How good does VCD get?

[StudioTHP]

I am only a few weeks into DVD ripping to VCD burning. I have learned a lot but I'm sure I can learn more with the help of forums such as this.

For my first post: Just how good can I expect my finished VCD's to be? I'm a bit of a perfectionist so I want quality as good as it can get! I have things so that my finished VCD's are no longer "squished" or out of proportion, and the audio sounds good and is in the rite language and all. But, my video seems a little washed out, even at highest quality (TMPGEnc), and it still seems just the slightest bit jerky.

Your help is appreciated!

P.S.
I have not even had time yet to try SVCD. Should I?

[hermanthegerman]

You should defintly try SVCD if you aim for higher quality for playback on a standalone DVD player. But make sure your player supports SVCD. One of the best site for converting DVD to (S)VCD is http://www.vcdhelp.com
If you only watching on a computer or have a TVout graphics card you should consider using DivX. Gives you the best quality at the lowest file size.

Servus,
hermanthegerman

[dafried]

Please excuse my stepping in on your thread, Studio, but I'm also primarily concerned about video and audio quality on a stand-alone DVD player over file size on a computer.

I have a new DVD burner and have ripped a number of DVD's onto my hard drive as VOB's.

I assume that instead of making a SVCD, I can use my DVD burner and make a DVD, but I only seem to see programs and info on making a CD that works in my DVD player.

1) What is the highest quality reproduction method?
2) Is there any benefit buring a DVD over a SVCD?

Thanks in advance

[StudioTHP]

herman**, thanks. Good site!

*fried, by all means since you have a DVD burner use it!
Yes it's a little more expensive, and it will take more time to create, but in the end you will have the best quality on a single disk! Do some search! There are lots of good sites out there.
Another one that helped me get started was http://www.clonead.co.uk/

I burned an SVCD last night. The video is no longer wased out. It is nice and sharp. It is still just the slightest bit jumpy though. Is this just a product of compression? Is this as good as it gets?

[hermanthegerman]

I don't know what bitrate you used. Too low bitrate could cause a jerky encoding. Try the highest possible bitrate (2524 kbit/s) and see how it works. Select a high motion scene of a view minutes to encode so you dont have to wait for hours and find out what bitrate gives you sufficiant quality.

Servus,
hermanthegerman

[dafried]

Thanks to both of you.

I will follow the links and search some more.

D