Hdencode Alternative Full May 2026

You need untouched or remux sources to encode yourself:

Type: GUI (Windows only)
Platform: Windows

Why it replaces HDEncode: StaxRip is a heavy-duty encoding tool designed for AviSynth/VapourSynth scripting, but it includes a simple mode that mirrors HDEncode’s functionality. Features:

Best for: Users who need more filtering options than HDEncode offered.

Verdict: Overkill for basic conversions, but perfect if you need frame-accurate editing or restoration filters.

Best for: The ultimate backup.

If you are serious about replacing HDencode permanently, abandon the web entirely. Usenet existed before the world wide web.

If you want a turnkey HDEncode replacement today:

Storage Estimate (Full quality encodes): ~5-8 GB per 1080p movie, ~15-25 GB per 4K movie.

Best for: Disc space savers.

YTS is the polar opposite of HDencode’s "high bitrate" philosophy. However, 90% of users looking for alternatives actually just want easy downloads.

Once downloaded, use TinyMediaManager to scrape metadata exactly the way HDEncode presented it (posters, backdrops, NFOs). This gives you a "full" visual experience.

When we say "full alternative," we are looking for specific features:

With that criteria set, here are the best full alternatives to HDencode in 2025.

F

FESTIVAL OFFICE

Contact:

The Festival Office coordinates and organizes participation in national and international festivals, competitions and awards in collaboration with stu-dents. Students can get information and advice about festivals, prizes and other calls for entries at the Festival Office.

It is advisable to make an appointment by email or telephone (see above). Information about festivals, current submission deadlines and other relevant information is sent by email via the festival distribution list. You can sign up for this on the following page:
https://listen.filmakademie.de/mailman/listinfo/festivals-list

FILM / VIDEO EDITING

For offline video editing, well-equipped editing rooms with Avid Media Com-poser and Adobe Premiere Pro are available in the Lubitsch building. Editing shifts for student projects can be booked in eDISPO, provided that the neces-sary budget has been calculated and approved in advance via eProject.

High-quality, high-performance hardware is available in the editing rooms, such as HP Z8 & Apple Mac Pro workstations, AJA Io 4K PLUS video hardware, Eizo 4K video and computer displays, and Genelec speakers. An Avid NEXIS storage system can be used to store audio & video data and project data from Media Composer or Premiere.

FILMAKADEMIE ENSEMBLE

The Filmakademie Ensemble is a group of students, staff, and alumni of the Filmakademie and the ADK and is open to all music enthusiasts who can sing or play an instrument. The ensemble plays a colorful mixture of pop, rock and soul music. Rehearsals take place during the lecture period on Tuesdays from 7 p.m. in the music recording room in the Murnau building (MUR 0.13).

If you are interested in participating or would like to receive information about current rehearsal dates, please check the FABW wiki for contact details.

FILMAKADEMIE CHOIR AKAPELLA

Contact:

AKApella, the Filmakademie’s choir, has been rehearsing regularly since 2019, on Mondays from 7:00 p.m. The group is made up of students from the Fil-makademie and its Animationsinstitut as well as of alumni and offers a genre-spanning repertoire from film music to classical music.

Interested parties are warmly invited to attend one of the rehearsals without obligation. Previous musical experience is not required and participation in the choir is free of charge. For more information about the rehearsals and the group, please contact us by email.

FIRST AID

There is a first aid kit on each floor. In case of an emergency, always contact the person trained as a first aider for that floor first. The name, room and phone number are posted on the first aid box. Otherwise, dial the emergency number 112.

FMX – FILM & MEDIA EXCHANGE

FMX is Europe’s most influential conference for the creative industries and a magnet for international media and entertainment artists and producers. For four days on site at Haus der Wirtschaft in Stuttgart, FMX explores the latest in Animation, Visual Effects, Interactive and Immersive Media. Significant crea-tors in film and media production give glimpses into their bags of tricks, young talents find inspiration and possibly a job – with everyone enjoying the inti-mate atmosphere for debating, networking and mingling.

SAVE THE DATE: The 29th edition of FMX will take place May 6 to 9, 2025.

