Same video file - Is there a difference if burned at VCD or

[Crunk]

Hi, if I have a video file (.mpg) that is 352 x 288 pixels. Will it matter if I burn it as a VCD or SVCD? Since the t.v. plays it full screen anyways, and if I was to burn it as a SVCD, I would just be converting the file to a larger resolution. Isn't that what it does when it plays on a t.v. or am I missing something here? Any help or info will be appreciated. Thanks.

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Crunk on 2001-11-28 17:19:40 ]</font>

[moraize]

vcd Uses Mpeg1 encoding,that has a lower bit rate than Mpeg2 that is used by Svcd.And the engine of Mpeg2 is much Better(Dvds uses Mpeg2 encoding).
So If you have a File(you didn't specify if its in Mpeg 1or 2),When You Create a Svcd or Vcd you NEVER have the same quality as in the original file,because you use compression and in case of video compression,there is no Lossless compression,you always loose information.
So,with Svcd you would have less loss
PS:don't forget that in a Cdr you can put ~74m ,and in Svcd only ~30 min(because Mpeg2 generates bigger files)...

[Crunk]

It's an Mpeg 1 file. I was just debating whether I would convert it to make a SVCD instead of a VCD since I thought it would be the same. Is there a noticable change from VCD to SVCD with an original file of 352 x 288? Thanks for replying.

[JHebert]

Stick with VCD for this movie. Since it is already encoded as mpeg1 at 352x288 you would gain nothing by re-encoding at a higher resolution and bitrate.It will be displayed at fullscreen size by your dvd player.
SVCD is better only if you have a high quality source that can take advantage of the higher resolution of SVCD. You can't add quality to your existing mpeg1 source file by re-encoding it.

[Crunk]

Thanks all, I didn't want to spend hours and hours of time just to gain something you can't even notice and use more discs. One more question , at what resolution do you think it would be benefitial to move from VCD to SVCD?

[JHebert]

I think it only makes sense to make SVCD instead of VCD if you have a source file with full vertical resolution of 480 lines such as 720x480, 480x480, or 352x480 and especially if your source is interlaced. SVCD uses MPEG2 which supports the interlaced video used in NTSC and PAL video. SVCD is a good choice for encoding fullsize captures from TV or camcorders.
However you can also make VCD at these higher resolutions which would be called XVCD. Then you get the benefit of higher resolution and bitrate but keep the better compatibility of VCD and MPEG1. XVCD is a good choice for encoding DVD rips that are in progressive (non-interlaced) format in my opinion.

[Crunk]

Thanks a lot for all the info. Time to get to work.