Subject: Re: 6400/6500 and sound-video
From: marc
To: Thomas Koons

Tom
Thank you for responding to me and sorry for being so late, but I was very
 busy last week and I wanted to make further tests.
 To be honest with you, I never made a VCD because I don't have a DVD reader
 yet.
 All the video I make is:
 - from camcorder to VHS tape (via Avid Cinema).
 - from camcorder to HD (via Avid Cinema, then QuickTime, then saved in MPEG
 (or the new 3ivX codec wich gives the same quality with better compression
 -125 KB/s).
 - from built-in TV Tuner to HD (recorded in MJPEG at 192x144 at 200 KB/s and
 then eventually compressed in MPEG).
 But I did a lot of tests about recording in MPEG at VCD format:
 When you are using Toast to make a VCD, it uses an extension named "Toast
 Video CD support". But you can use directly QuickTime, with the option
 Export, to do the same job. So I did it; and I had the same results as yours:
 approximatively 33 mn/mn. And the quality is very, very bad.
 You should be able to compress the video before creating the VCD with Toast.
 What you have to know is that quality is always better when the movie is
 compressed in the same size. It means that, if you want to create a NTSC VCD
 (320x240 at 29,97 fps), you should record the video at the same size.
 Then you have several tools for converting the video in MPEG: I have tested
 four of them:
 1- you can use the extension "Astarte MPEG exporter" directly from QuickTime.
 It is the simplest way because you only have to choose between PAL and NTSC.
 But, for an unknown reason, it often crashes.
 2- you can use Astarte MPack. The global data rate has to be 168 KB/s but you
 have an option "toast ready".
 3- you can use Cleaner 5. You can use it very simply or you can adjust a lot
 of parameters. You can also and some effects as fade-in or fade-out. And you
 can choose between three encoding speeds (three qualities). You have an
 option "video CD compatible".
 4- you can use a shareware named DigigamiMegaPEG which has a lot of
 parameters. You have an option "video CD" too. Unfortunately, I have only a
 demo version which writes DIGIGAMI on the movie.
 If you want, I can give you URLs where you can find Astarte MPack or Cleaner
 5.
 The results of my tests follow. You have to know that estimating quality is
 very subjective, its very difficult too see a difference beetwen 70% and 75%.

 software ------------- encoding ------------ speed ------------------- quality -------------- Data rate
source  MJpeg High __192x144 at 24 fps_________________100%  _________ 200 KB/s
 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Toast VCD support_____________  31 mn/mn  ___________  30%  ________168-170 KB/s
Astarte MPEG Exporter_________  13 mn/mn  ____________  70%
Astarte MPack 2.1b9e _________    9 mn/mn  _____________  65%
Astarte MPack 2.1.6e _________    9 mn/mn ______________  65%
Astarte MPack 3.5.1e low ______    6,5 mn/mn ____________  65%
Astarte MPack 3.5.1e average ___   8 mn/mn ______________  70-75% ?
Astarte MPack 3.5.1e fast ______ 11 mn/mn ______________  70-75 % ?
Digigami MegaPEG _____________  8,5 mn/mn ____________  70-75% ?
Cleaner 5 fast _______________ 9 mn/mn _______________  65%
Cleaner 5 standard ____________ 14 mn/mn ______________ 70%
Cleaner 5 slow _______________ 26 mn/mn ______________ 75%

other codecs:
Sorenson 2 pass VBR (with Cleaner 5)  28 mn/mn __________ 65 % ___________  151 KB/s
3ivX (made with QT4) ____________ 13 mn/mn ____________ 70-75%  ________ 126 KB/s

(NOTE: speed is encode time per amount of video being encoded, so the Toast VCD took
 31 minutes to encode 1 min of video)

I am accustomed to use Astarte MPack 3.5.1 but Digigami MegaPEG seems to be very good.
 Cleaner 5 meets in a single app what you find in different apps and you have
 the choice of how you use it (very simple or very sophisticated).
 Now you have to make your choice. Greetings from France (and excuse my poor
 English).

----------------------------------

Just a correction: I record video in MJPEG A at medium quality (not high). It is approximatively 220KB/s. 
At high quality it is 500 KB/s. 
And at Best quality it is 1200 KB/s, but it is a too hard job for my Mac and I lose frames. 
You can find Astarte MPack and a very good tutorial ( but in french- sorry ) about how to make
a VCD from a DVD at that address <http://www.multimania.com/macdvd/chapitres.html>  
(click on the first link ("logiciels necessaires").

Enjoy.