can picture quality be improved by re-encoding

[victoriabears]

I get great quality capturing straight to mpeg then using tmpg author to edit out commercials for final result, but............. what this ends up being is a file way lower than the capacity of the dvd.

I know we can capture in avi them encode after editing, but this does not help if you are using a dvd recorder then editing that result.

So, simple question, end up with a 2.9gb file re-encoding to 4.7gb "quality", make any sense?

Also, different topic but, is there a simple way to know if a dvd disk is pal or ntsc, most of my home cinema system plays anything and converting it automatically and sometimes when producing stuff for other people I would like to do a simple check that what I end up with is the format they want!

Thanks

[mats.hogberg]

By applying filters a bad source might be improved, and applying filters means reencoding. The reencoding as such can only make the q worse.

/Mats

[pyscrow]

If there are errors in your original capture to mpeg, re-encoding can improve compatability, (IE GOP structure wrong in original capture), or if the original is interlaced, re-encoding to non interlace can get rid of some jerkiness in motion areas.

But technically re-encoding something encoded in a lossey format to lossey format is gunna end up with a degrading of the original quality.

[ZippyP.]

... is there a simple way to know if a dvd disk is pal or ntsc,

Use avicodec and your PC, browse to the video TS folder on the DVD then drag and drop one of the vob's into avicodec. If it's 25 fps it's PAL, NTSC is 29.97.