I seem to remember have a similiar issue with SVCD. It seemed like the pulsing would repeat after any scene change. I think I was able to get a clean render from TMPGenc but ultimately I stopped trying to use SVCD. You may want to try that encoder to see if you get acceptable results. I believe you get a 30 day trail on mpeg-2 and mpeg-1 is free. You can find a link to it and other helpful forums at www.vcdhelp.com . Try to make a VCD too, if you haven't done that yet. The resolution is not as good, but the encoder seems to do a great job of reducing the halo effect which really bugs me. I think the bottom line is if you want a great looking image, you either need to target DVD's or DV tape.