Should I capture in DV-AVI format or MPG-2?

[JennyBear]

Which is the best to capture in? I usually capture in DV-AVI format and then convert it with TMPGEnc to MPG-2...but I use Ulead Video Studio and I could capture it in MPG-2 in there...this would save a step but I do not want to compromise quality...

What would you folks recommend?

Thanks,

Jenny

[Craig Tucker]

Capturing directly to mpeg is a compromise in quality.

And are you capturing analogue video, or transferring DV.

[JennyBear]

I have a mini-DV camcorder so I will continue to capture in DV-AVI. Now, if I was capturing analog through a Haugpauge TV Card, would it be better to capture in DV-AVI or MPG-2 format?

Thanks,

Jenny

[Thorn]

For capture from your DV cam, you're doing it correctly by "capturing" DV through your firewire card.
For analog capture, the best way to capture is to use the Huffyuv lossless codec. However, it takes a lot of room (around 2-3x more than DV) so a lot of people compromise and use mjpeg and such. (yes, people argue about this a lot). Once again, mpeg 1 and 2 are not ideal for capturing because they are lossless and you'll typically get mediocre results from all real-time mpeg encoders that you could afford. While TMPG may take a lot of time, I focus on quality over ease of use, so there's no way I'd ever let Ulead encode an mpeg for me (in real-time or not).

[JennyBear]

Where do I get this "Huffyuv lossless codec"...this is a little more high tech than I know...but I learn quick.

HOw do I install it etc...and I do use TMPGEnc for my encoding, it sure does a great job.

Thanks and let me know.

JennyBear

[Treebeard]

you can find huffyuv in the codecs section of the tools page.

just select huffyuv as the compression type b/4 you start your capture.

just run the executable to install.

after capture done, convert with tmpgenc for great results