VCD vs SVCD

[JoeBob]

Ok, previsouly I never noticed any difference between SVCDs and VCDs. Until today... I just set up my brand new HDTV and felt like watching one of my favorite VCDs, and to my dismay it looked horrible (while it never did on my old normal TV). Will SVCD still looked blocky and have lots of artifacts like my VCDs do when on my HDTV? For DVDs the HDTV really makes them look alot nicer, but is horrible for VCDs. It also does a good job for my dreamcast btw .

[Sefy]

VCD's are basicly low quality, and would look best on a regular TV because it has low quality as well, so the two get along fine, the problem with HDTV is that it has a much higher resolution (specificly for the 16:9) and therefor the lower VCD resolution does not look as good.

SVCD's are in between, they are higher resolution then VCD, but not all the way to DVD (about half way there) so while some say it will look a billion times better, I think (my opinion, I get to keep it!) some exgrate in the quality of SVCD, but the best way would be for you to see for yourself how it looks.

[JoeBob]

The main reason I ask is because I'm contemplating putting my videos on SVCD from now on or DVDR. If SVCD is only half the quality of DVD, then I guess I'll stick with DVDs, even if the media is more expensive... Thanks for the info.

[Sefy]

These are the typical Standard Settings for each, so you'll be able to see what I ment (I wrote it all in NTSC standard) :

VCD = 352x240, 1150kbps CBR
SVCD= 480x480, 2520kbps CBRDVD = 720x480, 9000kbps CBR

As you can see the resolution is doubled from VCD to DVD, and between SVCD and DVD there is another 3rd diffrence, but the key element here is the Bitrate, notice how much Bitrate the DVD Standard has compared to SVCD and VCD, that is what gives it it's sharpness more then anything I think, although I could be wrong!

[adam]

The dvd standard supports up to 9MB per sec bitrate but it never comes close to that for an average. Most dvds average out at between 4-6MBits I'd say, but thats just a guess. It is quite possible to make a compliant svcd with bitrate which is only half that of the dvd source, which isnt bad at all. Assuming you have a high quality source svcd really can come close to matching the visual quality of dvd. Joebob a well done svcd will not have any blocks or artifacts regardless of what tv you play it on. I would suggest giving svcd a try if your dvd player supports it.

JoeBob what videos are you talking about? If your referring to vhs or dv than svcd is probably more than high enough quality for you. You won't gain any extra quality by going to dvd-r if your source isnt high enough already.

[JoeBob]

I backup up from sources such as DVD films as well as DV, although now I intend on making tv rips from HDTV channels, so quality is something I need now.