SVCD HUGE COSTS - WILL THEY EVER COME DOWN TO BE LIKE NORMAL VCD?

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Like we now have capture software and cards so we can capture mpeg and encode for VCD - it's amazing we can do all this in such a short time too!

Now why or mabe i should say WHEN will we be able to capture (is it mpeg 2) so easily for SVCD.

I no you can right now but the software hardware cost over 5000 dollars. surely like when this vcd software first came out it was expensive until the price dropped-

so my questio really is- will the same thing happen for SVCD capture software hardware-will this price drop and be freely available to the average person as is VCD software hardware now?

(DT)

-- DAVE H (Clive.Tcb@btinternet.co.uk), July 08, 2000

Answers

Hi, I think you are confusing DVD with SVCD. SVCD can be done using the same discs and similiarly priced software and/or hardware as VCD. I'm doing it now with my ATI AIW 128 capture board.

DVD however is a different thing entirely. The least expensive DVD burner is just under 5,000 dollars (US) and software can also be in the thousands. Not to mention the actual (real) DVD discs costs over $30 per disc even when you buy them in large quantities.

I just burned an SVCD last night of a favorite Sci-Fi series. The quality was really stunning. NO blocks or motion artifacts.

Here's a breakdown of cost for comparison.

* ATI AIW 128 to capture Mpeg-2 (w/registry mods for 480x480) $225

Software to edit and adjust Mpeg-2 to compliant SVCD video $0 (yes, this is freely available full working software )

* Nero CD burning software (vs 5 that supports SVCD) $69.00 * CDR 700 mb disc $ 0.79

The items with *'s I already had and was using to burn VCDs. The only other thing I needed to "get" was the additional freeware software to enable me to cut and paste and adjust the Mpeg-2 to VCD specs.

Since the ATI card does real time MPeg-2 capture there was no AVI to Mpeg encoding needed. Just some quick parsing through those freeware editors. Total time after the initial capture was about 30 minutes to edit, and burn a 45 minute VCD.

One small problem I've run into is that in order to get the "stunning" video quality, I have to capture with bit rates that only allow me to put about 30 minutes of video on a standard CDR. However the quality is so good that I think I will be able to reduce the capture bit rate enough to squeeze a full 45 minute TV program onto a 700 Mb disc.

Also of note, the resultant SVCD disc plays perfectly on my stand alone DVD player.

So my total expense, $294 was entirely what I spent previously to enable me to burn VCDs. The SVCD cost me not a single penny more.

I'm so impressed with the quality of my efforts with SVCD (and my old "VCDs" are some of the best - I've been told) that I'm considering doing everything in SVCD and putting an hour's worth of video on a two-disc set. Now all I need is a good VCD/SVCD DVD "changer" so I can load more than one SVCD disc and not have to get up off my lazy butt to change it during playback. You can check my web site for details on how to do SVCD with the ATI card and many other things about VCD and such. www.members.home.net/richa/

-- Rich (richa@home.com), July 08, 2000.


Rich - the VCD/SVCD/DVD player with 3-disc tray that I have is very good: Pioneer DV-K302CD. Has RGB/S-video/composite, 5-channel audio, reads HP CD-R and CD-RW. A one stop solution.

-- guy nicholson (guynicholson@yahoo.com), July 09, 2000.

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