Help capture: Want to edit hi-8 to make VHS

[teddymines]

I'm looking for tips on capturing hi-8, editing, and outputting to VHS. I'm stuck on resolutions and image quality. Here's specifically what I'm trying right now:

1. Capture hi-8 video using my ATI Radeon 64ddr vivo, using MMC video-in app, custom settings.
2. Edit using Ulead MediaStudio pro 6.5
3. Output through radeon to vhs deck

Someone verify this, but I believe I need to maintain the 4:3 aspect ratio in order for the images to show fully on a TV. I capture at 800x600, mpeg2, vbr set to 14 mbits/sec, highest estimation quality, i frames only.

Then I edit using a project template that has these exact settings.The editor can then render to a mpeg2 file with the same settings and "print to tape" which means it plays the video full-screen.

To do this, I set the screen resolution to 800x600, activate the video out port on the radeon (can now see full computer screen on TV). Then I print to tape and record the video on vhs tape.

There is a significant amount of artifacting around high-frequency areas and on high-motion scenes. Light-colored objects appear ok. Is this the same mpeg2 encoding in DVD's? It seems cheesy, is this due to my mpeg settings, the card itself, the editor...what???? Is the resolution too much, could I get better quality somehow?

Also, the original capture shows similar artifacts when played thru windows media player...hmmm.

I realize this solution is pretty unique, but any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

[Spicuzza]

I do this all the time and the results produce very good quality.

My suggestions would be to capture 352 x 480, uncompressed AVI.

(there isn't enough representative detail from an analog source to justify capturing at any larger frame size and by doing so along with capturing directly to MPEG will introduce macroblocks from the capture process)

Do your editing with the AVI file.
Encode the AVI, MPEG-1, 352 x 240, 4000 kbps.

Send back out to the tape and you should be pleased with results.

[teddymines]

Could you give me some advice on the attributes I should set on the AVI file besides the size? Thanks for the quick reply.