OK, something for the guru's amongst you :

I have posted the question several times : why does DVDx (DVD to SVCD) give me better results then all the existing templates and settings in TMPGenc for creating a SVCD starting from a DV source ?

Many replies but not too much make sense, here are facts :
- DVD source is MORE compressed than DV. Take a look at what space 1 minute of RAW DV data will take compared to DVD. Some people tried to convince me otherwise but I suggest they check out the tech.specs again.
- DVD and DV are both the same resolution 720x576@25 for PAL.

If you encode with TMPGEnc the same way as DVDx does (2150CBR) than you should almost get same quality - right ? WRONG !

DVDx is capable of creating block-free MPEG2 streams at a bitrate of 2150. Some people say SVCD needs minumum bitrate >4000 to get rid of the blocks : how does DVDx do it then ?

I have the following in mind and maybe some of you can help me to complete the experiment :
- Import DV via firewire.
- Encode it to DVD format with TMPGENc (using DVD template)
- (You can also do this using Ulead DVD Moviefactory)
- Author a DVD-disc wih ULead DVD Moviefactory.
At this point you have a mini-DVD disc (which only my PC can read).
- Use DVDx to rip + encode it to SVCD.

Problem : DVDx expects an MPEG2 audio layer (PCM or AC3) but TMPGENC encodes only MPEG1 audio layers.

I tried to extract the audio, convert it to AC3 and multiplex it back but unsuccesfully ...

The goal of this experiment is to proove that better algoritms are possible were you can have a fairly low bitrate for SVCD without the blocks in it. Output of DVDx is the proof, why can't TMPGENC do it ??

I'm not looking for replies of people who will say they get 'excellent' SVCD quality with TMPGEnc : buy a new TV-set : IT IS NOT GOOD - WAKE UP !

Some of you may find me arrogant in the way I put things but I think it's time someone puts a good and working procedure together and gives some correct information about the right tools for this job.
Why in gods name is everybody doing this encoding thing in a different way - right ?

Ciao !