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VCD Quality

Discussion in 'MPEG-1 and MPEG-2 encoding (AVI to DVD)' started by Damoose, Mar 12, 2003.

  1. Damoose

    Damoose Member

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    I was wondering if anyone can tell me how good the quality of vcd svcd is when comparing them to vhs recording on sp.

    I have home movies on 8mm which I'd like to convert to a the best quality without a dvd burner.

    if i use tmpgenc and I create mpeg-1 or 2 do I just burn it as a data file using nero?

    Thanks in advance
     
  2. Dela

    Dela Administrator Staff Member

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    VCD = MPEG-1 with 1150kb/s video and 44.1hz 224kb/s

    SVCD = MPEG-2 can have either CBR or VBR video encoding so the quality is much higher than VCD.

    TMPGEnc can create both but only mpeg-2 for the first 30 days, then you have to purchase the Plus version! I use DVD2SVCD with CCE SP (very expensive program) to create VBR (4-PASS) SVCD and the quality is very very near DVD!!
     
  3. Damoose

    Damoose Member

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    Should I be getting Just as good quality as VHS using VCD?

    Do all DVD players play svcd if they play vcd?

    And using tmpgenc - once the file is encoded, can I just copy the image to the cd as a data file?

    The program you use, can i get a trial version?

    Thanks so much for responding.
     
  4. Shoey

    Shoey Guest

    Should I be getting Just as good quality as VHS using VCD? Yes, but also depends on what encoder, settings you chose to convert.

    Do all DVD players play svcd if they play vcd?
    No.

    And using tmpgenc - once the file is encoded, can I just copy the image to the cd as a data file?
    I don't know because I only do SVCD using CCE (Cinema Craft Encoder) or Canopus ProCoder

    The program you use, can i get a trial version? You can get a 30 day trial for TMPEnc, CCE.

    Shoey





     
  5. Dela

    Dela Administrator Staff Member

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    Well, questions have already been answered but this is my view

    VHS would be pretty much the same as VCD but I think SVCD has higher quality than VHS!

    Unfortunately not im afraid. However many dvd players can be tricked into playing svcd with the vcd header trick!

    If you mean using TMPGEnc with DVD2SVCD then no, you have to burn it as an image so lets say you have nero, click file - burn image!. If you mean TMPGEnc on its own, tmpgenc creates mpg files not images!

    You can get TMPGEnc for free but with a 30 mpeg-2 encoidng limit! - http://www.afterdawn.com/software/video_software/video_tools/tmpgenc.cfm
    You can get a trial of cce sp but it will have the cce sp logo on the finished file as well as some pixel protection - http://www.cinemacraft.com/eng/home.html - you can also get it on afterdawn, thats just the link i had!
     
  6. Damoose

    Damoose Member

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    Thanks for responding so quickly.

    It looks like my Toshiba only does vcd, So I will have to stick with that format until I get a dvd writer.

    So. using TmpGenc, Can anyone suggest what and all settings to use? to convert to VCD.

    Then how to copy it to a CD.

    Or any other software that you Recommend to do these steps. I don't care how slow. I care about quality.

    Where can I get a step by step instruction to do all the above?

    Thanks in advance.
     
  7. Damoose

    Damoose Member

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    Oops. Another question, What sotware can I use to trich my cd player to think an svcd is a vcd?

     
  8. Shoey

    Shoey Guest

    VCD quality really sucks. If you have the cash, buy a home dvd player that supports SVCD= good investment! DVD players are very cheap these days. You can use a program called Eazy VCD to convert a dvd rip to VCD using TMPEng encoder. The encoder is a 30 day trial though.

