ARC Commander is a command-line tool for performing broadcast-quality aspect ratio conversion on MPEG-2 files. Perfect for integrating into automated, non-linear workflows.

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The scaling algorithms in ARC Commander have been battle-tested in real-life broadcast environments to ensure maximum quality. All standard definition MPEG-2 file formats are supported, including:
  • Main Profile @ Main Level 4:2:0 Chroma up to 15Mb/s
  • 422 Profile @ Main Level 4:2:2 Chroma up to 50Mb/s
  • Long GOP or I-frame only
Aspect ratio conversions include:
  • 16:9FH (Anamorphic) to 16:9 letterbox in a 4:3 frame
  • 16:9FH (Anamorphic) to 14:9 letterbox in a 4:3 frame
  • 4:3 to 4:3 pillarbox in a 16:9FH (Anamorphic) frame
  • 4:3 to 4:3 cropped in a 16:9FH (Anamorphic) frame
ARC Commander works by having the user supply a source MPEG-2 video file, and then a chosen transformation identifier for a particular aspect ratio conversion.

Each frame is then rescaled using a proprietary scaling algorithm which has been passed for quality in the most rigorous broadcast environments, before being output to a new MPEG-2 file.

An optional "sharpen" flag can be set. This requires more processing time, but enhances edge definition on certain transformation types.

The command line tool will log output either back to stdout (the command line) or to a specified log file. Progress updates are made with each frame - these can be used to calculate percentage done if integrating into an automated environment.

Speed is faster than real-time on modern CPUs.
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$1,199
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