Expression Encoder 4 and Expression Encoder 4 SP1 are included, as well as SP2

Nov 3, 2011 11:28 GMT  ·  By

The RTM Build of Service Pack 2 (SP2) for Expression Encoder 4 is now available for download from Microsoft.

The Expression Encoder 4 SP2 RTM download that the software giant is offering contains not only the latest service pack but also Encoder 4 and Expression Encoder 4 SP1.

A number of new features and enhancements are introduced with the release, reveals Eric Juteau, Principal Software Design Engineer in Test in the Expression Encoder team.

However, customers need to be aware of the fact that aspects of the evolution of Expression Encoder 4 SP2 RTM are available only in the Pro version of the tool, and not also for the free variant.

Juteau enumerated some of the new additions in Expression Encoder 4 SP2 RTM, delivered for all editions:

“Support for SRS audio encoding – You can now choose to enable SRS to convert an audio stream from multiple audio channels to two SRS 5.1 surround sound channels.

Live crop – You can now crop your live or file sources in a Live Broadcasting project.

Support for Windows Media Streaming MBR in a Live broadcast – You can now add multiple bitrate streams to your WM Streaming broadcast in a Live Broadcasting Project.”

There are additional improvements that customers upgrading to Expression Encoder 4 SP2 RTM will be able to take advantage of, including the scraping of the 10-minute Screen Capture limit as well as the ability to have the screen capture area to follow the mouse cursor.

The upgrade also introduces a number of Template enhancements and a collection of new SDK samples.

At the same time, there are a set of new features available only to those running Expression Encoder 4 Pro SP2 RTM:

“Support for 1 and 2-pass VBR for offline H.264 encodes (Pro only) – You can now select 1-pass VBR for MP4 encodes as well as both 1-pass and 2-pass VBR for H.264-based Smooth Streaming encodes.

Support for more AAC audio options (Pro only) – You can now choose multiple-channel audio along with more bitrate and sample rate options when you use the AAC codec.

Manage publishing points from within Expression Encoder (Pro only) – In a Live Broadcasting Project, you can now create, restart or update publishing points on an IIS Smooth Streaming server. You can also choose to automatically update a broadcast’s EventID.

Support for Live H.264 VBR 1-pass (Pro only) – You can now select 1-pass VBR encoding for H.264-based Live Smooth Streaming encodes.”

Expression Encoder 4 Service Pack 2 (SP2) RTM is available for download here.