No PAL resolutions support in SageTV 2???

[oshapir]

Hi All,

I've started an identical topic on the BETA section -
http://forums.freytechnologies.com/f...&threadid=5179
- BUT no one could help me, not even sage tech supoort, so now that we have final v2.0 I'm asking your help again...

The problem:
I'm getting only about 80% of the picture on LiveTV - the bottom is cut off. No Aspect ratio settings or overscan settings change anything. I'm using an AverTV m150 TV card, using s-video/video in from my Sat. Box & I'm getting perfect picture on ShowShifter, BeyondTV & GotTV.

Sage tech support answer:
Try setting:
mmc/country_code=972
in your Sage.properties file, that should do it.

Well, I tried it before asking them, and it did not fix the problem (BTW, got no answer on my reply to them...).

Reading the review of SageTV 2 in SHS's site I noticed the following:
"MPEG Test using defaults setting
MPEG2 CVD (HalfD1), 352x480
MPEG2 MAX 12.0MBit/sec, FullD1 720x480
SVCD Extra Long Play, (HalfD1) 480x480
SVCD Long Play, (HalfD1) 480x480
SVCD Standard Play, (HalfD1) 480x480
DVD Extra Long Play, FullD1 720x480
DVD Long Play, FullD1 720x480
DVD Standard Play, FullD1 720x480
And all my Custom Profile"

1. All profiles has xxxX480 resolution - which is NTSC(?) - Does it means I can not use SageTV with PAL source???
2. "And all my custom profile" - Does it means I can add custom profiles with other resolutions??? If so how? maybe that's the way to fix it...

Sorry for the long post.

Thanks,
Oren.

[mlbdude]

Here are the two lines you need to add to the properties file for a custom quality. Don't know if this is any good but you could just mod it to try your theory.

mmc/python2_encoding/ MyDVD=videobitrate\=4500000|width\=720|height\=480|audiobitrate\=224|vbr\=1|peakvideobitrate\=6000000|outputstreamtype\=10

seeker/recording_qualities/2.5MB\sec.=MyDVD,224,48000,6000000

I know for NTSC 480 is all you can get with the 250 but it might be different for PAL.

[SHS]

You can still add your custom profiles with other resolutions but keep in mind I live NTSC world so I can't test PAL sorry
But any case I thinkl the only you need to do change height\=480 to 576
see there on how make custom profiles http://www.freytechnologies.com/2_papers/HPquality.txt
there also some other useful stuff there
http://www.freytechnologies.com/configuration.html

[oshapir]

Problem solved !!!

Thank you mlbdude and SHS!
I realy think that Sage need to put this info for other PAL users...am I the first one?

Now I can start thinking of changing my dedicated livingroom HTPC from ShowShifter to SageTV 2.

Thanks again,
Oren.

[nielm]

with the PAL PVR-250 that I have, all you can get is 576 lines -- even if you have a custom quality of *x480, it will give you *x576...

Maybe you have a magic NTSC/PAL PVR-250

[oshapir]

As I posted - I have an AverTV m150 from the US (NTSC - not PAL)...cann't get ANY HW MPEG edcoder TV cards that SageTV supports, here in Israel.

I'm also getting my PVR-250MCE today!!! so I'll have a two tuner setup.

But hey, problem solved...and with MlbDude's new UI (with video folders) - showshifter is out.

Thanks,
Oren.

[bisbjerg]

Originally posted by nielm
with the PAL PVR-250 that I have, all you can get is 576 lines -- even if you have a custom quality of *x480, it will give you *x576...

Maybe you have a magic NTSC/PAL PVR-250

Just saw this thread.
I can confirm this to be the case with PAL PVR-350 also.

[oshapir]

For all of you using an NTSC PVR-250 and want to input PAL s-video - this is how I do it...

Getting PAL on NTSC in s-video is no problem under GotTV software - you can set it to get any mode you want. (So easy and yet SageTV has no setting for that )

I noticed that after I start GotTV, see perfect PAL picture and than quit the program, SageTV is able to show PAL (using custom made qualities - thanks SHS & mlbdude) till the next time I restart my computer than the PVR-250 resets back to NTSC.

Problem solved - and no I don't have a magic PVR-250...

Hope that helped some one...
Any comments are more than welcomed!

Oren.

[fastoy]

Originally posted by mlbdude
Here are the two lines you need to add to the properties file for a custom quality. Don't know if this is any good but you could just mod it to try your theory.

mmc/python2_encoding/ MyDVD=videobitrate\=4500000|width\=720|height\=480|audiobitrate\=224|vbr\=1|peakvideobitrate\=6000000|outputstreamtype\=10

seeker/recording_qualities/2.5MB\sec.=MyDVD,224,48000,6000000

I know for NTSC 480 is all you can get with the 250 but it might be different for PAL.

What would the lines look like for NTSC Half-D1? For example, using VBR maxing 5000kbps and 2000kbps as a minimum.

[PaulG]

Oshapir,

I do a similar thing except I use beyondTV to get the pvr250 to 'play nicely' with a PAL..... input

be nice if sage could do it all itself!

by any chance did you try mlbdudes config settings the the PAL profile & did it allow you to use the pvr-250 without having to start GoTV fisrt ?

Regards
Paul

[nielm]

Originally posted by PaulG
I do a similar thing except I use beyondTV to get the pvr250 to 'play nicely' with a PAL..... input

[edit] just realised I gave you the same reply in July, and that it did not help you then -- I thought I was having deja vu!

Check the country code setting in sage.properties and set it to your country code (61 for Au?).

BTV's setup wizard prompts you for the country, on install, Sage does not..

I *think* that sage uses the windows' regionalisation settings' country code to initialise the card, and if ithis is different to your actual location, then the card is init'd to wrong location settings...

I had the same problem (my windows is regionalised to UK settings, but I live in BE which uses a different PAL format to the UK).. Setting country code to 32 solved my problems...

[PaulG]

neilm,

Thanks for the reply though

I even doublechecked the sage properties & windows regionalisation setting and they are set correctly

REgards
Paul.