Is it possible to make interlaced VCD?

[Stile]

Does VCD ALWAYS have to be non-interlaced? Is it possible to make interlaced VCD because of it's resolution (352x288 for PAL)?
It is very enoying for me to watch non-interlaced VCD in fast motions scenes because only one field is displayed and picture is not natural.
Thanks and sorry for my English. I am from Croatia.

[liquid217]

dude, your speaking great english, but unfortunately, what you ask cannot be done. First off, Mpeg1 does not support interlace, it was meant only to be used on computers, but someone came up with the great idea of making a vcd, and it began to be used that way
(2). In order for an mpeg stream to be interlaced, it must contain 2 fields of data. Each field must be 288 lines EACH, for a total of 576 lines. Vcd standard is mpeg1 352x288, so if you were wanting interlace, it would have to be mpeg2 352x576. Ironically, this brings you close to the SVCD standard, which is mpeg2 480x576. Svcd's definitely support interlace, so if your creating a video disc, i would suggest you look into using that

[Stile]

Thanks. I created lot of SVCD's but for transfering my home videos I prefer VCD because of capacity of VCD. 1 hour of video can be stored on VCD and 30 minutes of video can be stored on SVCD so because of length, I prefer VCD although they don't have interlacing.
I've asked this question just for case.

[banjazzer]

On an 80 min CD, almost 80 minutes VCD can be fitted, and 50-60 minutes SVCD.

[liquid217]

just for reference, svcds can hold as much as you want. Svcd's are variable bitrate, meaning it can be adjusted to however much you want. I was experimenting with a svcd the other day and managed to get 105 minutes of "descent" quality video. You could in theory, set the bit rate to the same as a vcd, giving you 74 - 80 minutes of time on one svcd. Granted, the quality would be a lot better at higher bitrates, but it is an option you could think about

[liquid217]

oh by the way, if your not sure what to set the bitrate at, take a look at this.

http://www.vcdhelp.com/calc.htm

[wulf109]

You can encode VCD as interlaced,I've done it. When you open the VCD template change to mpeg 2,then change to interlaced. Reset back to mpeg 1 and the interlaced setting will remain.

[homerpez]

...but it's not supported!

Though, if it worked for you, it's not because your video was genuinely "Interlaced", because at VCD resolution, "Interlace" is virtually invisible mostly.

I assure you that you will one day come across a VCD you made "Interlaced" will show some artfacts - peices of image that seem to be "trailing" something moving fast...

There are some pretty good filters in TMPGEnc that can de-interlace and make these artifacts go away...

[Medical]

Hi Stile !

Why don't you just "discard" one filed?
Then it is impossible to have interlace-artifacts!

If you record your video in 720*576 (PAL for you live in Europe)
and you discard one filed, then you get 720*288!!!
Then you resize to 352*288 and FOR SURE you won't get any
artifacts!

Virtual Dub can do both (discard fields=deinterlace filter and resize).

Best greetings to Croatia!!!
Med.

[SatStorm]

De-interlacing that way may appear a jumping like effect....

Try sefy's SxVCD and if your standalone support it, with an average bitrate ~1300 you gonna have VHS quality for sure!

This is -x- of course, but many players support it...

[Stile]

I've just tried to create movie with SeVCD template but my Pioneer DV-444 won't read this movie (coded in MPEG-2 and MPEG-1 format, also). I dont' know where is the problem?! I think that my Pioneer should play at least MPEG-1 format coded with SeVCD template or?
Thanks...

[Stile]

OK, my mistake. I manage to play my SxVCD on Pioneer DV-444 but movie is NOT interlaced although I set "interlace" in TMPGEnc! This is probably because of final resolution (352x288) although I captured on 352x576 and 480x576. Grrrrr....

[liquid217]

as i said before, your best solution would be to make a lower bitrate svcd. They are fully compatible with any player that plays svcds

[Stile]

Like I said... I manage to play this SxVCD (352x288) on my Pioneer. But the problem is that this video is also NON-INTERLACED
If I code SVCD at lower bit rates, the final video is VERY blocky. It is blocky in fast scenes even I code with 2520 kbits/s

[liquid217]

are you using vbr or cbr modes? are you using 10 bit precision? what setting is your motion search on? there are thousands of reasons your svcd is blocky. You may want to enable soften block noise in tmpg. You may want to consider using some noise reduction in moderation. When you use interlace video, its a whole new ballgame...new obstacles, problems...ect.

[Stile]

I am using 10 bits precision, motion search "highest quality (very slow)" and CBR. Also, soft blocking is enabled. Only noise reduction I don't use. But my video is not TOO blocky. It is blocky only in fast motions with 2520 kbits/s and I am very sensitive on quality so I think lowering the bitrate will not be helpfull for me.

[netso69]

help me too plz.....i have the same problem.......

my avi file play well on my pc.......but when i encode it with tmpenc...the video is a bit blocky....not that bad..but still ennoying


i try everything....vbr 2 pass....cbr....high quality motion search...block noise....10 bit precision....sharp edge... every option that i could imagine......

[Stile]

So, from your post I concluded that this is normal - SVCD little bit blocky

[netso69]

no it's not true...some are good and some get blocky.....but i am sure that there's a solution......

[Stile]

When I create SVCD, it is very good. ONLY on fast scenes it is a little bit blocky and I think that this is normal.

[banjazzer]

I frequently use TMPG's CQ mode for SVCD. Max bitrate ~2520, min bitrate ~700, quality setting somewhere between 75 and 85, motion search set to high quality. This usually gives 50-60 minutes per 80 min CD. I don't get blockiness - or if I do I obviously don't notice it. 8)

Or I'm lying - (but I'm not).

[netso69]

my video is a little blocky...but it is like that during all the movie..it's a bit annoying.....i am going to try cq mode....maybe it will help me..

[netso69]

wath you do with cq mode.....do you encode the entire movie and after split it...because i not that cq..is a bit unpredictable with the file size...and if yes what tool do you use...thanks......

i will give it a try

[banjazzer]

Yes, I encode the whole movie, then spit it with TMPG's mpeg tools. I usually aim for a filesize multiples of 750MB to give me a little slack with cutting, otherwise it can be a pain. BBMPEG can cut by file size, which is much easier, but I prefer to decide where in the movie the cut comes.

I usually encode a 5-7 minute section (hopefully representative!) three times, at 75, 80 and 85 quality (using TMPG's batch list feature). Then with a calculator it is simple to estimate the final filesize, and decide where exactly between 75 and 85 I am going to encode.

Some don't like the fact that there will be blank space left on the CD. This bothers me not, provided the result is high quality. TMPG's 2-pass VBR will let you fill the disc(s), but there is some thought that it is inferior to the CQ mode (I'm not personally sure). I don't like it because it takes forever (and then some). Anyway, don't take my word for it. Just try a few test encodes of a tricky bit of video, and see if the quality is acceptable. Then maybe go for a full encode.

If you are interested in further info using CQ, take a look at Dr Mercury's site. http://www.svcd.cc/index.htm

[netso69]

i got it it was that i was doing a ntsc svcd out of a pal avi...that's why it was blocky....


dawn i am an idiot or what....but i am learning