Which template svcd to svcd without quality loss?

[trenchy]

I have a svcd of LOTR2 and want to add subtitles to it.
I use virtdub to frameserve.
The SVCD is a NTSC movie (fps:29.97; 480x480)
Which (K)SVCD template can I use in Tmpenc without having loss
of video quality?

twelyrt

[hustbaer]

short answer: none. no way. never.

long(er) answer: you are re-encoding mpeg material.
as a matter of fact, no encoder i know (and none i could imagine) will recognize a "decoded & partially modified" mpeg-stream, and then encode exactly the same way.

one reason this can't work is motion-compensation.
motion-compensation applies before the reconstruction of parts that are not covered by motion-comensation, and the reconstruction is subject to quantization.
that means when the encoder looks for motion-compensation-candidates, it will most likely find less then the original encoder found, because there is additional noise...

you could only add some spatial and temporal blur/soften, set the motion-search to "highest", experiment with the "no-motion-search-by-half-pixel" setting, and pray - but the result will never be as sharp/ clear/ whatever as the original.

bye,
--hustbaer

[WienieMan]

I'm pretty sure there's a program that muxes the subtitles to the mpeg stream without reencoding if that's what you want to do.

[trenchy]

DO you know which program that is??

[puertorican138]

Sorry, but each time you (re)encode, you loose quality.

[adam]

You can use WinSubMux to multiplex the subs into the mpeg2 stream without re-encoding. Depending on what format your subtitles are stored in, you will probably have to use MaestroSBT to convert them for use in WinSubMux. Unfortunately, there doesnt appear to be any software player that recognizes these types of subtitles (soft encoded subs) in a SVCD. You will have to play the SVCD on a dvd player which supports soft encoded subtitles.

There are two subtitle standards, the SVCD style and the more supported CVD style. WinSubMux can multiplex in either format so you will just have to test each one to see if your player supports them.

[hustbaer]

do you want subtitles (graphics, needs re-encoding) or closed-caption (just an additional info stream added)?