Transcode to Shrink HVR-1600 HD Recordings?

[MichaelColey]

[I've searched the forum and wiki and can't find anything that addresses this. If I missed something, please let me know!]

I'm using an HVR-1600 to record over the air HD (DVR-MS) and Analog (MPG) programs. I think most of the HD programs must be 1080i, as the file sizes are huge (7GB per hour) and playback is a little jerky (but incredibly clear). The hard drive is filling up way too quick with files this large.

I tried transcoding my DVR-MS programs to MPG, but that didn't change the size.

I'm just playing these back on a regular TV, and I'm fine with a quality anywhere from VCR to DVD quality, which I expect could be easily kept down to 1-2GB per hour.

What would I need to do to reduce the size of these files? I would prefer to keep everything in MPG. I'm in the US so it's NTSC.

We seldom watch anything live (and usually not for several days), so it's not essential to convert them quickly. I just need them converted automatically, preferably within 24 hours. It would be really nice to be able to convert my existing DVR-MS files as well.

Any suggestions, tips, or detailed walk-throughs would be very much appreciated!

[pBS]

you could make a profile for the ati avivo xcode cmd line converter and use it for both converting manually from vid library, and auto-nightly conversion for all recordings..
you have to make sure you have Avivo installed, if you have ATI vid card, you may already...if not, i found that the download is available separately and works on pretty much any card..
since you have MCE, it will also install "C:\Program Files\Common Files\ATI Technologies\Multimedia\atixcode.exe" which you can use on cmd line..

running it by itself shows help with the options..
there's also info on here somewhere on the options..
can output avi,mp4,mpg,whatever really..
not much option as far as bitrate[preset] but they are decent as-is and it's blazing fast..
i use: AtiXcode IDLE /A0 /S0 /R0 /EMPG /V5 /Q1 /X0 /F"%~1" /D"%~dpn1.mpg"

Usage: AtiXcode

/Rn read argments from registry(/S0 = off, /S1=on, default is on.
All previously read values will be over written.

/Sn file scan (/S0 = off, /S1=on, default is on)

/Xn transcode from database (/X0 = off, /X1=on, default is on)

/Fxxx folder to scan OR source file name (def = MCE's folder from registry)

/An Automatically generate output file name. Used with /F. /F specifies an output folder.(/A0=off,/A1=on)

/Dxxx Destination folder OR destination filename(def = Source Folder/ATIXCode)

/Exxx file extension to accept (def = DVR-MS)

/Vn Output Video Format (1 - MPEG1, 2 - MPEG2, 3 - VCD, 4 - SDVD, 5- DVD,
6 - MPEG4 DIVX, 7 - WMV9, 8 - WMV9 PMC, 9 - H264, 10 - MPEG4 (PSP compatible video),
11 - H.264 (iPod compatible video)

/Mn Max files to find in scan, max files to transcode (/M0=no limit)

/Qn Quality (/Q2=default, 1 (low), 2 (medium), 3 (high))

/Lxxx Transcoder log file (/L0 off)

/Tnnn Transcoder time limit in minutes (/T0=no limit)

and put it in a config.xml profile:

Code:

<Conversion name="AvivoXcode" exe="atixcode.exe" cmd=" IDLE /F{SOURCE_FILE} /A0 /S0 /R0  /EMPG /V4 /Q1  /X0 /D{DEST_FILE}.sd.mpg" targetExtension="" />

and put a copy of atixcode.exe in gbpvr\third party\ dir..

restart rec service to see changes..

for some reason, atixcode is keeping the file so busy, gb thinks it can't get the size and locks up...
[just for the silly size dialog!]
so i fool it with no extension, but adding one on cmdline options..

or you could just find a good ffmpeg or mencoder that inputs dvr-ms and try that in profiles as well..

[pBS]

actually, hold on a bit, i may have a workaround to keep gbpvr happy..
[a batch file to swap it out after, so the recordings screen won't lose info]

Sub, apparently atixcode gets exclusive access to the file when transcoding, so when gbpvr tries to check file size to update the dialog, it locks up.. is there any way to prevent it from trying to get that info? take it out of skin perhaps?

i'll see if i can't get a batch file workaround here soon..

[sub]

Sub, apparently atixcode gets exclusive access to the file when transcoding, so when gbpvr tries to check file size to update the dialog, it locks up.. is there any way to prevent it from trying to get that info? take it out of skin perhaps?

