Comments

B.Verlik wrote on 5/5/2005, 2:29 PM
Mpg1 is the same quality of video that you see used in video games, when they use real footage. It's usually compared to VHS, as far as quality goes, but I think it looks worse than VHS.
Mpg2 is the quality used in DVDs and can be as clear as any DVD you've seen or it can look lousy if you try to squeeze too much video on a DVD. Either way, it's ;bound to look better than Mpg1.
You can also use Mpg2 for SVCDs, which is a step up in quality from VCDs using Mpg1, but not too many stand alone players can play SVCDs, plus only about 35 to 45 minutes of video per CD. With DVDs only costing about 40 cents ea. in Quantity, you might as well just make DVDs and get the best quality.
B_JM wrote on 5/5/2005, 5:05 PM
mpeg1 can look better than mpeg2 actually (even at the same bit rate) -- it boils down to bit rate and source is all ..

see definitions here on mpeg1 : http://bmrc.berkeley.edu/frame/research/mpeg/mpeg_overview.html

and MPEG-2 is an encoding standard designed as an extension of the MPEG-1 international standard for digital compression of audio and video signals. MPEG-1 was designed to code progressively scanned video at bit rates up to about 1.5 (can go higher) Mbit/s for applications such as CD-i. MPEG-2 is directed at broadcast formats at higher data rates; it provides increased support for efficiently coding interlaced video, supports a wide range of bit rates and provides for multichannel surround sound coding such as PCM, Dolby Digital, DTS and MPEG audio.


B.Verlik wrote on 5/6/2005, 1:27 AM
Unless you mean the best quality Mpg1 vs the worst quality Mpg2, I'll have trouble believing it. Where can I see this video. My eyes have never seen a decent mpg1 yet.
gordyboy wrote on 5/6/2005, 2:35 AM
I have to supply most of my work to a client in MPG1 format because it works across all the machines on their intranet.

I was very concerned about the loss in quality through not being able to use MPG2 but actually, for these purposes, the quality gap between MPG2 and MPG1 is not as great as I had feared or expected. It's nowhere near as pronounced a difference as the analogy suggested between DVD and VHS. More like the difference between a 128kbps mp3 and a 192kbps mp3, I'd say.

Obviously, you need to use a healthy bit rate to get the best results.
And whilst MPG2 is better, in terms of trade of quality, file size and resource requirements, in terms of this particular intranet, actually WMV wins hands down.

Cheers

gb