Best Resolution?

[aamir12345678]

I've encoded many 4-5 min trial runs of a 20 min DIVX 23.976 fps 200 MB video (Dragonball Z Episode)(anime). I'm trying to find out which resolution is best, but for some reason I can't determine it from the results. I encoded MPEG2 using TMPGEnc Plus, Non-interlace, Highest Quality Motion Search Precision, CG/Animation Quantization Matrix.
I encoded the following resolutions at the 1250 KB/s, 2500 KB/s, 5000 KB/s, trying to find out how the video would be affected differently (I ONLY SEE A DIFFERENCE WHEN THE BITRATE CHANGES, BUT NOT WHEN THE RESOLUTIONS CHANGE): 720x480 ; 624x416 & 544x480 ; 576x384 & 480x480 ; 496x320 & 352x480. Which resolution is best and why? 624x416 & 544x480 are both 3/4 of 720x480. Why is one better than the other? Or are they the same? Same goes for 576x384 & 480x480, which are both 2/3 of 720x480; and 496x320 & 352x480, which are both 1/2 of 720x480. Furthermore, about the bit per pixel ratio, if you give the same bitrate in a smaller resolution, you'll obviously have a better ratio; however, doesn't the decoder then have to stretch the image anyway so it can play full screen on your 704 x 480 TV? So, is it better to provide the bitrate to the full resolution or allocate that bitrate to a smaller space and then let the decoder stretch it? My eyes are hurting from trying to tell the difference. That's why i'm asking.
RECAP:
1.) Is the vertical resolution more important than the horizontal resolution? If so, Why?
2.) Is it better to encode the full resolution from the beginning, or stuff it into a smaller resolution and then let the decoder stretch the image? What happens to the bit/pixel ratio after stretching?

[rkgibbons]

If you can't distinguish between them with your eyes -- then who cares which one is better? I assume you're just archiving stuff for your own personal use -- so in the end, why waste time fiddling with dozens of different combinations when they all look the same to you?

You've already stated the only rules that apply: a higher resolution image will look better than a lower resolution image (if bit-rate remains constant). And a higher bit-rate image will look better than a lower bit-rate image (if size remains constant).

Personally, I'd max out the resolution (up to the size of the original source footage) -- and then just torque up the bitrate until the sucker barely fits on the disc.

[dafreak]

Your first problem is that you're encoding dragonballz episodes... :P

heh, i do a lot of anime conversions myself.
first thing you want to do is determine the aspect ratio of the original avi.
run each avi through gspot and find out what the aspect ratio is.

tmpgenc settings.
-Stream type
MPEG-2 Video

Size
720x480 (for NTSC) (except as noted below)

These are the standard, uncropped DV / DVD / D1 full-resolution sizes. There are also cropped modes (704x576 for PAL, 704x480 for NTSC), which should be used if you have an analog capture card that does not include the overscan area. There are also half-resolution modes (352x576 for PAL and 352x480 for NTSC)

Aspect ratio
4:3 Display or 16:9 Display (depending on footage)
you should set your AR to the same AR as your source unless you are adament of having 16:9 AR

Frame Rate
23.97 since your source is 23.97

Rate control mode
2-pass VBR

I've used vbr and cbr and vbr is definitely a lot better quality.

Rate control settings
your vbr settings are determined by how long your avi footage is. If say you want several episodes on one dvd-r, you want to add up the total length of the videos and enter them into this calculator. I usually fit 5-6 episodes of 23-24 minute animes. For a 26 episode series i'll go 6-5-5-5-5.

Padding
Disabled

P spoilage
between 0 and 10

B spoilage
between 0 and 30

VBV buffer size
0 (automatic)

Profile and level
MP@ML

Video format
NTSC

Encode mode
3:2 pulldown

YUV format
4:2:0

DC component precision
10 bits

Motion search precision
motion estimate fast
you can set it to slowest but there really isn't a need to. It takes way to long to complete the encode in my opinion and I can't tell the difference in quality.


Video source type
usually the source of anime is non-interlaced...so set this as non-interlaced.


Field order
Bottom

Source aspect ratio
4:3 Display or 16:9 Display
this needs to be set depending on what AR your source is. You should have found the AR for your source when putting it through Gspot.


Video arrange method
I usually set this to full screen or full screen (keep aspect ratio)

I like to force my output to display in 16:9, so i usually set this to full screen unless the source is actually 16:9, which I then use full screen (keep aspect ratio)


GOP
I usually set the GOP to whatever the calculator I listed above spits out.

Anyway, I hope that helps.
I've done quite a few anime series using these settings and most of my friends are amazed with the quality.