DVD2SVCD & the resolution

[MatrixCode]

I'm using DVD2SVCD with TMPGEnc, and I've noticed that the original resolution reduces to lower values (eg. from 720x576 to 480x576) so i was wondering if there's a way to rip the dvd movie with the exact resolution to SVCD, and i wanna know if there's big quality difference
thanx

[adam]

So are you saying you want to make an xsvcd with a resolution of 720x576? All you have to do is tell dvd2svcd that you want to edit the avs script and when it gets to that point in the process you can change the resize setting to the desired resolution.

Does it make a big difference in quality? Absolutely but probably not in the way you were hoping. With such a large resolution you will have drastically fewer bits per pixel which means the quality will be much worse. Svcds were not meant to use a resolution that high otherwise the standard would support it. If you want to use that high of a resolution you really need to use a very high bitrate, I'd say no less than 3Mb's per sec. Of course you have to make sure your dvd player can even play bitrates that high.

However, quality is relative so you may prefer the added sharpness you get at higher resolutions even if the quality is worse. So go ahead and do a test encode and see which looks best to you.

[MatrixCode]

lol.. u certainly have a good point..well, the thing is that i don't feel much satisfied when it comes about the scenes with less action, you know what i mean, for example, when you look the background of the scene..so, I would really appreciate to know what you personally think: is this the MOST i can get from DVD Ripping to SVCD or it can be done something else, and will it be worth (from pracrical aspect), or you have some other combination that works better..Is it possible to set CQ value more than 100.00? and one other thing: I'm really interested if this is just ME or a fact: I've made some tests with CinemaCraft Encoder vs TMPGEnc, and I've noticed that CCE gives I'd say pretty much better results, especially when it comes about "non sharped" scenes (scenes that are not focused) and the file takes less space so that makes it more practical, but unfortunetly there's that annoying logo ...so, what's your opinion about thisone too? Thanx forwardly.

[adam]

CQ at %100 is literally the same as cbr. Try checking out your encodes in a bitrate viewer sometime and you'll see. If your encoding like this then you are not utilizing the main benefit of svcd, vbr encoding. If you do choose to use CQ then I would suggest never going over %70, and in most cases I would only use %60. If you really want good quality then always use 2-pass vbr (or now you can use unlimited passes if you have the newest version of TMPGenc.)

Personally I have the full version of cce which doesnt leave the watermark on the video. I think this encoder yields superior results to TMPGenc but the extra quality isnt worth it if you don't have the full version.

If you want the best results out of a svcd you should always try to preserve the original framerate and encode using ntscfilm (23.976fps.) This is the single easiest way to significantly increase the quality of your encode. As far as bitrate settings, I would use at least 2-pass vbr and use a min of 0-500, avg of at least 2mbits, and a max of ~2500kbits.

[MatrixCode]

If you want the best results out of a svcd you should always try to preserve the original framerate and encode using ntscfilm (23.976fps.) This is the single easiest way to significantly increase the quality of your encode. As far as bitrate settings, I would use at least 2-pass vbr and use a min of 0-500, avg of at least 2mbits, and a max of ~2500kbits.

umm.. well, I'm kinda confused cause i don't know where to change these settings..for example, i encode the music video from Stigmata - the movie, and by default every time is set to PAL 480x576, 25fps and i just don;t know how to stop the process to that point and to change this to NTSC, and how to change the amount of the bitrate, (max total bitrate is set to 2756)? thanx again..

[odwoh]

Adam!
I too would like to know where you can change to 23.976 when using DVD2SVCD. Presently i've played oround with the number of CDs/CD size to get maximum bit rate.

[adam]

Sorry MatrixCode I forgot you were using pal, just ignore that part of my post. The difference in framerate between ntscfilm and pal is neglible so there is no reason to convert to ntsc.

odwoh dvd2svcd will keep your encode at 23.976 if you tell it to use forced film on the dvd2avi tab. Of course this doesnt work for all dvds so its best to leave it on automatic. If forced film is not an option then I would recommend using the inverse telecine option, even though it is "Slow as hell."

MatrixCode, just click on the encoder button and under TMPGenc's settings change it from CQ to 2pass variable bitrate.

[MatrixCode]

adam thanx a lot for your help , I just wanted to ask 1 more thing, and it is about the Matrix tab...so, there are I'd say several presets which you can choose depending on the Encoder type (CCE or TMPGEnc) so, I was wondering if the bitrate could be set over here, so I was wondering if you know which one is the most apropriate for best quality, or you have some other custom...thanx again

[adam]

Just try reading this guide, http://www.doom9.org/mpg/dvd2svcd.htm
It should explain everything pretty clearly.

If you want to adjust your bitrate then you go to the bitrate tab. DVD2SVCD has its own internal bitrate calculator. You tell it how many mins your willing to put on each cd and it calculates the correct average.

Using different matrices is something that you should not mess with unless you really know what your doing. Different matrices work better on different sources. There is a preset called Andreas, or something like that which is supposed to be very good but honestly I would leave this tab alone, it can really mess up your encodes.