Resolution vs. Bitrate - Which is more important?

[ghart999]

Hi all. Newbie here. I am starting to encode my entire DVD collection to xvid for playback on a 40" HDTV.

I am trying to filesize to about 1500-1700MB per 2 hour movie. Based on this what is more important? Maintaining the native 720x480 resolution and less bitrate than optimal or higher bitrate and lower resolution say 640x480?

Thanks all.

[paglamon]

AFAIK, bitrate has got nothing to do with resolution.When you specify 1500-1700 MB for 2 hours the bitrate is automatically calculated(Size=bitrate x time),whatever the resolution is.But yes,at a lower bitrate you should go for a lower resolution to get a better picture.You also can decrease the audio bitrate to get a higher video bitrate,and thus, a better picture.

[katzdvd]

Some good info.