Recording format options - what dis/advantages of each?

[agamotto]

I have been tweaking things a bit in my system, and came across the following in the recording options - codecs for Mpeg TS, PS, DVD, DVD Special, Mpeg4, etc...

Has anyone seen or have a guide explaining what each of these are, and what reasons you might use one over the other? I am curious, as I burn DVDs for friends who don't get certain shows in the local area due to reception problems, and wonder what changing these offer?

[majoridiot]

I have been tweaking things a bit in my system, and came across the following in the recording options - codecs for Mpeg TS, PS, DVD, DVD Special, Mpeg4, etc...

Has anyone seen or have a guide explaining what each of these are, and what reasons you might use one over the other? I am curious, as I burn DVDs for friends who don't get certain shows in the local area due to reception problems, and wonder what changing these offer?

all of the formats you listed are forms of Mpeg streams. TS is a transport stream, PS is a program
stream, etc.

quality-wise, they are all very similar and will depend on settings like resolution, bit-rate, etc.
the biggest difference will be the size of the files- which will depend on the format and bitrate, etc.
if configured correctly, mpeg4 can yield better quality recordings- but may tax your system
more than mpeg2.

any variant of the mpeg family is suitable for transcoding to DVD, as DVDs are mpeg2. obviously,
recording DVD-compliant material will speed the process, but at the possible cost of larger files.
ultimately, it comes down to personal choice and your storage potential. for transcoding to dvd,
the most important settings, regardless of the codec/format you settle on, are to record @ 720x480
(DVD resolution) and at a decent bitrate, to preserve quality.

you can find a lot of mpeg info @ wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mpeg

[agamotto]

Thanks for the answers. So, if I wanted to, I could change it to DVD. I take it that it would make the creation of DVDs with my recorded stuff easier/faster? Otherwise, I will just leave things alone, as it all works.