FOOD AND DRINK

Vending machines for drinks are available in the student mail room in the Mathildenstraße building, room M 0.22, in the Lubitsch building, room LU 1.06, in the Metropolis building, room MET 1.33 as well as on the first floor of the Murnau building. For the sake of the environment, please use reusable cups if possible, especially the branded FABW thermal cups (available at the reception)!

Although there is no cafeteria at the Filmakademie, the "Blauer Engel" and the "Joe Peñas" in the Akademiehof, as well as the "Mavi-Imbiss" close to the Mathilden building (Seestraße 22) and the "TASKIN" (Kirchstraße 23, Lud-wigsburg) offer discounts for Filmakademie students. Food vouchers are re-quired for this, which you can obtain from the ticket machine opposite the reception.

Since food prices have recently risen significantly, and some of the restaurants mentioned here have had to make price adjustments, you have the option of selecting from two categories of food vouchers at the ticket machine: worth €4.00 or €5.00. This provides either a dish of the day or a dish from the menu up to €5.75. Drinks are also cheaper, but can only be paid for in cash.

The vouchers can only be exchanged from Monday to Friday and until 5:30 p.m. each day. On Saturdays, a small surcharge is added. After 5:30 p.m. and on Sundays, vouchers are not valid. If you would like to eat in the city canteen, it is sufficient to identify yourself with your student ID. You will then receive meals at a price reduced by the Studierendenwerk subsidy (€ 1.74).

I

INSURANCE CLAIMS (EXCEPT OCCUPATIONAL ACCIDENTS)

Contact:

Damage claims (property damage, no personal injury!) in connection with student projects must be reported immediately to the above email address.
Further information on the topic of insurance is taught in the basic course pro-gramme at the start of the academic year and can be found in the Wiki.

INTERNATIONAL CLASS (ICLA)

Contact:

The English-language International Class (ICLA 2.0) always takes place in the summer semester. 24 guest students from the Filmakademie’s international partner institutions follow the English-language curriculum and work on pro-jects together with regular students. The group contributes to the plurality and diversity of campus life through its radically cosmopolitan composition. The International Office organizes the curriculum, scholarships and administrative processes around the ICLA.

INTERNATIONAL HEALTH INSURANCE

The Filmakademie strongly advises students to take out international health insurance for stays abroad (e.g. filming, excursions, etc.), as the medical costs abroad are considerably higher than the benefits or reimbursements provid-ed by the statutory health insurance in Germany. In addition, statutory health insurance companies may not contribute to the costs of a return transport.

International health insurance should cover professional activities abroad (e.g. filming) and should be taken out in good time before departure.

More information about this can be found in the Wiki >Areas >Infoboard >Auslandskrankenversicherung.

INTERNATIONAL PROGRAMMES

Contact:

Since 2020, the Filmakademie’s International Office has widened offers for outgoing and incoming students adapting them to students’ needs. An over-view of the current opportunities and general information on the topic can be found in the Wiki >International Office. The tasks of the International Office also include all topics related to mobility scholarships.

J

JOBS AT THE FILMAKADEMIE

Student job opportunities at the Filmakademie are available in the following areas:

Student guides for tours of the Kinderfilmhaus. If you are interested, please contact the head of the Kinderfilmhaus: (see also "Kinderfilmhaus").
Student Guides for Academy Tours. For more information, contact our Communications & Public Relations Department:
Jobs in Administration. Please direct inquiries to our Personnel & Fees Department: .

K

KICKER FOOTBALL MANAGER GAME

The Filmakademie participates with its own league in the football manager game of Kicker Online (game mode: 1. Bundesliga Interactive). Students, staff, lecturers, and alumni can participate. More information is provided by email by the Communications & Public Relations Office shortly before the start of the season.

KINDERFILMHAUS

The Kinderfilmhaus Ludwigsburg is an institution of the Filmakademie Baden-Wuerttemberg. Guests learn from FABW students how to make films and the stages in the filmmaking process that go into making them. At the Kinderfilmhaus, visiting groups are introduced to the media of film, television and advertising in a playful and, above all, interactive way, and are encouraged to critically reflect on its features and impact.

