TMPGEnc Authoring Works for Windows

User Reviews

• Few new features in a stripped interface

  Bubba_GumpSeptember 8, 2012

  Pros

  As a AW4 owner, I didn't waste too much time with AW5 to perform a thorough review, but it does indeed have a few needed additions and (I suspect) most or all of the functionality of AW4. My main reason for downloading the demo: the ability to have more than just two audio tracks (I'm working on Home Movies and need three tracks for Music, Narration, and Mixed music/narration, but AW4 only allows two.) AW5 allows (IIRC) up to four audio tracks, using tabs instead of input fields. I'm sure plenty of other improvements are in there as well, but didn't investigate too much further.

  Cons

  The first thing you'll notice is they completely stripped out the nice colorful interface, and instead went with a bare-bones text-only interface like you see in much cheaper software. This makes me think they produced this "update" on the cheap and rushed it out the door to make a few extra bucks rather than simply issuing a Patch to add the missing features to AW4. But you can't charge full price for "patches". Next: Gone is the "DivX" output option, replaced with the sorely-needed "AVCHD" format (basically, a way to put HD video on a Dual Layer DVD). Why they couldn't keep DivX and just ADD the AVCHD format is a mystery. I don't like losing formats. Whether there are other changes to the program I can't say. I already knew I wouldn't be laying out another $79 for the "new" version of a program I paid $99 for less than a year ago (at the base price, you must give up your old versions of AW. They want another $30 to allow you to use both), and uninstalled it minutes later.

  Summary

  Note to TMPG: If you're going to release a "major" new update, it should (at the very least) LOOK as good as the software you are replacing. And stripping OUT features is a definite no-no. It would of been WAY smarter (and probably more profitable) to release a major patch to AW4 adding the missing features and sell it for $49, instead of trying to charge another $99 for what looks like a cheap knock-off with new features. Very disappointing.

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• Cannot handle Blu Ray formats that other programs can

  ECharlesBensonMay 24, 2011

  Pros

  Glossy and well planned out at the header level

  Cons

  Cannot recognize standard .m2ts format SMPTE (VC1) and possibly others. TMPGENC admits this failing.

  Summary

  Hard to tell what other surprises are present in this but not having all codecs for common formats is like, ..... is like a dictionary with the T words missing. Each of WMP11, PowerDVD, and avs4you (cheaper and better product) play with no trouble. As good as TMPGENC products used to be, this is where I walk away.

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• Easy to use; very expensive

  MyCatsNameIsBernieFebruary 4, 2011

  Pros

  Easy to use; I authored my 1st DVD easily just by following the prompts.

  Cons

  Expensive.

  Summary

  I used the free trial but did not purchase due to the high price. I found open source program DVDStyler which works almost as well and is free.

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• Too cluttered, and too slow.

  padcrusherJuly 5, 2010

  Pros

  Not much really

  Cons

  Messy interface, very slow.

  Summary

  I've been using an old version (v 1.6) of this program for years, it was simple, had quite a flexible menu creation system, and was very fast when encoding. So, I thought I'd check out this latest version, what a disappointment. Messy, cluttered interface, and talk about slow! As a test, I created a video from 2 mpeg files, totaling just over 6GB, to be burned onto a dual layer disc. It took 23 minutes to encode using V1.6, pretty good. This version (4.0.11.39) gave me an ETA of........ 6 HOURS+ to encode the exact same files! I waited for 10 minutes to see if the ETA would re-calculate, but no, and in that 10 minutes it hadn't even done 1 percent! I'm now using Womble Easy DVD, which is excellent. Just as fast as the old TMPGEnc, but with much better facilities for making chapters and menus. If you need something light and powerful, womble's the way to go.

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• Outstanding for Editing & Burning Recorded HDTV!

  jwashburMay 13, 2010

  Pros

  Ease of use, attractive interface, simple yet thorough, reliable, packed with options for editing the menus, video, and great because you can select a "target" size - that forces the program to transcode the files so you can fit more on a disc.

  Cons

  Some tasks are a big sluggish or time consuming, but I think that goes with the territory with you are working with HD video files.

  Summary

  I regularly record Over the Air HDTV shows to my laptop using the ATI USB 650 Combo TV Tuner and Windows Media Center (Windows 7). I love the fact that I am able to squeeze 8 episodes of 24 (Jack Bauer) onto one 25gb disc (after editing commercials). The transcoding feature is awesome! I can fit more shows on one disc without losing much quality in video (if any).

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• Fast,powerful,unique features,loads of free templates.

  philtheeOctober 3, 2009

  Pros

  A most powerful and versatile package. It's fast, taking full advantage of quad-core CPU's. Its excellent batch-authoring feature lets you design a series of DVD's and leave it to author them overnight, one after another. Loads of free templates too!

  Cons

  Batch authoring could go one step further, and let you create the ISOs from the content folders, rather than leaving you to do it manually with the disc writing wizard. My only complaint with this excellent software.

  Summary

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• great performance

  rmcinty3January 10, 2009

  Pros

  easy to use interface and get excellent output from program

  Cons

  i have found no undesirable problems with the program as of yet

  Summary

  excellent features ease of use good output results

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• 1111111111

  duducsuJanuary 2, 2009

  Pros

  1111111111

  Cons

  1111111111

  Summary

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• ujkujyku

  lovegreatblackAugust 7, 2008

  Pros

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  Cons

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  Summary

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• surasak29January 18, 2008

  Pros

  Cons

  Summary

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