CVD:What is it,how to test it & what to expect!

[vhelp]

susie,

sorry all, my prev. post got pasted in error and I didn't catch it.
Below is what I was actually going to paste - correctly
.
.
.
sorry, I left something, though I did specify it elsewhere.

Agian, here's the basic for a CVD encode for TMPG
* load a Standard SVCD template,
* Load the "unlock.mcf" so you can change template
* Resolution: 352x480
* Audio: 48k w/ 160bit 'this can vary, ie 128, 192, 224, etc.
* CQ_VBR: 1450 max
* Encode it
* Burn with Nero, and compliance OFF
* of course you know to make the proper adjust for PAL vs. NTSC, and film/non-film.

why did I chose 1450 as my max for this clip?? Well, for a few reasons:
1, the quality of my source is very good - Satalite
2, the quality of THE source MATERIAL was also good (todays qlty mtv)
3, a touch of my home-brew filtering** system, which I'm not distribuing here,
and is tailored to my encoding projects, so don't ask
4, most TV shows can get away with this setting if their arent too many
really fast movements, else I adjust bitrate accordingly.
5, don't go too crazy with trying to reduce those blocks to Zero.
You gotta make some comprimises. I guess I'm pretty anal about blocks, and
if I see a block or too, I get a little fitzy, but I don't go upping up
the bitrate on ALL my encodes just because I see one or two blocks in one
video. Make some comprimises and stick to them.
6, Bare in mine also, that not all TV shows/movies/programs etc. are perfect!
Cause they're not. I've ben able to see many blocks in my encodes, and couldn't
firgure out why and HOW to get rid of them. Till I realized that when you
view each frame (pending on the blocks in the scene) you enlarge the video
window, and you finally see the actual blocks. Wow, you could kick youself
in the pants cause you're going crazy to reduce the blocks, but they just
don't wanna dissapear! ...cause they're already some in the capture you did.
That's why. So, before you go crazy spending hours trying calculate the
bitrate and fiddle with every forsaken setting (tmpg/cce) FIRST look into
the clip to see if their ARE any blocks. How? buy first encoding a few
fast scenes if you know some in advanced. If not, that's ok. Try not to
get too anal, like myself. Comprimise a little. Like I did in that clip you
all ben D/L'ing. I comprimised at 1450 bitrate cause I knew that any blocks
that COULD posibly be seen are soo minute, and/or were their to begin with,
or if you have those HDTV you may actually see some blocks. I don't have one.
I have a puny little 13" and I can't see any unless I look ANLALY frame by
frame, and if you happen to be one of those people doing that to my clips,
get out of here! He, he...

** I also used my own home-brew cleaning (filtering system)
Yes, even Satalite has noise. Than again, so does my ATW card.
So, it could be a combo of both, though I did NOT use any gold plated
cable in that capture (done over a month ago, ...just happen to still
have it on my harddrive, and thought it would be a good enough example
to use for this CVD discussion here.
YES, I could have used a much higher bitrate combo here but the quality
was more than enough to use a much lower bitate for this example. DVD
source would be the same, using 1450 as a bitrate for CQ_VBR, though
this type of RateControlMode for tmpg bumps the ACTual bitrate by as
much as 200k for some clips - each clip encoding project varies.
YES, I could have use CQ instead or 2pass but I chose CQ_VBR in this
demonstration. I have a template for CQ, 2pass, and CQ_VBR that I use
when I experimenting or know which would produce the best quality.
Judging which would produce best quality varies from captured video
source to captured video source. Its become an art for me by now.

Some of you may think I'm crazy or lutucrus but, I have my Sat rec'vr
right on top of my PC monitor. That may or may not be causing disterbance
or noise or whatever, though I'm not sure, but I can't see the harm, can
you?? Other than the line streaks I get (even when I remove the rec'vr)
it's there. Well, only I can see it cause I'm pretty anal, but they don't
show up in my encodes. Could be the cleaning agent I use during frameserving

In the past, I've boasted about CVD a bit, but thanks to this thread,
I finally got off my rocket and posted a sample clip.

