I'm picking this card (AverMedia EZMaker PCI) up tonite after work and i need to know a few things before i try and burn a SVCD from VHS. I know i've been asking a lot of questions, but there are a lot of things in the articles i don't understand, so i need help.

1)-to get the best quality what res should i use? I read ntsc for svcd should be 480x480, but i don't understand whether that means i should use that ratio or any other that also is the same for both width and height. Also, since the vhs tapes when viewed on tv have no padding, this would mean the svcd's i make will have padding due to the symmetrical aspect ratio, correct? (seems wrong..why shouldn't you be able to make svcd that looks the same as the vhs?

2)-is virtual vcr ok for capturing to avi or should i use something else like virtual dub for the best quality i can get with freeware?

3)-should i pass on installing anything from the avermedia CD besides the basic drivers, or is there anything app-wise that it installs thats worth using?

Thanks