Sorenson Squeeze 8.5 Features Improved Speed, Workflow Enhancements

Sorenson Media today announced the immediate availability of Sorenson Squeeze 8.5. This latest version of Squeeze is the fastest version yet of the perennial market-leading encoding and transcoding application, with a feature set designed to drive major workflow productivity improvements through the Sorenson 360 online video platform (OVP).

Squeeze 8.5 provides significant 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. In internal benchmark tests, the re-architected Squeeze 8.5 has demonstrated speed increases averaging 200 percent faster than the prior version, Squeeze 8.

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. Benchmark tests on these platforms with the new optimization have demonstrated a doubling of speed, over and above the single output acceleration improvements.

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, resulting in 200 percent faster encodes on average.

Complete CPU Control: Squeeze 8.5 empowers Squeeze users for the first time to choose how to throttle CPU encoding via an intuitive slider bar - including devoting up to 100 percent of the user's system resources to a particular encode.

"Increasing workflow efficiency for video professionals through faster encoding, transcoding and video processing is a consistent and growing need," said Craig Hurst, director of Product Management, Developer Products Division, Intel Software and Services Group. "Using the Intel® Media SDK, Sorenson Media engineers were able to unleash the powerful media processing capabilities of Intel Quick Sync Video built into 3rd generation Intel Core processors. We are excited about the dramatic improvement in encode performance Sorenson Media is able to deliver in the new Squeeze 8.5."

In addition to the speed improvements, Squeeze 8.5 features new significant workflow enhancements through seamless integration and - for the first time - free permanent storage within Sorenson 360, Sorenson Media's online video platform. With this free storage, users are able to take advantage of key workflow enhancements, including the ability to seamlessly encode and upload video files to the cloud for storage and distribution directly from the Squeeze interface, including a seamless review and approval process.

Squeeze 8.5 significantly streamlines the cumbersome, onerous conventional review and approval process typical of the video production workflow into a few simple steps - eliminating multiple inefficient and time-consuming steps of burning and delivering DVDs or using a file sharing services like Dropbox, Box or YouSendIt that are not optimized for video sharing across multiple screens.

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.

Other features include:
Manual Timecode Control: Users now have the ability to reset the playhead or otherwise reassign timecode information to any video file.
New Outputs: MPEG DASH in MP4 with H.264 and AAC
New Inputs: JPEG 2000 Decode - Elementary, MJ2, MP4, MXF wrappers, any resolution

"Our customers have spoken, and we have responded to deliver the ‘thunder and lightning' they were looking for," said Peter Csathy, CEO of Sorenson Media. "The thunder is the best-ever Squeeze feature set, which makes the encoding, transcoding, production and collaboration workflow better and easier than anything else in the market. The lightning is the unprecedented speed that enables users to get the highest-quality video content to their desired destinations in record time."

Pricing and Availability
Sorenson Squeeze 8.5 and 8.5 Pro are now available for $799 and $999, respectively, for new Squeeze customers. It is also available for a limited time as a free upgrade for customers of Sorenson Squeeze 8. Sorenson Squeeze 8 customers receive 5 GB of free permanent storage and use of all Sorenson 360 features.