For more information please visit the homepage:
www.kinderfilmhaus-lb.de
Contact:

L

LIBRARY / VIDEO & MEDIA LIBRARY

Contact:

Opening hours: Mon - Fri, 10am – 18pm
Online catalog: http://bibliothek.filmakademie.de
Filmakademie Productions: http://bibliothek.filmakademie.de

The library / video & media library of the Filmakademie is located on the ground floor of the Metropolis building (MET 0.41, barrier-free access) and has an extensive film collection consisting of 17,000 DVDs and 1,000 Blu-Rays of all genres, as well as 31,000 books. The collection focuses on film and media studies in all thematic aspects, which are oriented towards the teaching events and artistic topics of FABW, and is supplemented by a selection of related subject areas (photography, art, literature, comics, etc.).

Only members of the Filmakademie (lecturers, staff, students) can borrow media from the collection. Work and research spaces are available. Curated film lists on selected topics are posted on Letterboxd (https://boxd.it/9ZFaP). About 50 magazines are subscribed to.

M

MAILING LISTS

As a student of the Filmakademie, you will automatically receive emails with information about teaching and Filmakademie operations (schedule/room changes, event notices, staff changes, etc.). from the list studierenden-list. Messages from the Office of Student Affairs are marked STL in the subject line. Sending messages via the student list is only possible for Filmakademie employees and project supervisors.

The bulletin board list (pinnwand-list) is available to all members of the Filmakademie and is open for any kinds of classified ads, announcements, surveys, tips, etc. To be added to the list, users must register. Detailed instructions can be found in the Wiki >IT-OfficeNet.

MEDICAL PRACTICES IN LUDWIGSBURG

Ludwigsburg has a large number of doctors and a clinic with an emergency room. If you are looking for a doctor and would like to know more about medi-cal practices in the area, you can find feedback written by members of the Fil-makademie in the Wiki >Doctors in Ludwigsburg. The Wiki features a number of doctors' offices in the region with evaluations from members of the Filmakademie. You can also share your own positive/negative experiences with doctors in the area there.

MOBILITY YEAR (MOJA)

Since the 2023/2024 academic year the Mobility Year allows all students to spend a year gaining international experience between undergraduate and graduate studies. Students can choose one of four pillars:

1. Bilateral exchange
2. Traveling Without Moving (participation in ICLA)
3. Jobs and internships with an international dimension
4. Free mover

Following the mobility year, course studies are resumed in the 3rd year. Aca-demic credits can be transferred following consultation with relevant staff. Participation in the mobility year is not mandatory, but strongly recommended.

Comprehensive information on the Mobility Year is available at
https://wiki.filmakademie.de/wiki/display/STUD/MOBILITY+YEAR
Please also check out the subpages!

N

NOTICE BOARD

In the entrance area of the first floor of the Mathildenstraße building, there is a notice board for external and internal offers and requests of any kind. The digital alternative to this is the pinboard mailing list of the Filmakademie (see "Mailing Lists").

O

ONLINE RELEASES

As FABW is the film producer of all productions created and realised at the Filmakademie, it also bears the economic and legal risk and is responsible for the distribution and publication of the projects. This also applies to any form of online publication.
Release criteria in brief:

The project must be completed (master files must be on DiFiPo)
The utilisation release for online rights must be available
2 years after completion at the earliest / exception for advertising films
Release on Filmakademie Channels first, then ‘private’ (embedding preferred)
A film may ONLY be published with the consent of FABW and with a WATERMARK.

Further information can be found in the Wiki: https://wiki.filmakademie.de/wiki/x/31Ag

P

PARKING IN THE AKADEMIEHOF

Parking in the Filmakademie courtyard and the Akademiehof campus is not permitted! Failure to observe the parking ban may result in the vehicle being towed away at your own expense.

An exception are four parking spaces at the Caligari Cinema, which can only be used by vehicles for productions that are taking place at the time. These can be reserved in advance with a maximum of two parking spaces per production. Students must leave a deposit at reception in order to obtain a reservation and be issued with a key:
zutrittskontrolle@filmakadmeie.de

PRINT AND COPY

Students can use printers or copiers in the following buildings:
Mathildenstraße, Room 2.21
Metropolis, library and corridor 1st floor
The Lubitsch builing also houses an iMac/Surf computer with printer.

PRODUCTION DESIGN WORKSHOP

In the production design workshop, students' designs are realized as models or in original size. The workshop is mainly oriented towards woodworking. Saws, including panel saws, sliding table saws, crosscut saws and band saws, as well as the most important small machines are available and can be used by students after thorough training.
Surface work can also be carried out (painting, patina, covering, etc.). The workshop management advises on feasibility, design, material selection and costing.

