How important is resolution if I want to watch movie on NTSC TV

[muralin]

i have been doing 2 CD rips (using 2 pass encoding). I now watch my movies primarily on an analog 32" Sony NTSC TV. Is there any value in encoding a movie at a high bit rate (1200 kbp) if I plan to watch my movie only on a regular NTSC TV (via TV-Out card on my PC)? Also, what size video is the optimum for TV viewing?

[OvERaCiD23]

yes, encoding at such high bitrates ensures quality. using your TV-out, you do lose some quality, but the same goes for when you view DVDs via TV-out. i do all 2 CD rips with MP3 audio, and i cannot tell a difference between the DivX and the DVD. using bitrates below 1000 (say, for 1 CD rips) causes there to be "crap" around objects in the video. it's very noticeable, plus with CD-Rs being so cheap ($5 or less for Imation CDs after rebates and such), there's no reason to sacrifice quality for a $.25 CD-R. as for optimal resolution, you should be able to keep 2 hour movies at 640 or above for the width. when you go below that, movies tend to look crappy when blown up to full-screen (not as noticeable when viewed on a TV as compared to your monitor, but still noticeable).

[gregor7777]

I agree. Even at 640 x when you go to full screen on a TV it looks crappy.

Now, this is what you should get: A TV with widescreen zoom built in. That helps alot. I use it all the time. :)

[Wormz]

Originally posted by gregor7777
Even at 640 x when you go to full screen on a TV it looks crappy.

I don't know about you, but my TV-out supports a few different resolutions, including 640x480. If you output at 640x480 it doesn't need to resize the image whatsoever.

[gregor7777]

@Wormz

No, you missed my point. 640 x 480 is exactly what I output at but what I'm saying is that when I switch to full screen (picture consumes the entire screen) then it looks crappy and pixelated. At least to me.

There is no NEED to resize the picture, it's just that some people rather watch (especially with smaller TV's) fullscreen on their TV's. I usually just zoom it with my widescreen zoom on my TV.