    Eazy VCD: http://members.eezi.net.au/~phatjeff/
    How to backup your dvd to vcd using dvd2svcd:
    http://club.cdfreaks.com/showthread.php?s=9848591985f3df85c45f2d3483ec5c64&threadid=59423
    DVD2SVCD 1.1.2: http://212.88.77.140/
    How to backup your dvd to vcd using TMPEng:
    http://club.cdfreaks.com/showthread.php?s=9848591985f3df85c45f2d3483ec5c64&threadid=59422
    DVD Decrypter (DVD Ripper):http://www.dvddecrypter.com/



    CCE (Cinema Craft Encoder) is a 30 day trial as well and is used for DVD2SVCD (absolute best)!

    Shoey

     
    Last edited by a moderator: Mar 14, 2003
  9. Damoose

    Damoose Member

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    If VCD is as god as vhs, I think I will stick with that because I am converting my 8mm camcorder movies to vcd. ( If vcd is the same quality as vhs).

    Then When I can afford to get a DVD burner, then I will just convert them to DVD.


    If anyone can help me:
    using TmpGenc, Can anyone suggest what and all settings to use? to convert to VCD.

    Then how to copy it to a CD.


    Thanks again
     
  10. Dela

    Dela Administrator Staff Member

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    Well, the quality wont be exactly excellent as we've made clear already, for quality on vcd you should get TMPGEnc Plus! Dont use CCE SP for VCD encoding ever cause it sucks at creating CBR Mpeg-1, use it for VBR mpeg-2 though!

    Anyway, click file - project wizard. Choose a vcd option (PAL for Europe and Austrailia and NTSC for North America and Japan!). Click next, load in the files! Use the following settings on that page,

    Video Type: Non Interlaced
    Aspect Ratio: 4:3 if its full screen or 16:9 for widescreen, select PAL or NTSC according to where you live! Click Next.

    Source Range: Select it, click "move to start frame" and click "set start frame", then click "move to end frame" and then click "set end frame" and click ok. This will make sure that the file length will be ok! Click the other settings button. Change Motion Search Precision to "Highest Quality (Very Slow)". Click the advanced tab and set Video Arrange Method to "Full Screen (Keep Aspect Ratio)". This will make sure that the picture will stay the same and wont be stretched or anything!. Click OK and click Next Twice and then click OK.

    The encoding should begin and the time it takes will depend on your computer!




     
  11. Damoose

    Damoose Member

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    I'll give those options a try. Then, all I do is copy the files to a cd-r?

    Thanks to both of you for your help.
     
  12. Shoey

    Shoey Guest

    I've backed up dvd2vcd using TMPEnc Plus using 2 pass mode. I'm not persuaded after viewing my VCD on my home dvd player that the video quality is as good as vhs. If it were me, I would convert to SVCD, just my honest opinion.
    There is a LOT of time involded encoding (S)VCD so I would try and get it right the first time. I would hate to see you convert to VCD, then say "I wished I would have converted to SVCD". Your the boss and it's up to you, lol.

    Shoey
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Mar 15, 2003
  13. Dela

    Dela Administrator Staff Member

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    Ye SVCD is much better. VCD is just kinda dieing out really, dont see it much anymore!!
     
  14. Damoose

    Damoose Member

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    Thanks.

    I gather from what you are all saying is to stay away from VCD. Geez. I just bought the latest and greatest, system, however I didn't purchase a DVD writer thinking I could get away with VCD on my DVD player. I know if I buy a new CD player that plays SCVD I'll regret that I didn't just buy a DVD writer.

    Thanks So much for all your help.

    Any other suggestions - trick SVCD format to looking like vcd format on my DVD player? Is it possible?

     
    Last edited: Mar 16, 2003
  15. Shoey

    Shoey Guest

    Your better off buying a home dvd player that plays svcd format. So watch for falling prices (ouch)...darn yellow smiley face gets me everytime! :)
    DVD burners are slowly coming down in price, so be patient and wait..

    Shoey
     
  16. Dela

    Dela Administrator Staff Member

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    VCD Header trick!!!

    Open TMPGEnc, click mpeg tools. Click the "simple multiplex" tab. Click browse beside the video source input and load in the SVCD mpg file! change video type to MPEG-1 VideoCD (non standard). Make sure the output filename is different from the input and click run!
     

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