some VCD can be pretty bad some time. But with SVCD it's so close to DVD quality that you can't tell what which is which. I have the second season of witchblade and it's 2 times betther than any VHS.
Somebody on here mentioned a while back having episodes of THE PRETENDER on VCD (one of my favorite TV shows), and I never got the chance to ask there where they had gotten them. It wasn't you, by any chance, was it?