CQ vs. X-pass var. bitrate: final round (Maybe Kwag can help

[Murrdawg045]

I always thought that 2 pass variable bitrate was by far the best for encoding svcds, but then someone (I think Kwag) said that the CQ is actually better. Why is this? Is CQ better for all situations? I encode at 704 x 480 and I prefer to use 3 cd's as I have the Apex 5131. When you set a CQ value of 80 and a max bitrate of 2700, does that mean that the average bitrate would be at 80% of 2700? Some please make CQ a little more clear to me. Thanks in advance.

[Kdiddy]

do a search through this forum by Kwag's name and you get all the info you want from both sides on this subject. Here is one topic for starters

http://www.vcdhelp.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=94635

[banjazzer]

http://tangentsoft.net/video/mpeg/enc-modes.html 8)

[homerpez]

It also GREATLY depends of what you're encoding, and with what program.

If you're talking TMPGEnc, then perhaps CQ-VBR is better for certain things (like high MPEG-1 resolutions).

If you're talking MPEG-2, then CCE with multi-pass (not just 2-pass) is a better option.

Personally, I used to always hate CQ (wildly unpredictable file size), but I might try Kwag's template if I go to do a VCD again with TMPGEnc...

However, for all my SVCD's (1 1/2 hour movies at 480x480 res), I use CCE's multi-pass, usually 4-passes at least. It handles MPEG-2 a lot better that TMPGEnc can at it's best, and you get added sharpness.