DVD Catalyst 4 V4.0.3 Beta 6:
*NEW:
MP4 to MKV, M4V to MKV, AVI to MKV
In (Power User) Global Settings > Video Files, you will find a few new settings added to “FixMKV”
With FixMKV, and one (or all) of these settings enabled, DVD Catalyst 4 will create an MKV video file from the original video and audio portion of your original video file. Some media player applications provide additional functionality for MKV files, some of which would otherwise not be available if you leave the file in its original format. No actual conversion is performed on video and audio, it will just be copied into the new MKV file.
*Proxy server settings:
In Global Settings, you will find a new tab “Internet” which contains download buttons to update to the latest beta or the latest official version, and also the new Proxy Server settings. If you use a proxy server to connect to the internet, and can not update DVD Catalyst 4 to the latest version using the build-in update function, fill out the information here, and DVD Catalyst 4 should be able to download the latest updates for you.
*New devices added:
Droid X2, Droid Incredible 2
Changes:
Further speed improvements. Don’t expect a super-boost in performance, but everything should convert a tad faster.
DVD conversions now use the new “Boosterpack2″ conversion engine, which makes better use of multi-core systems, Bluray and Video file conversion speed has been tweaked a bit as well.
On a quad-core laptop, you might notice the following difference in speed:
Bluray, Tron Legacy (with AnyDVD HD), Xoom HQ1 profile, everything else default: Beta 5: 2.2x realtime, Beta 6: 2.7x realtime. (20% faster)
DVD, Tron Legacy, Xoom profile, everything else default: Beta 5: 5.4x realtime, Beta 6: 7x realtime. (30% faster)
MKV, 720p h264, Xoom HQ1 profile, everything else default: Beta 5: 2.8x realtime, Beta 6: 3.1x realtime. (10% faster)
Difference between DVD Catalyst 4.0.2.7 and DVD Catalyst 4.0.3 Beta 6:
The beta is better. However it is not yet at the point that I consider it good enough to be released as an “Official” version.
*The beta includes a new conversion engine, which eliminates some issues with certain AMD 64bit processors (Athlon II Dual Core P-series), and it offers better support for MKV files (“Compressed Headers”, as well as E-AC3 and TruHD audio formats), and it can handle Windows Media Center WTV files, all of which are a bit problematic using the original conversions engines included with DVD Catalyst 4.0.2.7.
*While DVD Catalyst 4.0.2.7 shares 99.9% of the code of 4.0.3 Beta 3, since release, numerous additional tweaks and improvements have been made towards DVD handling (Toy Story 1 DE and Toy Story 2 SE), which makes even more DVDs convert easier.
*The beta works with Bluray (if you have something like AnyDVD HD) but also offers better support for M2TS files (pre-ripped Bluray) files.
*The beta works better on multi-core systems, offering better cpu-core usage and of course better performance and quality.
*Of course all other features such as transparent batch and 1-click conversions are still there as well.
To update to Beta 6, enable “Power User”, then in Global Settings > Version info, tab on the Beta button.
If you run into complications, please perform the following (the best way to reset DVD Catalyst 4 to its defaults):
* Make sure DVD Catalyst is not running
*Click on “START” > “RUN” (or hold down the windows-key on your keyboard and tap the “R” key)
*In the run dialog, type in:
%appdata%
and click OK
*delete the “DVD Catalyst 4″ folder
This will reset DVD Catalyst to it’s defaults, and will take care of most possible issues.
If you run into an complications that the above procedure doesn’t solve, or have any comments, suggestions or requests, feel free to contact me by email at dvdcatalyst@gmail.com
DVD Catalyst 4 V4.0.3 Beta 5:
*As mentioned earlier this week, the big new thing in Beta 5 is the subtitle-font-selection. You can find it in Global Settings > Language.
It should automatically find your Windows-fonts folder, and display the available (TrueType) fonts that can be used for the subtitles.
Because the new conversion is a bit picky when it comes to video files that have embedded subtitle fonts (MKV files) I enabled this setting by default.
*In addition to the subtitle-font-selection, I moved other subtitle-related options to the language tab to keep things more organized. With so many options, it gets tricky to remember in which tab you have to look for what setting. Hopefully this will make things easier for everyone.
*Bluray (if you have AnyDVD HD). Some “Dreamworks” blurays had some problems with detection. The main audio language for these movies was not detected, so after conversion you ended up with either a different language or directors comments. This has been fixed. (if you have AnyDVD HD, you can enable the checkmark in Global Settings > Bluray.
*DVDs. work-around created for Toy Story 1 and 2 (diamond edition) should now kick in if other DVDs have similar issues.
*Video files. The new conversion engine used in the Beta has better support for newer MKV files, including ones with compressed headers and ones that have newer (bluray) audio formats like E-AC3 and TruHD. The new engine also has support for WTV (Windows Media Center) and better support for DVR-MS (old media center format).
DVD Catalyst 4 V4.0.3 Beta 4:
Mainly internal fixes, but Toy Story 1 and 2 (Special Edition) should work fine now. The work-around should kick in when needed for other DVDs as well.
DVD Catalyst 4 V4.0.3 Beta 3:
*updated manual
*bluray support (needs AnyDVD HD)
*new conversion engine
*better multi-core support
*blackberry playbook profiles
*basic activity log
Internally a lot has changed.
Since Beta 2, our main focus has been to improve multi-core support. Beta 3 utilizes the processors/cores better which improves performance, especially with h264-based content (such as MKV and Bluray)
Bluray support still requires AnyDVD HD, which will likely never change. Besides making Bluray work, as an added bonus you gain a little bit of a speedboost for most DVD conversions as well.
Because the original- and boosterpack-engines are still better for certain tasks than the new updated conversion engine (boosterpack2) we eliminated the Boosterpack tab, and replaced it with an “Engines” tab, allowing for more control. It is now easier to pick what engine you want to use for what task.
Also new is Hue and Saturation adjustments in DVD Catalyst’s preview. To improve color-representation on devices with a lower screen brightness or quality, you can adjust these settings in the preview. Unfortunately to see the effects of these settings, you will need to enable “accelerated preview mode”, which isn’t supported on all video cards (works on ATi and nVidia, but not on some Intel GMA cards) this setting can be enabled in the “Engines” tab.
The tabs in Global Settings have been reorganized and sorted to make things a bit easier to find.
The manual has been updated to reflect the changes.