For anyone interested, here are some specs i used to reach
susie's response:
* NO S-Video was used on this capture
* I used RCA (yellow end) to capture that clip with via my Canon ZR-10
DV cam.
* I recorded that to a miniDV tape in SP mode
* I captured it w/ my ATW (ati-tv wonder pci) card to my hd (over month ago)
* encoded it last night to CVD and posted early a.m.

That clip by the way, is awsome! even in Standard VCD format, does it
come out really good!

Oh, and I'm glad you appreciated my sample clip - tanx!

-vhelp

[baker]

I just made a guide for cvd using dvd2svcd. Produces BRILLIANT results. I am a very "block" concsios person. One block in a film and I am dissapointed by myself. PLz note that this method is extremely fast. A lot faster than tmpegenc and better quailty.

I posted this guide because I need help with my Q settings.

I have posted more about this in the fouroum. Hope ppl will post there results.

Thanks

[energy80s]

You need to "unlock" the template first by loading the unlock template. Then make your changes and save the template as PAL (or NTSC) CVD.

I agree that the video capture is excellent, much better than most broadcast TV in the UK (especially via satellite) where quality is often below simple VCD standards!

[baker]

Does anybody have a good quant guide for cce? I know that a q of five get an avg mix of high/low motion on 3 cds but thats too much for 120mins. Does anybody know of a good guide?

Baker

[susie]

vhelp, thanks for the brief reply

vhelp & energy80s, now that I have the CVD template info from you guys I will try it out and let you guys know if I get good results.

[susie]

My CVD result :

I captured a TV show (small clip) in SVCD format with TV wonder and encoded to CVD and I didn't notice much of a difference on my monitor. However when played back on my TV, the CVD displayed bigger blocks(blockiness) than the SVCD. Overall they both look the same. As for file size, the CVD is 10 megs smaller.

Vhelp, the file you encoded makes mine look stupid.

[AmeliaK]

Well I just tried out CVD and I must say I was very impressed. The original source was a Home Video in MiniDV format. The CVD was much sharper than SVCD.

Just need to make sure my DVD player will play it

Best Regards
Amelia

[susie]

AmeliaK, cool.

Care to share your CVD template ?

[vhelp]

susie,

Sorry for not replying earlier yesterday. I was pretty tired
out from the encoding and washing out my fishtank and a couple
more other odd jobs around the house and computer. Anyways...

I had started a post yesterday, but lost it.
I see you re-encoded a SVCD to a CVD. These don't
always come out right or good quality unless it's from a DVD
source. Even then, the color would look wash out. My advise is
to never go this route unless you are D/L'ing those files from
places like Kazza, and or using Morpheus, IRC etc. The reason
why people do this is becuase the file is in another format, ie
divX or SVCD or some odd resolution and instead of playing on
their PC all day (SO very boring) then proceed to re-encode it
to something thier DVD player will play, so's to watch on their
TV. But, in your case you did the same thing on your own file.
Still, people practice this too. Nothing wrong with it, but
I admit that the quality isn't always their. Though it might
work for some, for reasons like, they know/are experienced in
what they do, ect, bla, bla, bla. But, in so much, this is the
reason why some people re-encode MPEG/divX/ASF, etc. files.

