mpeg-1 HD compression settings in Squeeze

Compression Techniques

mpeg-1 HD compression settings in Squeeze

Posted by Regina Sullivan on October 16, 2009 at 8:34 pm

I’d like to export a project through Squeeze into an HD mpeg-1. (on a mac) (I know mpeg-1 is not designed for this.)

So far my settings are:
1280×720
average bit rate 5700, with 10% added for the max & min bit rate

Not sure about the following:
1. Framerate – the video was shot in 23.98fps. Can mpeg-1 be in 23.98 or do I need to add a pulldown to make it 29.97? So…23.98 or 29.97? Is there a standard framerate for mpeg-1 or does it not matter?

2. There are a bunch of settings in squeeze for the GOP, which I know nothing about. This is a 9 min movie if that helps.

3. Will compressor 3.5 allow changes to the mpeg-1 framesize?

I’ve exported a couple test files – they look ok, but I think they could be better. Any suggestions?

Regina Sullivan replied 16 years, 10 months ago 3 Members · 6 Replies
6 Replies

Craig Seeman
October 16, 2009 at 8:44 pm

HD MPEG1? Why? I’m sure there’s a better way.
Regina Sullivan
October 16, 2009 at 9:06 pm

Yeah, there probably is…but places like worship house media & bluefishtv use an mpg & mov for download formats in order to be cross-platform compatible with older PC’s (?I think) and with various presenter programs. I’ve got an H264 mov already, just want to have better settings for the mpg.
Craig Seeman
October 16, 2009 at 9:57 pm

Any PC that needs MPEG1 isn’t likely to play HD anything. Even a Windows 98 box can play WMV9 if they have something older than Windows 98 they’re going to have problems. If the PC is that old then you might just stick with Compressor’s very standard MPEG1 setting. I’d strongly suggest you use WMV9 if you’re looking for compatibility with Windows computers without Quicktime.

I’m not sure why they’re using MPEG1 because Bluefish.tv previews are Flash 8 (VP6) and anybody who can only handle MPEG1 would likely still be on Flash 7 (Spark/H.263).

I downloaded a free MPEG1 clip from them and it was 640×480 with letter box (black bars) at Video VBR 3300kbps, Audio CBR 160kbps 2 channel 44.1KHz

They mention example program compatibility for both H.264 and MPEG1. They give PowerPoint as an MPEG1 example but PowerPoint can certainly handle WMV9.
Craig Seeman
October 16, 2009 at 10:33 pm

BTW their H.264 clip, which is .mp4, not .mov, displays as 1920×1080 at 4000kbps. That’s HD. Their MPEG1 clip is only 640×480 letterboxed at only a slightly lower data rate. That tells how inefficient MPEG1 is compared to a modern codec . . . and why HD MPEG1 would make no sense.
Daniel Low
October 17, 2009 at 6:19 pm

Craig is right of course, although MPEG-1 can go to 8000×8000 only one application I know of (Digigami MegaPEG) can produce that reliably, but there’s little or no point in using MPEG-1 these days (even though many systems and applications still do!)

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Regina Sullivan
November 4, 2009 at 7:55 pm

Thanks everyone for your comments!

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