Best capture method at minimal hard disk space

[andy73]

hi there...

im new to the art of video capturing.
i have 3 questions...thanks in advance for your help...

i dont have a huge hard disk to capture my favourite movies, so i've been capaturing them using the divx codec then converting them to mpg format using TMPGEnc then burning them into a VCD using Nero. the quality isnt all that bad mind you...and the original capture using the divx codec produces a file size less than 2gigs.

Question 1:
having said all that i would like to know if there are any other/better ways of capturing that gives you good video quality and doesnt take up too much hard disk space. what codecs are people using and what settings are set with these codecs ?

i've read the guides at vcdhelp.com that recommend you use the huffyuv codec for best quality. this however produces a huge file size, and bc I only have a 20gig hard drive, this isnt a valid option for me, except if i was to purchase a new bigger hard drive.

Question 2:
why does the vcdhelp.com guide recommend that you dont capture using the divx codec if you plan on making a vcd ?

Question 3:
if i was to capture using the huffyuv codec thus resulting in a huge file size, and i convert it to mpg using TMPGEnc, will this mpg file be of a relatively small file size such that it can be split in two to fit onto 2 CD's ?

Thanks...

[kitty]

1. HuffYUV is the way to go for best quality as it is completely lossless. Capturing with MJPEG, MPEG1/2, Divx etc will produce smaller files but they throw out data. Needlkess to say if you are after perfection, doing it on a 20gb HD budget is not the most practical solution

2. Reencoding divx -> MPEG usually produces crappy quality - there are other threads on this topic. Divx is usually 15fps and MPEG is 23.xxx/25/29.97 fps. Can't make up frames without jerkyness

3. Depends on the source length, what was in the file, and if you are doing VCD (MPEG1) or SVCD (MPEG2), etc etc