Now, as for you, reason for disapointment is due to a few things:
* you used MMC and,
* your settings in MMC's template (ie, SVCD) was probably not
properly set for a re-encode, etc. Usually, people will
set their bitrate pretty high for re-encode projects.
I'm not sure how high they should be, but maybe someone reading
this post has done it via MMC (or other encoder) and can share
their good experience w/ you on re-encoding, using the
correct (or their's BOTE) bitrate setting for these kinds of
encoding projects
* you (I'm assuming) used my 1450 bitrate for your CVD
Ok, that 1450 (BOME) bitrate I used was because the video was
in such good quality, and I have an eye for such, I can quickly
judge weather or not to use such a low bitrate. And, besides,
even when I use such low bitrate in my encodes (I've used this
same setting in a number of non-high quality videos) I don't
mine a few macro blocks in my final encodes. I'm still a sure
shot quality freak, but the difference between me and another
quality freak is that I'm know when to comprimise a little
But,in your case, you should have definately upped your bitrate
maybe to something like 2200 or higher for that CVD re-encode.
1 - But, next time, when you proceed to capture in SVCD, create a
template with a much higher bitrate, ie, 4000 or 6000 maybe,
and then re-encode it to CVD and see how it looks.
You might like it, or not. Or,
2 - You migh decide it's not worth it. But, then again, instead of making an SVCD first, and then re-encode it, why
don't you do one straight to CVD - try a bitrate of 2520
and if that looks good to you, keep lower it till you feel that
you can live with an eccepted constant value for ALL your CVD
encdeavors.

I hope I've ben helpful.
And, you can alwas check back at my "VHELP's Sample..." thread
to see latest encodes of whatever to help you gauge in your
hunt for quality. And, NO, mine are not professional, so please
don't go thinking that I said that or missunderstand my "gauge"
thing. I'm simply more experienced, that's all ...at what I do.

-vhelp

GL:
BOTE = Based On Their Experinece

[vhelp]

Ok, here is an addendum to my prev post.

Here is an adjustment to the basic template values (TMPG) :
---------------------------------------------------------
* load a Standard SVCD template,
* Load the "unlock.mcf" so you can change template
* Resolution: 352x480
* Audio: 48k w/ 160bit 'this can vary, ie 128, 192, 224, etc.
* CQ_VBR: 2520 max (can lower per your judgement)
* Encode it
* Burn with Nero, and compliance OFF
* of course you know to make the proper adjust for PAL vs. NTSC, and
film/non-film.

Based on a test clip, you can start out w/ a CQ_VBR of
2520, and lower it till you feel the quality is acceptable.
Minimu value can be what you used in other types of encodes.
I've had no problems with 300, so that's my value, but you may
have used others, based on your DVD player's ability to play
or handle such low bitrates - some peoples dvd player can't
handle the low value, so they raise it to maybe 600 - just do
a few expeiments. Also, burn these test clips on a CDRW for
testing. TIP, do yourself a favor, burn a handful of test
clips BEFORE you burn only one. It's a pain in the rocker to
have to re-format and burn one, etc.
Q, start out w/ a 100 and work you way down in increments of 5.
When you start to see fish-scales ( he, he... ) you know that
you don't want to lower it any further, but raise it another
5 just to be safe. You'll find that all videos will require
some adjustments - not all videos will require the same values,
but if you settle w/ a consistant value you can live with, use
it.

Based on your AVI CAPTURES:
Here are the value to start out with for CQ_VBR encodes:
Q: 100 . . . . . . . . and work your way down to 60
Max: 2520 . . . . . . . try for lowest acceptable value
min: 300 . . . . . . . comfortable value

Based on your DVD SOURCE:
Here are the value to start out with for CQ_VBR encodes:
Q: 80 . . . . . . . . and work your way down to 60
Max: 1450-1850 . . . . try for lowest acceptable value
min: 300 . . . . . . . comfortable value

If you don't want to go through all this nonsense, then my other
suggestion would be to head on over to KWAGs website
[snip][snip]. . . I made a mistake, it's not a CVD or xCVD, as
it deals with mpeg-1, NOT mpeg-2, and CVD is for MPEG-2.
...so oops! My mistake!!
-------------------------------------------------------
[snip]--[snip] - ignore (below), cut it out, etc. [snip]--[snip]
...was in error, error, error here
as he has a similar tempate based on the CVD but will
encode to smaller size files (for those that want smaller or
want to fit more movie onto 1 or 2 CDs) Actually, it's more
of an xCVD IMO, he, he...
...was in error, error, error here
[snip]--[snip] - ignore (above), cut it out, etc. - [snip]--[snip]
-------------------------------------------------------
NOTE: Please bare in mind though, that his template use
non-standard settings, and as such, may not work with your DVD
player brand, though it will play fine on your PC monitor.
Don't expect mericles, his template is geared for squeezing more
movie on a FEW CDs as possible, with as much quality as possible.
Here is his web address: http://www.kvcd.net/

Otherwise, play around with my CQ_VBR route, and happy pluggin.
Pfew! Ok, I think that about raps it up for now.

