remastering update
In a fit of unusual forward-thinkingness, I decided to test my newly-ripped DVD source by making a vid snippet to check the appearance of clips with different lighting, levels of action, adjusted speed, etc. I exported the snippet as .rm and .avi at various settings, converted the .avi files to MPEG-2, and burned an SVCD with various versions of the sample.
Results thus far are excellent: everything looks great on the TV, and the larger-size .rm looks fabulous at full-screen size. A full screen of Faith! Oh, this was definitely a good idea.
This little experiment has affected my plans for the next vid: I was thinking the Firefly first, but now I'm thinking the FotR first, because I have DVD source for that - and by the time I finish it, the Firefly DVD could be out.
I can feel myself becoming a psycho source snob even as I type this.