How do I verify VCD quality

[Bullworth]

How do I know I'm getting the max quality possible for VCDs. Why I'm done editing, cleaning and converting my video files they're near-TV quality. When I burn them to VCD I get a fair amount of blockiness, especially with dark colors. Is there any way to get reduce these further? I'm already using the noise reduction on TMPGEnc so they're as clean as possible when converting.
I don't have a DVD player yet so I can't tell the overall quality although I have heard that the blockiness is barely noticeable on TVs if you did a good job. I can even send a sample of my files for someone to see if they have a fast connection.

[ktnwin]

Let me tell you how I do this. Others may disagree but when it comes to quality, it's a very subjective matter.

I normally play the MPEG file on the PC using Windows Media Player, zoom 200% (or full screen). Any blockiness or fuzziness will show up quite clearly. Do not re-configure the screen to 640x480 since this will hide imperfection. Actually that configuration is for best viewing of your MPEG file on a PC.

I have tried this with my own home movie and DVD rip. DVD rip shows virtually no imperfection while my own home movie does show some. On the TV screen, I can hardly see anything bad with either.

Again, that's my method. Others may have better way. Please share.