-vhelp

[susie]

vhelp, I capture with Cyberlink PowerDirector 2.0 Pro.

Just a while ago I set Powerdirector to capture in DVD NTSC (not dvd movie) and reencoded to CVD and the quality is still not any better than the CVD I encoded yesterday.

I am satisfied with the SVCD capture quality in PowerDirector but you know an 80 minute CDR can only hold 35 minutes of SVCD clip and when I viewed your CVD clip I was amazed with the quality and the small size of the file and hence I wanted to experiment with encoding to CVD format. Unfortunately, CVD format is not for me.

I have a quick question : The size of SVCD is proportion to the size of the bit rate but does the same theory apply to VCD ? I mean if I capture a 74 minute length of tv show in compliant VCD format, I will be able to burn it on a 74 minute CDR but if I capture a 74 minute of videoclip but at, say, 2500 bit rate, will the video clip fit on a 74 minute CDR ?

[energy80s]

Bitrate determines final file size. Therefore it doesn't matter if you capture in MPEG1 or MPEG2, if the bitrates are the same (and your doing CBR captures) then the file size will be the same. So a "VCD" captured at 2500kbps will occupy the same disc space as an SVCD or CVD at the same bitrate. So you'll only get 40 minutes on an 80 minute CD-R disc.

One thing to remember about the CVD format is that it is a lot more compatible with DVD players than SVCD and machines that can't play SVCD will play CVD, plus if you upsample the audio to 48k (again a DVD standard) you will be able to copy your discs onto DVD R in the future without re-encoding and loosing quality.

[pacoreguenga]

I'm sure everyone agrees with satstorm about the subject. Congratulations on a well written article!

But I found a minor flaw:

S-Video is not limited to 352 x 480 as you stated. It certainly is if you are playing a VHS tape. But with a SVHS Tape it reaches supposedly 720 x 480, even though some capture card manufacturers claim it's only 640 x 480.

Before you start questioning me, I suggest you to look at the professional video equipment manufacturers' sites, and check the outputs for the professional equipment. At least DVCAM, Betacam SP, Betacam SX, Digital Betacam, D9 (Digital S) and DVCPRO, offer models with S-video output which delivers full 720 x 486 (DVCAM & DVCPRO offer 720 x 480).

As you can see, the resolution is not locked by your plug, but to your tape format.

[SatStorm]

----Deleted----

[jrennie]

I run into a problem here. Could anybody shed some light ?

I've captured a MPEG2 stream at the required PAL res with a pinnacle MP20. The stream plays fine when I load it into the player that came with the Sigma Systems Hollywood+ decoder card.

However after buring it to disk using nero, as a non-standard compliant SVCD, it doesn't work.

Specifically, the menu loads fine, but when I try to play the first track it crashes. The same happens on a standalone XMS750 DVD player.

I ahve been able to play SVCD's created with nero before with no problem.

I'm obviously unable to check that the DVD player is able to play the stream as a raw video stream.

I'm guessing nero is the culprit here, does anybody have any idea why it might be behaving like this ?

Is anymore information required ?

Jason

[energy80s]

What bitrate are these captures at? If you convet one with TMPGenc to a CVD file, will that play OK?

[miketree]

How can I tell if my DVD player supports CVD (appart from actually trying to play one?) The compatability list doesn't mention CVD.

I have a Sony DVP-NS300.

[jrennie]

What bitrate are these captures at? If you convet one with TMPGenc to a CVD file, will that play OK?

The bitrate was the one reccomended in the article. 2450 peak and 2300. That was the settng that where available with the capture card anyway.

