Need some help with transcoding settings

[blyndy]

Hi,

I need to reduce the file sizes of some composite recordings

So far I have capturing one VHS home video to PC via composite using wintv7. The .TS file (mpgv + mpga 720x576) is huge at 6.61 GB for 1h51m.

I used VLC to transcode it to 0.5 the resolution using the H.264 + AAC profile. The transcoded file was 823 MB (the resolution wasn't exactly halved at 368x294 and the first few frames had green squares but they're not big concerns).

I think that even 823 MB is too big given the average quality of the VHS tape so I set the H.264 bitrate to 500kbps and transcoded the original file. The finished file was smaller at 570 MB and I found the quality acceptable, except for periods of diagonal blurring, so had to rejected the file.

I tried transcoding to MPEG-4 at 800kbps but It was strangely full of artefacts.

Quality isn't a huge concern as it is low to begin with. I'm comfortable with the 'halved' resolution and I wouldn't want it any lower. I do want to avoid artefacts.

1. what codecs and what transcoding settings should I use for the situation?
2. Which ones are the quickest (I'm happy to sacrifice quality for speed on these videos)?
3. Is it better quality or speed to keep it in the same format and just reduce the resolution?
4. Should I be using a different program?