I'd really love to be able to batch process encodes in the following manner:
Drop my source video file into AME CS5, select an MP4 preset, and then have it encode multiple bitrate versions while adding filename extensions [e.g. _High (700 kb/s), _Mid (550 kb/s), _Low (400 kb/s)].
The simple answere is to drop, or duplicate, my input clip 3 times and just select 3 presets I could set up under the Hi, Mid, Lo parameters. But that's exactly what I'm trying to work around. I encode video ads for major web-video sites, and the volume is just manageable to batch process these (drag and drop large quantities, select multiple presets at once, hit Start.) To handle each ad we service would be far too time consuming, even for as simple as AME makes it to duplicate/choose new preset. (In the end, our ads jump onto our FTP via AME's FTP upload option, one of it's smartest features!)
We have quite a bit of encoding resources here at work, but AME has been giving us the most favorable results. Other options, such as Sorenson Squeeze, let you import your source clips, then apply 2 or more presets to them, before encoding the whole batch. Is there any similar functionality in Media Encoder? (Really don't want to move our workflow into Squeeze, with it's inferior MP4 encoding.)
Does anybody have any experience with this sort of high-volume multiple-outputs from individual source files? Any tips with scripts or Apple's "Automator" that could streamline this type of batch processing?