I haven't tried to convert one using tmpenc I will give that a go now.

Jason

[bigbob2]

Oops...

[Latexxx]

The full Euroconnector cable (known more as SCART) includes sometimes the RGB info, but special SCART to SCART cable required , and those cables costs a lot!.

Where on earth are you living? You'll get those cables for free when buing a dvd-player somewhere from europe! And also with set-top boxes, videos... or you could just voy one for less than 10€. All dvd-players in europe has a rgb-out support!

[Poplar]

I was wondering what DVD players you guys use to play CVDs. I created some CVD clips yesterday to test it on my Pioneer DV-C503. But all it showed was some distorted stripes, although the sound was there. Software players couldn't them either. Power DVD and STHSVCD used to be able to play all kinds of mpeg files. What is the problem?

[JudgeTracy]

Ah! S-Video maxed at 352x480?

Not Exactly.

When determining resolutions, the standard is "lines of resolution." This standard was set for the old television monitors. An image has the number of black lines of resolution that can be counted. Consequently, in order for there to be a "line of resolution" you must have both a white line and a black line - 2 lines/pixels! - or it'll look line a black bar! Thus a 180 line resolution (VHS) source, captured completely, would require 360 pixels.

352x480 is perfect for VHS and 8mm. You can't do better.

But a good SVHS or Hi-8 source can do up to 400 lines (800 pixels) - you'll want all the pixels you can get (704x480 or 720x480). And with DV, which can magicly, get up to 500 lines, you won't want to do less than its native resolution of 720x480.

[Added later: for more info see my post below]

JudgeTracy
2164 Productions

[JudgeTracy]

In response to a couple of email questions to my previous post, please note that all video sources have BOTH vertical and horizontal resolution.

VERTICAL RESOLUTION. These are the number of lines from top to bottom. NTSC has 480 on almost all digital capture devices, PAL has 576. NTSC and PAL actually have more lines than these capture standards (NTSC has 525), but you can't see these extra lines on your TV screen, so there's no need to either capture them, encode them, or worry about them.

HORIZONTAL RESOLUTION. This is the number of individual black lines that you can count from left to right. The higher the horizontal lines of resolution, the clearer the image. In order to see a black line, however, it must be separated from the next black line by a white line. Consequently, two pixels (a white and a black) are necessary to completely capture and display each horizontal line of resolution.

VHS/8mm, theoretically, could have as many as 200 horizontal lines, but is really about 150-180 (300-360 pixels); SVHS/Hi-8 sources shoot for 400, but are usually about 320-360 (640-720). Pro sources are at 425 horizontal lines and up (Beta SP is 425-450, DV/DVCPro is 450-500)!

The 352 vs. 720 horizontal capture settings are set based on VHS vs. SVHS standards, and are pretty good. (FYI ->640x480/576 is average SVHS quality, 720x480/576 is superior SVHS quality)

BOTTOM LINE. If you have a DVD/SVHS/Hi-8/DV source, and you're satisfied with VHS quality - go for 352x480/576. If you want SVHS/Hi-8/DV/DVD quality - go for 720x480/576. If you have a VHS/8mm source, though, you can't do any better than 352x480/576. Also, if you're converting from a 352x240 DivX, anything over 352x240 is wasted.

PERSONAL NOTE. Some CVDs (352x480/576) may look better than SVCDs (480x480/576) at the same data rate, because CVDs have 27% less compression than SVCDs. Less compression = better image. However, CVDs have 27% less horizontal data than SVCDs. The CVD vs. SVCD debate really breaks down to an "image quality vs. horizontal data" equation -> Which is more important to you? Personally, I'm sticking to DVD legal stuff as the DVD standard will have a longer life than SVCD (hDVDs will be downward compatible with all DVD compliant stuff - SVCD is dead or dying already). But, then again, I have a DVD-R/RW burner!

