help tweaking?

[joemess]

Hello,
I'm still a newbie and am pouring over documentation but can't find all of the information i'm looking for. please forgive all the questions.

1. this is probably a stupid question, but is it possible to record in a lower resolution of hdtv like 480p/i instead of the higher resolution that seems to be the default?

2. i've noticed that pbs programs i record have a black box around them making full-screen viewing take up only about half the screen.

3. what is the *easiest* way to remove commercials? how accurate is it? and how long does it take to process once the program is recorded?

4. what are the most popular/recommended customizations?

5. i have a hauppauge hvr-1600 with remote. is it possible to use that remote with gbpvr without too much difficulty?

thanks for any information and take care,
joe

[sub]

1. this is probably a stupid question, but is it possible to record in a lower resolution of hdtv like 480p/i instead of the higher resolution that seems to be the default?

No, GB-PVR writes to disk whatever the broadcaster transmitted (with some minor remuxing). There is no hardware on the HDTV capture card for transcoding on the fly to a lower resolution.

You can set it to post recording transcode though. (will use lots of CPU and time though)

2. i've noticed that pbs programs i record have a black box around them making full-screen viewing take up only about half the screen.

There can be various reasons for this.

Are you on a 4:3 TV? If so, then is is most likely because they have pillar boxed a 4:3 video into a 16:9 video frame (by adding black bars to left/right of picture) before transmissions. When GB-PVR letterboxes the 16:9 video for display on your 4:3 TV, then you can end up with all four black bars (two added by broadcaster, two added by GB-PVR). If they'd transmitted the video as 4:3 instead of 16:9, then this wouldnt have happened. You could try pressing F7 to remove this effective.

3. what is the *easiest* way to remove commercials? how accurate is it? and how long does it take to process once the program is recorded?

I dont advise doing this. You absolutely loose bits of shows on a regular basis. Comskip does a pretty good job identifying ads, but not good enough to trust it for cutting out the ads.

GB-PVR instead uses comskip to identify ads, then automatically skips them during playback. This way you can still jump back and watch the bit incorrectly identified as an add.

4. what are the most popular/recommended customizations?

Nothing springs to mind. I just run a vanilla install.

5. i have a hauppauge hvr-1600 with remote. is it possible to use that remote with gbpvr without too much difficulty?

Yes, you should be able to. It depends on which type of remote you've got, but you probably just need to click the 'fix hauppauge remote settings' button in the config app.

[joemess]

No, GB-PVR writes to disk whatever the broadcaster transmitted (with some minor remuxing). There is no hardware on the HDTV capture card for transcoding on the fly to a lower resolution.

You can set it to post recording transcode though. (will use lots of CPU and time though)

There can be various reasons for this.

Are you on a 4:3 TV? If so, then is is most likely because they have pillar boxed a 4:3 video into a 16:9 video frame (by adding black bars to left/right of picture) before transmissions. When GB-PVR letterboxes the 16:9 video for display on your 4:3 TV, then you can end up with all four black bars (two added by broadcaster, two added by GB-PVR). If they'd transmitted the video as 4:3 instead of 16:9, then this wouldnt have happened. You could try pressing F7 to remove this effective.

--yes, this is with a 4:3 tv, that explains it. is there a way to fill sideways as well as up and down? auto or letterbox are the only settings that don't distort the aspect ratio. but the recording is recorded at such high quality that it seems unfortunate to watch letter-boxed on all four sides (i understand this is not your fault).

I dont advise doing this. You absolutely loose bits of shows on a regular basis. Comskip does a pretty good job identifying ads, but not good enough to trust it for cutting out the ads.

GB-PVR instead uses comskip to identify ads, then automatically skips them during playback. This way you can still jump back and watch the bit incorrectly identified as an add.

Nothing springs to mind. I just run a vanilla install.

Yes, you should be able to. It depends on which type of remote you've got, but you probably just need to click the 'fix hauppauge remote settings' button in the config app.

--thanks for the quick reply. is it possible to use the hauppauge remote with ir blaster with gbpvr without a satellite or cable box, but just to control the changing of OTA channels?

thanks again and take care,
joe

[sub]

There are two entirely separate concepts to be aware of.

1) an IR Receiver is used to get input into a PC from a remote control

2) an IR Blaster is used for outputting, typically for controlling a set top box of some type

Even though these sometimes come in the same physical unit that is attached to your PC, they are entirely separate things and can be used independently.

[joemess]

"Are you on a 4:3 TV? If so, then is is most likely because they have pillar boxed a 4:3 video into a 16:9 video frame (by adding black bars to left/right of picture) before transmissions. When GB-PVR letterboxes the 16:9 video for display on your 4:3 TV, then you can end up with all four black bars (two added by broadcaster, two added by GB-PVR). If they'd transmitted the video as 4:3 instead of 16:9, then this wouldnt have happened. You could try pressing F7 to remove this effective."

--yes, this is with a 4:3 tv, that explains it. is there a way to fill sideways as well as up and down? auto or letterbox are the only settings that don't distort the aspect ratio. but the recording is recorded at such high quality that it seems unfortunate to watch letter-boxed on all four sides (i understand this is not your fault).

--thanks, i didn't understand the terminology for ir receiver/blaster. is it possible to use the hauppauge remote (with the ir receiver plugged into the hauppauge card) with gbpvr without a satellite or cable box, but just to control the changing of OTA channels?

thanks again,
joe

[sub]

"Are you on a 4:3 TV? If so, then is is most likely because they have pillar boxed a 4:3 video into a 16:9 video frame (by adding black bars to left/right of picture) before transmissions. When GB-PVR letterboxes the 16:9 video for display on your 4:3 TV, then you can end up with all four black bars (two added by broadcaster, two added by GB-PVR). If they'd transmitted the video as 4:3 instead of 16:9, then this wouldnt have happened. You could try pressing F7 to remove this effective."

--yes, this is with a 4:3 tv, that explains it. is there a way to fill sideways as well as up and down? auto or letterbox are the only settings that don't distort the aspect ratio. but the recording is recorded at such high quality that it seems unfortunate to watch letter-boxed on all four sides (i understand this is not your fault).

There is nothing GB-PVR can do about this automatically. I cant remember for sure, but I think the 'center cut' aspect ratio option should correctly display the 4:3 part of the picture zoomed to fill your 4:3 display (maintaining correct aspect ratio).

If you'd had a 16:9 tv, then things would have looked nicer since you'd only have black bars on the left/right, and the picture would have the correct aspect ratio.

--thanks, i didn't understand the terminology for ir receiver/blaster. is it possible to use the hauppauge remote (with the ir receiver plugged into the hauppauge card) with gbpvr without a satellite or cable box, but just to control the changing of OTA channels?

Yes, the Hauppauge IR Remote and Reciever can be used for controlling GB-PVR, and all its features including changing channels. As I said above, an IR Reciever is used as input device to control your PC (GB-PVR app in this case), it has no relationship to any IR Blasters you might also have installed (which would be used to control external satellite/cable box).