Further information can be found in the Wiki >Technology Home >Produc-tion Design Workshop.

PROPS STORAGE

Contact:

The Filmakademie has a small prop warehouse that provides productions of FABW with basic furniture and small props. Access is via the driveway next to the library. Appointments to view and borrow props can be made via the email address above.

PRODUCTION OFFICES

Temporary offices for the production of film projects are available in the buildings of the Filmakademie. These offices are allocated by the respective departments.

R

RE-REGISTRATION FEES / AND IF APPLICABLE TUITION FEES (FOR STUDENTS ENROLLED ON A SECOND COURSE OF STUDY OR INTER-NATIONAL STUDENTS FROM NON-EU COUNTRIES)

Twice a year - at the end of January and mid-June - students receive an email from the Examinations Office via the CMS system asking them to transfer the re-registration fee for the coming winter or summer semester. We kindly ask you to adhere to the specified transfer deadlines in order to avoid de-registration!

We recommend that you set a reminder in your diary and pay particular atten-tion when you receive the payment request from the Office of Student Affairs in your CMS account! You can only retrieve your certificate of enrolment and VVS ticket (see ‘Semesterticket’) via the CMS-Campus system once you have transferred the re-registration fee.

RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT

The research and development department of the Animationsinstitut at FABW consists of a multidisciplinary team dedicated to the development of innovative tools and technologies. The team is not only responsible for entertainment productions, but also for alternative and socially engaged applications. Over the years, a wide range of topics have been explored that are important for the media productions of today and tomorrow. Students also get the opportunity to experience the latest trends in technology firsthand:
http://research.animationsinstitut.de

S

SCHOLARSHIPS

DEUTSCHLANDSTIPENDIUM (GERMAN SCHOLARSHIP)

The Deutschlandstipendium (German Scholarship), worth a total of €300 per month and limited to one year, supports high-achieving and committed students of all nationalities whose previous career path indicates outstanding academic achievement. The funding is made up of 50% from private funds and 50% from the federal government. The funding year begins in January and ends in December. The criteria for eligibility are reviewed by the Deutschlandstipendium Awards Committee as part of a selection process.

Students who are in their 4th year of study or PS/Q4 at the time of funding (diploma year) and who are not on leave are eligible to apply. The start of the submission for the Deutschlandstipendium will be communicated via an email to the student list or via the Wiki page. Further information can be found in the Wiki >Deutschlandstipendium.

MOBILITY SCHOLARSHIPS

Students at the Filmakademie have access to various mobility grants. There are also funding opportunities for international guest students (Incomings). More detailed information on current scholarship programmes and award conditions at the Filmakademie can be found in the Wiki >Scholarship Overview.

PROJECT FUNDING LBBW

The Landesbank Baden-Württemberg Foundation is sponsoring Filmakademie projects once again this year. These are directorial works (advertising film, film journalism, fiction film, documentary film) from the 3rd year of study. Five projects per academic year will be funded with €3,000 each. Further information can be found in the Wiki >Project Funding LBBW.

SCRIPTPOOL

If you are looking for an exposé, treatment or screenplay, you can find synopses in the script pool of material created in classes at the Filmakademie that have not yet been filmed: http://scriptpool.filmakademie.de. The complete books can be viewed by arrangement with the Project Supervisor Screenplay (M 2.15). Further information can be found in the Wiki >Scriptpool.

SECURITY

The Filmakademie is open around the clock from Monday to Friday, Saturday until 10 pm and then again from 7.30 am on Monday. FABW is closed on Sun-days until further notice due to the energy-saving measures in force.
Night work is generally permitted. In order to maintain this concept, it is es-sential to ensure that the doors and windows are always closed when leaving the rooms. At night, the security service checks the rooms at irregular intervals.

SMOKING / SMOKING WEED

Smoking is prohibited in all buildings of the Filmakademie. It is permitted outside on the premises. Ashtrays are available on the campus.

Cannabis consumption is prohibited - both indoors and on the entire campus - due to the legally defined 100 metre ban around municipal schools.