JudgeTracy
2164 Productions

[jukk]

You people are messing up two standards, S-Video (also known as Y/C video) and S-VHS. This is like not knowing the difference between a CD and a CD-player . S-VHS is the Video Tape format. S-Video is the hardware connector and the transmitted signals over the cable, that first appeared in S-VHS video players. The S-Video format is made up of two signals, a color signal (chrominance, C) and brightness signal (luminance, Y). You can send whatever resolution you want through S-video, there is no limit for that. The S-video uses commonly a 5-pin mini-DIN connector. The S-Video (Y/C) format is better than the Composite video format, which transmits all information over one signal (there is really a noticable difference). The composite video uses commonly a RCA (cinch) connector. Even better picture quality is achieved with RGB signals, where all color components are transmitted on separate signals. This type of video signals are used in European SCART-connectors (be aware that SCART is no video format, only a connector). The computer video signal is also RGB, only a bit different, because it uses higher refresh rates. The RGB video format is a type of Component video format (not to be confused with Composite). The Component video format is used on high-end DVD-players, HDTV and projectors. The component video is good, because it is the only video format that transfers the video contents from a DVD practically unchanged. Component video signals are labeled Y, Cb and Cr or Y, Pb and Pr. There are different component video standards that are not interchangeable.

Conlcusion, you can transmit any resolution over Composite, S-video, RGB or component-video.


Enough for now, this becomes too boring...

[energy80s]

Just to correct you on line resolutions :

VHS = 260/70 lines
Betamax = 280 lines
SVHS = 420 lines
Betacam = Over 500 lines

[Martyn1980]

Hey guys

CVD sounds too good to be true but i hope it is, but i have a few questions

I usually do dvd rips using DVD2SVCD and set it to a dvd resolution then change it to 704x576 as it plays easier in my Toshiba 210e.

Would CVD resolution give better results than this, im convinced its better than SVCD by all the posts but no one mentions this resolution, aslo for al films up to 120mins long i always use 2 cds, so on something like bandits which i recently done the bitrate was about 1700 would i have been better off using CVD on this or should i stick to 704 as im pretty sure 704 is a legal dvd resolution too.

Any help would be much apreciated.
:P

[AmeliaK]

OK I just burnt my CVD and tried it out on my standalone player and things didn't go too good.

I started with the standard SVCD template and then change the following settings:
* RESOUTION: set to 352x576 (For PAL is this Correct?)
* BITRATE: set to CBR 2520 bitrate
* AUDIO: set to 48k
* frameFrate: 25

Then I burnt it as a non-compliant SVCD. (is this correct?)

It looks fantastic on my PC but I am having a problem playing it on my Standalone DVD player. When playing I get these Green Horizontal lines that cover the entire screen. When I Pause and Frame Advance I notice the following:

Frame 1: Perfect Picture
Frame 2: Green Horizontal lines
Frame 3: Green Horizontal lines
Frame 4: Like frame 1 and so and so

Does this mean my DVD Player isn't compatible with CVD or have I done something wrong?

My DVD Player is a Conia M-120, which I know plays VCD and SVCD

Regards
Amelia

[Martyn1980]

Well i experimented and ripped a trailer off a DVD.
The Back To The Future Trilogy Trailer, and encoded it with CCE.
First with 704x576 my usual resolution then 352x576,both at 2200bitrate, and the first thing i noticed was the encoding speed went from 0.85x to 1.23, which is always good news, but i expected that anyway.

I picked this trailer cause it was the first i found and it has a lot of high motion stuff in it, the 704 res, was sharper on writing, but the 352 CVD had a lot less blockiness, which i was glad about, the thing im wondering is although i could notice the difference in sharpness, im watching the Mpeg with Power DVD on a 17inch monitor at 1024x768 at 32bit color

Would it still be obvious on a TV especially as im only using a 21inch 4:3 model

[vhelp]

Evening all.

