Capture resolution sweetspot?

[JonasSam]

I have a Hauppauge WinPVR250 and it works like a charm. However, I currently do my capture using the DVD-quality setting. As I live in Sweden the input signal is in PAL format.

My question is which resolution is the sweetspot between quality and capture file size. As PAL has a lower resolution than the quality setting I have today, I'm wasting pixels. But I guess that I should not capture at PAL resolution neither...

Cheers,
jonas

[Capmaster]

I have a Hauppauge WinPVR250 and it works like a charm. However, I currently do my capture using the DVD-quality setting. As I live in Sweden the input signal is in PAL format.

My question is which resolution is the sweetspot between quality and capture file size. As PAL has a lower resolution than the quality setting I have today, I'm wasting pixels. But I guess that I should not capture at PAL resolution neither...

Cheers,
jonas

PAL isn't a specific resolution per se, it's a combination of standard resolutions (like 720x576) and a frame rate of 25 frames/sec. NTSC has slightly lower resolution (720x480) but a higher frame rate of 29.97 frames/sec. The template you're using called "DVD quality" is probably a combination of the 720 by 576 resolution and a mid-range bitrate that is a tradeoff between recording time and quality ...probably 4 or 5 Mb/s or so. It's also typical to default to variable bitrate (VBR) which is more space-efficient than Constant Bitrate (CBR). That 4 or 5 Mb/s is the average bitrate (as opposed to peak) and will give you a recording time of over 2 hours with decent quality as long as your source is good. As your source gets rattier (like VHS tape) you'll want to maximize your bitrate while allowing enough space on the DVD for the whole thing. This is because noisier sources eat up more of the bitrate.

For example, if you're putting a 90-minute clip on one DVD you can run your bitrate up to - say - 6.5 or 7 Mb/s average, 8 or 9 peak. That'll put you close to having a full disc.

A bitrate calculator is handy for figuring it out, but I think that's more useful for CBR than for VBR, as you will never really know how much time the capture will be approaching the peak setting, since that's dependent on action in the movie.

You can also experiment around with the lower half-frame DVD settings, like 352 x 288 you can probably decide what level of quality is enough for you.

This is my personal favorite website for quick information on DVD stuff:

http://www.dvddemystified.com/dvdfaq.html

By the way, that's a good capture card you have and you should just experiment with it. How much quality is "good enough" is a subjective call and everyone has a different opinion of what it is