mpg2 lowbits or mpg1/2 hibits

[miketree]

Which is likely to produce better results for viewing on tv?

1) mpg2 at a low bitrate

o2

2) mpg 1/2 at a high bitrate

[snowmoon]

It's impossible to tell without more specifics...

resolution, bitrate, max bitrate ( if vbr ), source, filters, ......

Generally in sweeping terms at the same resolution and frame rate a higher bitrate will improve quality.

[miketree]

OK more specific. I'm writing a DVD. To fit all content on 1 disk do I
1) use mpg2 at 3-4kbps
2) use mpg1/2 at 6-7 kbps

[bugster]

OK more specific. I'm writing a DVD. To fit all content on 1 disk do I
1) use mpg2 at 3-4kbps
2) use mpg1/2 at 6-7 kbps

Unless we know how much (long) video you want to fit on a disk and what quality is acceptable to you and what the source material is, this question cannot be answered, it is too vague.

[miketree]

the length of the video is not an issue. I only want to know the relative qualities of these two settings.

If I had a piece of video which I encoded first by method 1 and then by method 2 which is likely to look better on a tv?

[bugster]

Which is likely to produce better results for viewing on tv?

1) mpg2 at a low bitrate

o2

2) mpg 1/2 at a high bitrate

and

the length of the video is not an issue. I only want to know the relative qualities of these two settings.

If I had a piece of video which I encoded first by method 1 and then by method 2 which is likely to look better on a tv?

In that case it is really up to you to try it and decide. What is acceptable quality to one person is poor quality to another (and vice versa)

[miketree]

Gee, I never thought of that.

Thanks

[Nolonemo]

I'm assuming you're talking about full mpg2 (720x480 or whatever it is) and half D1 (352x480), right.

I believe you will use the same bitrate for either one (presumably the highest bitrate you can use to fit the length of video on your disk). You will not be able to use a higher bitrate by lowering the output size of the frames. Bitrate is bitrate, the number of bits per second in the viedo stream, and that is what determines the size of the file and length of the video you can put on a disk. At a higher resolution vs a lower resolution, you are asking the same number of bits to carry more information. But the length of the video will be the same. (BTW, forum, if I'm wrong about this, don't hesitate to let me know.)

What's your original source/capture resolution?

I rendered some clips of analog home video that were captured at 720x480 via miniDV cam to D1 and half D1, and couldn't really tell the difference between them. But I didn't capture stills and really eyeball them.

I'd be curious to hear what you finally decide.[/u]

[snowmoon]

For myself, using clean source ( digital cable through s-video ) I have been getting...

at 704x480

Letterboxed - progressive ( 23.976 )= 1.8-3.3mbps average
Letterboxed - interlaced = 2.6-4.0mbps
Fullscreen progressive ( 23.976 ) = 2.8-4.5mbps
Fullscreen Interlaced = 3.3-5.0mbps

If your sources are noisy ( ie most cable, VHS, ... ) double the bitrate or half the resolution.