Resolution choices with HD PVR?

[Phydeaux]

Using a Hauppague HD PVR between my StarChoice STB and SageTV server with component video.

Is it possible to record at a lower resolution than 1080i? Say, 720p or even 480p? I can't quite figure out how to do this... I thought for a while that I should be able to set my STB to output at one of these lower resolutions, but I'm not seeing the option to do so in it's setup menu.

I realize I can crank down the recording quality in Sage, and now have it set at the lowest quality - but it's still nearly a GB file for a 30 minute recording of "The Office", for example. And the quality is not great, obviously. Yet it's still 1080i. I would much rather have a good quality recording at a lower resolution, which should also translate into a smaller file size.

How does SageTV's recording quality options map to settings on the HD PVR?

RLW

[Opus4]

Originally Posted by Phydeaux

Using a Hauppague HD PVR between my StarChoice STB and SageTV server with component video.
...
I thought for a while that I should be able to set my STB to output at one of these lower resolutions, but I'm not seeing the option to do so in it's setup menu.

You'll have to see if it is possible to change the output resolution from your STB, since the HD-PVR records whatever res it receives on the component cables.

Then, in SageTV, just choose the HD-PVR recording quality you want for HD recordings. When it notices SD being recorded, the recording bitrate is automatically lowered.

That said... some of us get better results by using a fixed output resolution from the STB. Changing the res in the middle of a recording can happen & seems to throw the recording off a bit.

If you do use multiple ouput resolutions, you may want to consider setting the mmc/encoders/<some number>/delay_to_wait_after_tuning property for the HD-PVR to something like 4000 or 8000 (4 or 8 seconds) to let the tuning process complete before recording starts.

- Andy

[Phydeaux]

You know, 10 seconds after I posted this I had the bright idea to surf down more detailed information about the StarChoice STB I'm using, which basically came with no information. Embarrasingly enough, it turns out that the option to toggle output resolutions on the component video outputs is a button behind a little door on the front panel. In my defense, it's hidden away in the basement utility room with the Sage server. Dark down there. And spiders and stuff...

I assume the latter part of your reply would be on the assumption that I can assign an IR code to toggling the output resolution on the STB. I'm not sure that will be possible - I'll have to find out if the Motorola 505 STB has an IR code assigned to that function as well as the button. Assuming it did, how would I go about making Sage aware of the code and how would I tell it when to use it and when not to? I think I'm just musing at this point, no need for a detailed reply. Because I tend to agree that I will likely just want to fix the resolution at a sweet spot and leave it alone.

Thanks so much for the quick reply, Andy.

RLW

[Opus4]

Originally Posted by Phydeaux

I assume the latter part of your reply would be on the assumption that I can assign an IR code to toggling the output resolution on the STB. I'm not sure that will be possible - I'll have to find out if the Motorola 505 STB has an IR code assigned to that function as well as the button. Assuming it did, how would I go about making Sage aware of the code and how would I tell it when to use it and when not to? I think I'm just musing at this point, no need for a detailed reply. Because I tend to agree that I will likely just want to fix the resolution at a sweet spot and leave it alone.

Actually, I was referring to the STB outputting the native resolution of the channel it is tuning, rather than always converting it to a particular resolution. (SageTV isn't the one determining the resolution output of the STB.) While I use it this way, my STB can be set to 'auto', so that SD channels are 480i & HD channels are whatever res they happen to be.

- Andy

[Phydeaux]

Ah, yes, I see what you mean. There is the option on my STB to set the output to Native, which will then output whatever the incoming resolution is. So if select that, where do I look in Sage to assign different recording qualities to different resolutions? Or do Sage's Fair, Good, Better, Best qualities just mean different things depending on what the resolution of the source is?

RLW

[Opus4]

Originally Posted by Phydeaux

where do I look in Sage to assign different recording qualities to different resolutions? Or do Sage's Fair, Good, Better, Best qualities just mean different things depending on what the resolution of the source is?

As I mentioned above, you don't set the recording rate per resolution. You can set a single default recording rate for the tuner & that gets used for any res it records, automatically bumped down for SD recordings on the HD-PVR.

- Andy

[Phydeaux]

Ok, got it. Thanks for your help on this Andy.

RLW