Share via

Expression Encoder 4 versions and Features

  • Article

There has been lot of confusion lately with number of Expression Encoder 4 options available in market today. In this blog I am going to discuss about the versions of Encoder and the features available within.

For people who are not familiar with Expression Encoder, it is an Encoder tool available from Microsoft to create, edit and encode media files. It's the successor of Windows Media Encoder which was widely used for number of years. For more information on Expression Encoder, you can visit the following links:

Expression Encoder 4 home page: https://expression.microsoft.com/en-us/cc507507.aspx

Expression Encoder Wiki page: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Expression_Encoder

Learn Expression Encoder: https://expression.microsoft.com/en-in/cc197144.aspx#ExpressionEncoderQuickStartGuides

Download Expression Encoder 4 with SP1: https://www.microsoft.com/downloads/en/details.aspx?FamilyID=5c3c5f97-678c-4c99-a7fc-f84f320c626f 

Note: It is recommended that you install the Expression Encoder 4 SP1 update after you have installed the retail version. This SP1 can be used as an update package as well as a complete package installation. This link can be directly used for fresh installation of Expression Encoder 4 free version.

Below is the table that will explain the difference between the versions of Encoders:

 

As this diagram shows, the following features are only available in fully featured Expression Encoder 4 Pro:

  • Running a screen capture for longer than 10 minutes.
  • Use of an MPEG-2 source for input.
  • Use of AVCHD for input.
  • Use of Dolby Digital audio input.
  • Attempt to output in H.264 format.
  • Attempt to output in AAC-LC format.
  • Use of IIS Live Smooth Streaming.

Fully featured Expression Encoder pro is only available for purchase via retail channels.

You can verify which version of Microsoft Expression Encoder 4 Pro you have by selecting Help -->About Microsoft Expression Encoder and checking the title of the program. Non-retail versions of Expression Encoder 4 Pro will display the following title:

To upgrade to a full-featured version of Microsoft Expression Encoder 4 Pro from the Microsoft Store at the following location:

https://store.microsoft.com/microsoft/Expression-Encoder-4-Pro/product/0BE96B98?WT.mc_id=expressionsite_EncoderPro4Buy 

The following versions of Microsoft Expression Encoder 4 Pro are examples of non-retail versions. Please note, this list does not contain all possible sources of non-retail versions.

Microsoft Expression Encoder 4 Pro (without codecs)

  • Downloads from MSDN
  • Volume license versions
  • DreamSpark versions

Comments

  • Anonymous
    February 13, 2016
    Is this product free, because I can't tell..