OK, I was curious about the quality, speed, etc. of some

common software used for MPEG2 encoding DV files

for use in producing DVDs, so I tried several, and compared

them on a good TV. The following is NOT definitive (there

is MUCH I don't know about this), but with a Raptor file

with some difficult detailed images in motion, using

settings for data rate of 2000, 4200, and 8000 where this

was an option, and with VBR and 2-pass used when these

were options, this is what I found:

TMPGEnc: Both files made with the Raptor codec and those

made from MS codec conversions of these crashed around

49% (with a "cannot divide by 0" error message).

Nero Vision Express: Crashed on every attempt.

Sonic MyDVD: Two methods used. Real-time encoding

directly from FireWire feed from camera worked very well,

with very good preservation of the original image quality

except at times of maximum detail combined with motion

(flower gardens, with pan-tilt, shot with VX2000); Raptor

files were made with the wrong field order; Raptor files

converted to MS DV-codec files, then processed in the

computer, produced similar results to the RT encoding,

but with improved results in the most difficult parts.

Processing was relatively fast with this software, also.

Files could not be assembled on the DVD without

glitches.

Ulead DVD Movie Factory: Raptor files encoded in

the computer took some time, but the results were good

(a bit "edgy" compared with MyDVD, but very good if the

original is a bit soft, or has less motion than usual). Files

placed in sequence on the DVD had no glitches between.

This software also can encode RT, but I did not try it...

CinemaCraft Basic: The results of the 2-pass VBR

separated video and audio into different files. The image

looked considerably softer than the original, but not

all motion-effects were removed.

Conclusions: At this point, I prefer the Sonic MyDVD

that comes with the CenDyne 105 (simple and utterly

basic as this software is) for best-looking DVDs from

the software I could get to work without crashing. The

real-time encoding is also useful for some projects

(2.2-gig P-4). The Ulead software is second choice.

It would be nice to get the TMPGEnc working, though,

to see what it can do...