Convert TV eps to (X)SVCD for 16:9 TV

[RipBurn]

I've been converting TV eps to SVCD for months using AVI2SVCD, burning them onto CDRs (no DVD burner) and playing them on my 4:3 TV. Now I'm getting a 16:9 TV and I was wondering if I can still use AVI2SVCD to produce (X)SVCD files.

I'm currently using the latest version of AVI2SVCD (aka DVD2SVCD) with the D2SRoBa plugin and it is brilliant for producing SVCDs fast and of a high quality. However, with the output set to SVCD there are only 2 offered aspect ratios.. 4:3 (encoded as 4:3) and 16:9 (encoded as 4:3). What I want is a 16:9 output, not 4:3.

Can I use AVI2SVCD for what I want to do? If not, what is the simplest way to achieve what I want without sacrificing quality?

Cheers.

[iantri]

Three things:

SVCD format technically supports anamorphic 16:9 video (meaning that the image looks stretched out, so it uses the full 480 lines but is squashed into the correct shape by the TV or DVD player if your TV does not have this feature, producing higher video quality). That said, no player actually supports it. Therefore, you are stuck with 16:9 video letterboxed to 4:3. This is, of course, unless your new TV has something like a "16:9" or "anamorphic" squeeze button to squeeze the image into 16:9 shape. If that is the case, you can encode an SVCD with an anamorphic picture and use that button to return it to its proper shape.

The other thing is: are the TV shows you are archiving even 16:9? If a show is broadcast 4:3, then it is 4:3. There is no way to magically make it fill a 16:9 TV screen, other than cropping the top and bottom, which is BAD BAD BAD, for the obvious reasons.

Even if it is broadcast 16:9 (Enterprise, West Wing, many other new shows), there is no benefit to making an anamorphic SVCD -- if it is on standard definition TV the image was broadcast letterboxed in a 4:3 frame, and so the actual image area inside the captured video will be something like 262 lines high. Cropping, resizing, and then encoding it anamorphic 16:9 provides no benefit in this case and is likely detrimental due to the repeated resizing -- there is no extra picture information to be had.

If the broadcast is HD and you have some way of capturing the HD signal, which you likely don't, since AFAIK there is no readily available HD capture solution yet, then yes, an anamorphic SVCD would provide better quality because the resolution is there -- but then again if you blew $1000 on an HD tuner for your PC then you sure as hell can afford a $100 DVD burner!

iantri

[RipBurn]

Thanks for the reply. I'll try a few things when the new TV arrives and perhaps post a followup then.

Cheers.