energy80s,
>> What bitrate are these captures at? If you convet one with
>> TMPGenc to a CVD file, will that play OK?
I'm not sure what you mean by, "captures" but maybe you ment
to say, "encode to", which then, i would understand you to
mean "encoded bitrate at?" Anyways...
I don't know if you D/L'd my sample CVD clip I posted several
days ago, but you can still D/L it, as I have not taken it
off yet. I'll keep it there for a while longer, or replace it
w/ yet another - who knows. But, for now, you can D/L it still.
Though, it's ben posted as (give or take) 2400, 2300, 2520
etc. I think that you can lower this number quite some, IF
you know your source quality "level" or have a very good filter
cleaning system, that will allow a much lower bitrate.
But, I would suspect that if your clip is noisy, as most are, that
enclude my Satalite DirecTV as my source, (but depending on just
HOW MUCH) you will have to make the "final bitrate" value to use
based on your source quality, and if it's 29.970 - - these will
require higher bitrate, ie, 2400 or more, depending on your source
quality, but 23.976 and clean source will and/or can use a much
lower bitrate, pending on your source quality, noise, filter chain,
type of movements vs. scene changes, lights, sunlight vs. indoor
fake or made-for-movie light source, etc.
See my sample CVD clip down below!!
--------------------------------------------

miketre,
>> How can I tell if my DVD player supports CVD (appart from
>> actually trying to play one?) The compatability list doesn't
>> mention CVD.
Just D/L my sample, and burn to CD w/ compliance OFF. I use Nero
in all my CVD encoding projects.
My DVD player is: Apex AD-1500, and quality is perfect - - well, on
my 13" TV, he, he... I would love to know how it came out on those:
* Flat-Screen TVs
* HDTV Screens TVs
...and let me know what your results were.

Questoin: are Flat-screen the same (quality'wise) as HDTV???
--> answere??
See my sample CVD clip down below!!
--------------------------------------------

poplar,

D/L my sample clip and see if it plays on your DVD player. Maybe
the one(s) you have created have something wrong somewheres in your
encoding. Sometimes, another persons' clip will work in a given
DVD player vs. yours. Or, maybe its a combination of Encoders and/or
frameserving and/or "shell" apps, like DVD2SVCD, etc. that's not
fully working (at least in your encoding projects for CVD)

See my sample CVD clip down below!!
--------------------------------------------

ameliak,
It may be your DVD player, that has a problem with 325x480/576
resolutions, but may play 352x240/288 and 704/720x480/576 AND
in either or both MPEG-1, and MPEG-2.
I suffer this problem of not being able to play 352x480 and 704/720x
480/576 using Kwags template in my APEX AD-1500 I don't
think it's his template that causing my Audio/VIdeo hicups, but
rather the UN-supported resoution of 352x480 in MPEG-1. MPEG-2 plays
fine though, at ANY resolution I through at it.
But, as a test, D/L my sample clip and see if it plays, and don't
worry about your player being PAL. If your player supports multi
mode, ie, PAL and NTSC, then it will play, unless you DVD player
does not support this CVD resolution (might also be an
antirely different reason why your dvd player's not playing right)

See my sample CVD clip down below!!
--------------------------------------------

Martyn1980,

First of all, you shouldn't be judging your clips via your PC monitor!
You should be judging based on your TV set!! Of course the 704 will
look sharper (more detail) then the 352 on your PC monitor, BUT on
your TV, it will look the same! ...case the 704/720 will be scaled
down to your TVs resolution/scan-lines. So, forget about test viewing
on your PC monitor, and start burning CDRWs and play on your TV!!
If you want to see a sample clip I did in this format, see below, and
get back to me on your final thoughts, and it's quality on your TV etc.

See my sample CVD clip down below!!
--------------------------------------------


Thanks for your time.

-vhelp
-----------------------------------
For Standard VCD samples, you can jump over to this FORUM's link
here: VHELP's Samples... - last updated: 06.21.02
--> Here is the: CVD Sample Clip

[AmeliaK]

Hi vhelp,

I just downloaded and burnt your sample mpg as a SVCD. Works fine on PC, but when I play yours on my Standalone, it plays back but the screen is blank??

So what would you conclude from this?

Best Regards
Amelia