Newbie in da house!

[rclayton17]

I have been using the wizard. It lets me make changes in the other settings like setting it from 9bits to 10bits for DC compression and whatnot. But it just wont let me change the bitrate as mentioned above. Where is this "unlock" option?

I noticed that i have 22 days left for the mpeg2 function. I'm using tmpenc 2.5, but i noticed there is version 3. Did you guys pay for this program? How much was it? Which version is better to buy?

[daamon]

Hi rclayton17,

This is from memory as I'm at work and haven't done it for a while:

1. Cancel wizard.
2. Open desired template.
3. Repeat as if to load a template, but there's one called "unlock" - in a subdirectory from where the main templates are.

This should allow you ta make all the changes you want.

Once you've got it as you like it, you can then save it. Don't over-write an existing template (unless, of course, you really want to).

I think that this also works:

1. Cancel wizard.
2. File -> New
3. Load desired template.
4. Save when it's as you want it.

I use 2.5, I don't know version 3 so can't comment on whether it's better. Prices are on the TMPGEnc website. Cheaper if you buy it bundled with TMPGEnc DVD Author.

Hope that helps. Good luck...

[rclayton17]

Well I'm posting to say that it worked. I could change the max bitrate to 9000. Thanks for the help.

These are old home movies that don't look that great anyway. I can't tell the difference between 8000 and 9000 of course. What would you personally for max bitrate on old home movies?

[daamon]

Hi rclayton17,

Glad it worked.

As for bitrate, there's a few factors to consider. I'll group them into different scenarios and, hopefully, one will match or be close to your situation.

From re-reading the original post, there VHS captures. So that has a major influence.

Scenario 1:
If the quality of the source VHS is good, and is captured as such, then try full D1 resolution (720 x 480 / 576 - NTSC / PAL) and a bitrate not less than around 5,000. The higher the bitrate the larger the end file size, but also the higher the quality. However, the increase in quality is not linear and will be less and less noticeable as you go past around 7,000 - 8, 000.

Scenario 3:
If the source is good, but you want to fit more than around an hour (1h 45mins at around 5,500) then look into VBR and / or half-D1 (see below for bitrates).

Scenario 3:
If the quality of the source is less than good, then try half-D1 (352 x 480 / 576) with a bitrate of no less than around 3,000 and max of around 5,000.


In the end, quality is subjective and so I have to say to take a representative clip, say 15 minutes long (no shorter), that has typical quality, movement etc. and encode in various ways. Then, judging on what you like best, go for those settings.

Also, for the same reasons, the bitrates I've quoted are approximate and you should adjust according to your level of quality acceptance.


The bitrates quoted are for CBR, and should be used as the averages for VBR. Unless you determine the average from the VideoHelp Bitrate Calculator.

Good luck.