KDVD

[AuroEdge]

I was wondering, what's the difference between regular DVD video/audio and KDVD video/audio? Is KDVD really that bad or is it 'okay'?

[adam]

A "KDVD" is like any other DVD, its just encoded using the custom KVCD "Notch" Quantization Matrix. There are dozens of different custom Quantize Matrices available on the internet, all aimed at different sources and uses. The KDVD one is described by its author as being, "optimized for space/quality, and has also been optimized to reduce visible DCT blocks on low lit/dark scenes."

Obviously you can use it for whatever encodes you want, but at kvcd.net, where this matrix originated, they suggest you use it to fit 6 hours of D1 (720x480/576) or 10 hours at half D1 (352x480/576) onto a single dvd disks.

My personal opinion is that, unless you need to fit that much quality on one disk, you will get better quality using the standard Quantize Matrix or another custom Matrix designed for higher bitrate encoding. Go ahead and test it out for yourself though, and try some other custom matrices as well. I know Fox Studio's has released their Matrix, and I think there exist programs that will let you see the matrix settings that were used on your encoded source....not too sure about that though.

[pete2828]

are there any samples to see if this matrix is really better. I am looking for something to store videos on PC that does take lots of space.

[adam]

Well if this is just for pc playback then mpeg1 or 2 is really a bad choice altogether. You will get much better quality at a much smaller size using something like xvid...that's really what its intended for.

But yes there are samples at kvcd.net, but make sure you compare apples to apples. Look at the bitrate of the samples in BitrateViewer and only compare it to your own encodes of similar bitrate.

[AuroEdge]

Thanks for clearing that up. Could you please suggest an info. source for me to look at what quant. matrix is and then a source for the different types of methods for high quality or for space concerns? I would really appreciate. I could google it up but I probably wouldn't find a good source and this way I wouldn't ask the million questions I'd want to.