Dumb questions on video re-encoding….

[GLE3]

I’ve been using Xvid4PSP and Super to re-encode old WMV files to Mpeg4 and AVI. I have some general questions on video re-encoding in hopes that I can get better quality out of my output.


1) If the source file is say, 600 X 300 resolution I should always expect lower quality if I re-encode to 720 X 480, right?

2) If I raise the bitrate higher than the source file, does that do anything to help the quality of the output. Can you have better looking output than the source just by re-encoding?

3) Are you always going to get better looking output when 3 pass encoding verses 2 pass? Is there a point where I am just wasting my time(cause it takes longer to do 3 pass instead of 2 pass).

4) Is there any specific recommendations on settings for Xvid4PSP or Super that would suit my re-encode(WMV to Mpeg4 or AVI)?


Any help would be appreciated! Thanks!

[mh2360]

1) You always lose a little in every lossy conversion, but depending on the decoder/encoder settings, you can cut it to a minimum. A good conversion shouldn't look drastically different from the original. Increasing the frame size will do very little, if anything at all.

2) No, MP4 (H.264) is much more efficent than windows media and most other codecs, so you should get the same quality for a lower bitrate.

3) 3 pass shouldn't be necessary unless you are trying to encode to a lower than "normal" target size, for example trying squeeze 2 hours into 700mb.

4) If you are trying to improve quality, XviD4PSP has a few video filters you can play with, though some will slow down conversion times drastically.

[zoobie]

wmv is a highly compressed final format...you won't be able to do much with them...maybe make them worse when re-encoding....that's about it...filtering just does what it says...remove even more data from what little it contains

you could buy a DVD player that plays wmv natively if that helps...