Mpeg and all that, essential reading for newbies.

[baker]

This guide will Hope fully help you to understand mpeg and vcd.

Enjoy.

First the difference between mpeg 1,2 and 4

MPEG 1= The first of the bunch, this is the format used in vcds and offers good picture quailty but losses some picture data.
MPEG 2= This Is really a lesser compressed version of mpeg 1, this means more of the original picture is kept and results in an overall better picuture but lessly compressed.This is used in svcd and dvd.
MPEG 4= Call this DivX if you like, it is an extremely highly compressed format. Divx is being hailed on the web a lot as a mpeg 1 file which is 1400mb could be kept at the same quailty at only 200-300mb file size!!! This means that anybody with a decent internet connection can go and download a film at a low filesize and convert it to vcd or svcd!! Free movies!!!

Than why convert divx to vcd or svcd???Surely an extra conversion will just mean a greater loss of quailty!!

Thats true, convert to svcd or vcd will mean a very slight loss of quailty and will also take longer as it will ave to be converted BUT dvd players can only play mpeg 1 and mpeg 2 files.

So how on earth do i convert stuff then?

Well if it's from a dvd then you will need a reader, their are many of these. flaskmpeg dvdx and dvd2avi are but a few but the best is clearly dvdx. Allthe rest have certain problems and drawbacks, dvd2avi aint bad but i aint great either!! Dvdx has many great things about it, subtitles, ease of use, and speed are but a few.

But how do I encode this stuff then after reading it.

You have two main options, Frameserving and plugins.

PLUGINS-
A plugin is simply a plugin which plugs into the dvd reader. It is faster than frameserving and provides better ease of use and perhaps better quailty. A few plug-ins are cce and pansonic. Both these programs have seperate standalone vresions.

FRAMESERVING-
Not all programs have plugin versions. For example tmpegenc does not have a plugin version so if you want to use it you need to frameserve. Frameserving uses a plugin which creates a fake video file. The idea being that tmpegenc or other programs can open this file as a normal video file and use it to encode! Avisynth is the most popular frameserver and i think dvdx comes with version of it.

Ok then whats for me? vcd or svcd??

Well that all depends on what your dvd player can support. Read the manual and see what formats it supports. VCD will produce better than vhs results and aint a bad format, it holds 74mins per cd. SVCD can produce near dvd results if done well, it can hold up to 60mins per cd if using cce.

Well now I know how to convert a dvd but what about this DivX file I downloaded off the web??

Well I already said that most programs have a standalone and plug-in version. Simply get the standalone and sue that to convert your DivX file. It is far easier to do and faster than from a dvd but it will have less quailty.

But what do I convert this Divx file to then?? vcd or svcd??

That all depends on the quailty of the file. First I reccomend that you get Virtual dub and op[en the video in that. Virtual dub is a simple to use program which will open you video file and allow you to edit it cut it and add filters. Depending on your file you may need to dit it a lot and add loads fo filters to make it work for you. You will first have to know weither you are pal or ntsc. When you know that then you will have to add filters to the video file to make it suit he format you are converting it to. Never upsize a resouloution!!! If you get a divx file with a resouloution of 352x288(vcd pal resouloution) than do not up the res and put it on a svcd!!! The quailty will look very very bad indeed! If you want to know the correct specs for svcd and vcd then visit www.vcdhelp.com as they have all the info.

Am I pal or ntsc????

Pal and NTSC colour are two differnet video formats used in the world. Pal always looks better no matter what the circumstance. A pal dvd looks quite nicier than a ntsc one. You need to find what format you use. In general europe use pal and America use ntsc.

OK I am still very confused about all this vcd svcd dvd cd cdsvsfsdsd aghhhhhh.

The best thing to do to learn more and better yourself is hang around vcdhelp quite a lot and make it your homepage. Read the sections on the specs of vcd and svcd quite carfully and figure stuff out yourself. If you have a question ask the fouroum. If you can't handle this then use a simple guide in the guides section..

Some reccommend ways to make your vds (videodiscs)

VCD-This is my guide and uses the pansonic encoder.

http://www.vcdhelp.com/The fastest and easiest way to create a pal VCD with the highes...eb page_files/


VCD-Get dvd2svcd from here and use the tmnpegenc option to make your vcds.(set temporal smoother to 2)

http://212.88.77.140/


SVCD-Get dvd2svcd from here and use the defaults setting for a great svcd.(set temporal smoother to 2 and complex-flat to 25)

http://212.88.77.140/


Hope you enjoyed reading this!!!

Baker

[NeWcS]

1877 views and im the first one to reply. Better late then never I guess.

Thanx for the read!!!

[fredm1]

Yes I did enjoy reading your piece. Post more. I'm a newbie and can use all the help I can get. My main problem is not being open the divx files I get from Kaaza, in anything but virtual dub. Tmpegenc, Nero won't open them for encoding to vcd. So, I'm stuck with a bunch of movies that I can only view in the divx player. HELP! My email address is "fredm1@austin.rr.com" . Thanks, Fred

[baker]

oh my gawd!!! this thing got replys!!

Oh well. I can't really say much about them...

fred make sure you have the proper settings in the codec for tmpegenc, this can be a bollox at times!

Baker

[fstp]

hi m8 again I am a newbie and I think I got the gist of your guide but what I want to do is rip svcd/vcd onto dvdr. I have a dvd writer is it possible to do this witht the software you recommend or are there any basic guides that you no off to tell me how to do it?
cheerz in advance
fstp13@yahoo.com

[baker]

for vcd their is a guide on this site

for svcd, resize to 352x576/480 and re-encode in CCE.

Thats about the gist of it.

Baker

[Conquest10]

...Free movies!!!

i don't think you should be condoning this.

[baker]

I meant the free movies which are freely distributible, like small movies etc..

this is perfectly legel

Baker

[Confederate]

Where does .avi fit into all this? And how much .avi will fit into a 4.7 gig DVD format? I know players won't read it, but I'm mostly interested in archival storage for now.

How much does one lose going from .avi to MPEG-2?

Thanks,

John

[Conquest10]

how much .avi will fit into a 4.7 gig DVD format?

i think you just answered your own question there. although i think its more like 4.3 gigs.

[adam]

for vcd their is a guide on this site

for svcd, resize to 352x576/480 and re-encode in CCE.

Thats about the gist of it.

Baker

SVCD uses a resolution of 480x480/576, not 352x480/576.

[baker]

You see adam I meant that for converting svcd to use on DVD, it should be converted to mpeg 2 at 352x576/480. see?

Either you miss read the post, I miss wrote it or both!

Baker

[adam]

Nope you wrote it fine, I just misread. Sorry.

[Confederate]

I meant how many minutes of .avi could one get onto a 4.7 gig DVD? Half an hour? Forty-five minutes?

[Conquest10]

I meant how many minutes of .avi could one get onto a 4.7 gig DVD? Half an hour? Forty-five minutes?

that's like asking 'how many many licks does it take to get to the center of a tootsie pop?' it depends on the bitrate of the avi. you can fit anywhere from 20 minutes to 9 hours or more. it all depends on the bitrate.