[connii]

I've hardsubbed an episode of a Korean drama which is about 716MB in size using VirtualDubMod 1.5.10.2 .After hardsubbing and compressing using XviD MPEG-4 Codec,the file is reduced to 612MB.I then used Nero and burn it to a CD(the normal 700MB capacity CD for burning) because i wanted to watch the episode on a VCD.When i insert the VCD(which i've burnt the episode onto) into my computer,the quality of the video becomes very bad,nearly unwatchable.Why is this so?i thought that VCDs can be watched on computers.However,I was able to watch on my VCD player,the quality was only a little worse than watching the exact original downloaded episode on the computer but it was still watchable.However,one thing which bothered me was that,mosiacs or little squares appear sometimes,especially during fast-moving scenes.This made the image on the TV not very clear,for example,i couldn't really see the actors' & actresses facial expressions clearly.Does this have to do with the quality and the file size of video?

I've tried hardsubbing the episode without compressing it(i was hoping that without compressing it,it'll remain the same as the original 716MB or maybe 1 or 2 MB more),but the file size ballooned to a 1.5GB which is definitely impossible to burnt onto a 700MB CD.

Does anyone have any idea how do I improve the quality of the video when watched on a VCD player without increasing the file size?Or I just have to let it be as it can't be helped?

Any help is greatly appreciated.Thank you in advanced.

[awdark]

I think this is about the time darkviet should pop in and talk about 1 and 2 pass encodings and all that.

Compressing videos, especially at the fast moving scenes often becomes pixelated as you describe because of the level of compression.
It might help to use 2 pass encodng, otherwise you might want to try a different encoding program.

>_< im not very helpful there...
But I can tell you why it looks nice on your tv and not on your computer. VCDs are low resolution. Sometimes they seem to be like 320x480 or some really small video. The TV is basically like 640x480 resolution so it can make a small picture look nice in comparison to our monitors which are like 1280x1024 which would show every flaw and breaking up of the video.

[DaRkViEt73]

1.5gb for uncompressed video? That doesn't sound right at all. It should run you at LEAST 10-15gb for a 45min show if it's uncompressed.

Anyways, if you've got a DVD player that can actually playback DivX/XviD files burned on either a CD or DVD, then simply read this thread for tips on how to maximise quality encoding in XviD with Virtualdub. http://www.soompi.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=54265 You then simply burn the XviD file as data on a CD and play it on your DivX compatible DVD player. NOTE: I didn't make it clear in the thread, but if you're using either the standard H263 or MPEG quantizer matrices, under Zone Options you'll want to set the quantizer=2 for the first pass. Setting the quantizer=3 is ONLY when you are using custom quantizer matrices.

Now if you really do have a VCD player, then there really isn't much you'll be able to do. You can still follow the instructions on that link above in order to greatly increase the quality of the hardsubbed video, however since you're gonna be going thru one more conversion (from XviD to MPEG-1 aka VCD format), there will still be significant loss of quality. All you can try to do is minimize the quality loss.

When you're converting to genuine VCD format, the resolution for VCDs are set at 352x240 (for NTSC countries like USA, Japan, Korea and a few others) or 352x288 (for PAL countries). The bitrate is about 1150kb/s in MPEG-1 which is a very old, inefficient codec that's poor in quality. Those macroblocks (aka mosaics) are gonna crop up no matter what. All you can try to do is minimize it by preparing your hardsubbed videos in higher quality which I don't think you really did. If you really did prepare it "uncompressed" then a 30min to 1hr show would be far bigger than just 1.5gb. Regardless though, you're still gonna see some macroblocks on a VCD because VCD format just sucks like that.

If your video is less than 70mins long and you've got at least 20gb of space free, then I strongly recommend you hardsub your videos into a lossless codec like HUFFYUV which is a free codec that replaces the use of the "uncompressed" video codec in Virtualdub. It will create files which are absolutely 100% quality (hence LOSSLESS) at a little less than half the filesize of "uncompressed". Once you hardsub it with a lossless codec like HUFFYUV, drag the finished file into Nero. Make sure you're using the VCD compilation in Nero Burning Rom. Nero will then start converting the file into an actual VCD. The quality you'll end up with is about the best you can possibly hope for considering it's VCD.


