickTime (MOV), WebM and Matroska (MKV). Parallel rather than sequential processing now drives the Squeeze engine. A significant re-architecture enables the application to systematically break decoded, compressed video files into separate content chunks and partition these simultaneously across multiple CPUs for processing.
° Intel Quick Sync optimization: Sorenson Media has collaborated with Intel engineers to optimize Squeeze 8.5 for Intel’s Quick Sync platform and codec, including optimization for Intel’s Second Generation (Sandy Bridge) and Third Generation (Ivy Bridge) processors on Windows machines.
° Faster adaptive bitrate encoding: As with single output acceleration, adaptive bitrate encoding is now processed in parallel, rather than sequentially. Each rendition can be spread across multiple CPUs.
° Complete CPU control: Squeeze 8.5 empowers Squeeze users for the first time to choose how to throttle CPU encoding via a slider bar — including devoting up to 100 percent of the user’s system resources to a particular encode.
According to Craig Hurst, director of Product Management, Developer Products Division, Intel Software and Services Group, in addition to the speed improvements, Squeeze 8.5 features new workflow enhancements through seamless integration and — for the first time — free permanent storage within Sorenson 360, Sorenson Media’s online video platform.
Sorenson 360 has also been enhanced through the addition of a new user interface with a sophisticated rich text editor and the ability to easily send existing video content already in the Sorenson 360 OVP for review and approval without the need to re-encode, he adds.
Sorenson Squeeze 8.5 and 8.5 Pro are now available for US$799 and $999, respectively, for new Squeeze customers. It’s also available for a limited time as a free upgrade for customers of Sorenson Squeeze 8. Sorenson Squeeze 8 customers receive 5GB of free permanent storage and use of all Sorenson 360 features.