How to improve Mpeg quality when converting from AVI?

[Stan The Man]

Please give me some advise how to improve mpeg quality when I do AVI to Mpeg conversion?
This is my combination: Panosonic NV-DS35 , mini DV tape, Iwill eLink1394 firewire,ATI AIW RAGE 128 (NOT PRO) 32mb, use MGI VideoWave to capture(AVI 720X480, 29.97f/s, DV NTSC), edit and produce it to mpeg, then use nero burn to VCD. Somethings must be wrong along the process, the captured AVI look OK in small screen but not sharp in full screen. After it was converted to mpeg, the output drop about 70-80% as compared to AVI.I know Mpeg quality can't be compared to AVI, but I think I have missing somethings here. I need some advises and suggestions. Thank you.

Stanley

[vhelp]

stan,

you didn't say HOW U R watching these final clips.

R U watching via a TV set or on your PC?

If you encoded each clip correctly, you should be able to see them decent
quality on your TV set. I don't care much for PC viewing - I see no point
in creating SVCDs let-alone VCD's on ones PC monitor!

Lets just face it, theres just toomuch bandwidth envolved to get a near perfect
acceptable video SVCD for PC viewing! 720x480 - com'on! It's a lotta work
to get it ta work for this viewing. But, if you (and others) must, do so at
your own risk.

I can't see watchign a movie that you've already seen, on your PC.
Ok, maybe not you, but others out there are.
And, to justify this with, "well, I work on my pc, but like to watch on my pc
too..." Yeah, right! I can see watching TV on your pc, there is a difference,
though small, but not the whole idea of going to the extreams and process
of say, from an AVI file to an SVCD, and then to play on your PC. On your
TV, yes! You'll be more satisfied when you play your clips on your TV via
your dvd player. I'm not attaking you. Just the idea of this process of
creating and encoding, only to via on PC. That's all.
It's easy for me to say this, as I've done it for a while. But it does get
a bit boring after a while. You'll soon realise that you need to devert those
lost resources from PC SVCD viewing to other apps running. And, sooner
or later, you'll stop this and start making REAL SVCD, etc. for your TV
enjoyment, but until then. . .

stan, if you're not pleased with your final ouput, maybe it's because you're
vieing on my PC. It will mostly likely show 50% or less quality than your
AVI file. I have this problem too, as well as many out there. You can
NEVER reach the SAME quality as your AVI. That's a fact! But, you can
get pretty close, with the right comb (Video Card it's setting set properly,
and your final setting used in your encoding, CCE or TMPG & capture card)
Some Hardware MPEG capture cards don't display there final SVCD/MPEG
files color correctly on your PC, as in the Wintv PVR usb. Color is kind of
on the washed out sort,but when this clip is played back on TV, quality
is very good (not encluding the block, he, he) So, it will depend on your
capture card as well. It will take some more research to figure out the
right combo for this goal.

I hope I've be some help here.

Good morning!

[ewingr]

I've been doing a little with this, pretty new, so consider that on this reply.

I have created just a couple, and even though most here seem to praise Nero, and many say trash EZCD Creator, I have found that my quality is MUCH better with the EZCD software. Now, this is based on using default settings in both, no tweaking, etc. I was pleased with my first Nero burn, but my second one was very poor. Did the same methods both times. I have no idea why the difference.

As a note, this experience is based on this environment: The 2 "movies" are actually MPGs of stills, with audio added; made with Adobe Premier 6.0; burnt to Movie, MS DV format avi; first encoded with Nero 5.5.6.4; second one with Nero bad, so used Video Impression from EZCD, and burnt with Video CD Creator; played on Mitsubishi Big Screen TV.