Record in SD or HD

[Phototaker]

I'm contemplating using my PC tuner card to record 6 50 minute episodes of a TV program which I would compress smaller so that they will fit onto a single layer disk.

Would the final results be better if I were to record the same program series in full 1080 x 1080 HD? I know that the recorded files would be much better quality to start with but would any input quality gain be lost because the files would have to be compressed a lot more? Would it take more time to compress the larger files?

[manono]

The better the source, the better the output. And yes, it'll take a heck of a lot more time to encode from an HD source than from an SD source. It may not be worth it to cap in HD for the small gain in quality, if it's going to be compressed down to a much smaller AVI.

And there's no such thing as 1080x1080 on TV. Maybe you mean 1920x1080.

[BigDid]

I'm contemplating using my PC tuner card to record 6 50 minute episodes of a TV program which I would compress smaller so that they will fit onto a single layer disk...
Hi,

1 file= 50mn= 746Mb
I seems quite possible to get a good quality 720 width output so maybe the time lost for encoding a HD source could be rewarded with a better final quality.
I would suggest trying HD source for one episode, SD source for another encode and compare both.
Also depends if it will be viewed on SD or HD TV...

Did

[budwzr]

There is a point of diminished return where all the laws of nature break down.