Comparing some converters needed

[gurevle]

Hi,

I'm a beginner in the area of creating VCDs/SVCDs and looking for your advice.

I make movies with Ulead Video. While original clips are captured as AVI files, the final movies can be rendered as AVI, MPEG for VCD, MPEG for SVCD. There are also other options, e.g., DVD, but they are out of scope now.

Recently I came across a problem: after I rendered a movie as MPEG for VCD and then burned a disk with Nero, the MPEG file had to be re-encoded due to its non-compliance. While re-encoding, the quality was likely degraded.

I now understand that I could avoid the extra re-encoding if I had converted the movie AVI file to VCD directly with Nero or another software (I see on this forum that many people use TMPGenc).

So here are my dummy questions:
- are there differences in quality if AVI files get converted to VCD and SVCD with different converters?
- if so, what software would you recommend? Although any suggestions would be valuable, but if you could compare Nero, TMPGenc and Ulead, it would be especially helpful.


Thanks in advance,
Lev

[Baldrick]

1. Yes.
2. www.dvdrhelp.com/comparison#mpeg1 , a bit old though...

[rvl123]

Hi,

I have used TMPGenc to convert most of my vids. Mainly because it's free (the full-function shareware atleast).

When you convert, you always lose quality. Remember, you can only lose quality; you can't make it.

Anyhow, there are some better encoders out there. MainConcept is one of them.

For your purposes, go with TMPGenc. There are many guides at the left which will help ya out.

[gurevle]

Guys,

I DO appreciate your prompt responses.

Many thanks,
Lev

[bugster]

Hi,

I have used TMPGenc to convert most of my vids. Mainly because it's free (the full-function shareware atleast).

When you convert, you always lose quality. Remember, you can only lose quality; you can't make it.

Anyhow, there are some better encoders out there. MainConcept is one of them.

For your purposes, go with TMPGenc. There are many guides at the left which will help ya out.

Don't want to start a war as to which is the best encoder but personally, for DVD complai mpeg-2 anyway, I find the quality from MC to be slightly below that of TmpGenc.

May be I havn't used it enough to learn all its nuances and settings properly, maybe it depends on the type and quality of the source material you use or maybe MC just isn't as good as TmpGenc.

Anyway, thats my opinion.

[funkguy4]

Use TMPGEnc ...... , I only use it, and I like the fact that you can customize almost every aspect of the encoder......

[Dennis1968]

most quailty loss is due to the encoder not the source. some encoders keep the quality up.

[funkguy4]

LIKE TMPGEnc.......