to all the APEX people out there..

[lazzonya]

i am currently running an ad-600(a) and an ad-5131 stand alone player(s) at home. basically, i'm looking for people with playback experience (good and bad) with Apex to share info(settings/bitrates/filters) about vcd/svcd encoding using Tmpeg who have gotten different results with video quality/noise blocks. any tips or tricks are greatly appreciated. i've logged months of experimentation, but i'm still not satisfied with the quality of even my dvd rips (or divx files) done in svcd at relatively high (~2000) bitrates. perhaps i'm just expecting too much from inexpensive players. thanks in advance for all posts!

[loudanddeep]

Hello,
I did a LOT of research before I purchased my latest DVD player. I read all the reviews, looked at the compatibility lists, and took samples of vcd, dvd, mpg, and home made vcd to the store....

My final choice was between a really nice progressive scan highend unit, and an apex 3151.
The picture on several units looked slightly better on the higher end unit, IF you had a really really good tv.
(I have a good tv and a DVL700 as well).
The winner - the Apex 3151.
Why,
multi disc support, and
IT PLAYED EVERYTHING I PUT IN IT!

Even a CDROM with mpg files stored on it.
(not in vcd format, just a bunch of files)!!!!

When I get a HD tv in a year or so, then I will get a high end progressive scan dvd player.
For now, the apex rocks.
(I even sold my DVL700).

Yes, the picture quality is slightly less, but the features won me over.

dp

[Chuck Roulette]

I have the APEX 703 and have had 0 problems with it as far as VCD/SVCD playback. The MP3 menus, as usual, are lacking to say the least, but the VCD/SVCD stuff works without a hitch. I have 100+ SVCDs I've encoded and they all work great.

[markm]

I've got an AD-5131 and I've been going through the same process, trying to figure out what works best, xvcd, svcd, mpeg1/2, resolutions, bitrates, etc.

So far, I seem to keep ending back up at mpeg1 with the highest bitrate I can use to fit the task at hand. mpeg2 at 480x480 didn't seem to get me any noticable improvement, for the added time and complexity it introduced. I'm probably doing something wrong, but I made far more mpeg2 discs that didn't work right than I have mpeg1.

Fortunately, this player seems to handle just about anything you throw at it. Most of the discs I've made probably won't play in anything else, but they play on the Apex and my laptop, which is all I'm concerned with.

[lazzonya]

markm,
here's my e-mail address:

mail_laz@yahoo.com

drop me a line sometime and we'll compare Tmpeg filters, settings, and values. perhaps even some(svcd shares. at least we know we'll be able to each others media.

best regards,
rob