Quality SVCD from Hi-8

[mktb]

I'm after a little advice on how best to convert my Hi-8 tapes onto SVCDs. I capture the video using a Pinnacle DC10+ board - that seems fine. I then convert to AVI using the DV encoder codec supplied with Studio 7. This file quality seems ok when played on the PC using an ATI file player. When I convert this to SVCD using TMPGenc, the quality isn't what I had been hoping for, with blockiness around areas of motion (kids sports day - blockiness/poor quality picture around running legs etc.)

I've read many of the posts on these pages, but don't have enough understanding of some of the basics to convert this information into good video!

Am I missing something basic or failing to do something obvious, or am I expecting too much?

Any info very much appreciated!

Mike.

[D_Knife]

Firstly - why are you double encoding the video?
capture to AVI (hardware MJPEG) convert to DV and then convert to MPEG
go from captured AVI to MPEG without the time,speed,space overhead of DV.

There's nothing wrong with DV - but it's not needed in this place.
DV is lightly encoded (around 5:1) and a very efficient codec but it will introduce compression artifacts that are different to the MJPEG codec that the card captures in. There are other NLE apps that don't require the video to be in DV format. Most of them have more features than Studio 7 as well.

Look for a NLE that allows plug-ins or has the option for frameserving out directly to the MPEG encoder. There is a plug-in for Adobe Premiere that allows this. This you to capture, apply changes (cuts, transitions,effects) and then go straight to the encoder without ever re-compressing your footage.

Am I missing something basic or failing to do something obvious, or am I expecting too much?

TMPEGenc can produce quite good results for SVCD (I'm not getting into a encoder performance flame here) but you do need to "massage" the encoding somewhat. Especially with Hi8 footage - I've found with my Hi8 camer that the video is slightly faded and "washed" out. Try applying a small amount of colour saturation.
Tell us what TMPEGenc settings you use to encode and maybe they can be adjusted somewhat

[mktb]

Thanks for this reply - I think it helps! I'm new to this and my ambition obviously outweighs my ability! I didn't realise I was double-encoding, although it's obvious now you point it out.

I appreciate what you say about the other NLEs, but I've only got Studio 7. I'm trying to do this on the cheap, initially, so am I able to use Studio? My understanding is that TMPGenc requires an AVI input and that is why I was using the DV encoder. If this is not the case, can you suggest how to get the HI8 footage into TMPGenc from Studio?

If I can sort this part, then I'll move onto the other settings!

Thanks for your advice.

Mike.

[mktb]

Hi - me again. Sorry, I must have had brain fade from being out in the sun too much today. Yes, of course, the raw footage in Studio is mpeg, but after editing and adding effects, it is stored as a Studio Project, which is not AVI or MPEG based. This I then need to encode as an AVI file using DV (which I believe is the best codec offered in Studio) before importing it into TMPGenc.

Right, once there, I'm not too bothered about file size as most of the videos are usually less than 20 - 30 min. From what I've read, apparently CQ gives good quality (I know this is a hot topic, too!), although I've also used 2 pass VBR with high bit rates, max, min and ave. I realise this may not be efficient, but as long as I can get one video onto a SVCD cd, then that's OK. I use high or highest motion search, but I still get poor quality around running legs, for example, with visible blockiness. This seems less noticeable with higher motion search. Now, should I be playing with the GOP structure (maybe more I frames?) I haven't really experimented with this too much, as I don't really know what I'm doing, although more I frames may give better results (I think). I hope this is a bit more informative than my last post.

Again, any suggestion greatly appreciated!!

Mike.

[D_Knife]

Ok - well for the time being since it looks like you do have to export from Studio consider using HuffyUV (tools page >codecs)
It is a lossless codec and will not further compress your footage
It takes up a little more space than DV but is a nice fast stable codec and it's freeware!

I'm not a fan of CQ either, that's my personal choice. I have a fast computer and can afford to wait the extra time taken for a 2-pass VBR encode to happen. I would rather go without the blocks.

Actually I lately I have tended to move away from TMPEGenc and more to CCE - I find it gives a better encode but you really have to work for it.
Can you post your encode settings?

[mktb]

Thanks for this - I'll try Huffy and post the settings and try 2 pass as soon as I can - the kids have broken up now, so my time is being re-prioritised!!!

Mike.