Is MPEG still a good format for capture and playback ?
 

Hi LordSmurf,

First, I want to take a moment to thank you for creating DigitalFAQ. I especially enjoyed your very helpful and easy to digest guides on ATI All-in-Wonder capture cards. When I got started with video capturing in 2004, I worked off your guides exclusively and was extremely satisfied with the results. In fact, when my system died due to a power surge in 2008, I tried a few alternatives before I eventually relented and purchased a new custom built computer that had AGP so I could continue using the ATI card.

In any event, I'm trying to determine where to go next. I have an 82" television and a hi-def projector capable of projecting images at about 100". I still have a few hundred VHS tapes that I would like to convert to some digital medium. I am thinking of simply capturing the tapes to MPEG using the ATI card and storing the raw MPEGs on a 3TB hard drive which I can access and stream to my TV or projector via a server (For what it's worth, I plan on utilizing two 3 TB drives and keeping one for backup purposes only).

I'm wondering if you have any thoughts on the viability of this. Is MPEG still a good format for capture and playback in this manner? In addition, I may need to occasionally burn DVDRs from these files, so a format that could be easily converted would be desirable. Should I consider AVI and possibly Huffy? I also imagine anything I capture will have to be done with DVD specs in mind.

Thanks in advance,
Justin

-- from justin81

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