A few questions regarding TMPGEnc?

[Weevis]

I have been using TMPGEnc’s VCD templates to encode mpg. A few questions I ddin't see in FAQ :
1. how to change any of the options in template mode, ie pix size, bit rate? They seem to be locked. couldn't find an un-lock.
2. I am backing up some 55min clips, I want to use up all the space on 80minCDR by increaseing pix size and bit rate it may improve the quality on playback you think?
3. Would good is TMPGEnc mpg2 encoder compared to DVD2SVCD for making SVCD? Worth the $ to register?

Thanks for input.

[poopyhead]

1. how to change any of the options in template mode, ie pix size, bit rate? They seem to be locked. couldn't find an un-lock.

there should be a file called "Unlock.mcf" in the template folder.

2. I am backing up some 55min clips, I want to use up all the space on 80minCDR by increaseing pix size and bit rate it may improve the quality on playback you think?

higher bitrate + higher resolution will improve quality. however, if you want to make a STANDARD, COMPLIANT VCD, then you have to stick with the standard bitrate and resolution...can't change...if you do, you will be creating a xVCD, which has lower dvd player compatibility than standard VCD.

for SVCDs, 55 min for 1 SVCD disc may be pushing the limit if you want decent video quality. you can either split the 55 min clip onto 2 SVCDs or lower the bitrate to fit the entire 55 min onto 1 SVCD. however, in the latter case, you may need to lower your bitrate to under 2 mbit/s....this will definitely lower quality.... i, personally, can't stand to watch SVCDs encoded less than 2.2 mbit/s.

3. Would good is TMPGEnc mpg2 encoder compared to DVD2SVCD for making SVCD? Worth the $ to register?

tmpgenc is a very good encoder in almost every aspect. by comparing it to DVD2SVCD, which uses CCE, you are opening up a big debate....the tmpgenc vs. cce threads are long and numerous (similar to the DVD-R vs. DVD+R format wars now). both are very good, but keep in mind CCE does cost more, much more.....unless you can get yourself a free copy of course, you could do the same with tmpgenc as well

[Weevis]

I have tried the unlock.mcf, but it doesn’t seem to affect wizard mode. My problem is that during phase 4/5 of project wizard, I want to adjust the pix size and bit rate, and move the disk capacity up to 99%. I can do it using the SVCD template but not in the VCD template. Any idea how those options can be unlocked?

As for a *free* copy of TMPGEnc mpg2. hahaha. I don’t think this is the right forum to solicited or advertises cracked program

[Weevis]

Nevermind. I was able to import the VCD template, unlock it and save as a different template, seems to have done the trick. I can now play around with the video resolution and bit rate, which brings me to my next question.
I changed the video resolution to 480x480, but didn’t see a change in the estimated mb/min ratio. Is bit rate more important for quality than resolution?
And does anyone know of compatibility problems with higher vid resolution playback on DVD players?

[poopyhead]

I changed the video resolution to 480x480, but didn’t see a change in the estimated mb/min ratio. Is bit rate more important for quality than resolution?

resolution will not affect filesize at all.....you can increase resolution as much as you want and the filesize will remain exactly the same. only the bitrate will affect the filesize.

here's the trade-off between bitrate and resolution.

given a certain bitrate, if you increase the resolution...technically, the video will look sharper. however, since the bitrate remains the same (given constant), then higher resolution will create more blockiness.

on the other hand, given a certain bitrate, if you lower the resolution, it will be less sharp (fuzzier). however, there will be less blockiness.

hence, the trade-off. the only way to make your video look sharper and less blocks is to increase both the resolution and the bitrate. increasing the resolution won't really help very much if the bitrate remains the same, because you will get more blocks.

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think about it this way. given a constant bitrate, if you increase the resolution there will be more pixels. hence, the video will be sharper. however, since the bitrate remains constant, each pixel will receive less bitrate than before because you've increased the number of pixels (resolution) w/o increasing bitrate, so the bitrate needs to be spread out among more pixels..hence, each pixel now receives less bitrate--->more blockiness

And does anyone know of compatibility problems with higher vid resolution playback on DVD players?

if you're making a VCD, if you deviate from the standard, compliant VCD 2.0 specs (1150 kbit/sec MPEG-1, 352 x 240 pixels), you will be making an xVCD. the dvd player compatibility will go down. however, you will get higher quality.

may wanna check here: https://www.videohelp.com/dvdplayers and make sure your dvd player can support xVCDs and the max bitrate it can support.

[FulciLives]

Before I had a DVD burner I used to make XVCD discs using TMPGEnc and creating my own template similiar to what you have done. I played around with 352x480 as well as 480x480. I think I liked 352x480 best.

As for bitrate I would normally do 2200kbps for the video and 224 MP2 STEREO sound. I was trying to keep the overall bitrate just under 2500kbps so I wouldn't have playback issues.

Anyways the quality was pretty nice. Very similiar to SVCD but my DVD player couldn't handle SVCD but it could handle the XVCD discs. The main problem was dark scenes (very dark) would still have a lot of pixelation but overall the image was pretty decent. Much better than a VHS tape and much better than standard VCD which is just garbage quality if you ask me. The other "problem" is that most movie would require 3 CD-R discs. Cheap yes but rather annoying to have to flip discs while trying to watch the movie "striaght" through.

And while I did like the quality of the XVCD I still thought that SVCD looked better (especially in the dark scenes) but then again that wasn't really an option since my DVD player had trouble (stuttering playback) with SVCD discs.

So I suggest you go with XVCD only if your DVD player has problems with SVCD.

Or get a DVD buner

- John "FulciLives" Coleman

352x480 at 3000kbps (video) with 224 MP2 sound is very good quality and will get about 3 hours or so on a single DVD disc. The nice thing is that resolution is within the DVD spec ... giving you a home made DVD that looks as good (if not better) than SVCD but being much more compatable than SVCD on stand alone DVD players.

[poopyhead]

@FulciLives, VCD header trick no workie?

[dvd2svcd]

tmpgenc is a very good encoder in almost every aspect. by comparing it to DVD2SVCD, which uses CCE, you are opening up a big debate

DVD2SVCD doesn't use CCE only, it can use TMPGenc or Canopus Procoder just as well.

[poopyhead]

DVD2SVCD doesn't use CCE only, it can use TMPGenc or Canopus Procoder just as well.

my mistake...haven't done SVCDs very much lately, as i've moved onto DVD-Rs, and i prefered to use separate proggies rather than your frontend...but i've heard many good things about dvd2svcd...helped lotta ppl

[Weevis]

I am encoding a 55min clip as SVCD, but only at about 1700kbs for cramming it on one disc. And loaded too-LAME as auto encoder. Damn thing is taking 6 hrs!!! compared to the normal 3hr for plain VCD with external auto encoder. As I write this its still going and going. I am pretty sure its not going to make a damn difference, other than kill 3 hours of my CPU life time.

Oh yea. I had the good luck of stumbling on a good :wink: copy of TMPEnc Plus. But now i am pretty sure I will go make some XVCD (like 480x480 at 2000kbs), rather then use the MPEG2 encoding and tooLame encoder. I am thinking it will be faster, take less disc space, and with only slight degradation to quality. Since it takes me too long for test runs for real comparison, if other folks have experience or suggestions i would gladly hear them.

Thanks.
-I do this 'cause I am too cheap to buy a DVD burner