AIW 9000 Satellite to HDD to DVD settings question

[hockeyphites]

Good Evening,



I have a ATI AIW Radeon 9000 card, Hight Quality S-Video connection / RCA audio from my Satellite Reciever.



I am using MMC 9.3 and there DVD HIGH, DVD settings for capturing the ppv movies that i order. I then author them with TMPGEnc DVD Author 1.6, and burn to DVD-R using NERO.



My problem is that i find the playback more like VHS quality than DVD or the original satllite feed. I find alot of the time the picture is 'jittery' especially in a slow moving sequence. Character faces etc, seem to almost be dull as if behind a cloud.. I hope this makes sense.



If anyone who has really nailed the settings for such a capture could provide assistance it would be greatly appreciated.



I have done alot of reading and am a little confused if i should be unselectiong 3:2 pulldown, or checking GOP, or if im best to override settings and use CBR instead of VBR.



Currently im using 720x480 resolution, bit rates of 8mbit/sec in VBR mode. Motion estimation quality is set around 86%. I have also noticed a 2 hour movie such as Van Helsing, only produces a 2.5gb file size. When i thought 2 hours of dvd quality video would equal 4.7gb..



Again, i appologize if this is repetative, i have blown through alot of dvdrs trying to tweak settings and would just really appreciate some guidance.



Thanks to everyone..

[lordsmurf]

All of your problems are from using crappy ATI default settings.

Read these:
http://www.digitalfaq.com/capture/atimpeg/atimpeg.htm
or
http://www.digitalfaq.com/capture/atiavi/atiavi.htm

That should set you straight.

[hockeyphites]

Thanks, actually when i first tried this, that was the first guide i used..

"http://www.digitalfaq.com/capture/atimpeg/atimpeg.htm "

But i still got mediocre results.. either im doing something wrong, or perhaps a bum card? Or maybe im expecting too much?

Thanks for your time, and reply.

[Nelson37]

Maximize motion search precision. Adjust color and brightness to match output device, usually color up slightly, brightness a little more, tint down slightly. Test for accuracy on your output device.

Closed GOP has little effect, may help synch for edit. Generally do not use 3:2 pulldown checkbox but on a good source, it can work well but you should also choose "progressive source" instead of interlaced. Keep Max and AVG bitrate values for VBR close, less than 1000 difference. I use 500.

Test your files for playback on PC or use short data files on CD or DVD RW for DVD standalone playback. Some issues could be introduced by authoring or burning software.

The bitrate you specify is NOT the bitrate you will get. ATI consistently undershoots, especially in dark movies.