Clinical Discussion of SVCD Quality (aka HOW'D TCF DO DAT!?)

[MITSUI_1]

Like others here, I'd hear a lot about the "TCF" release of a certain long movie about wizards, warriors, hobbits, etc. The word was that the quality was amazing, nearly indistinguishable from DVD.

Being that I've been playing with VCDs and SVCDs, I got a copy of one of the discs. Under my fair use rights to study and comment on PORTIONS of copyrighted works, I played the thing both on my DVD player and on my computer. I played it for members of my theatre group, and we conducted an impromptu seminar on the acting and directing. It was a very EDUCATIONAL experience.

Anyway. Wow.

Nice quality. Really nice.

I have attempted to achieve the same quality, using the same bitrate specified in the .nfo for the release, and also using TMPGenc 2 pass VBR encoding. But I cannot reproduce the quality in my personal backups.

How did they do that?

[jasond]

I get excellent quality with DVD2SVCD.. yes, I know I have been plugging it lately, but the program is great! it does everything in one program and so simple a monkey could use it (Hop I didnt insult any monkeys that may have accounts here )

http://forum.doom9.org/

[lizzoqops]

I use dvd2svcd, also, and get excellent results, with fairly low bitrates (low enough to play on my Pioneer 525). It's a great program.

lizzo

[KoalaBear]

Ultimately it's a question of skill.

Ansel Adams would do more with a Kodak Instamatic than you or I could, yes? But why?

Properties of film, emulsion and exposure are a part of the equation, but those are all constants. The variable is the artistry. A person who's passionate about movies will make a better VCD than someone who isn't, and a person who's passionate about MPEG will make a better VCD than a movie buff.

Encoders and capture devices are the constants; artistry is still the variable.

[IGuaNAdoN]

DVD2SVCD is a Great program. you will want to read about AviSynth scripting and maybe about CCE matrix patches. I think CCE gives me better results with MPEG-2 @ 2000+ bit rate.

[MITSUI_1]

"about CCE matrix patches"

This is one I've not heard about. What's the story. Or, as our favorite halfling would say: "What must I do?"

[Nelson37]

If you analyse DVD2SVCD log files, you will find some major clues. First, it uses CCE 4pass VBR, the best encoder. 2nd, it uses IVTC to reduce framerate so as to maximize bitrate distribution. 3rd, it does not use filters.

I am leaving out the sound encoding features since I only have 2.1 and don't yet work much with surround sound, but these features are excellent.

It assumes starting with a VERY clean source, and consistently produces outstanding output. I have modeled my encoding procedures for TV capture on it. With Digital Cable input, I have produce dozens of SVCD's with quality which to most people is indistinguishable from a DVD.

It is when you have noise or other defects that artistry, skill, and sometimes voodoo become necessary, and while good results are acheivable, GIGO.