Hi Kwag,

Tried the new KVCD3X (528x480). It seemed to be more stable in
fast action scenes than KVCD Plus (704x480) and a bit blocky in
regular scenes. Set VBR_CQ 12. It would be nice to combine the best attributes of
both. I played the sample of KVCD3X and it was very nice, but
I can't seem to duplicate a full movie as stable as the samples. Maybe
you could share with us the steps and settings, so at least I can
try getting the same results. By the way, my old Apex AD-500a
could not play the KVCD3X. It's seems to like the 352x240 Plus
only.

kvcdx3 blocky in regular scenes No way, not even in high action scenes, like in the samples
The 704x480 will exibit some blocks on very high speed scenes. To see blocks on the x3, you'll need a magnifying glass two inches from the screen to pick them out ( depends on your source, of course )
The MAX bit rate is higher than all other KVCD templates. 2,500Kbps.
I did share the FitCD settings I used, with the FitCD screenshot. Use that, and you'll make your mpegs just like the samples.
For your APEX, try the KVCDx3 MPEG-2 template. Maybe that will work.
http://www.kvcd.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1041

-kwag

Do we actually encode it as an SVCD/MPEG2 in TMPGEnc or are we fooling the program (TMPGEnc )

__________________
Thanks!
reman

Hi reman,
I did test the MPEG-2 burned as an SVCD. Worked flawlessly on my Panasonic RP-56, a model that's not supposed to play SVCD
The MPEG-1 version, I burn as non-standard VCD. Just like every other KVCD template. Works on ALL my DVD players
Not sure about APEX models, but I hope someone does try either the MPEG-1 or the MPEG-2, and posts results here

-kwag

I will try the MPEG2 on Thursday.

BTW: for all those newbies reading this, You must purchase TMPGEnc to use MPEG2 after the first 30 days.

__________________
Thanks!
reman

Hey Kwag,

KVCDx3 (I stand corrected) is great.
I tried the VBR_CQ at 20 and WOW!!!!!. The quality was better than
anything I've done so far. Your guide used the Hint: setting VBR_CQ
at 12 would still give good quality for TV. I guess this is a starting
point and needs to be changed according to your DVD equiptment.
The file created from CQ 20 and TS(2,2) is still big, even with credits
cut and backing down on CQ. "We were Soldiers" is 2hrs 18min, 16:9,
film. I wonder what fullscreen would do for file size. Need some estimates
for 1 and 2 cd's. You are really breaking new ground for mpeg-1
quality. Keep up the great work.

Thanks.

hey black prince,

I felt the same way when I did "the Sopranos- episode 1" at cq=20. I couldn't tell the difference between the KVCDx3 and the dvd I also did a movie called "Baraka" (which btw seems like it was made to test kvcd templates ) at 30 cq and it was better quality than the same movie encoded to kvcdx2 704x480 (it was a little hard to tell though on my 27" tv). Both the kvcdx3 and the kvcdx2 cds of "Baraka" where better than my svcd which I did with CCE in cbr mode. The svcd didn't look good at all because borders between objects would appear to move when they were supposed to be stationary.

Lowering the cq from 30 to 20 really helped to shrink the file size with no visible loss of quality. I wonder how much the file size would shrink if the cq were 12?

Is there a Nobel prize for video encoding? Then give it to Kwag!

I have been playing now with templates - and tried this new x3 one. I am impressed by the video quality - even with the motion estimate (fast) setting!

Haven't tried with audio yet, and up till now I have had problems with skips and synch problems after fast forwarding...

Therefore I will now also try to use the demux/remux into SVCD and the 29.97 frames per sec trick... crossing my fingers that toworrow morning I'll have my first burn that I am 100% satisfied with.

I cannot thank you enough Kwag (and the others here for the tricks and suggestions).

Steve