Recording resolution problem

[prouton]

I have two PCI tuner cards in my PVR -- a Diamond PVR560 (uses the generic Conexant Falcon driver) and an ATI TV Wonder 550 (Theater 550 Pro driver). Both cards are working (generally), but I discovered that I can't control the resolution of either card, even after changing init setting from DEFAULT to IVAC. I've restarted the machine after making the changes, I've tried both 352x480 and 480x480 resolutions, and I consistently (and maddeningly) get 720x480 (according to GSpot). Surprisingly, using the same vbr bitrate of 5500 with both cards results in the first card recording at 3500 and the second card recording at 5500.

Am I out of luck with these two cards, or is there something else I should be trying?

[sub]

I dont know anything about the Diamond PVR560, so cant really answer anything about that one.

Cards like the Hauppauge cards support special ways of supporting resolution and bitrate changes, and GB-PVR full supports these.

The init mode setting on the ATI card needs to be set to DEFAULT, otherwise the bitrate changes wont work. Cards like the ATI card, dont publish any recommended method of changing the resolution, but GB-PVR will try a couple of generic methods that work with some cards (cant remember whether it worked with the ATI550 cards though). If DEFAULT doesnt manage to change resolutions with this one, then unfortunately you may be out of luck.

Surprisingly, using the same vbr bitrate of 5500 with both cards results in the first card recording at 3500 and the second card recording at 5500.

I suspect you'll find setting the init mode back to DEFAULT will fix this.

[prouton]

Well, doesn't that just bite the big one... :mad:

Thanks for the info, and thanks for the program. I was willing to buy the ATI card because I knew I wouldn't have to use the ATI supplied software (which everyone complains about), but I didn't realize there was going to be no way to set a lower resolution. And my hardware just won't support transcoding for the volume of recordings I wish to do.

Can anyone tell me which cards used with GB-PVR can control the capture resolution? I need NTSC, PCI and analog.

[sub]

Thanks for the info, and thanks for the program. I was willing to buy the ATI card because I knew I wouldn't have to use the ATI supplied software (which everyone complains about), but I didn't realize there was going to be no way to set a lower resolution. And my hardware just won't support transcoding for the volume of recordings I wish to do.

Set it back to DEFAULT though, and try to do a recording, then post the logs so I can check what it says when it attempts to set the resolution.

Unfortunately there wasnt a standard way to change the resolution on all capture devices. Personally, I dont think its a huge problem though - I always record at full resolution, and only really change the bitrate. I suppose it depends if you're trying to produce the absolute smallest files you can.

Can anyone tell me which cards used with GB-PVR can control the capture resolution? I need NTSC, PCI and analog.

The most common ones are the Hauppauge PVR150/250/350/500 etc.

[prouton]

My purpose with a PVR was to replace my two aging VCR's and gain some of the features inherent in computer controlled, harddrive based media recording. Right now a friend and I timeshift all primetime television, but on a particularly busy night that can involve four simultaneous recordings. With tape, it's an easy thing for each of us to watch what we recorded and then swap tapes so the other person can watch. I was hoping to set up a PVR with four tuners, record everything, and then cut DVD's for her to watch (which would provide the greatest viewing flexibility using her current equipment). I had already given up on getting six hours on a DVD, but three or four seemed reasonable. However, if my only option is to drop the bitrate down to 1500, then I end up with video that's worse than my already low quality six hour VHS tapes.

The alternative is to set her up with a dedicated media computer and move recordings with a portable harddrive, but that forces the viewing to a single room, and right now she has more flexibility.

[sub]

Looking at logs, these devices are both taking the bitrate correctly, but neither is taking the resolution. This doesnt tell you anything you dont already know, but it confirms what I said above.

Just a quick comment though, squeezing six hours of MPEG-2 video on a DVD is going to look worse than a VHS tape in my book. I know your machine doesnt have heaps of grunt, but maybe you should be looking at transcoding to xvid or similar to give you decent quality with smaller file sizes.

[prouton]

Thanks for taking the time to look, and thank you for your thoughts. I realize now that six hours per DVD is probably not worth it, having seen the results of that kind of compression using standalone DVD recorders. For talking head, news kind of stuff (which is the other use I have for timeshifting) it's okay, but anything else deserves a bit more.

I'm not sure Xvid does anything for me, as it still requires the transcoding step. If I wanted to plunk down several hundred dollars for a real computer to do the work, transcoding would be a non-issue. But I'm trying to do this on the cheap (after all, it's just television ) -- cast-off computer parts (of which I have quite a bit) and tuner cards which I have to buy new. Of course, I had to buy a nice big harddrive. And then I might need some cheap but new video cards to provide smooth playback. Hmmm, this isn't staying cheap. :o

I had thought that hardware MPEG encoding would solve the problem of using old processors, but it looks like it only gets me part way. I should certainly be able to record four tuners at a time, but I then need to find a way to use the output unaltered. I guess I'll need to budget for a couple of Hauppage 500's, or talk my friend into using a computer for playback (and giving up some flexibility). On the other hand, $200us a pop for a used laptop with enough horsepower to act as a stand-alone player feeding a television might be within the realm of possibility...

Ah well, all things are possible...unless you have to pay for them.