RMVB and MPG quality equivalency?

[lazyturbo]

I have videos encoded in 520kbps .rmvb format. If I were to convert them to mpg, what would be the equivalent bitrate for the .mpg file, or is it just the same?

Thanks.

[celtic_druid]

MPG as in MPEG1 or MPEG2? Both are far less efficent than RV9EHQ/10 so the equiv bitrate would be higher. To be fair though if comparing equiv bitrates you would need to take the same source and convert it to rmvb and mpg, not convert the rmvb to mpg.

Also is the mpg going to be the same resolution or are you converting to (S)VCD or DVD? If the resoluton goes up, then so must the bitrate.

[lazyturbo]

I'm just converting the RMVBs to MPGs to be put onto a DVD, but I want to use the least bitrate as possible, while maintaining their original quality.

They're pretty much VCD quality, and I want to put as much as I can onto a DVD.

[celtic_druid]

I'd suggest 1/4 (VCD) res then.

[junkmalle]

Use an MPEG encoder that supports Constant Quality mode. Pick the quality you want (ie, how closely you want the output to match the input) and encode. No need to worry about bitrates (except obviously you must stay within the bounds of what's acceptable for DVD).