HD broadcast format

[Reddwarf]

I was convinced that all shows in HD was transmitted using H264 codec, but when I accidently converted a 50 min show from Nat.geo HD to H264 it shrunk from 8 gig to 3 gig (and yes, it took forever to convert :o). Could this mean that it is mpeg on DVB-C? (I know that the modulation is QAM256 so the bitrate is quite high).

[sub]

Channels are either full time H.264 or full time MPEG2. They do not switch between the two. They can vary the resolution or bitrate from show to show though.

but when I accidently converted a 50 min show from Nat.geo HD to H264 it shrunk from 8 gig to 3 gig (and yes, it took forever to convert ).

You can take a H.264 channel and reencode it to H.264 and end up with a smaller file with some quality loss, which is probably what you saw.

BTW, in your other thread about DVB-C CI, I denied any CI support in GB-PVR, which wasnt entirely true. This thread added a bit of info that may be of interest to you: http://forums.nextpvr.com/showthread.php?t=41897 (though unfortunately not your card)

[Reddwarf]

Thanks for the tip Sub, I'm planning to invest in another DVB-C card, so now I know what prices to look at .

Currently I use MediaPortal just for recording from the digital card (and the wheather service sometimes, when will gbpvr switch to WeatherChannel?), and I even found a way to import recordings automatically into gbpvr as soon as MP has finished recording them, all is transcoded in the early-morning-hours as before.

Works quite well, but I sometimes miss seeing pay-tv channels in realtime...