Capturing / Authoring with the best possible quality ?

[ProperRogue]

I was just trying out some different techniques/resolutions from VHS to DVD, and I was thinking about something.

Is it better to capture at a good bitrate as mentioned in another post ( 720x480 , Full D1) and then run my finished project through DVDshrink to fit a single layer , or should I just capture the VHS at a lower bitrate so no compression is used? Most, if not all of what I'm transferring, is roughly 90mins to 2hrs. per tape. ( wrestling, also - just like another post I was reading )

I must have read every post on here regarding different methods for a good capture. I even made a small dvd sample using a clip from different resolutions/bitrates to see how they faired.
This, of course, even frustrated me more. By the time I was finished, they all started to look the same. ( sort of reminded me how it is to try out different colognes, and in the end they all smell the alike )

[edDV]

This all depends on your capture hardware. Your profile says you have a hardware encoding PVR250 so use the bit rate calculator and capture 720x480. If the tape is longer than ~90-120min, then consider a 352x480 encode. Test which looks better to you. The PVR 250 still captures 720x480 but then encodes to 352x480.

[mats.hogberg]

There's never anything gained by capturing at a random "too high" bitrate, then transcode it down to size, over encoding at the correct bitrate to begin with. Just quality and time wasted.

/Mats

[ProperRogue]

I understand , and thank you both.


Taking into consideration that my source, the VHS originals, are close to 20yrs old, and I even have 3 that are 22yo, I might not get the best of quality anyway. I will say this for sure , I realize I'm going from VCR to PC, and nothing really spectacular happens, but the finished product looks so much better than the VHS originals. It's almost as if they've become more vibrant during the process.

Thanks

[edDV]

A TBC would help.