TMPGEnc KARMA Plus is a video library manager for Windows that brings file classification, thumbnail browsing and video comparison into one application. Its library helps identify recordings across a collection, while its player can examine two files together or return to saved scenes. This original paid edition has been discontinued and is no longer sold.
KARMA Plus library panels and playlists
The main window has upper and lower library panels whose contents you can set separately. Display categories in the panels, then drag videos between them to classify the collection. Color labels can also mark clips, with each color representing importance or any other distinction you choose.
Playlists control viewing order separately from classification. You can arrange different videos in sequence or include the same video more than once.
Story thumbnails
Registering a video creates a series of thumbnail images taken from its content. Hovering over the thumbnail cycles through those stills, revealing more than a single cover image. You can also select a different representative picture when the initial thumbnail does not identify the recording clearly. The application can continue generating thumbnails for registered files while minimized to the system tray.
For a closer look, Quick Preview plays up to three videos inside the main window. Clicking a thumbnail starts or pauses that preview, allowing several candidates to be checked without opening each in the separate player. Video and audio properties accompany the preview, including bitrate, frame size, frame rate, aspect ratio and channel information.
Multiplay
TMPGEnc KARMA Plus uses Multiplay to compare two video files. Each can play independently, and you can assign starting points to bring the passages you want to inspect into view.
Overlay mode places one video above the other and provides an opacity slider to vary their transparency. Separator mode divides the display between the two sources, with horizontal, vertical and side-by-side arrangements. Changing how much of the screen belongs to each video lets you inspect their differences along a shared boundary.
Projector output can send playback or a comparison to a second monitor while the main screen remains available for controls and file information.
Scene navigation
The player includes a thumbnail navigator for scanning through a recording at variable speeds with the right mouse button. Saved chapter points provide more precise return positions: each file can have up to 32, displayed in chronological order in the chapter panel. Numbered keyboard shortcuts jump to the corresponding chapters, while playback resume returns to the position where viewing stopped.
Viewing filters
For enlarged low-resolution footage, the KARMA Clear filter adjusts the displayed picture to make its contours sharper. It is intended primarily for material up to 480 pixels high; applying it to larger images can reduce playback performance or produce less suitable results. A separate deinterlace control can be switched on and off when viewing interlaced material.
Video decoding
Built-in readers handle MPEG video, H.264, MPEG transport streams and AVCHD recordings, alongside supported MKV, MOV, FLV and WebM files. Container support still depends on the streams inside: MKV is limited to streams its MPEG reader understands, and the native MOV support covers H.264 video with Linear PCM audio. AVI and other DirectShow sources can use installed codecs.
The program plays video soundtracks including AAC, Dolby Digital, Dolby Digital Plus and Vorbis, but does not accept audio-only files. Playback decoding can use compatible Intel Quick Sync or NVIDIA CUDA hardware. Before CUDA decoding or filtering, TMPGEnc KARMA Plus evaluates whether the CPU or GPU is better suited to the operation.
CUDA export
The original CUDA encoder creates MP4 files containing H.264 video and AAC audio. Portable-device presets cover iPod and PSP output, while custom settings expose picture size, frame rate, encoding profile and constant or variable bitrate. The available sizes extend to Full HD.
This export function depends on legacy NVIDIA drivers and cannot operate with modern driver releases.
Application launcher
Editing can be handed to another application from the library. The launcher accepts registered applications, files and folders, and a library video can be dragged into a compatible TMPGEnc editor. Third-party programs can also be registered, letting the catalog serve as the selection point before work continues in a separate editing tool.
Database backup
TMPGEnc KARMA Plus saves and restores its library database and settings, so an earlier catalog can be recovered after unwanted changes or database damage. That backup contains the catalog, rather than copies of the video files themselves.
