I just wanted to let you all know that I just created an SVCD forum (since there isn't that much information available yet). Please feel free to drop by and post anything that you would like pertaining to SVCD's. Thanks U.N.

-- U.N. Known (toastofthetown@vanhalen.com), July 11, 2000

Answers

I almost forgot......the url is : http://network54.com/Hide/Forum/70438 Thanks Again

-- U.N. Known (toastofthetown@vanhalen.com), July 11, 2000.

I am not sure why there is such a fixation with SVCD, support for it in the software department is low, there really is only one program, at this time which provides true interlaced fields and it takes an age to make it. There are some get arounds that are successful though but..........

I have, although I am PAL, just received some raw NTSC avi's from the States and EITHER MADE OR RECEIVED copies of XVCD, HVCD, VCD, SVCD files from that source material and the order of quality is just as I have listed, indeed the person supplying the raw data has now switched to HVCD.

What gets me in all of this is that no one takes the trouble to compare on the same equipment the 4 formats from the same source material, if they did, they would be XVCD'ing.

-- Ross McL (rmclennan@esc.net.au), July 12, 2000.

what is hvcd?

-- ndumu (ndumu@hotmail.com), July 12, 2000.

Sorry Ross, I don't fully agree with your dismissal of SVCD. I *do* agree that direct same-source comparisons are a long overdue idea, but I personally want to archive my DV cam footage (no firewire port on the camera), and I want to be able to offer the archives up to family members, who may not have a computer. They are, however, almost certain to get a DVD player in the next 12 months or so, and this means I need to go with compliant VCD or SVCD files.

I have also found it *much* easier to keep lip-sync on the MPEG-2 streams than with the VCD discs I have created.

It'd be different if all machines were as flexible as the Pioneer-525 I have, and then we could all mess with video sizes and stream rates to our hearts content.

So, if you're talking PC-only, I'll shut up - for those up us who need to deal with non-PC playback, standards do have a very big part to play.

(hopefully that doesn't sound like a rant !)

-- ian (iws@theoffice.net), July 12, 2000.

Hi Ian

I do not have a problem with what your saying.

I just report what I find from extensive testing with a standard set of DV Type 1 source files. Just at the moment I do not think there is enough software support for SVCD, no menus and a long way to home base in the encoding with restricted choice of encoders that actually do a good job.

It staggers me that DVD is based on VBR but with SVCD the DVD player will not actually play a VBR file that complies with the SVCD specification, it has got to be CBR at this point in time. It could well be that the encoders are at fault and certainly the industry needs to get its act in order. Add to that the interlaced fields or the lack of them that 99% of encoders do not do properly and you have a quality problem.

I have not produced from my DV source material anything as good as an XVCD and thats a comparison based on the same carefully selected source material. I cannot play a high data rate VCD on my DVD player so the tests have been done in a shop using a Pioneer 525. I can play SVCD on the Philips 725 but it is so easy to get the encode wrong and that does worry from an archive point of view.

I have two TV levels for viewing one at 240 lines and one at 450+ lines directly from the hard drive and it is very difficult to not see changes in quality with the later, you can hide and not see faults on an ordinary TV. Months ago I made a statement on this site "god help us when we are forced to HDTV" because you are going to see things you never dreamed of in your home brewed VCD's.

You might like to look at my site and read of some of the problems I have encountered in PAL and until I had some DV NTSC supplied to me I thought the quality issue may be just related to PAL but.......

http://aussie01.freeservers.com

Other VCD's page.

To the other poster - HVCD's are covered as well.

I would love to use SVCD because I am of the opinion that the DVD industry will get rid of being able to play XVCD and HVCD's and we will eventually be left with standard VCD's and SVCD as the only choice as they will then try to force use into DVD and the costs that will involve.

I do not dismiss SVCD at all, its not supported well enough at this point in time and comparison testing clearly supports the statements I have made in the quality stakes. If you read my site you will see, for example, that TPMGEnc actually encoded a "Film" file that is not accepted by the specification or Nero 5 - so what I have said is justified until someone else takes the trouble to do the proper testing with THE SAME SOURCE MATERIAL. Its a bit like saying the quality of a VCD is VHS without actually comparing at the same time the same images, how can you tell if you do not - consumers do not have the test gear to do it any other way.

Thanks

-- Ross McL (rmclennan@esc.net.au), July 12, 2000.