Can VCD really be as good as VHS?

[Fragamon]

Just wondering - I have been experimenting with this (s)vcd thing for about a month now (both creating and downloading pre-made). I have yet to see anything that consistently approaches VHS quality. There is always blockiness, motion blur, etc. Does such a thing really exist?

[vitualis]

Definitely.

VCDs made from a clean digital source (e.g., DVD rip) definitely look as good as standard VHS (probably a little bit better). Furthermore, the audio quality is near CD quality.

SVCDs made from a DVD rip is about the same as SVHS quality in terms of video. Again, the audio is CD quality.

The source is important. If your source is VHS, then the resultant disc can be no better than the original. You could clean in up with a variety of filters, but it will be no sharper, or have more detail than the original. That is, garbage in, garbage out.

Regards.

[mh2360]

The DVD backups I make (For personal use and I own the original movie of course ) are definitley better than VHS. You probably wont get good quality from a capture card, or anything downloaded from the net (Ha!). It will depend also on what encoding App you use (tempenc/flask/panasonic/bb etc..) they all vary in output quality.

[Riot_Inc]

From the tapes i've used, they look really good. DV video looks really really really good on vcd and xvcd, with sound that is cd quality, it's great. i think it passes vhs in many aspects, sound and quality and also it's less space consuming...

[klay51]

VCD can look as good or better than vhs. it ALL depends on the source. For example,star wars trilogy never came out on vhs or laserdisc so obviously they had to take from vhs(or maybe 8mm film or somthing) so its not gonna look great. BUT if you look at the begining 11 minutes with lucas talking it looks out right AWESOME becasue it was taken form a MUCH better source. However,take a movie like Liar Liar...it looks like almost laserdisc/dvd(well not that good but better than vhs). Thats the bad thing about vcd..there isnt really a quality standard(some look like crap,some are beautiful)

[Anonymous65]

Check out screen samples from several different modes, from VHS, S-VHS, VCD and so on. http://www.geocities.com/skittelsen/digital.htm

[Chopper Face]

Star Wars did come out on laser disc.

[klay51]

Really I didnt know Star Wars came out on LD..hmmm dang it why didnt they source form it. It woulda been awesome

[Radioman]

The Starwars trilogy also came out on VHS. At Least in Sweden. Where do you live Klay51 ?

Seems to be in a place that god has forgotten ...

[klay51]

i know it came out on vhs, but I know it hasnt come out on dvd and i didt know it came out on laserdisc. Oh woops i meant ot say it didnt come out on dvd or laserdisc not dvd or vhs. by the way i live in USA,Tennessee

[xtrawidth]

the starwars trilogy was released in the UK too, many many times.... 4:3, Letterbox, 4:3 THX, Letterbox THX, 4:3 spec ed., Letterbox spec ed.... you get the picture...

[bart_lemarcq]

<TABLE BORDER=0 ALIGN=CENTER WIDTH=85%><TR><TD><font size=-1>Quote:</font><HR size=1 color=black></TD></TR><TR><TD><FONT SIZE=-1><BLOCKQUOTE>
On 2001-08-24 09:03:06, mh2360 wrote:
It will depend also on what encoding App you use (tempenc/flask/panasonic/bb etc..) they all vary in output quality.
</BLOCKQUOTE></FONT></TD></TR><TR><TD><HR size=1 color=black></TD></TR></TABLE>

Then what's the best app?

[pacmania_2001]

TMPG I think is the best

[Cosmo Kramer]

<TABLE BORDER=0 ALIGN=CENTER WIDTH=85%><TR><TD><font size=-1>Quote:</font><HR size=1 color=black></TD></TR><TR><TD><FONT SIZE=-1><BLOCKQUOTE>
On 2001-08-30 09:11:00, xtrawidth wrote:
the starwars trilogy was released in the UK too, many many times.... 4:3, Letterbox, 4:3 THX, Letterbox THX, 4:3 spec ed., Letterbox spec ed.... you get the picture...
</BLOCKQUOTE></FONT></TD></TR><TR><TD><HR size=1 color=black></TD></TR></TABLE>

..that's the scam they do with DVD's as well.. Normal edition, Collector's Edition, Special Edition, Director's Cut Special Edition.. when they run out of 'special' names with the titles? LOL

[pacmania_2001]

Kramer heres another one, The Ultimate Edition.
I can see the next one as well
The Ultimate Special Collector's Edition of the Directors Cut.

