someone help a newbie out

i shoot widescreen vids on my camcorder then finalize the miniDVD.
the vids play back as widescreen using WMP 11.

the problem is, when i capture as an mpeg, the video comes out squooshed to 4:3.
i tried playing with the options and can capture as 16:9 WMV.
however, this takes much longer and the quality is not good

how do i capture from dvd to mpeg without losing the 16:9 format?

what am i doing wrong here?

From what I understand, you have to capture to avi to preserve the 16:9. I think there is a problem if captured in mpeg.

how exactly do i do that?

(forgive my ignorance)

What is the format of the video files in miniDVD? Mpeg?

no. it's finalized, so that it can play in ordinary DVD player, like a recorded DVD.

If it is DVD compliant video so that the miniDVD plays on a ordinary DVD player, the format is mpeg2.

Copy the VOB files from the disc to your hard drive. YOU can then use those VOB files directly in Videowave or MyDVD 9.