Xvid to Mpeg2

[rjc7394]

I have to convert Xvid to mpeg2 to play on my DVD player. I've been doing this for a few months and I find in order to keep the same quality as the Xvid I need to use a higher bitrate (usually at least 2:1) than the Xvid. Any one else do it this way? Is there any kind of rule of thumb (I've never seen this mentioned in any guide I've seen on the net)? Xvid quality is awesome and I hate converting it to mpeg; maybe I should buy an Xvid DVD player.

[Sharktooth]

There's no rule of thumb, it depends on the movie you're encoding, but MPEG2 will always need a higher bitrate.
However you will never get the same quality since MPEG codecs (1,2,4 ...) are lossy. Everytime you re-encode you will loose data (details).
Buying a standalone player which supports MPEG-4 decoding is not a bad idea. They usually costs as low as standard DVD players.

[tigerman8u]

"maybe I should buy an Xvid DVD player"
I bought the Philips dvp642 and liked it so much I got another one for another room. You can get them for $70 at wal-mart. Amazon has specials on them at times for $63 with free shipping.

[shirohamada]

QuEnc
constant quant 2
cross fingers.

if the limitation of dvp642 bothers you, get a modded xbox :)

[Mentalmummy]

Yep, gotta love those xboxes :)

[cypher_soundz]

Originally posted by Mentalmummy
Yep, gotta love those xboxes :)
I 3rd that, you cant go wrong with a Xbox. :D
Regards
cyph