Can you post the logs so I can see what the error says?

[MichaelColey]

Will this also resize the recordings? Since they're recorded at 1080p (1920x1080) or 720p (1280x720) and I only need NTSC (648x486?), it seems like it would save a tremendous amount of space (65-85%) without even having to compromise on the quality.

[MichaelColey]

I just found this thread:

http://forums.nextpvr.com/showthread.php?t=29619

It seems to cover some of these issues. I'll have to look closer when I have more time.

[Deusxmachina]

[I've searched the forum and wiki and can't find anything that addresses this. If I missed something, please let me know!]

What would I need to do to reduce the size of these files? I would prefer to keep everything in MPG. I'm in the US so it's NTSC.

Is there a problem with the transcoder plugin/utility on the wiki page? You may need to convert them to mpeg first if they are dvr-ms, but there's an automated plugin for that, too. I currently watch most shows before they can transcode, but if they're on the drive long enough for my set auto-transcoding time to kick in, the next morning the 10gb mpeg files are then 300mb avi files.

I'm a little surprised at how slow the transcoder (Mencoder) transcodes, but the whole automated process is still wicked cool stuff.

edit: Bah, read too fast and forgot about the "would like to keep them mpeg" part.

[pBS]

2007-10-07 19:25:25.000 VERBOSE [1] C:\Program Files\devnz\gbpvr\Third Party\atixcode.exe IDLE /F"\\home-1\G\mpg\HD\MotorWeek_20070531_04300500.mpg" /A0 /S0 /R0 /EMPG /V4 /Q3 /Llog /X0 /D"\\home-1\G\mpg\HD\MotorWeek_20070531_04300500.SD.mpg"
2007-10-07 19:25:33.063 VERBOSE [1] No key mapping found for: LEFT
2007-10-07 19:25:33.063 VERBOSE [1] OnKeyDown: Left value=37
2007-10-07 19:25:33.672 VERBOSE [1] No key mapping found for: RIGHT
2007-10-07 19:25:33.672 VERBOSE [1] OnKeyDown: Right value=39
2007-10-07 19:25:43.594 VERBOSE [1] No key mapping found for: RETURN
2007-10-07 19:25:43.594 VERBOSE [1] OnKeyDown: Return value=13
2007-10-07 19:25:45.703 VERBOSE [1] No key mapping found for: RETURN
2007-10-07 19:25:45.703 VERBOSE [1] OnKeyDown: Return value=13
2007-10-07 19:25:47.110 ERROR [1] Error: msg=0x100 (WM_KEYDOWN) hwnd=0x3102ae wparam=0xd lparam=0x1c0001 result=0x0 : System.IO.IOException: The process cannot access the file '\\home-1\G\mpg\HD\MotorWeek_20070531_04300500.SD.mpg' because it is being used by another process.
at System.IO.__Error.WinIOError(Int32 errorCode, String maybeFullPath)
at System.IO.FileStream.Init(String path, FileMode mode, FileAccess access, Int32 rights, Boolean useRights, FileShare share, Int32 bufferSize, FileOptions options, SECURITY_ATTRIBUTES secAttrs, String msgPath, Boolean bFromProxy)
at System.IO.FileStream..ctor(String path, FileMode mode, FileAccess access, FileShare share)
at GBPVR.xd19a5a5f937f4f7f.render(Boolean& requiresMoreRendering)
at GBPVR.x86396f56243de9fb.render(Boolean& requiresMoreRendering)
at GBPVR.xbb1566157f5f8b1f.xdae9991ab918b397(Object xdf2e3583f942db7b, KeyEventArgs xc4f45905cb1fc7ba)
at System.Windows.Forms.Control.OnKeyDown(KeyEventArgs e)
at System.Windows.Forms.Control.ProcessKeyEventArgs(Message& m)
at System.Windows.Forms.Control.ProcessKeyMessage(Message& m)
at System.Windows.Forms.Control.WmKeyChar(Message& m)
at System.Windows.Forms.Control.WndProc(Message& m)
at System.Windows.Forms.ScrollableControl.WndProc(Message& m)
at System.Windows.Forms.ContainerControl.WndProc(Message& m)
at System.Windows.Forms.Form.WndProc(Message& m)
at GBPVR.xbb1566157f5f8b1f.WndProc(Message& m)
2007-10-07 19:25:47.110 VERBOSE [1] videoInsetVisible = false
2007-10-07 19:25:47.407 VERBOSE [1] ShowInsetAtLocation(257, 88, 398, 269)
2007-10-07 19:25:47.828 VERBOSE [1] ShowInsetAtLocation(257, 88, 398, 269)
2007-10-07 19:25:48.828 VERBOSE [1] ShowInsetAtLocation(257, 88, 398, 269)
2007-10-07 19:25:49.828 VERBOSE [1] ShowInsetAtLocation(257, 88, 398, 269)
2007-10-07 19:25:50.125 VERBOSE [1] ShowMouse ref=0
2007-10-07 19:25:50.828 VERBOSE [1] ShowInsetAtLocation(257, 88, 398, 269)
2007-10-07 19:25:51.719 VERBOSE [1] controller.OnMouseDown()
2007-10-07 19:25:51.735 VERBOSE [1] controller.OnClick()
2007-10-07 19:25:51.735 VERBOSE [1] ShowInsetAtLocation(257, 88, 398, 269)
2007-10-07 19:25:51.828 VERBOSE [1] ShowInsetAtLocation(257, 88, 398, 269)
2007-10-07 19:25:52.828 VERBOSE [1] ShowInsetAtLocation(257, 88, 398, 269)
2007-10-07 19:25:54.438 ERROR [2] FATAL UNHANDLED EXCEPTION:: System.Data.SQLite.SQLiteException: SQLite error
library routine called out of sequence
at System.Data.SQLite.SQLite3.Close()
at System.Data.SQLite.SQLiteConnection.Close()
at System.Data.SQLite.SQLiteConnection.Dispose(Boolean disposing)
at System.ComponentModel.Component.Finalize()

