Bitrates with XVCD

[Alf55]

Will the quality be any better for a VCD if the bitrate is higher than 1150 and the resolution is left as the standard 352x240. I've done a little bit of testing and can't really notice a difference.
The reason I'm asking is that is I have an mpg file that is 1.1gig. I'd rather put the quality up and use the full 1.6gigs of two 80min CDs, than lower the quality for one CD.
I've also tried higher resolutions (where it is easy to see a higher bitrate is needed) - 704x480 gives jerky playback on my Apex AD-1500 and the CVD res of 352x 480 gives a squished picture. (I'm also a little unsure of encoding in these resolutions because I'd like to keep me XVCD fairly close to the VCD specs if a buy a new DVD player in the future).

Thanks

[adam]

Yes raising the bitrate of a vcd and making an xvcd, even at the same resolution, should noticably increase quality. Most svcd compatible dvd players should be able to play an xvcd at a reasonably high bitrate, such as up to 2mbits.

From your post it sounds like you are thinking about taking an existing mpg and transcoding it to a higher bitrate. This can only lower quality. Your output quailty can never be higher quality than your input.