Saving digital signals in standard definition?

[rfburns]

I'm considering purchasing SageTV, and have a question. I've looked around the message boards and web site, but maybe I just can't think of the right terms to search for.

I would get a TV tuner card capable of over-the-air digital signals, mainly because I want to pick up the local stations' "side channels". However, I have a standard definition TV, and don't see myself getting an HDTV anytime in the near future. Is it possible to record the digital over-the-air channels, but not in HD format? There's no sense in taking up 6GB/hour when I won't even be able to get the full quality out of the video.

Thanks!

[gplasky]

They broadcast many stations in digital format but not HD. (High Definition.) We refer to them as SD (Standard Definition.) So the answer is yes.
(I see your question is for OTA. My answer is based on digital cable but I would think one of the OTA subchannels would also be SD.)

Gerry

[rfburns]

In the Raleigh/Durham market, I know at least one of the station's digital signal actually is HD (they promote it heavily). I don't know about the subchannels, though.

So, in worst case scenario, if SageTV records something on a HD channel, is there any way to convert it down to SD to save space? Or is there even such a thing as converting between the formats (I'm not that familiar with HD technology, so I may be asking questions that don't make sense).

[stanger89]

You can transcode HD to SD, but it's quite processor intensive, enough that it probably negates the benefit of smaller file sizes.

[rfburns]

OK, thanks for the tips. I'll have to see if the digital channels I'm interested in are HD or not.

[sleonard]

If you connect an HD-100 extender to your SD TV with it's S-video output then it won't matter what you are recording. The extender will handle any necessary conversions without impacting the Sage PC that is doing the recording.

S