Hello,

Wanted to new if there was any difference in quality when using 23.97 FPS versus 29.97 FPS for either VCD or SVCD and? Would lowering the frame count help in pushing the video bit rate higher or help in making the file size smaller?

Thanks JC

-- jc (jcanaca644@aol.com), June 10, 2000

Answers

Yes, you are better off with 24fps (23.97) if that is the frame rate of your original footage. Most Commercial DVD movies are burned at the lower rate and 3:2 pulldown is added by the DVD player to bring it up to 29.97. The bit rate and file size will stay the same, but the amount of compression will be lessened.

The advantages are, you gain bandwith (quality) by cutting what must be compressed in a second by 25%. Also, on a progressive scan computer or Digital TV, the movie can be viewed at its original 24 fps thus cutting down on processor requirements.

Now, the tricky part, in order to properly create the 24fps movie, you must remove the 3:2 pull down from the 30fps source. Some software will do this for you (Media Cleaner Pro comes to mind). If you don't remove the pulldown, you are better off sticking to 30fps.

-- Chris Cushing (ctcushing@registeredfilms.com), January 24, 2001.