SOGO

At https://sogo.filmakademie.de you have access to the Filmakademie’s internal groupware system. Students can log in with the login details provided by IT (see "User account") and access your personal emails, forwarding services, calendars and address books (see "Email" and "Calendar"). More infor-mation about SOGo and how it works is available in the Wiki >IT-OfficeNet and is conveyed in the basic course programme.

STUDENT ACCOMODATION

The Filmakademie does not rent out accommodation. There are four student dormitories in Ludwigsburg which students can apply for independently (Wohnheim Eduard-Spranger-Strasse, Wohnheim Haus Athena, Studenten-dorf Ludwigsburg, Wohnheim der Finanzen). If you are interested, please contact the administration office of the respective hall of residence directly.

For renting privately, we recommend, alongside the regular housing portals, the website of the Studierendenwerk Stuttgart (www.platz-fuer-studierende.de), the noticeboard in the foyer of the Mathildenstraße building and the bulletin board mailing list: Apartments and rooms in shared apart-ments are also advertised here.

The city of Ludwigsburg offers all students resident in the city interesting of-fers and useful discounts (see "StuWi-Card").

STUDENT COMMON ROOM / WORKROOMS

On the first floor of the Mathildenstraße building there is a common room managed by the AStA, which is freely available to all students. In addition, it is possible to work in the Filmgalerie (Mathildenstraße building, room M 0.23) when no classes are being held there (see "Computer labs").

STUDENT MAIL ROOM

All students receive a pigeon hole in the student mail room, Mathildenstraße building, room M 0.22. The pigeon holes are used by the Filmakademie to distribute important communications that cannot be sent by email. In addi-tion, they are used to exchange other materials among students or between staff and students.

ATTENTION: Please do not deposit any valuable items there! FABW assumes no liability.

STUDENT SUPPORT / PROBLEM MANAGEMENT

If you would like to receive professional counseling for personal or interpersonal problems, exam nerves or other reasons, you can contact the psychotherapeutic counseling center of the Studierendenwerk Stuttgart. Appointments can be made Monday through Thursday between 1:30 and 2:30 p.m. by calling 0711 - 9574480.

For phychotherapeutic matters, the Office of Student Affairs/Examination Office, building Mathildenstraße, room M 1.28 can provide points of contact. You can contact the Office of Student Affairs confidentially at any time with issues of a difficult or sensitive nature.

STUWI-CARD

Since the summer semester of 2019, all students who are enrolled at one of the universities or academies in Ludwigsburg receive a StuWi Card. It is a bonus card, and more than 20 companies, associations and other institutions are al-ready involved. Students can activate the card using their matriculation num-ber and a personal ID number via the city's website and entitles card holders to participate in special bonus promotions. The companies and associations offer promotions for students on a platform linked to the city's website. The offers are verified before they are published in social media.

Students who register with their primary residence in Ludwigsburg will also receive a one-time credit of €200 on their StuWi card, which can be redeemed at all participating companies. Further information at: https://www.ludwigsburg.de/stuwi

T

TECHNOLOGY - MEDIA PRODUCTION

The media technology and production technology departments of the Filmakademie are coordinated and supervised by the Head of Technology (Uwe Kurz). He is responsible for the planning, project management and implementation of acquisitions in the department as well as contact person and consultant for new aquisitions. Further information can be found in the Wiki >Technology Home.

TRANSFER OF ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT

Academic credits obtained from previous courses of study, when appropriate, can be recognized by the Filmakademie. Documents showing previous achievements relevant to the course of study can always be submitted up until the start of the Christmas vacation. Please fill out the form "Antrag auf Leistungsanerkennung aus dem Vorstudium" in the Wiki and submit it together with your course assignments, academic transcript and proof of course partici-pation, as well as any other relevant information, to the Head of Studies, room M 1.27. The respective department decides on the transfer of previous courses of study after checking the contents of the documentation. The Head of Studies will inform you of the decision shortly thereafter.

TRANSFER ROOM

In the transfer room there are 6 ingest systems and 4 editing systems that can be used without prior booking. These systems are also connected to the Avid NEXIS storage system and are available for creating proxies, transcoding, importing, exporting, burning DVD or Blu-ray and other similar operations. The ingest systems are directly connected to the internet and can be used for uploads and downloads, especially for larger data volumes. In addition, they are equipped with card readers (CFAST, CompactFlash, SD, microSD) and one ingest system is equipped with an LTO-8 drive for backing up large amounts of data.

