video quality

[farbjorn]

I just bought a JVC GZ-MS230 video camera (price was too good to pass up). It has 4 video quality settings and I'm having problems trying to figure out which is best to use for general recording. I just want to record video of our travels and then burn to a DVD, either a single layer or double.
Specs.
ULTRA FINE : 720 pixels x 480 pixels, 8.5 Mbps VBR (Video), 48 kHz, 384 kbps (Audio)
FINE : 720 pixels x 480 pixels, 5.5 Mbps VBR (Video), 48 kHz, 384 kbps (Audio)
NORMAL : 720 pixels x 480 pixels, 4.2 Mbps VBR (Video), 48 kHz, 256 kbps (Audio)
ECONOMY : 352 pixels x 240 pixels, 1.5 Mbps VBR (Video), 48 kHz, 128 kbps (Audio)

What I don't understand is the Mbps VBR and how that relates to quality.
Thanks!

[pfloyd]

If you are going to do general recording, normal should work..I'd try ultra fine to see what it looks like....I have an Insignia 720p and it does some nice videos. Not very programable, but I got it for $50.00 at Best Buy.

[farbjorn]

If you are going to do general recording, normal should work..I'd try ultra fine to see what it looks like....I have an Insignia 720p and it does some nice videos. Not very programable, but I got it for $50.00 at Best Buy.

Thanks for the reply. I have found an answer as to the Mbps question, it has to do with how fast the data is written to the memory card. SanDisk Ultra Class 4 has a read rate of 15 Mbps and a write speed of 9 Mbps (source is SanDisk). At the Ultra Fine rate, I'm within the limits and if I want to make sure, I could upgrade to a class 6 card or go with the Fine level.

I did a check to see if I could see any visual difference between the various levels and the only one I could see was the Economy mode, it was poor quality.

I was mainly concerned about the quality settings as that effects recording times and the need for a larger battery.