svcd on two cds?

[the_converta]

I have noticed that most films on VCD don't use the full storage of two cd's. I was wondering if i could convert a film to SVCD format, but lower the bitrate just enough to fit the film on two full cd's? I know SVCD is mpeg 2 compression and am not sure how badly lowering the bitrate will affect the image quality. Do you know 1) if a DVD player will play this low bitrate SVCD and 2) what the image quality will be like.

[adam]

Svcds support from 0-2600kbits for the video. You can go as low as you like and a svcd compliant DVD should still play it.

The quality will depend on the compressiblity of the source and its playtime. A wide screen movie with little action may look quite good at bitrates as low as 1.6mbits, which will fit most movies onto 2 cdrs. If you do use bitrates this low I would strongly recommend using 352x480/576 instead. This resolution complies with the CVD standard and should be playable on any svcd compliant dvd player. The lower resolution is much more logical with such a low bitrate.

[the_converta]

That makes sense. Which resolution should i use for pal?

[adam]

Pal resolution for SVCD is 480x576. If you choose to use CVD then use 352x576.