Windows Media Encoder.....vbr vs. cbr.......

[redgtxdi]

So per a post I made a couple weeks ago...........('bout the time I said I'd get right to it.....yeah right?!?)........LOL...........I decided to nix divx in favor of WMV encoder.

It's a larger setup, but I guess it ain't any worse than Virtual Dub + DivX so I ain't complainin'.

My only problem is that whereas DiVX thru Virtual Dub, you just choose *which* method you want to compress in...........WMV encoder wants you to choose the bit rate for the video and audio......(no biggie)......***except*** they list every version of compression in "VBR" and also in "CBR".

Thus my question.........What's the difference?? (I already did one in VHS quality video & CD quality audio in "VBR", but I think I want it a smidge better).

TIA

EDIT: Thanks to the mod who moved this here......(browsing OT, opened 'new post'....grrr!)

 

[Relayer]

cbr= constant bit rate
vbr= variable bit rate

CBR
Constant Bit Rate - the bitrate is the same at any part of a single video or audio stream. VCD standard MPEG video and audio are constant bit rate as are most MP3 standalone audio files. Also see VBR (variable bit rate).

VBR
Variable Bit Rate - the bitrate can vary at any part of a single video or audio stream. VBR can is used to increase bitrate during high motion scenes in a video or to reduce overall file size. DVD MPEG-2 video is often variable bit rate. Also see CBR (constant bit rate).


www.vcdhelp.com

 

[redgtxdi]

Welp, I happened to finally google a "group" post that explained some of that, but thank you, too, Relayer.

As for the bitrate..............I converted a 17MB .avi down to 3MB in DivX at an 88kbps bitrate and it looks great......(except for the slight compatibility prob).........and when I used the .wmv encoder, I went to 1Mbps as a light/happy medium, but it looks bad. Too jittery. Output file was 4MB, so even 1MB larger than the DivX version.

I think that it might be having probs converting the 15fps .avi to a 30fps NTSC format.(?)

Teh suck!!!!!

Oh well.........back to DivX, I guess!!!

 

[redgtxdi]

Well..........in an update............I made an improvement, but still not quite there.

Since this is converting large .avi files from a Canon digicam.......(for anyone w/ a Powershot digicam, you know how large these Canon .avi's can be)........somebody on the powershot forum suggested to simply use......

Windows Movie Maker!!

Wow........sounds simple!! Well, you simply open the video....(it might see it as 2 pieces so you simply treat the 2 as a whole)......and drag the frame(s) to the bottom of Movie Maker.

Then you simply save and follow the instructions 'til you get to the point where you can choose the compression settings. Unfortunately it's still not as good as the DivX.

What I might try next is to use VirtualDub w/ (possibly?) the WMV encoding. I think Virtual Dub is simply maintaining the 15fps vs. trying to compensate to uprate to 30fps.

Then again, I could be very wrong. Maybe DivX is just the shizznit?????? (What a PITA)