Source and target bit rates from AVI to MPEG2

[PigBoy]

I haven't seen to much around about this so thought I'd try here.

Does it make much sense to encode an AVI that is 800mbs bitrate to 1600mbps MPEG2 ( for svcd ) when using Tmpeg? Is this just a waste of encoding time ( not to mention disk space ) if we encode to a larger bitrate than what the source is?

I noticed in one of the Doom9 guides, he mentions not to bother re-encoding mp2 files ( from 44.1khz to 48khz ) at a higher bitrate because it's pointless. However, I haven't found anything ( yet ) that mentions this for video.

Thanks for any insight!

[FulciLives]

I haven't seen to much around about this so thought I'd try here.

Does it make much sense to encode an AVI that is 800mbs bitrate to 1600mbps MPEG2 ( for svcd ) when using Tmpeg? Is this just a waste of encoding time ( not to mention disk space ) if we encode to a larger bitrate than what the source is?

I noticed in one of the Doom9 guides, he mentions not to bother re-encoding mp2 files ( from 44.1khz to 48khz ) at a higher bitrate because it's pointless. However, I haven't found anything ( yet ) that mentions this for video.

Thanks for any insight!

I sounds as though you are talking about MPEG-4 AVI files which are probably either DivX or Xvid.

Well here is the deal. MPEG-2 uses compression but it needs more bitrate because it is not as good at low bitrates ala MPEG-4

So let's say you take a high quality DVD rip and re-encode it to MPEG-2. You will need a bitrate of probably 4000kbps or higher to make it look good whereas MPEG-4 would look the same at about 1500kbps

So if you take your MPEG-4 AVI that was encoded at 800kbps (which is kinda low even for MPEG-4) and re-encode it to MPEG-2 at 800kbps it would be an unwatchable mess!

If you are resizing to Full D1 resolution (720x480 NTSC or 720x576 PAL) then you should try to keep the bitrate above 4000kbps

If you are resizing to Half D1 resolution (352x480 NTSC or 352x576 PAL) then you can get away with less than 4000kbps but should still stay at around 3000kbps to 3500kbps if you want it to look good.

If the AVI file has a high resolution (usually the highest for MPEG-4 is 640x480) then I would resize to Full D1 and use the highest bitrate you can to make it fit on the DVD. For instance a 2 hour movie usually needs a bitrate of 4500kbps to fit on a DVD (if you are using 224kbps audio) if the movie is shorter then you can use an even higher bitrate.

- John "FulciLives" Coleman

[PigBoy]

Thanks for your reply, FulciLives! This all makes a little more sense to me now.

On another note, I think I'm gonna have to investigate some of Lucio Fulci's gore. Being an old Tom Savini fan, I think I could like his films.

Thanks again...

[FulciLives]

Thanks for your reply, FulciLives! This all makes a little more sense to me now.

On another note, I think I'm gonna have to investigate some of Lucio Fulci's gore. Being an old Tom Savini fan, I think I could like his films.

Thanks again...

If you like GORE you will LOVE the films of Lucio Fulci

You might want to try:

ZOMBIE (aka ZOMBIE FLESH EATERS aka ZOMBI 2)
THE BEYOND
CITY OF THE LIVING DEAD (aka THE GATES OF HELL)
HOUSE BY THE CEMETERY

- John "FulciLives" Coleman

[PigBoy]

Great, I'll have a look around for those!

Wow, a whole new batch of Zombie flicks I don't think I've ever seen... I've lived such a sheltered life!