1 tuner, 2 encoders, 2 recordings?

[jason531]

Hi,

Can I record a single source on two different encoders simultaneously? I have checked the FAQ and done a quick search, but haven't found an answer.

For example, what if I have a DirecTV receiver connected to both a PVR-250 and Plextor PX-M402U and I want to record a single show at DVD quality on the 250 and handheld Divx quality on the M402? I have a feeling I will have to set up two sources for this, but just want to see if anyone else is doing this sort of thing.

Cheers,

Jason

[Opus4]

The recordings will be done on the same channel? You could set one to be a timed recording & the other to be a Manual Recording, then set the recording rates you want each to use. I don't know how easy it would be to try to get the timed recording on the Plextor, but it is the one that won't have detailed recording info for the show.

- Andy

[jason531]

Yes, the recordings would be on the same channel. I basicallly want two copies of the show - one to watch at home (HQ) and another to take on my Treo 650 in case I want it. Currently I use Dubman/Besweet/Avisynth/VirtualDub to do 2-pass Xvid encoding. Although I have this down to a fairly routine operation, it might be nice to take advantage of the Plextor since I already own it. I know that I could probably use dirmon/etc. to do this but I haven't gotten around to it.

I haven't tried this yet, but I think I can do it all through Sage. I could add the Plextor as another source using the same listings, then add an encoding profile which will force it to use the Plextor. Since the Plextor will be physically connected to the same DirecTV receiver, then the channel change will be handled by my PVR-250 recording. I am assuming I will always record the PVR-250 copy and occasionally add the Plextor copy.

Can I set up two sources to use the same provider/channel listings and record on both at the same time? Will I need to somehow create a second set of channel listings? Should I just sell the Plextor and use dirmon to feed my (higher quality) 2-pass Xvid process?

Thanks for your help!

[Opus4]

I don't think what you are talking about will work, ot at least I can't think of a way at the moment -- SageTV will try to use the 2nd tuner for recordings too; it isn't going to assign the same recordings to both tuners. SageTV automatically handles assigning scheduled recordings to an available tuner, so you don't set a recording & say which tuner it goes to.

Maybe add the Plextor as an externally tuned source w/no guide data & only 1 channel enabled? If that works, then maybe you could just create manual recordings for that 1 channel from time to time.

You might be happier continuing with the conversion process, though.

- Andy

[jason531]

I remember reading something about if the "recording quality" you choose is only available for a particular encoder, it will force Sage to use that encoder, e.g. "Divx Home Theater." However, I have never seen anything that will record one show on two encoders at the same time.

I should probably stick with my batch process. The reason I don't currently use the Plextor is because of large output files and low "bang for the buck" when it comes to quality vs. bitrate.

I could do the manual recording thing, but dirmon will probably make me happier in the long run. I just need to automate my batch process.

Speaking of my batch process, perhaps this should be a separate thread, but does anyone here use DGIndex? My PVR-250 files seem to always have an audio offset of -44 ms. Is this a static value? I need to know whether I can hard-code this value into my scripts or whether I need to parse it from the demuxed audio file name. This value is used later when muxing the audio back into the avi.

Thanks again for the help.