10. Errors In Encoded Video Clips

The attainable image quality of an encoded MPEG video depends mostly on the quality of the encoder. Low-cost software solutions for MPEG-1 encoding from about $150 such as that offered by Xing are available on the market. However, the attainable encoding quality depends heavily on the original material. Figure 5 shows the Mercedes coupe with noticeable compression errors. The arrows mark so-called artifacts that occur most often in areas where sharp edges are visible.

Figure 5: Compression errors: Artefacts mostly occur in areas where sharp edges and overlapping areas are located.

Next article: Part 4 discusses hardware and software products that can be used to create MPEG videos. The AVI, MPEG-1 and MPEG-2 formats play a major role in this.