What is the best way to capture broadcast shows from verizon FIOS?
 

All who have knowledge in this area are welcome to respond of course. Smurf, of course if you're out there, your input is appreciated here as well:

I understand that alot of these programs are compressed (usually by now, most in MPEG-4) by the programmers before they deliver it to the distributor, which delivers it to your cable box.

But a series is currently airing which I wish to capture for my own video collection. It's an 80's cartoon which of course the original source is analog. I own the DVD series, but I figure if I record it in it's current distribution format (mpg4) I will actually have better quality video than the DVD set, which is MPEG-2 and, from what I gathered in g-spot, the bitrate is not that great.

Am I missing something or am I making sense here in doing this? I want the highest quality possible of this series and it makes sense that this is the way I'll be able to do it.

Also, what is the best way to record this? With a S-VHS system (and S-VHS master tapes) which I don't have but can quickly try to obtain OR, can I just record it into my cable box (FIOS offers this option) and save it until I am able to transfer it to tape?

Thanks :)

im assuming this cartoon is being broadcast in SD..
if so doubt you will get any improvement of you store bought DVD's

i have Dish and had TW cable before that and while the HD quality is great on both the SD sucks bad.
they must over compress it or something - it looks like total crap on a 42 inch tv
DVDs look great on my TV, but the broadcast SD is horrid lately.

What if it is delivered in HD? I think it is.

also tape is the last thing you want to put it on!!
S-VHS cannot record in HD neither can a DVD recorder

ive tried it and it looks like crap and the DISH STB forces any HD content output via S-video or composite into in widescreen format so i get the black bars and top and bottom.

you will need an HD capture device
the Hauppauge HD-PVR is supposed to be pretty good

Just found out the content is delivered in SD. So what device would best capture this for me, so that I can transfer it to my computer for additional work?

does your FIOS STB have a S-video output?
if so an ATI600USB would be good.
you could also use a good DVD recorder.