Microsoft Releases New Features In Expression Encoder 2

A little over a week ago, Microsoft released Expression Encoder 2 beta and the new version has quite a few of the features that webcasters in particular have been asking for. One of the biggest changes is that Expression Encoder 2 is now a product in its own right rather than a feature of Expression Media. It’s part of Expression Studio 2 and also available standalone. You can read all details on the Microsoft blog. Highlights of the new version include:

Better Encoding: VC-1 advanced authoring SDK integration, New profiles, and CODECS, Improved MPEG source support, Better multi-core performance, Improved aspect ratio handling, Pre-processing enhancements

Better Silverlight Interactive experiences: New templates, Template Parameters, Gallery Templates, Template preview, Edit in Expression Blend, Partial rebuild, ASP.NET Development Server, Hooks for Silverlight 2 templates

Enhanced Content Creation tools: Brand new imaging pipeline, Burn-in of moving overlays, Cuts editing, Smart re-compression, New Timeline UI

In addition Microsoft says, "there are some really exciting new features that you’ve asked us for that we are not ready to announce just yet. Stay tuned for more details." In addition to the new features, what else do you want to see? I’m particularly interested in hearing what functionality webcasters are looking for.