are you using 1.6.x? if so, i had the same "problem" ... you'll need to select your card as a vfw capture source from the device menu. wdm is buggy in my experience, at least with my old ati card. actually, the worst part for me was the audio ... so wdm may be better for you. in that case, select "set custom format" and other stuff (mainly capture pin) in the video menu to set up the settings (they're no longer "native" for vfw drivers in 1.6.x).
BTW, if that helps, I get exactly the same picture if I choose "0 Microsoft WDM Image Capture (Win32) (VFW)" and if I choose "1 Hauppauge WinTV Capture (DirectShow)". However, there are different options selectable/unselectable on each option. Preferences are unselectable in both cases.
those options are mutually exclusive now. for vfw, use format and source like in 1.5.x to set the capture options. for directshow, use capture pin, capture filters and set custom format, etc.
your settings are automatically saved in 1.6.x, or at least that's what he told me. i guess everything that was in preferences is either automatically saved or it's somewhere else in the menus. seems weird to me, too.