Sage MPEG2 File is too Small

[mike1961]

Hello - I recorded a 1 hour and 45 minute movie today. I have set the default quality to be 3.2 gb / hour. The total file size was 3.7 gigs and I don't know why? I would think it should be well over 5 gigs. I checked and it definitely recorded the entire movie. I then tried to look at the Detail and unfortunately it only shows me what tuner was used to record the video (in this case Capture #2). However, it did not show the recording quality of 3.2 gigs / hour which I'm pretty sure is correct.

Question 1: How do I check to see the recording quality that was used such as DVD Fair quality, good, great, etc.

Question 2: Could it be that 3.2 gigs / hour is just an approximation and this movie just had much better compression than most in the mpeg 2 format?

Thanks,
Mike

[Opus4]

The only recording setting I see w/that rate is DVD Standard, which uses a variable bit rate, so the 3.2 GB/hr is only an estimate & looks like it could be the average between the low & high rates.

The recording quality used should be listed after the encoder name on the recording's detailed info screen.

- Andy

[rickgillyon]

Originally Posted by mike1961

Could it be that 3.2 gigs / hour is just an approximation and this movie just had much better compression than most in the mpeg 2 format?

What sort of tuner was it? If it's a digital tuner, quality settings have no effect, Sage just records the MPG in the quality it is transmitted.

[mike1961]

Opus - thanks for the reply - I checked other movies I recorded and yes you are right, the recording quality is listed after the encoder name. However, there is no recording quality listed after this movie. I checked other movies and they all have the quality listed even with the same encoder.

Can you think of any reason why the recording quality would not be listed? It sure is a mystery to me but I can show you a screen shot if you like. It's not a big deal but it sure is a "Sage Mystery" to me.

Thanks,
Mike

[mike1961]

Rick - I have the WinTV 500 cards which have hardware encoding on the card. I'm confused though because I have experimented and tried changing qualities and it does work. If I change the quality to say "Fair" then the files are smaller. Is there something that Sage sends to the card so as to tell it to hardware encode with a different bit rate or settings?

Thanks,
Mike

[rickgillyon]

If you have the Hauppauge 500 cards, then it's analogue so ignore my comments about digital...

I have had problems with this before, and found that if I changed default quality settings (global or per tuner) I had to restart Sage (or service) for them to take effect and appear next to the tuner in recording details.

[idvsego]

I have seen this same problem with one of my tuners. I have 3 PVR150 and 1 PVR250 ina sage server. I have noticed issues with tuner #2 not showing the quality in the details screen, coming up with anything from 2-3.5 GB an hour, and the video stuttering. There is no way for me to tell if the hauppauge recorder #2 is the 250 from the setup screen (something I would love to see fixed), but I suspect it is. The other 3 PVR sources are fine and the fusion5 is doing OK too. just seems to be this source #2.

[Opus4]

Originally Posted by mike1961

Opus - thanks for the reply - I checked other movies I recorded and yes you are right, the recording quality is listed after the encoder name. However, there is no recording quality listed after this movie. I checked other movies and they all have the quality listed even with the same encoder.

Can you think of any reason why the recording quality would not be listed?

This was recently discussed by rickgillyon here.

So, it sounds like your recording was not using the setting you thought it was, explaining the smaller than expected file. Are you using the beta? If so, I would file a report with SageTV, along with the log file showing a recording starting, as discussed in the other thread.

- Andy

[BobPhoenix]

Originally Posted by idvsego

There is no way for me to tell if the hauppauge recorder #2 is the 250 from the setup screen (something I would love to see fixed), but I suspect it is.

You could change the name of the cards like in this thread and get what you want here I think.

BobP.

[mike1961]

Yes - I'm using the beta and the strange thing is that I very recently recorded movies with the same encode (capture #2) and the quality was displayed just fine. Like a say, it's not a big deal but it is a mystery.

Thanks,
Mike

Originally Posted by Opus4

This was recently discussed by rickgillyon here.

So, it sounds like your recording was not using the setting you thought it was, explaining the smaller than expected file. Are you using the beta? If so, I would file a report with SageTV, along with the log file showing a recording starting, as discussed in the other thread.

- Andy

[mike1961]

Hello - where do I get the latest "non-beta" release? It happened again on Tuner 2 where it did not show any quality at all after the encoder name (capture 2).

Opus - I read the link you provided from Rick. The problem is there is no consistency. So far it only happens on encoder #2 but not always, only sometimes where it does not show a quality and it is clearly smaller than 3.2 gigs/hour and I have no idea why.

I should have mentioned also - I have not tried to change the quality for the individual card (which I suppose I could try) but it should follow the default quality if not quality is set. I think before I try that, I would like to download the latest non-beta version so provide me with the link.

Thanks,
Mike

[Opus4]

The last non-beta release is always on the main SageTV site -- just look for the trial links for the download page.

I don't know if the current beta's database (wiz.bin) is backward compatible to that version, though.

- Andy