[mythtv-users] Re: Best video capture resolution for output to TV?

[Bruce Markey]

Joseph A. Caputo wrote:
> Sorry, I misspoke...
> 
> Based on what I've read in the archives, 640 is a practical maximum width
> for capturing NTSC.  Anything higher will simply emphasize the shortcomings
> of the NTSC source (be it broadcast or VHS).  Just because you're capturing
> at 720x480 doesn't mean you're getting a DVD-quality picture.  The same
> applies to PAL, with slightly different numbers.

True. Taking the though further, there is nothing magic 
about 640 either. The only thing unique about it is that
640x480 happens to be 4:3 without adjusting the aspect
ratio. For sampling, it's just another clock rate like
720 or 544. For some (bad ;-) signal/display combinations,
beyond 480 may be just capturing more crappiness. For
clean signals and a high def display, 1024 might look a
little better but bt8x8 chips don't go beyond 720.

--  bjm