If you want to set up preset capture configurations in WinTV 2000, print out this page. It's a lot easier doing it from a printout than by switching windows on your desktop. The good news is that you only have to save these presets once. The bad news is that WinTV 2000 saves all presets in the registry. If you are a klutz - accidentally saving an erroneous config - you'll have to find it in the registry and delete it.

This cheatsheet takes into consideration that you're capturing a 720x480 MPEG2 program with 224k audio bitrate - a program you want to fit on a single-layer DVD. In my opinion, capturing video at a pre-configured video bitrate produces superior results to using a "default" setting and shrinking afterwards.

The settings below start at 1:02 (62 minute) programs and go up to 2:24 (2 hour, 24 minute) programs. The reason is because at 1:02, you're already using the DVD max bitrate - and at 2:24, you're using the LAST video bitrate above 4000. Below 4000, I've found that video quality gets a bit dicey. So, if you capture longer programs, good luck - you're on your own.

TIP 1: If you're capturing from a videotape, know what the running time is first. If it's a pro videotape, the running time should be printed on the tape box or on the tape itself. If it's not a pro videotape, watch it first and time it. If the running time is 134 minutes, choose the "2:15 - 135 mins" preset to guarantee you won't have to shrink the result files.

TIP 2: If you're capturing a television program, you can only estimate. On the average (network average) there are roughly about 2 minutes of programming for every 1 minute of commercial time. In short, if the TV program time is 150 minutes, you'd end up with about 101 minutes to burn after commercials are cut. But, this varies. So if you plan to edit out the commercials prior to burning, take this factor into consideration.

Below are the program times followed by the video bitrate setting (per Videohelp bitrate calculator):

1:02 - 62 mins - 9570
1:03 - 63 mins - 9452
1:04 - 64 mins - 9301
1:05 - 65 mins - 9154
1:06 - 66 mins - 9012
1:07 - 67 mins - 8874
1:08 - 68 mins - 8740
1:09 - 69 mins - 8610
1:10 - 70 mins - 8464
1:11 - 71 mins - 8361
1:12 - 72 mins - 8242
1:13 - 73 mins - 8126
1:14 - 74 mins - 8013
1:15 - 75 mins - 7903
1:16 - 76 mins - 7796
1:17 - 77 mins - 7692
1:18 - 78 mins - 7590
1:19 - 79 mins - 7491
1:20 - 80 mins - 7395
1:21 - 81 mins - 7301
1:22 - 82 mins - 7209
1:23 - 83 mins - 7119
1:24 - 84 mins - 7032
1:25 - 85 mins - 6946
1:26 - 86 mins - 6863
1:27 - 87 mins - 6781
1:28 - 88 mins - 6702
1:29 - 89 mins - 6624
1:30 - 90 mins - 6548
1:31 - 91 mins - 6473
1:32 - 92 mins - 6400
1:33 - 93 mins - 6329
1:34 - 94 mins - 6259
1:35 - 95 mins - 6191
1:36 - 96 mins - 6124
1:37 - 97 mins - 6058
1:38 - 98 mins - 5994
1:39 - 99 mins - 5931
1:40 - 100 mins - 5870
1:41 - 101 mins - 5809
1:42 - 102 mins - 5750
1:43 - 103 mins - 5692
1:44 - 104 mins - 5635
1:45 - 105 mins - 5579
1:46 - 106 mins - 5525
1:47 - 107 mins - 5471
1:48 - 108 mins - 5418
1:49 - 109 mins - 5366
1:50 - 110 mins - 5315
1:51 - 111 mins - 5265
1:52 - 112 mins - 5216
1:53 - 113 mins - 5168
1:54 - 114 mins - 5121
1:55 - 115 mins - 5074
1:56 - 116 mins - 5028
1:57 - 117 mins - 4984
1:58 - 118 mins - 4939
1:59 - 119 mins - 4896
2:00 - 120 mins - 4853
2:01 - 121 mins - 4811
2:02 - 122 mins - 4770
2:03 - 123 mins - 4729
2:04 - 124 mins - 4689
2:05 - 125 mins - 4650
2:06 - 126 mins - 4611
2:07 - 127 mins - 4573
2:08 - 128 mins - 4536
2:09 - 129 mins - 4499
2:10 - 130 mins - 4462
2:11 - 131 mins - 4426
2:12 - 132 mins - 4391
2:13 - 133 mins - 4356
2:14 - 134 mins - 4322
2:15 - 135 mins - 4288
2:16 - 136 mins - 4255
2:17 - 137 mins - 4222
2:18 - 138 mins - 4190
2:19 - 139 mins - 4158
2:20 - 140 mins - 4127
2:21 - 141 mins - 4096
2:22 - 142 mins - 4066
2:23 - 143 mins - 4036
2:24 - 144 mins - 4006