your best encoder

[falconx]

Talking about quality only ….

What is the best encoder for VCD ?

1. TMPGEnc
2. Cinema Craft Encoder
3. LSX-MPEG Encoder
4. Panasonic encoder


I think TMPGEnc is the best

[Waylander076]

Well I have to go for the Panasonic Encoder...to my eyes it gives a
more pleasing image then TMPGEnc.

Waylander

[sebus]

Nothing can match Procoder

sebus

[q1aqza]

For DV encoding I use MainConcept - as good quality as TMPG and much, much faster.

For DVD RIPS that need re-encoding I use CCE for speed and best quality

[BJ_M]

he is asking about VCD mpeg1 only ...

[falconx]

he is asking about VCD mpeg1 only ...

[Vejita-sama]

IMHO TMPGenc is the best for MPEG1 and CCE is the best for MPEG2. I never really made VCDs or SVCDs, I pretty much always made xVCDs or xSVCDs.

Remember that video quaility wise MPEG1 looks the same as MPEG2. What makes MPEG2 'superior' to MPEG1 is that it supports: interlaced source, multiple audio tracks, DTS, multiple angles, subtitles, etc. etc.

So I often use to make xVCDs at 352x480 or 480x480 at 2000~2500kbit/s as more standalone players support xVCDs or SVCD. These days thou I just use the A05 and encode MPEG2 w/ CCE.

[Jack_G]

I can't help it.... I've tried about every encoder but I'm still a tmpg-fan.

Jack

[downer]

I was gonna ask if anyone has used Canopus' Procoder.
sebus:
how is the quality and ease of use?

Also what is everyone favorite encoder (quality wise again) for making DVD's (dv avi -> dvd)?

I have always used TMPGenc but thinking of trying Procoder or CCE.

[BJ_M]

mpeg 1 = tmpgenc (don't do vvery much if at all)

mpeg 2 dvd = main concept or cce or tmpgenc in that order

[Dutch Coder]

That's easy.......Tmpgenc for Divx, and Panasonic for Xvids! 'cause coding xvid with Panasonic gives me 99.99% acc.
D.C. 8)

[Arky]

for VCD, you are dealing with an extremely limited bitrate. This means that any encoder will really struggle to create a decent quality (and I use the term relatively!) output.

I no longer author VCDs, but from past experience, I would leave CCE well alone for this particular format. As I see it, it has always been a toss-up between TMPGEnc and Panasonic 2.51. There is really very little to choose between them except that TMPGEnc seems to create marginally smaller filesizes, for some bizarre reason! (yes, I KNOW it's a CBR format, and therefore there should be no variation).

Bascially, with such a low bitrate, it comes down to how accurately the encoder can distribute the limited bitrate across each frame image (i.e. how accurately the encoder's motion search algorithm operates), and secondly, how well the encoder copes with video noise in the source material. THIS is where ProCoder comes in. ProCoder is very adept at dealing with video noise, and this is partly why it is so good at creating top-notch image quality from DV-footage.

One last option is Ligos, but don't even THINK about using Ligos if your source files are DVcam (Ligos doesn't handle the colour correclty, which leaves it's encodes with a 'bleached' appearance - see here for discussion on why this happens: http://www.tecoltd.com/enctest/enctest.htm ), and don't use it if you have lots of fast action, because the motion search algorithm isn't the best around. Some people swear by Ligos's performance with low bitrate jobs, but i'm not especially convinced.

Therefore, I would go for ProCoder first, but if you can't use this, I'd opt for TMPGEnc. Remember that I am talking specifically about VCD. Other output specifications would require some different recommendations.


Arky ;o)

[falconx]

thanks alot

now I have to add one point....


The source is VHS tapes

[Arky]

Well in that case, ProCoder would (in my opinion) be your best bet because it will cope well with the noisiness inherent in a VHS capture. As I said before, though, TMPGEnc will do a respectable job if ProCoder is unavailable to you. TMPGEnc does have some quite good filters, but they can smooth the picture too much if you;re not careful, and they make a slow encoder dramatically slower still.


Arky ;o)

[SatStorm]

TMPGenc is the best overall solution IMO, but the "which version to use" question, always is there... 2.59 plus is very good for PAL mpeg 2, 2510 plus is the best for mpeg 1, sometimes only version 2.56 plus works...

ProCoder is the best problem-free encoder, but in my tests I didn't see better quality than TMPGenc.
For CCE, I can't say many things: I have only an old demo (2.50) just to test once in a while things and compare results. And, I am blind, I admit. For lower resolutions/bitrates, (CVD, xSVCD) I find TMPGenc better!
Only onhigher resolutions/bitrates, CCE looks better. But, because of my source (dvb transmissions, VHS/SVHS tapes, very rare I back up DVDs), I never have to use full CCIR-601 or higher than 4000kb/s bitrate.