David,

Not to be disagreable, but you contradict yourself a little. If you can encode a longer video at a higher bitrate at the same quality, then you can encode the same video with the same bitrate at higher quality. You said it, the difference is 20%, so the image quality could be up to 20% better at the same bitrate. It's not a major issue, but it is one of the advantages to doing it right.

Personally, I am very sensitive to the artifacts of MPEG compression. Even at max bitrate, I can see them. So, it makes a big difference to me. The compressors vary in the look they produce, and every DVD player seems to produce a different look on the decode as well. Some of the early DVD's and DVD players were just unwatchable to me.

I recognize not everyone will pick up on the difference, but I'd like to think there is a subconscious awareness that its a higher quality product, even if people can't put their finger on it.

Josh

I don't think we necessarily disagree; I'm just saying that a 60i MPEG doesn't have to be lower-quality than a 24p MPEG. It will, however, be a bigger file.