XSVCD encoding...

[njnjr23]

Just curious, recently found that my cheap Apex DVD player is capable of playing XSVCD, and I was impressed with the noticeable improvement in quality...my question is, what are people using to encode these things at the higher bitrate? TMPGEnc seems to have a maximum allowable combined bitrate.

[petesimon]

what are people using to encode these things at the higher bitrate?

I am not sure. I would like to know too.
What bitrate to you want to encode the MPEG-2?
Try Cinemacraft Encoder, TMPGEnc Plus (the best!), Canopus Procoder or whatever else you can find.

CCE website
http://www.cinemacraft.com/eng/home.html

Canopus website
http://www.canopus.com

XSVCD info
https://www.videohelp.com/xvcd.htm

[gonzalimator]

TMPGEnc seems to have a maximum allowable combined bitrate.

Did you load the 'unlock.mcf'?
In TMPG you can make the bitrate whatever you want, if you load the 'unlock.mcf'. Open TMPG and close the Wizard if it opens. Then press the Load button at the bottom right of TMPG. navigate to the Template folder and then the Extra folder in the TMPG directory. Select the unlock.mcf and Load. Now all the "locked" parameters are unlocked. You can set the bitrates for video and audio to whatever suits you.

[poopyhead]

TMPGEnc seems to have a maximum allowable combined bitrate.

tmpgenc has no max. allowable combined bitrate. you must be referring to the max allowable combined (video+audio) bitrate for standard SVCD, which is 2600 kbit/s. if the combined bitrate is above the standard, then you have yourself a xSVCD. keep in mind, that not that many dvd players support xSVCDs, usually manifests in audio sync problems, jumpiness, blockiness, etc...

in tmpgenc, you can set the bitrate to whatever you want. just keep in mind, higher bitrates means you'll be able to fit less per disc. if you're going to go above max standard (which i approach with my old SVCDs, then you'll fit <40 min / disc)

[ZippyP.]

[quote="poopyhead"]

if you're going to go above max standard (which i approach with my old SVCDs, then you'll fit <40 min / disc)

But if you use 2-pass VBR then you can use the higher bitrate and still fit more on the disk by keeping the average at say 2000 Kb/s. You should test your player and make sure that it can handle it.

[poopyhead]

But if you use 2-pass VBR then you can use the higher bitrate and still fit more on the disk by keeping the average at say 2000 Kb/s. You should test your player and make sure that it can handle it.

i'm referring to the avg. bitrate in my statement. of course, you can set the max bitrate to whatever you want, but if the avg. bitrate is only 2000, then you will definitely be able to fit more (but lower quality, regardless of multi-pass VBR). i'm saying if the avg. bitrate were say, closer to 2500, then you'll only be able to fit <40 min/disc.

[ZippyP.]

i'm saying if the avg. bitrate were say, closer to 2500, then you'll only be able to fit <40 min/disc.

Absolutely, the average defines the file size. I'm just suggesting VBR as a means of taking advantage of the higher bitrates (for demanding scenes) while keeping the file size to a minimum. 2-pass does take twice as long to encode, however.