360 versus 720

[brucefl]

Hi,

Still working on a few projects. I tried dropping it down to 5000 rate and apparently looks like the whole project might fit once I fine tune it.

I was wondering when capturing in 360 rather than 720, if there is a significant difference in quality. I realize it cuts everything in half, those who have done more in VS10 or other versions may/will know if there is a great deal of diffence?

Thanks Bruce

[DVDDoug]

The amount of disc space is determined only by the bit rate and the time-length of the program! A 720x480 5000kbps file is the same size as a 352x240 5000kbps file. The bits-per-second rate simply scales-up to gigabytes-per-hour. Of course, You have to figure-in the audio bitrate too, if you want to calculate it manually...

Here's a Bit Rate Calculator.

I was wondering when capturing in 360 rather than 720, if there is a significant difference in quality.

FYI - 360 is not a valid DVD resolution... There's a chart on this page at DigitalFAQ.com that summarizes the DVD specs.

You'll have to judge the quality difference for yourself. In theory, a lower-resolution MPEG at the same bitrate should handle motion more smoothly, but with less detail. Some people say the lower resolution is fine for VHS to DVD transfers, but I've never tried it. I've always used the "standard" 720x480 resolution.