Am I right in saying SVCD's are mini-DVD's? (i.e. MPEG2 on a CD)? And the max supported resolution is 704x576 (PAL)? I notice that there are no templates supporting MPEG2 at this resolution. Is there a reason for this or have I missed the point here? I assume once a file is rendered to MPEG2 by TMPGEnc VCDEasy can then handle the TMPEG2 file as an SVCD.

Ive been generating these MPEG2's from AVI files Ive taken off my DV camera. Avisynth seems to have problems reading these using Avisource (although TMPGEnc is fine). Are they different?? Means I cant filter the source now

As an aside, if a DVD player doesnt support VCD's is it likely to support SVCD's??

no, minidvds are different than svcds. they are authored like a dvd but on a cd. svcds are authored as svcds.

or if you use the header trick, svcds are authored as vcds.

It's hard to say really, but I'd be inclined to put my money on "no". Usually a company wants to put as many flashy symbols and icons on their packaging as they can to draw your attention and sell you on their product...so if it supports SVCD, they'd most likely openly claim so. This isn't always the case any more with the VCD format though, since some companies are now "silently" supporting it to avoid paying Philips a licensing fee just for the right to claim VCD compatibility (which they view as a dying format!...we here know differently though, don't we! ).

The best way to know for sure(aside from testing it firsthand ) is to look at the owner's manual or the box it comes in. Checking out user-reports for a player at www.dvdrhelp.com can also be useful, though not always 100% reliable due to 1) user-error, and/or 2) different parts or firmwares being used within otherwise identical players.

-d&c

Two further queries I guess:

1. I notice there is an SKVCD template at 352 x 576. Is this SVCD?? Can SVCD do high resolutions?

2. Are there any freewaer mini-DVD authoring packages??

Ta

m

SKVCD is an SVCD but with enhanced GOP and K-Matrix ( Thank's to KWAG ) .
Both of them are specific for KVCD's .
Of course - SVCD can be done with res even 720x576(480) but max bitrate is still limited to 2500kbps .
Bitrate limitation on 720x576(480) sometimes can produce jercky playback on Standalone DVD player ( not on PC ) .
U have to try and see what is perfect for ya
bman

2500kbps <-- That is the standard SVCD bitrate... but we here don’t really care for standards, do we?
Many players can go far beyond that. I didn't test the limit of my player, but until 5000kbps it plays fine.

Wonderfull !!!
One more thing to test and discover
bman