this is a file not in my db, but it happens same on those that are..

there's something fishy about 'exclusive file access' in windows, just like recording to a network drive and trying to read it same time, it's like you have to wait an extra 'moment' to read data cuz the 'owner' of the file is using it...
yet ffmpeg and others can write to one and not 'busy' it out exclusively..?
i'd love to see that kind of access for regular recordings...would solve alot of the network file transfer problems,[namely file share clients and dual access -playing a currently recording file]

just tried it on pvrx2 and it doesn't happen..[no size dialog]
so i guess it's a 'mute' point...

[sub]

just tried it on pvrx2 and it doesn't happen..[no size dialog]
so i guess it's a 'mute' point...

Yep.

[fvfv]

you could make a profile for the ati avivo xcode cmd line converter and use it for both converting manually from vid library, and auto-nightly conversion for all recordings..
you have to make sure you have Avivo installed, if you have ATI vid card, you may already...if not, i found that the download is available separately and works on pretty much any card..
since you have MCE, it will also install "C:\Program Files\Common Files\ATI Technologies\Multimedia\atixcode.exe" which you can use on cmd line..

running it by itself shows help with the options..
there's also info on here somewhere on the options..
can output avi,mp4,mpg,whatever really..
not much option as far as bitrate[preset] but they are decent as-is and it's blazing fast..
i use: AtiXcode IDLE /A0 /S0 /R0 /EMPG /V5 /Q1 /X0 /F"%~1" /D"%~dpn1.mpg"


and put it in a config.xml profile:

Code:

<Conversion name="AvivoXcode" exe="atixcode.exe" cmd=" IDLE /F{SOURCE_FILE} /A0 /S0 /R0  /EMPG /V4 /Q1  /X0 /D{DEST_FILE}.sd.mpg" targetExtension="" />

and put a copy of atixcode.exe in gbpvr\third party\ dir..

restart rec service to see changes..

for some reason, atixcode is keeping the file so busy, gb thinks it can't get the size and locks up...
[just for the silly size dialog!]
so i fool it with no extension, but adding one on cmdline options..

or you could just find a good ffmpeg or mencoder that inputs dvr-ms and try that in profiles as well..

pBS, this is kind of an old thread but this is so far the fastest avi encoder I have seen. I just endcoded an HDTV episode in about 30 minutes from 4.5 G to 675MB. Perfect Quality. How can I get it to be around 350MB, just like the TV Episodes available on Torrent Sites ? Those files are awesome quality and so small.