Captured video to DVD.. 16:9 or 4:3???

[karelj]

I capture video from my high def DVR box via an Svideo connection. I used to capture direct mpeg2, but now I am experimenting with capturing in AVI/HuffyUV then converting to mpeg2.
I have a regular 4:3 tv.. I only have high def service to maximize video quality. Anyway, I always select 4:3 for the output format but should it be 16:9???

Thanks...

[guns1inger]

I would. It may look stretched as an avi, but will encode to anamorphic 16:9, which you will want for the future. Letterbox will just waste bitrate on the bars - use it on the image instead.

[karelj]

Thanks...

I was checking the various settings of Dscaler and started to get confused.
Under 'Aspect Ratio' I have choices for 4:3 fullscreen, 16:9 letterbox and 16:9 anamorphic.
I am not sure if this refers to the setting of the incoming resolution or the recorded resolution.
It seems that the card will only capture 4:3. Right clicking on the files shows 4:3, even though I set Dscaler for 16:9 anamorphic.
I recorded a test avi in anamorphic mode, but it plays back in Windows media player and PowerDVD as non-anamorphic - it does not have that squashed look.

Opening the AVI in TMPGEnc shows it as 4:3

The Mpeg2 file I created was given the 16:9 flag and it shows. Am I correct in assuming that even though it has that 'squished' look on my computer screen, it would display correctly once it is converted to DVD an dthen played on my standalone??

I apologize if my sentences/questions are disjointed...I work at night and should have been asleep a couple of hours ago.