Awdark pretty much explained why it looks somewhat passable on TV yet looks horrible on the computer. TV's aren't high resolution like a computer monitor/LCD is. So it tends to hide not only the macroblocks aka mosaics but also details as well. In other words, everything's blurry! On a computer monitor/LCD, they're so detailed in comparison that you see everything including all the flaws. Plus you're sitting a lot closer to an LCD than your TV making details and flaws alot easier to see.

[connii]

Thank you to both awdark & DaRkViEt73.That was something i didn't know.

I have a VCD-cum-DVD player and DaRkViEt73,you've talked about two-pass encoding,the website http://www.doom9.org/index.html?/xvid-vdub-final.htm you've given has steps that are very complicated & difficult to follow.

Because it seems so complicated,will I get a final file size of video of about 700mb or less?because I have to have it on a single CD which has only a capacity of 700mb.

[DaRkViEt73]

if you copy the settings I use (as shown in the other thread) then you'll have high quality encodings. The mere fact that you'll be doing two passes will practically guarantee you'll get accurate filesizes. So if you tell it to encode to a filesize of 700mb, it'll come usually within 697-700mb.

The purpose for the link to doom9 is because it explains what each option in xvid does. It's definately NOT something that a person can just jump in and understand everything right away however. That's why I'd encourage you to just experiment and see the results that different options can do to the video. If there's something you don't understand... then leave that option alone.

For simplicity, you may want to use Auto Gordian Knot and let it do the two pass encoding for you. I'm unsure if hardsubbing can be done with AGK however because I don't use it.

[connii]

sorry if i sound like a noob.But do I hardsub the video first before doing two-pass encoding or can i do the hardsubbing together with the two-pass encoding?

[DaRkViEt73]

You can do it either way. But for simplicity, just do the hardsubbing together with the two-pass encoding.



Now I got a question for you. DO you have a divx compatible DVD player? Cuz all this converting to divx/xvid will normally only allow you to playback the file on your computer. VCD format is totally different. VCD is low quality but it's playable on almost all DVD players.

Are you....

1) Hardsubbing video into XviD then converting AGAIN into VCD (mpeg-1) format? Or....

2) Hardsubbing video into XviD for playback on a DivX-compatible DVD player?

I'm asking because if you do NOT have a DVD player that supports playing back DivX/XviD files, then there's no point in doing #1. In that case, for speed and quality reasons, it'd be better to hardsub using the lossless HUFFYUV format then converting into VCD format. All you need is about 15-25gb per hour of video. The quality will be perfect (at least until you convert it again into the crappy VCD format) and it only takes a few minutes to hardsub.

[connii]

Well,I'm not sure if my DVD player is divx-compatible.But can I just do the hardsubbing together with two-pass encoding and then just leave the format as it is and then i burn it onto a VCD?

I usually do trial-and-error because I'm not really very familiar with encoding stuffs,so this is my first time trying two-pass encoding actually.

Thanks! ^^

[DaRkViEt73]

Well,I'm not sure if my DVD player is divx-compatible.But can I just do the hardsubbing together with two-pass encoding and then just leave the format as it is and then i burn it onto a VCD?

Whether you do 1 or 2 pass encoding is irrelevent as far as whether you can play DivX/XviD videos on your DVD player or not. What does matter is whether you are burning your xvid files as a normal file on a CD or whether the Xvid file is actually being converted to VCD format. They both use regular CDs but the format your burning program uses is different for a data cd versus a VCD.

Here's a very simple thing you can do to find out whether you are burning a normal CD or whether you're burning a VCD. Take that one CD you burned that you know works in your DVD player. Put it into your computer's CD drive. Open up My Computer, right-click the CD drive and select Explore.

If you see your XviD movie file there (with the same filename and all that) then your DVD player supports the playback of DivX/XviD files... which is GREAT. In this case, please stop calling it a VCD because it isn't (which causes alot of confusion).

If you instead see some weird folders like MPEGAV, VCD, KARAOKE etc etc... then that means you're burning your movies in genuine VCD format. That would explain the poor video quality. It doesn't rule out the possibility that your DVD supports DivX/XviD files (because they can play VCD's as well) but chances are you've only got a normal DVD player. That would be too bad cuz that means, unless you have a DVD burner on your computer, don't hope for making playable movies that look that much better than what you're getting now.

But I say... instead of wondering about this or that... just do it. Encode the video... burn the CD... try it out. Then report back with the results! You'll learn more by experience and trial & error. Good luck.

[connii]

alright,I just checked,I'm burning my video in genuine VCD format.Thanks,I'll now go trial-and-error! ^^