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  1. Yes, I have looked in the forums, but didn't find a definitive answer for my question.

    I'd like to capture good quality AVIs from my satellite dish, but I realize that 720 x 480 can be overkill (for example, when capturing VHS).

    What's the best resolution for satellite?
    I'd rather die of thirst, than drink from the cup of mediocrity.
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  2. Member
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    Rather than trust strangers, why don't you capture test clips
    in both 720 x 480 and 352 x 480 and compare ?
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  3. I do plan on doing that Foo (trying different resolutions), but thought that one of the enlightened ones (and no I'm not trying to be a smartass) could educate me a little.

    That's all.

    I might add that the satellite feeds that I capture will be burned to DVD.
    I'd rather die of thirst, than drink from the cup of mediocrity.
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  4. I capture from DirecTV a lot and here is what I find.

    If I am putting 3 or more hours on a DVD and it's live action 352x480, if less than 3 hours 720x480. Why? I can notice a quality boost in the clarity and crispness of the finished product at the higher res. However, If I lower my bitrate for stuff over the 3 hour mark, I notice a lot more grain and macro blocking with 720x480, so I drop the res down, and overall acceptability is better to my eye.

    If I'm doing anime or cartoons, then I pretty much go with the lordsmurf guides on those. Essentially 352x480 across the board.
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  5. Member
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    I think the general idea is that below a certain bitrate
    you have to go to 352 or it looks bad. It's an opinion but
    that's around 3500 4000
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  6. moorthy

    I've had DirectTV for several years and have notices that different channels and at different times the quality of their broadcasts varies. Dish alignment has alot to with quality too. If you want high quality then I'd start with checking my signal. I've did this and it helps alot.

    Good wires also helps. I've got over $200 worth of cables just to hook up my video units and it was very well worth it. My capture quality has gone way up. Cheap wire/cables just don't get it. Also, I don't use the tuner input.

    I've did alot capture test and what I usually go by is Time/Bitrate/Framesize. I try to figure how much video time I need, then calculate my allowed bitrate, then decide on a framesize. (*for finished product that is*). If I can use 4-8Mbps then I capture-edit-encode 720x480. If I can only use 2-4Mbps then 352x480, and If I need more time/less bitrate than 2Mbps then 352x240.

    I don't like 'resizing' my finished cut up or down. If you aren't going to do much heavy editing/filtering/etc, then I would consider MPEG2 capture. It will save you a bunch of time.

    Good luck.
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  7. Video Restorer lordsmurf's Avatar
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    Originally Posted by bottle-necked
    Dish alignment has alot to with quality too........Good wires also helps. .... Also, I don't use the tuner input
    Because of the way digital works, alignment has no effect on quality. Digital is either on or off (or heavily macroblocked with pauses from weather/interference/misalignment).

    Good wires do indeed help, and you can use RG6 coax for tuner input. Even a powered signal enhancer on a coax (from a live signal) can be better than any composite/s-video.

    Resolutions from DISH are 480x480 and DirecTV 544x480. Bitrates are in the 0-9800 VBR, with most of them in the 1000-5000 range.

    You can easily capture VBR 3.4 avg or CBR 4.0 using 352x480 and see no difference from the 720x480.

    As suggested, just think about how much you want on the disc. If just a little, then go for 720x480 8.0MB/s (or a close VBR like 6.0) to retain every single pixel of the 544x480. If you want over 90 minutes on the disc, then 352x480 at 4.0 (or a close VBR of 3.4) and get up to 3 hours at near-identical quality.
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