Average HDTV ATSC file size?

[dvasco]

For those of you using an HDTV ATSC tuner what is the average ATSC file size for a 1 hour show?

[bits]

For those of you using an HDTV ATSC tuner what is the average ATSC file size for a 1 hour show?

Depends on the bitrate...for 14MB/s around 6.5GB and for 19MB/s around 9+GB

[-stattik-]

1080i = 7-8GB/Hour
720p = 5-6GB/Hour

[bits]

1080i = 7-8GB/Hour
720p = 5-6GB/Hour

Not all 1080i or 720p is broadcast at the same bitrate, at least not in my neck of the woods.

[dvasco]

What about when the ATSC signal is not HD but just digital?

[SniperDude]

again that depends on the bitrate... I record several Kids shows off TPTKids a local OTA ATSC digital channel... recording at 720x480 at Good (6000Kbs) works very well, and creates files approx 900Mb per half hour.. so your probally looking at 2Gigs for a good recording and almost 4 for a 9000Kbs recording..
I spend extra cpu cycles then taking those files and compressing them into a DivX/XviD files (1.2 times the lenght of the show )... they end up being botu 275Mb for 1/2 hour... and the quality is plenty good for viewing on TV, or thru the MVP (however been having streaming issues with the MVP lately with those AVI's)

[dvasco]

Thanks. The reason I had asked for filesize for one hour is because that is what I assumed to be the info immediately available after capturing a one hour show. When you give me the bitrate aren't you getting that as a calculation of filesize/time? If not, how are you getting the bitrate? I was told that the bitrate cannot be set and that with ATSC you are in essence receiving a stream, which makes perfect sense to me, although until I get an HD set I would prefer to transcode to a lower bitrate if above 2 GB/hour.

[-stattik-]

The bitrate is determined by either the broadcaster of the producer of the show. You're ATSC card will simply copy the bits off the air to the hard drive. There is no encoding involved from your end.

[zaphod7501]

I record Smallville and Supernatural off a digital simulcast. It is 704x480 with AC3 audio (a valid DVD format). It has a header (max bitrate?) of 15Mbps but an average bitrate of 3.00 Mbps. Before editing out commercials, the file size is usually between 1.5Gb and 1.6Gb. After editing commercials the file size is almost exactly 1Gb.

A 720p broadcast usually is about 8Gb per hour and 4.8Gb after editing commercials. If I edit commercials and cut the unnecessary recap off of the beginning of "Heroes" (1080i) then the whole episode will usually fit on a single DVD-R for archiving. I can fit four episodes of SD digital on an authored DVD disk. (as a point of reference) For shows that don't fit conveniently on a single disk, I save each segment between commercials as a file with a sequential filename and save as data to a DVD-R. My MyHD can play them back sequentially straight from the disk. At 20 cents per disk I prefer to save them unaltered until it is practical to start creating HD disks. This will take several years until pricing and format settle down. (IMHO)

A lot of utilities will give you a bitrate that is actually the header but others can calculate the actual rate.

[dvasco]

The bitrate is determined by either the broadcaster of the producer of the show. You're ATSC card will simply copy the bits off the air to the hard drive. There is no encoding involved from your end.

Therefore, the easiest way to determine the bitrate is filesize divided by time, correct? Why use a program to find the bitrate to tell me the filesize? (Not directed at you stattik)