Transcoding HD-PVR files for placeshifter problems

[Ericft]

I am away from home and setup on a wifi network in the hotel room. I logged into placeshifter but I am unable to watch streams of Hd-PVR content without significant stutter that makes it unwatchable. I am able to stream Hd homerun without problems. Not sure what the difference is as they are both HD recordings. Any suggestions will be welcome. I have tried tweaking all the settings without success.
Thanks.

[Fuzzy]

The H.264 files from the HD-PVR are many magnitudes harder to decode then the MPEG2 recordings from the HDHomeRun. therefore, it takes a considerably faster processor to transcode them for placeshifter use.

[Ericft]

so an E2180 would not be enough?

[wayner]

One suggestion would be to record stuff you want to Placeshift in SD as well as HD, assuming that you have the tuners. You could try the convert function to convert to another format like MPEG-4 Deinterlaced, but I am not sure that the Sage Convert option works for H.264 files.

[Fuzzy]

the E2180 (2.0 GHz Dual Core) MIGHT be enough.. though keep in mind the transcoder is a single thread only, so it's running on a single 2.0GHz core. Only way to tell if it's being CPU limited is to check the processor usage. If it's hovering arond 50%, then that core is maxxed out. As mentioned though, there are also problems with interlaced recordings, and that may be what is causing you problems.

[wayner]

I believe that it is a known limitation that Placeshifter cannot play 1080i files. Another option could be to try forcing your STB to 720p to see if that makes things any better.

[keepersg]

Originally Posted by wayner

One suggestion would be to record stuff you want to Placeshift in SD as well as HD, assuming that you have the tuners. You could try the convert function to convert to another format like MPEG-4 Deinterlaced, but I am not sure that the Sage Convert option works for H.264 files.

It works. I've just converted some of the olympic coverage. It takes a long, long time.

[Ericft]

thanks for all the comments. i went with the convert function but it takes an inordinate amount of time. has anyone figured out the optimal format to convert to to ensure speed of conversion without significantly compromising the video quality? I realize that they are likely conflicting options but options are welcome. thanks

[Fuzzy]

As was mentioned previously, you could just lock the cable box to 720p. Quality is still quite good, but you won't have the interlaced + placeshifter problem.

[Ericft]

Is there a button to select 720p recording? Or is it something that has to be done while the stb is connected to a tv? As mine is not.

[Fuzzy]

most cases it's a STB setting. Every box model is different though, but most have an optoiin in there SOMEWHERE to set what the output mode is.