best technique to create highest quality MPEG II file?

[billtvt]

I am using Mediastudio 6.0 to make a home movie. I plan on burning this to DVD (new player HP dvd200i on order). I know MSP has a built in encoder, but I'm wondering if TMPGENC or other might be better for encoding the AVI file.
Question number 2 is, is it better to turn my DV file into an avi, and then compress to MPEG II, or straight from the DV file to MPEG II or does it matter?

Thanks for any help

[neverintel]

I would use the Cinema Craft Encoder. Although the encoder costs 2000$, it's worth buying. The Quality is superb. You can use it with 720x576 at 2,4 MBit/s and you get perfect quality .

[holistic]

1 . DV is seen by winDoze as an *.avi file

2. Not everyone has $2G buring a hole in their pocket saying buy CCE "buy CCE" ........ so that is not an option .....
except of course if you have an illegal copy !

3.Best option is to 'frameserve' using avisynth from MediaStudio to TMPGEnc

4. thru 999999. read the HOW TO section on how to frameserve and use TMPGEnc

I use TMPGEnc (as well as many other people here on the forum) and find its 2 pass VBR quality very acceptable. A fast CPU is suggested or a good nights sleep between encodes .... you decide

good luck