[BIGTHREE2001]

i think the main thing to remember about vcd vs vhs is
the fact that vcd is a non contact sport...where as vhs is a definate contact sport .
if you own a video and want to keep it pristine for ever the best way to do this is...dont play it !!!
vcd on the other hand you can play as often as you like without damage...plus the quality is just as good ,if not better most of the time
also a vcd cant get chewed in your dvd player, like many a tape has with me!!
so i think vcd is better all round

[mijman]

I own Star Wars Laserdiscs. I have the original trilogy widescreen, the original trilogy widescreen in the CAV format (four discs per movie!) but not the Special Editions, or Phantom, though I know they came out officially in Japan and Asia. I bought the 4 movies on DVD from Asia (knowing full well they were Bootlegs) and the quality varied a bit. Return, and New Hope special editions were from VHS masters (though quite nice masters), while Phantom and Empire were from Laserdiscs. It's fairly obvious when you compare them to each other. As a side note, even though I bought them from the same source, they were made by two different "companies" consistant with the quality of the recordings.

[Cosmo Kramer]

<TABLE BORDER=0 ALIGN=CENTER WIDTH=85%><TR><TD><font size=-1>Quote:</font><HR size=1 color=black></TD></TR><TR><TD><FONT SIZE=-1><BLOCKQUOTE>
On 2001-09-03 04:05:57, pacmania_2001 wrote:
Kramer heres another one, The Ultimate Edition.
I can see the next one as well
The Ultimate Special Collector's Edition of the Directors Cut.
</BLOCKQUOTE></FONT></TD></TR><TR><TD><HR size=1 color=black></TD></TR></TABLE>

LOL!

The Ultimate Special Collector's Widescrenen Limited Edition Director's Cut..... how's that?

anyway..back to subject

Cosmo

[mem_user]

dont know if this help much because I to am new at this.

I was getting not so acceptable vcd's no matter what encoder I used. Then I read on this site a message about the speed at which you burn the vcd. I was burning at the fastest speed I could which is 12x. I knocked it down to 4x and the quality jumped tremendously. Using Dazzle DVC II I know longer have to use anything but Movie Star and Ulead VS 5. I dont use things like TMPG anymore and I still get great quality. At least good enough for me and thats all that matters considering I am just saving video of the kids

[zain]

[quote]
On 2001-09-03 12:53:03, Cosmo Kramer wrote:
<TABLE BORDER=0 ALIGN=CENTER WIDTH=85%><TR><TD><font size=-1>Quote:</font><HR size=1 color=black></TD></TR><TR><TD><FONT SIZE=-1><BLOCKQUOTE>
On 2001-09-03 04:05:57, pacmania_2001 wrote:
Kramer heres another one, The Ultimate Edition.
I can see the next one as well
The Ultimate Special Collector's Edition of the Directors Cut.
</BLOCKQUOTE></FONT></TD></TR><TR><TD><HR size=1 color=black></TD></TR></TABLE>

LOL x 1000000000

just to add my 2 cents of words: when I become Director, my movie will be title..........based on The Ultimate Special Collector's Widescreen Edition of the Directors Cut.

Imagine the fuss people will make about my movie (when hell freezes over and Eve refuses the apple)

Anyway, bout that VCD vs VHS thingie, I convert all my digital footage from my camera to VCD using TMPGEnc. Quality (sound and video is great) but video not as great as VHS. The positive sides are 1. VCD smaller storage space 2.Longer lasting 3. Can be watched on my PC 4.Blank CD's cheaper or easier to steal from work (got me, I just hope my boss is not part of this forum)

So there, and now .....anyone with a crack for TMPGEnc Version: Beta 12h (zhoosen@hotmail.com)

cheerio

[pacmania_2001]

The Ultimate Special Collector's Widescreen Gold Disc Limited Edition Director's Cut in special Silver Foil Collectors Box.

I would like to know what limited means? Does it mean they only make 1 million compared to the normal 3 million