capture tv with tv capture card info

[strapping young lad]

hello

ive a hauptauge wintv card and i want to know what resolution should it be capturing at for best quality?

the source is digital btw.

[datalas]

tis a good question...

AFAIK digital is still broadcast (for the time being) in boring old PAL, which would indicate 720 x 486 ...

however, it might be in HDTV format 1920 x 1080 (or possibly 1280 x 720) or a variation on the theme...

I dunno really, 8x6 ?

[Bob696]

You can get away with 360x240 if you intend to watch it on a TV i.e. you are going to put it onto DVD or VHS. If you want to watch it full screen on a monitor then you should be aiming at 600x400.

A lot depends on the speed of your processor/hard drive/capture card. If you try to capture at too high a resolution you will encounter 'stuttering' of dropped frames.

Be aware that you will need LOTS of HD space if you are capturing at high res.

Best thing is to suck it and see  :D

[Topple]

Have a look at www.showshifter.com a great bit of software for video capture, playback etc. and cheap.