SVCD does it really make a difference?

[chrome307]

Hi there, I am new to this and have only recently begun ripping DVD's and capturing avi files through my TVcard. Is there a big difference in quality between SVCD and VCD. I've only come across VCD's and the quality of them is okay to watch, so is there a significant difference?

Will my PC take significantly longer to convert to SVCD format than VCD?

Thanks in advance!

chrome ;0)

[adam]

Maybe you know this, maybe not but capturing the dvd loses an incredible amount of quality. If you were capturing straight to mpeg then it would at least be a much faster method, albeit lower quality. But since you are capturing to avi and then converting to mpeg your method probably takes even longer, and produces lower quality.

If your looking for a quick method of making vcds or svcds then capture straight to mpg, if your hardware supports it. Otherwise convert the vobs directly to vcd/svcd compliant mpgs. This is the preferred method since it produces the highest quality.

Now to your question. Yes assuming your source is high quality, there is a significant difference in quality. If you've ever seen S-VHS this is very similiar in quality to SVCD, while VHS looks much more like regular VHS. Also, if you do decide to capture the dvd, SVCD will support interlacing, whereas with VCD you will lose half or your fields, which basically means you are losing half of the movie's data.

As far as the encoding times...Mpeg2 does take longer to encode but not all that much longer really. However, SVCD supports VBR encoding which takes longer and you also may wish to use multipass VBR, which basically multiplies your encoding time with eacy pass, ex: 2 passes takes twice as long, 3 passes takes three times as long ect...

[eliteplayer]

SVCD has better quality than VCD

also SVCD = the quality of VCD

[chrome307]

Thank you for your clear explanation! Unfortunately my TVcard is old and can only record video as avi files and the audio as pcm files using Virtual Dub. I use TMPGenc to encode to Mpeg1 VCD PAL.

I use DVDx2.0 to rip DVD's that automatically converts to Mpeg1, so that's okay.

What I would like is a program like Virtual Dub that would allow me to record directly to Mpeg1/2 if possible, alternatively I'll have to buy a new TVcard I guess?

If you have any suggestions they would be most welcome!!

chrome ;0)