SHORT FILM: VCD vs. SVCD quality/compatability

[MrDelaney]

I have a short film which I am putting on CD for promotional purposes,
therefore it is important that as many people can see it as possible.

I have a DVStorm (with Canopus SoftMPG encoder) & I also have TMPGenc. I am burning with Nero.

The dilema is the quality of VCD vc. SVCD.

The VCD's I have encoded seem to be a bit out of focus. I realize the resolution difference between SVCD & VCD is large, but I know other people out there are encoding some fantastic looking stuff.

My question is:
What is the best way to encode a 13 minute black and white video clip?

and, if the quality is still not up to snuff, how many players can play SVCD (versus the amount that play VCD).
(do i optimize the viewers, and lower the quality, or highten quality and lower the viewers?)

Thanks in advance,
this forum has been an invaluable resource as I get more and more into this technology,

-Luis

[sean madison]

well, i have never encoded black and white before so i couldnt give u any solutions but i can tell u is send me a small clip when i get on aim or msn (see profile for SNs) and i can see what to do.

I always lean towards svcd but i'll see what i can do.

[adam]

While svcd can yield quality much higher than vcd, it is far less compatible. It simply would not be effective to release a promotional video in svcd in America (I assume thats where you are.) However, 13 mins is very short. You can easily include multiple versions of the clip on one cdr.

I would suggest doing a standard vcd and having a disclaimer of sorts stating that other samples could be viewed on the disk via a computer. Then encode your clip in full resolution and use as high a bitrate as your remaining space will allow.

You know your largest compatibility problem may come from players unable to read cdr/w well. I don't know what your budget for this promotional video is but I would strongly recommend making a master copy and having it duplicated at a plant. That is the only way to ensure that your vcd will play on all vcd compatible players.