Trying to Convert VCD to DVD

[John Shumate]

Hello. I have 2 VCD Compilant MPEG Files.

The 1st one I did was fine just that the you could see the motion of the person..ike you would see where he was before. Kinda hard to explain.

Ok..so, what I'm gonna do now is go back to TMPGEnc and encode the original MPEG Files again but this time with the Motion Search Percision option changed from Motion Estimate Search to Highest Quality.

Also, just in case this helps, I'm using 2 filters: Clip Frame and Simple Color Correction since the colors seemed a little bit washed out.

I'm gonna also encode this in 720x480. Now, I'm wondering what would be better: To encode the file in Half D1 480x480 or create a VCD of the 2 files and just use one of the guides tha just places them on th DVD..or just do what I'm doing now?

Thanks.

[pchan]

You need not encode your VCD(MPEG1) to DVD(MPEG2) as the quality will not improve. However, you need to convert your VCD audio(44Khz) to 48KHz in order to be DVD compliance so that your authoring software can take it. If you are using TMPGEnc, just unlock your template and set your audio output to 48Khz and recode your audio. Use TMPGEnc to demux your video and use any DVD authoring software to author your DVD.

[John Shumate]

Ok..I know that the quality will not improve.

I'm re-encoding because I cliped the video and changed use the simple color correction filter. In order for that to work, it has to be re-encoded.

Is there a way to do this without re encoding?

If so, I can just do that in MPEG 1 format and then put it to DVD.

[pchan]

If you are applying filter, then you need to re-encode. There is no other way. Whether to choose VCD or DVD as your final output, you need to consider the following.
1. TMPGEnc encode VCD much faster then DVD.
2. Filesize for DVD is much larger than VCD.
So, you can decide on speed and how many hours of video that you want to put in your DVD.

[John Shumate]

Ok..well..Filesize is not a big deal and when I encode with Motion quality Percision at the highest quality, it takeds roughly 3 1/2 hours. Not a big deal.

For the record though, If I were to encode from MPEG1 to MPEG2 and set the bitrate to 3000kbps CBR, will I lose any quality?

I'm not looking to improve the quality. I'm just looking to preserve the quality with the filters that I'm using for this particular project.

Thanks again for your help.

[John Shumate]

Bump..sorry but I need to make sure that the way I'm doing this is correct.

For the record though, If I were to encode from MPEG1 to MPEG2 and set the bitrate to 3000kbps CBR, will I lose any quality?

I'm not looking to improve the quality. I'm just looking to preserve the quality with the filters that I'm using for this particular project.

[jman98]

John - you are converting a lossy codec (MPEG-1) at a VERY low bit rate (you said your VCD files were compliant, so that means 1115 Kbps) to another lossy codec. You could set your MPEG-2 bit rate to 9000 Kbps and I'd still expect some quality loss. Upsampling the resolution will also not result in a very nice picture. I don't think any of your choices are going to be very good and I don't think you're going to like the final output unless you really don't care about blockiness at all. I would suggest trying these and see which looks best:
1) Re-encode to MPEG-1, same resolution as VCD, but bump the bit rate up to 1700. MPEG-1 video for DVD can have a bit rate as high as 1856 Kbps, but TMPGenc is notorious for overshooting maximum bit rates, so I'd try 1700 (or 1600) to be safe here.
2) Re-encode to MPEG-2 at 352x480 (half-height D1) at as high a bit rate as you can do.
Your Motion Search Estimate setting should help a lot, but back when I used to care about making VCDs a few years ago, I only had 1 PC and I simply couldn't let it chug away for days at the highest setting, so I've never tested it myself. Sorry, but it is not realistic to expect no quality loss unless you can use a very high bit rate for your MPEG-2 encode. I'd try at least 6000 or more.

[John Shumate]

hmm..ok..well..I re-encoded it into MPEG2 and just to let ya know, motion search percision at the highest quality for me was fine. It only took about 3 1/2 hours per 60 minutes of video which is fine since its running full speed on an Athlon 64 5500 FX which is on a laptop at that and that I do it while I was sleeping

Now, when I did encode the DVD, I did it at 720x480. So, what I'll do is do a VCD with a higher bitrate tonight at around 1600-1700 like you said.

Then I'll do one at Half D1 MPEG2 and see how that goes.

I'll tell you the results when I'm done.

[John Shumate]

For some reason, it still comes out blurry even wheni just put the new MPEG-1 Files to VCD.

The DVD I did at Full D1 was horrible for my standards as it look streteched.

I will try doing it at Half D1 later.

Thanks..if you guys have any more ideas, feel free to comment.