Originally the transfer room was a classic VTR room with numerous tape machines of different formats. Currently the following formats are supported: HDCAM, HDV, DV/DVCAM, Digital BetaCam, Betacam SP (playback only), Hi8/Video8 and VHS. With the video editing systems, dubbing from or to tape is possible. Players for Blu-ray, DVD and CD as well as a DVD copier 1 to 7 are available.

U

UNIVERSITY SPORTS

Organized by the General Student Committee (AStA), the Rotbäumlesfeld sports hall at Danziger Straße 30 in Ludwigsburg is available to all students of the Fimakademie every Friday from 8:00 to 10:00 p.m. for indoor sports with a playing area of 40x20m. There are also various self-organized sports groups. For more information on the various sports groups at FABW, please visit the AStA page in the Wiki.

In addition, students of the Filmakademie can participate in general university sports programmes offered by the Ludwigsburg University of Education (PH). For more information about the programme and course times, please visit: www.ph-ludwigsburg.de/hochschulsport

USER ACCOUNT

To access the Filmakademie’s IT systems, such as email, Wiki and WIFI, you will need a user account. This is managed centrally and consists of a personal username and password, which you will receive during your initial IT training course. The personal password must then be changed as soon as possible at meine.filmakademie.de, and you will need to read and accept the declaration of consent for the use of the IT systems.

If the password is not changed and / or the declaration of consent is not submit-ted, the user account will be deactivated no later than two weeks after the Foundation Course Programme at the beginning of the winter semester. This can only be reactivated by the IT-OfficeNet department, Gewächshausweg building, room G 1.06.

V

VFX / VISUAL EFFECTS

VFX stands for visual effects and serves as an umbrella term for a wide variety of digital applications. When building a team, it is important to know first how the work will be realized, in order to find the right team of artists. For this, students can request VFX consultations and use the VFX consultation hours. Dates are always communicated through the student mailing list. Participation is a prerequisite for a possi-ble collaboration with students of the Animationsinstitut.

A VFX project is always a long-term commitment for the VFX team as the pro-cessing time can extend over months. It should be requested as early as possi-ble (even during script development).

The following guide is designed to help get VFX projects in collaboration with the Animationsinstitut successfully off the ground:
https://wiki.filmakademie.de/wiki/x/ywBCCQ

W

WASTE

Please keep all rooms clean and tidy. The rubbish bins at the Filmakademie allow for the separation of paper and non-recyclable waste.

The following applies to the printer in computer room M 2.21: Even though paper is provided for free, for the sake of the environment, please take care to avoid unnecessary printouts.

WIFI

Students can connect their own computers and smart devices to the Filmakademie network via WIFI. Please use the WIFI "eduroam" for this purpose. Details on how to set this up can be found in the foundation course programme or in the Wiki >IT-OfficeNet.

WIKI OF THE FILMAKADEMIE

At https://wiki.filmakademie.de students and staff can access the Wiki of the Filmakademie. This is the central tool for both knowledge sharing and important communications.

In addition to notifications from the Head of Studies, the Office of Student Affairs, the Examinations Office, or the Communications & Public Relations Office, you will also find guidelines for lessons and film production, lesson scripts, topics for films and film sequence analysis, as well as answers to questions such as "What should I bear in mind when registering for or retaking an examination?" Contact details of all staff and students are also listed here.

Please read the messages in the Wiki regularly so that you do not miss any important deadlines! If you want to be informed about changes to certain areas in the Wiki, activate the "Watch" function for the respective pages. You can access the Wiki with your personal login details (see "User account").

WORKPLACE ACCIDENTS

Statutory accident insurance covers occupational accidents that occur during employees’ working hours or on their way to work. This also applies to students for the duration of their studies at the Filmakademie. Students are insured against accidents through the Unfallkasse Baden-Wuerttemberg (UKBW).

Accidents at work must be reported to the Personnel & Fees Department within 3 working days. The form for the accident report and further information can be found in the Wiki >areas >infoboard >work accident.

Do you have further questions?

Do you have any further questions about studying at the FABW?

Feel free to contact us!

Juliane Voigtländer

Head of Studies

Linda Krämer

Head of Studies

Steffi Schlupek

Head of Studies Assistance