VCD Capture Res

[pmsugden]

When capturing for VCD is there any benefit in trying to capture at 640x480? Will this produce a better quality image than sticking to 352x288 which is what it gets converted to in the end anyway?

I could try to fiddle with settings (eg use YUY2 rather than RGB 24) to capture at the higher res but if it's not worth it I won't bother.

[Anonymous65]

Yes, if you can, you will get "much" better quality if you capture higher resolutions, especially when capturing both fields and not just one. However, the conversion to VCD takes MUCH longer because of the re-sizing of the frames.

SK

[hans33]

<TABLE BORDER=0 ALIGN=CENTER WIDTH=85%><TR><TD><font size=-1>Quote:</font><HR size=1 color=black></TD></TR><TR><TD><FONT SIZE=-1><BLOCKQUOTE>
On 2001-08-07 12:25:14, skittelsen wrote:
Yes, if you can ...SK
</BLOCKQUOTE></FONT></TD></TR><TR><TD><HR size=1 color=black></TD></TR></TABLE>

I agree, however.

My concern is that the capture card actually captures at 640x480 quality (in my case PAL 768x576), if it is the software which pixeld doubles to get 640x480 then the quality is not improved.

Many cards are base on the BT878 chipset (such as Hauppauge WinTVGO) and Hauppauge have said that their cards for PAL do upto 352 x 240 so setting the capture software for anything higher would not improve quality. I have read that using generic drivers can make the WinTVGO (and presumably other BT878 cards) output 640x480 or 768x576 and this would increase the quality of capture.

PAL 352x240 is probably more than adequate for capturing VHS video tapes, but capturing TV etc would benefit from the higher output resolution.

[Anonymous65]

To see how big difference it makes capturing in 352x240 and 640x480, check out my resolution tests. http://www.geocities.com/skittelsen/digital.htm

SK

[GRANPINO]

I have tried to capture at higer resolution (352x480)and I start droping frames like crazy which means I must lower the QUALITY SETTING from 100% to about 40%. I don't see adifference after re-encoding. If I capture at 352x240, 2000KBPS, QLTY 100%, the video in not bad. Is there a better way?
My system is an AMD750
windows 98
mmc7.1
SVHS input

[thxkid]

I Use WINTV GO Capture Card ($49) I capture 1st in uncompressed AVi 352x240 then I use TMPGE beta b version to encode to MPEG1 VCD using the exact settings for MPEG2 SVCD, 2530bps, 29.97 frams rate, but keep the 352x240 MPEG1 resolution setting. My finshed VCD product is crystal clear and looks better than VHS almost as good as SVHS.
If you want to capture directly to MPEG1, I use Ulead Media Pro 6.0VE and use their capture program and use Uleads Ligoos MPEG drivers that come with it. Again I change the bps to 2530, keep everything else the same for MPEG1. The finished 30min.(most per VCD at this setting) looks almost as good as the original. Keep in mind I have a pretty fast computer also, so your capturing could vary. I get no frame drops with this computer setup.


AMD Thunderbird 1.2 gig
EPOX Motherboard
512 Megs of 133mhz Ram
VooDoo AGP 5500
30 GIG ATA100 Hard Drive

[Anonymous65]

My biggest problem with x240 capture is the big loss of vertical resolution (sharpness).

SK

[marsmayhem]

I have an ATI RADEON 64MB VIVO. I noticed something strange while browsing the registry entries for the software that comes with the board, specifically the settings for vertical and horizontal sizes. Under the ATI software, it tells me it's capturing at 640x480. But if I look at the actual registry entries, it says 640 for the horizontal, and 320 for the vertical. If I try and change the 320 to 480, it corrupts the profile, and trashes it. I guess this means my card is doing the pixel-doubling thingy too...

[sdmig]

I'm capturing 640x480 and my videos too are blurry as hell and look smashed. Starting to get on my nerves...

Does anyone know what Res. Hi-8 camcorders capture the frames at? I'm thinking 352x240..

'mig

[Anonymous65]

Hi-8 is an analog system, but not sure what the resolution of the CCD is. Hi-8 should be arond the same resolution as SVCD, or 480x480 pixels at 30 frames a second. However, there are tons of things that can make a terrible looking 480x480 capture on the PC. Only when everyhting is working "perfectly" and set up correctly, will you get a good digital copy on your PC.

SK

[hans33]

<TABLE BORDER=0 ALIGN=CENTER WIDTH=85%><TR><TD><font size=-1>Quote:</font><HR size=1 color=black></TD></TR><TR><TD><FONT SIZE=-1><BLOCKQUOTE>
On 2001-08-09 14:01:38, thxkid wrote:
I Use WINTV GO Capture Card ...
I capture 1st in uncompressed AVi 352x240 ...
</BLOCKQUOTE></FONT></TD></TR><TR><TD><HR size=1 color=black></TD></TR></TABLE>

I am thinking of getting the WinTVGO. The WinTV PVR does 768x576 MPEG1 on board compression and it has the same TV tuner (Philips/Temic) and TV chip (BT87 see http://www.vcdhelp.com\Comparison.htm so I am hoping the WinTVGO can also do 768x576, so I can use Vdub to capture and huffy to encode in real time.

Are you able to select PAL 700+ x 500+ with your capture, &/or TV, software?
Are you using the Hauppauge drivers or generic drivers?