Quality

[Cameron203]

Ok i have sucessfully burned my first vcd. Couple questions. Am i right in saying that you can never get a video better than the source file?

Also is svcd better than vcd?

And finally when i burn from a source file i am sure its best to keep the file the exact same size. It seems like when i burn a divx file to vcd when i play it the picture viewing area is bigger and the resolution looks to be slightly less than the source. How when i convert can i make it the exact size of the source file so that doesn't happen again?

[PlaiBoi]

Yes, your right, you cannot get better quality than the source.

Yes, SVCD is better than VCD.

If you want to keep the same resolution as your source, you will be moving outside of VCD standards and the VCD might not play on your DVD player. VCD standard resolution is 352x240, any other resolution is outside of vcd standards. But, if you chose to keep the same resolution as your source, then in TMPGEnc, simply hit the settings button and the resolution is located near the top, change it to your desired size and click ok.

[Akai Rounin]

You will never get better quality than the source, though some filter settings might be able to make the experience slightly more pallateable. If the original video is fuzzy, out of focus, you will never get it crystal clear. However, you can make it slightly less fuzzy with a Sharpen filter. Perfect? No. Better? Maybe.

Yes, SVCD is better than VCD - IF your video is encoded at 3000 kilobits per second or higher. Under 2500 kilobits per second MPEG1 often looks just the same or better (at the same resolution). If your source video is poor to begin with, there is no need to bother with SVCD, no matter the bit rate. If you don't mind using multiple discs, or allowing for much longer encoding times, SVCD is excellent.

Remember, the TMPGEnc Setting dialog will "stick" to the tab you last used. Setting | Video | Video stream editing | Size will allow you to change the resolution of the output file. Setting | Advanced | Video arrange method | Center (custom size) will allow you to adjust the visible area within the output. Setting | Advanced | Clip frame also offers options for cropping and masking the original video. It may take some experimentation to get the desired results.

Unta Glebin Gloutin Globin,

Akai Rounin, The Cyber Sage