SVCD looks better than XVCD

[rbrown3rd]

I know this is a dumb question but I never learned anything by keeping quiet. Why do my SVCDs look better than my XVCDs? Does it have something to do with interlacing? The SVCDs are nice and smooth but the XVCDs show interlace lines.

I use TMPgenc to convert good quality DV to mpeg1 for XVCD and mpeg2 for the SVCDs.

Thanks

[MpegEncoder]

We need a lot more information. What are the resolutions, bitrates, etc.

[bugster]

You are probably right about it being interlacing. Mpeg-1 does not support interlacing, so you should de-interlace 1st if using it. Mpeg-2 does support interlaced material, so it should look better if the source is interlaced.

[rbrown3rd]

You are probably right about it being the Mpeg1 vs. Mpeg2 and interlacing. I am reencoding it now as an XSVCD to see what happens. It is a short clip so I should know shortly if it looks better as an Mpeg2 XSVCD.

[Vejita-sama]

At the same bitrate and resolution MPEG1 looks the same as MPEG2. What makes MPEG2 superior to MPEG1 isn't really quaility it's the features it supports: interalced source, multiple audio tracks, multiple angles, selectable subtitles, interactive menus (DVD), etc. etc.

As was stated about MPEG1 does not support interlaced video (most be progressive). So you should go with MPEG2 instead.

[rbrown3rd]

That was definitely it. The XSVCD, (mpeg2), does not have the interlacing artifacts that the XVCD, (mpeg1), had. I learn something new everyday. Did not know that mpeg1 could not handle an interlaced source.

The XSVCD has more detail but the SVCD, 480 x 480, is not bad at all. Source was an S-video capture from my Tivo to my DV camcorder. Uploaded to PC via firewire, 1394. While not very high tech that technique produce pretty fine copies.

Thanks everyone.

[bugster]

Did not know that mpeg1 could not handle an interlaced source.

Thanks everyone.

Its not that mpeg-1 cannot handle interlaced source, it can. Its just that it cannot produce interlaced output, which mpeg-2 can do. Therfore, to get the best out of mpeg-1 with interlaced source, you need to de-interlace first. Not all encoders do a good job of this, if at all, so an externa de-interlacer such as the ones in virtualdub or avisynth need to be used.

Anyway, godd that you are now happy with the output.

[rbrown3rd]

Thanks for the further explanation. I am still a little puzzled. I have watched my two clips over and over. The SVCD, mpeg2, 480 x 480, looks as good and in some ways better than the XSVCD at 720 x 480. I can't really explain it but the SVCD seems smoother. Perhaps it is because the bandwidth is beiing used more effectively? There may be a tiny bit more detail in the XSVCD but comparing the two it hardly seems worth the effort to go to the non standard XVCD format.

I have run the two discs on both my Apex-600A and my Sony NS-715P and the results are similar although the Sony player seems to render the clips a tiny bit better than the Apex.