dvd to svcd with tmpgenc...clip borders?

[Mordant]

Hi, I've done a few DVD to DivX conversions and some DivX to SVCD as well. When working from a DivX source the black bars at top and bottem have generally been removed. When encoding directly from a DVD rip to SVCD using TMPGEnc should I be using the Clip filter to remove the black bars? Do they take some of the bitrate away?

I did not see this mentioned on the guides anywhere.

Thanx

[duck712]

If you clip them away, Tmpgenc will add them again before/during encoding so it may not make much of a difference.

Still, I think it would be better to clip them for the following reasons:
1. You can clip away just enough so that the remaining height is a multiple of 16 (better for macroblock encoding).
2. The newly added bars will be totally black without possible distortion from the original.