Hmmm, OK now I'm a bit better off on the dark scenes. I set it to record
by default as:
320x256 mpeg4, bitrate = 2200 (scaled from 640x480)

with the interlaced and high performance settings turned on (I've got a
1.6 P4 so I figure I have the processor to burn). 

I've noticed a few things from these settings and from watching this
discussion.  First of all while the dark scenes are definitely better I
notice that when the scene is moving fast I now get interlaced type
lines showing up.  Am I correct in assuming then that I should not be
selecting interlaced because my card is only able to capture at 240
lines so its actually only capturing every other line anyways?
Incidentally my card is a bt878 variant I believe (I may upgrade to a
PVR250 at some point but not right now). 

Is there any point for me to do a higher resolution on this card?
Paul



On Mon, 2005-02-07 at 08:38 -0500, Cory Papenfuss wrote:
> > It most definitely is not.  I don't have any links on hand, but
> > vertical resolution (because of how the signal is transmitted -- the
> > analog signal is a continous wave with points at regular intervals at
> > certain points marking the point where fields begin/end) is ALWAYS
> > bang-on 480 regardless of source.
> >
> > Horizontal resolution is variable (for the aforementioned reason), but
> > (assuming your capture card doesn't suck; bt878's do) in theory,
> > 352x480 (on a good card) is enough for VHS and ~540x480 (on a good
> > card) is enough for broadcast.
> >
> > If the source is from a digital source, such as satellite -- Dish,
> > DirecTV, Starchoice and ExpressVu all transmit a signal at 480x480.
> > There will be some lossage of course, in the A>D>A>D process that
> > occurs when you capture the output.
> >
> > However, if you are viewing on a PC, and the deinterlace filter is not
> > very good (i.e. it drops a field to deinterlace), there MAY NOT be a
> > visible difference between 240 and 480 vertically.
> >
> > Certainly you will see it on a TV.
> >
> > (Nevermind the MythTV FAQ, the bits about capture size are not
> > entirely accurate)
> >
>       Well said.  It's amazing how many people are confused as to the 
> real meaning behind "capture resoltion."  Much of it comes from the term 
> "lines of resolution" which is a term from long before digital video.  It 
> describes how many lines can be resolved on the continuous (analog) 
> horizontal scan you described.  So, *vertical* lines are drawn on the 
> screen closer and closer together until they blur together.  These lines 
> are counted across a width of screen equal to the height.  For a 4:3 
> aspect ratio then, the "240 lines" for VHS equate to 240*4/3 resolvable 
> dots across the screen, or roughly 352x480.  For broadcast, the "80 
> lines/MHz" rule of thumb and , 4.2MHz luminance cutoff equate to 330 
> lines.  That's 330*4/3, or roughly 480x480 for broadcast.  This whole mess 
> is also why a DVD is described as 540 "lines of resolution"... since if 
> you draw a 4:3 picture with 720 horizontal dots, you only count 3/4 of 
> them since "lines" is defined as per-picture height.
> 
>       There... I feel better.  Bottom line is the number of scanlines is 
> *FIXED* by the TV standard (visible NTSC 486, PAL 576).  The number of 
> dots to cut up the horizontal scan is somewhat arbitrary, but that's what 
> "lines of resolution" refer to.  It pains me to hear people talking about 
> capturing TV at 320x240 since it's 1:1 square pixels, and "there's only 
> 240 lines of resolution anyway."  Tragic... :)
> 
> -Cory
> 
> 
> 
> *************************************************************************
> * Cory Papenfuss                                                        *
> * Electrical Engineering candidate Ph.D. graduate student               *
> * Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University                   *
> *************************************************************************
> 
> _______________________________________________
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> [email protected]
> http://mythtv.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mythtv-users
-- 
Paul Gratz <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>

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