eyeTV 200 Question : mpeg1 vs mpeg2

C

chrisdavies

Registered
I notice that elgato just released a new version of the eyeTV that uses mpeg2 compression over mpeg1 compression.

I was just about to buy an original eyeTV for archiving old VCR tapes. Would I really notice any significant difference by waiting an extra month (and paying double the price) for an eyeTV 200?

Is mpeg2 a noticeable improvement over mpeg1 for this kind of work?
 
MPEG-1 is the type of files that you usually see on websites with downloadable .mpg movies. MPEG-2 is the format that DVD's use for video. I don't know what the difference in quality is, but I think you have to buy something extra to use MPEG-2 in Quicktime.

Either way, I'd recommend MPEG-4 over both, if possible.
 
Wait for the 200. The eyeTV USB is, as the name implies, is USB based, the eyeTV200 is Firewire based. The reason the eyeTV USB is mpeg1 is, USB 1.1 does not have enough usable bandwidth to properly sustain an mpeg2 video stream, so they use mpeg1 which is smaller. Since the eyeTV 200 is based on firewire, it has more then enough bandwidth to support mpeg2, so thats the format they choose. You will have a much better image with mpeg2, mpeg1 is slightly below VHS quality, while mpeg2 is broadcast quality (DirecTV/Dish Network use mpeg2) along with what is used for DVD's.

Brian
 
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