Video quality improvement - DVD-RB or something else?

[curious d]

After getting great results with A Bug's Life with version 1.0RC5.1 Pro, I tried Beauty and the Beast again with this version of DVD-RB and it seems to be better than previous versions. Granted, there are still some significant blockiness, but it has improved. I'm using HC encoder with CG matrix. I had always thought that quality was a by-product of the amount of material that had to be compressed to a DVD-5 disc and that no amount of improvement with DVD-RB would result in an improvement with the video quality. With an noted improvement, does this mean that, with time, the quality can improve with DVD-RB or is it a function of the encoder (since the initial attempt to back up this DVD was with HC version 0.14)?

Whatever the case may be, thanks once again to jdobbs for an ever improving quality to DVD-RB.

[SpazzHH]

Just curious, curious d, what kind of bitrate is RB giving you that you are able to use such a relatively high-bitrate matrix? Have you tried encoding with a matrix a little more suitable to the bitrate I'm sure you must be getting with all those versions on one title?

[wmansir]

I know the R1 version of B&tB is a pretty bad encode on the original disc, containing macroblocks and artifacts. That makes it very tough on the (re)encoder.

[curious d]

As I watch some of the movie get encoded, some of the bitrates are running around 2500. There is CG and CG (3800+). I don't know which ones to use actually. I tried Kika Comic as well, but all of them look about the same to me. Is there a better matrix I should be using for this movie? I'm actually really confused which matrix goes with which type of movie.

If the R1 DVD's already have a bad encode with macroblocks and artifacts, then that would explain alot. But I thought that this was supposed to be a really good transfer.

[NightSta]

If the R1 DVD's already have a bad encode with macroblocks and artifacts, then that would explain alot.
As JDobbs has often said, your end-product can only be at best as good as a given source. The macroblocks and artifacts being documented on the original means until a re-encode/re-author by a person with superior source material comes along, you won't benefit (though certain filters may make things bearable).

[curious d]

I had thought that these double disc offerings from Disney were decent transfers. Was Beauty and the Beast a poor transfer?