Getting started.

[jmv]

Hello all,

I am very new to VCD,SVCD and XVCD. I have recently acquired
a GL1 mini-DV Camcorder. I have Premiere 6.0 and Firewire card.

After looking at DVD production, I realised that it would be very
expensive to get started in DVD production. Then I heard
that I could produce CD Videos at the fraction of the cost using
VCD/SVCD.

Now the question(s) I have are:
1 - Will I loose video/audio quality going to SVCD rather than DVD ?
2 - What tools and best recommended software do I need
to produce my SVCDs? Are there useable freeware versions?
3 - Why would I need an AVI to MPEG encoder rather than have Premiere 6.0 capture directly in MPEG2 format ? Is this possible with Premiere 6.0?

Thanks all,

JM

[erandre]

1. Yes, you will loose quality using SVCD instead od DVD.
Are you planning to play the SVCD's on a standalone DVD player? Does it support SVCD? Not many DVD players do... You could use VCD instead, but the quality is ofcourse even worse, but still not all that bad.

2. TempEnc is a great free encoder. It can convert to MPEG-1 and MPEG-2, but the MPEG-2 is limited to 30days.
It comes with templates for most formats. If you buy TempEnc Plus, i think you get full MPEG-2... And it's not that expensive...

3. I don't think you can encode directly to MPEG-2 in Premiere, but there are other programs that can, don't remember the name at the time...

[jmv]

Hello erandre,

Thanks for your great input.

Yes the SVCD/XVCDs were targeted for DVD Players.

Anyhow, after some further investigation I think that I will opt for an invesmtent on DVD production instead.

JMV

[petesimon]

Originally posted by erandre
1. Yes, you will loose quality using SVCD instead od DVD.
Are you planning to play the SVCD's on a standalone DVD player? Does it support SVCD? Not many DVD players do... You could use VCD instead, but the quality is ofcourse even worse, but still not all that bad.

2. TempEnc is a great free encoder. It can convert to MPEG-1 and MPEG-2, but the MPEG-2 is limited to 30days.
It comes with templates for most formats. If you buy TempEnc Plus, i think you get full MPEG-2... And it's not that expensive...

3. I don't think you can encode directly to MPEG-2 in Premiere, but there are other programs that can, don't remember the name at the time...

(2.) - TMPG Encoder is great and it can be 'tweaked' to reset the 30..29..28..27 day countdown. I erased all the program files and put the program files back onto my hard disk. I run the program as usual and whammoh, the counter is reset to 30. I am thinking about buying this software anyway. I think I saw a $49.95 or similar price for it.

(3.) Exporting a video project in Adobe Premiere 6.0 to an MPEG-2 encoder is quite possible. I did it using bbMPEG software. I downloaded the distrobution file from divx-digest.com and copy the file 'bbmpeg.dll' to the Premiere 'plugins' directory and then change the filename to 'cm-bbmpeg.prm'
To see if this is right I run Premiere and choose "File -> Export -> Clip" and in the list of available codecs I see "bbMPEG" ...cool!

check out the software:

http://www.divx-digest.com/software/avi2mpg2.html

and choose 'Mirror Link 3' to download the right file