Which is better?

[user2]

My goal is to create VCD's. Is it better to capture at DVD resolution (720x480 .....) then re-encode this to VCD resolution (352x240 ...)

Or, capture directly at VCD resolution? Which method is better? (better, meaning any improvment in picture quality ...)

the souce would be a composite input from VCR (VHS tapes ...)

Thanks guys

[vhelp]

user2,

720x480 would be the best.

But, if your capture card can't handle it, ie:
* framedrops
* hardrive space,
* etc.

. . .then your next better resolution would be 480x480 or 352x480

chances are, you do best w/ 352x480 (for obvious reasons)

notes:
at 720x480, and uncompressed capturing, you can fill up a 60 gig drive
in less than an hour (or just about)
So, you may want to use Huffy or PIC (mjpeg) codecs while you capture
instead.

-vhelp

[Rotame]

that depends:
your capturing software, your capturing format (avi. mpeg1/2), and finaly your encoder!

[fmctm1sw]

Is it better to capture at DVD resolution (720x480 .....) then re-encode this to VCD resolution (352x240 ...)

Or, capture directly at VCD resolution? Which method is better? (better, meaning any improvment in picture quality ...)

the souce would be a composite input from VCR (VHS tapes ...)

Thanks guys

This usually starts some lively debates. Some folks say capture as high a res as you can and convert, others say since you're only going to get a 300 something res out of a vhs source to just go with 352x480. The only advice I can give is NEVER cap at anything less than something x 480.

[gll99]

If you plan on capturing larger than target then it may be easier on the resizer math if you cap 704x480 but if your straining your system to do that then stick with the res that you intend to finish with.

352x480 produces very good results with interlaced source.

Off subject a bit here but.....

If you want to try an odd sized xvcd try 704x480. If your player supports it you may be very pleased with the results.

[mtgoat]

I always used to capture at 352 x 240 until I got a second hard drive which is dedicated to video capturing. Now I capture at 704 x 480 and encode to VCD format with TMPGEnc. The results are vastly improved, especially when using "soften block noise" at default settings and setting motion search precision at high (slow) or highest (very slow). My capture device has the option of capturing at 3, 4, or 5 Mb/sec. I have noticed a slight improvement in final quality when capturing at the highest bitrate. My source is also most often VHS. Good Luck!