hauppauge 1600 and ATSC recording

[imagn]

My questions relates to recording ATSC from the Hauppauge 1600 and how performance might be on an older computer/play back

I am planning on adding a 1600 to my HTPC and using in for over the air digital. My current computer config is

P4 2.8Gh
1 gig ram
winxp media center (using GBPVR)
Abit Siluro FX5200 DT, (128 MB) AGP 8x Video Card
Currently Hauppauge pvr 150 (hope to add 1600 to the lineup)

I am a newbie when it comes to the digital world and would love some clarification and help.

Question one,

What is the file extention when recording from the Hauppauge 1600 for ATSC, is it .ts? Is this customizable in gbpvr, ie just straight mpeg4? This is the most confusing thing to me as there are muliple file formats for HD and this is what i am mostly wanting to record. So any help explaining this would be great, especially the file format part and how it relates to GBPVR and playback.

Quesiton 2
I do not plan on playing this back on this particular computer but plan on streaming to my Popcorn Hour (PCH), or other computer more capable, will it be possible to record on this computer, without any video issues, to then be able to stream and play back on PCH or more capable comp.

Question 3,
If i wanted to play back on this older computer, what would i need to make sure i had without having to upgrade computer to basically new. If all it needs is a better video card thats not too bad.

Thats to all who have some if for me

[sub]

What is the file extention when recording from the Hauppauge 1600 for ATSC, is it .ts?

It'd produce either .ts .dvr-ms or .mpg files depending on mux fiter you use. These files are all MPEG2 containers that hold the original MPEG2 digital bitstream.

Is this customizable in gbpvr, ie just straight mpeg4?

MPEG4 files are a different type of video file, so would require transcoding. You cant record directly to MPEG4, but you can set GB-PVR to run a transcoding job post-recording.

Quesiton 2
I do not plan on playing this back on this particular computer but plan on streaming to my Popcorn Hour (PCH), or other computer more capable, will it be possible to record on this computer, without any video issues, to then be able to stream and play back on PCH or more capable comp.

Yes, that would work fine.

Question 3,
If i wanted to play back on this older computer, what would i need to make sure i had without having to upgrade computer to basically new. If all it needs is a better video card thats not too bad.

You'd possibly ok with the current hardware. If anything did need to be upgraded to get smooth playback, it would be the video card.

[User]

A follow up question since I am considering the same on similar hardware...
Is the 1600 card and muxs etc compatible with win2000? I don't see that the 1600 card is being advertised as compatible with win2000.

[imagn]

Do i have to find a mux filter or does GBPVR come with one, i have see the option for dvr-ms and .ts but not sure if i seed to install a decoder like the analog side, and is one better than the other.


Will i have to install other software to record other than what is provided in gbpvr

[sub]

GB-PVR only comes with a TS Mux filter. Windows XP SP1 or higher comes with the Microsoft DVR-MS Mux. You'd need the Cyberlink, ATI or mainconcept mux to get .MPG files. There is lots of links on the forums for downloading the Cyberlink/ATI mux. I think the Mainconcept mux comes with the Hauppauge WinTV software installed with a HVR1600.

That said, most ATSC users either stick with the .ts or .dvr-ms file types because the .mpg mux filters can choke on high def ATSC video.

[imagn]

Thanks for the info

That answers my questions, i am planning on using the .ts mux, so now on to the implementation phase, hopefully this goes smoothly

[rob11252]

Hey, imagn, we should stick together. I have 1600 for about 4 months now and before installing it on my current HTPC computer I tried in on my older computers at home. I am fairly new to GBPVR also (about 3 months), so my experiences and my lessons are still fresh. I would gladly share and exchange experiences.
I am using both tuners of 1600 now for OTA (ATSC and NTSC until Feb2009) and record in dvr-ms. I tried recording in mpg but had problems with video/audio synchronization so I switched back to dvr-ms. I am using YApi2XML (Yahoo API) for EPG.

Have fun,
Robert

[imagn]

Thanks rob,

One quick question, how are you getting epg data for over the air ATSC channels, are you just compiling taking them from the analog source and then remmaping

Thanks

[rob11252]

Thanks rob,

One quick question, how are you getting epg data for over the air ATSC channels, are you just compiling taking them from the analog source and then remmaping

Thanks

Yes, that's what I did. I used listings from Comcast Southeast-Detroit, because Yahoo doesn't give OTA listings and remapped to analog channel numbers in my region. But then I found out that Public Television (PBS) has diffrent schedule for HD and SD. So I decided to also utilize NTSC side of 1600.
So now I have this:
From Yahoo API I picked Comcast Southeast-Detroit Digital which lists the HD and SD channels separately (for example ABC-SD is 7-WXYZ and ABC-HD is 231-WXYZDT). YApi2XML has Channel Remapper, so I list ABC-HD as Ch7 and ABC-SD as channel 107 in my guide. This way my guide is twice as long but I can schedule additional recordings from analog channels if there is time conflict. I have to resolve conflicts manually, but I can live with that for another 10 months. Plus, Yahoo gives EPG for 2 weaks, so there is plenty of time to look for conflicts.