SVCD quality needs improvment.

[rolando1]

Ill start by explaining how I create SVCD's. I record with my Sony TRV320 camera using HI-8 tapes. Fire-wire transfer from Sony to PC resulting in a large AVI file. Convert AVI to MPEG2 using "TMPGEnc Plus 2.58.44.152". This program has options to convert VCD, SVCD, or DVD. I choose SVCD. I then have an MPEG2 file. I open NERO, choose the option to burn SVCD, and Finito! an 80min CD-R with my home movie on it. Only problem, it looks worse than a vcr tape. I once accepted this quality, since we are dealing with only 700mb capacity. But a friend of mine loaned me a movie that fit onto four(4) CD-R's in SVCD format. And WOW!, it looked almost as good as a dvd. Is there a way to get SVCD's to look as good as DVD's? If so please help.

[proxyx99]

There is. Learn from SVCD guides if you dare to. Until then you won't see a good SVCD leaving your computer

As Leo Laporte used to say: "it's all right there, I hope you enjoy it"

[proxyx99]

PS. a good start point is to find out:
1. in hardware : what your player is capable of (what bitrates)
2. VIEW OTHER USERS OPINIONS ABOUT YOUR DVD PLAYER
3. burn test SVCD's in different bitrates
4. find out how did your friend encode his
5. test your SVCD on his DVD player (may be perfect)
6. ask yourself why his SVCD works and yours doesn't
7. sit back and draw conclusions
8. apply what you just learned

That all doesn't absolve you from further working on your skills.

Then you will be fully qualified to answer your question whether really:

SVCD quality needs improvment.

?
Knowledge is power my friend. You're on a right track.

[theDruid]

If you already have TMPGEnc Plus, I'd recommend you get DVD2SVCD. You've already got the only bit that isn't free.

It can take avi as an input, and it makes brilliant SVCD's.

The most important thing is probably the bitrate - a movie split to 4 SVCD's probably uses a high bitrate.

Use a bitrate calculator (there's a very basic one built in to DVD2SVCD, but there are many better ones), and ensure that you're using the highest bitrates that you can to fit your movie onto the desired number of discs.

You can use multi-pass Variable Bit Rate (VBR) to improve the quality of the output. TMPGEnc is capable of this - and DVD2SVCD makes it very easy to set up. I use 3 passes.

The source is important too - when you say your source is Hi-8 tapes, is this home movies?

This sort of source will be much more noisy than a DVD, and noise confuses MPEG encoders, and makes the output quality worse.

You may want to think about some noise filtering - TMPGEnc has its own Noise Filter built in, but you can't use it from within DVD2SVCD unfortunately.

If you were going to use DVD2SVCD, you may have to customise the AviSynth script to use noise filtering.

If you're not using DVD2SVCD, you could use TMPGEnc's internal noise filter, or frameserve with either AviSynth or VirtualDub and use noise filtering in them.

There's a few things to get you started!

cheers,
mcdruid.

[Gazorgan]

I do xSVCD. 300 min, 3500 max, and no less than 2000 average. It's good for about 40 minutes/CDR and quality is excellant. 2-pass VBR is a must.

Try DVD2SVCD (it does AVI input), and set your disk size to controll your bitrate. A little INI file editing and you can go from SVCD to xSVCD.

[rolando1]

By the way, these are home movies i'm making. theDruid asked if these were home movies. I also read that the input quality (tapes) would make a difference. Also I was told to ask my friend how he encoded his SVCD. But he didn't do it himself. The movie was a bootleg he bought in LA. I still have this movie. Is there any way to get the info off of the CD-R? Info like what bitrates, multi-pass Variable Bit Rate (VBR) or CBR, how many passes were made?

[Nelson37]

Rolando, I would strongly suggest you hone your skills by creating an SVCD from a DVD rip, one that you own, of course. While this is not the best possible source, it is most likely the best one you can lay your hands on. Then you will be able to get a true idea of what is possible, and apply that to your Hi-8 source.

If I make hamburgers out of filet mignon and you make them out of horsemeat, examining the type of grill used to cook them is not going to yield any useful info as to why they taste different.

[Colindale]

?create an SVCD from a DVD rip?

Use, and master DVDX, I have had excellent results from that software.