Question About Recording Formats

[LewE]

I am about to switch from Analog Cable Service to Verizon FIOS. I will end up using my capture cards to record the local shows on FIOS via Clear QAM.

I will use a Verizon DVR to record the cable channels that are not the local broadcast stations. These recordings will be completely independent from GBPVR.

I still have one analog capture tuner that I may eventually use to record from an SD set top box that will be near the PC. That will create mpg format files, if I understand correctly.

I have many existing programs in mpg format previously recorded by GBPVR.

Now, for the difficult part. I have one HD television set and will use a Popcornhour A100 to interface with that set. I will use MediaMVPs to interface with two other Standard Definition sets.

I want to be able to view programs recorded from Clear QAM on both the HD set and the SD sets. As far as I understand, the Popcornhour can play back the file format recorded from ClearQAM but the MediaMVPs need the files to be transcoded before they can play them back.

Is it possible to transcode the files in post recording processing (I currently have Comskip processing done at this point) and then have the Popcornhour use the original file format and the MediaMVPs use the converted format? If this is so, how do I configure GBPVR to do this?

[JonnyCam]

I don't think you can do that. How fast is your server? maybe you could transcode to the MVP on the fly? (might not be the best for A/V sync - some of the experienced users might be able to tell you that)

The only other way (I can think of, and not a good way)gets rid of the convenience of using the GBPVR front end on the PCH - you could transcode to a SD file for MVP use, then use the native PCH player / browser to view the files in your recording share and play the TS file (as long as you set the transcode to not remove the original file)

[LewE]

I don't think you can do that. How fast is your server? maybe you could transcode to the MVP on the fly? (might not be the best for A/V sync - some of the experienced users might be able to tell you that)

I have a quad core processor so I am not concerned about the processing load for transcoding. I think transcoding on the fly for playback would not be a good approach because I think I would lose the ability to skip forward. I already do transcoding on the fly when playing back AVI files from movies I have that were not recorded by GBPVR.

The only other way (I can think of, and not a good way)gets rid of the convenience of using the GBPVR front end on the PCH - you could transcode to a SD file for MVP use, then use the native PCH player / browser to view the files in your recording share and play the TS file (as long as you set the transcode to not remove the original file)

I may have not understood what you are suggesting here. I don't have a GBPVR "front end". I have the GBPVR server and use the MediaMVPs and Popcornhour as front ends to stream to/from the GBPVR server.

I would like to be able to still use plug-ins like TV Listings and TV Recordings transparently like I do now with all SD recordings. I think what you are suggesting means that I would have to use another mechanism to browse my GBPVR disk to point at the recording that I want to play back.


I know I could solve this problem by replacing the two MediaMVPs with Popcornhours but that would cost over $400 so it is out of the question.

[Sheik Yerbouti]

I know I could solve this problem by replacing the two MediaMVPs with Popcornhours but that would cost over $400 so it is out of the question.

I don't know how much you're willing to spend on this, but I just bought an Egreat M34A for 99 Euro's in the Netherlands. Most of the time this means it should be available in the US for $ 99, so it would be half the costs you mentioned. But I haven't checked out if you indeed can get it for that price.

Chris

[LewE]

I don't know how much you're willing to spend on this, but I just bought an Egreat M34A for 99 Euro's in the Netherlands. Most of the time this means it should be available in the US for $ 99, so it would be half the costs you mentioned. Chris

My preference would be to not have to buy more hardware. I have some other expenses coming up.

Is the M34A fully compatible with GBPVR like the MediaMVP and Popcornhour units are?

[Sheik Yerbouti]

My preference would be to not have to buy more hardware. I have some other expenses coming up.

Is the M34A fully compatible with GBPVR like the MediaMVP and Popcornhour units are?

Yes.

[mvallevand]

A plugin writer could do this and probably even use the same comskip file, but except for remuxed SD broadcasts outside of North America, transcoding lip sync leaves a lot to be desired, at least as a general rule. I can't beat Sheik Yerbouti's price but you can get two for < $300 probably a small percentage of what you have spend on your HTPC getting ready for digital. I spend over $200 a month just for Internet, cell and cable, the digital world is expensive

Martin

[LewE]

I can't beat Sheik Yerbouti's price but you can get two for < $300 probably a small percentage of what you have spend on your HTPC getting ready for digital.

What costs are you talking about to get my PC ready for digital?

My PC I use for genral use and for GBPVR services has a quad core processor and 4GB RAM. It has a terabyte disk dedicated for storing GBPVR recordings with about 60% of it free space right now. I have capture cards that can handle SD and QAM. As far as I can tell, I have the parts necessary to handle digital recordings, at least for output to the HD TV (via the Popcornhour A100). I am just trying to find a clean way to be able to output all recordings (analoig and digital) to the sets with MediaMVPs.

In the end, adding new hardware (Popcornhours or Egreats) may be what I have to do to give the maximum flexibility I am trying to attain.

I feel like the time leading up to 1/1/2000 with companies trying to anticipate any problems before the Y2K crossover. Of course, after 1/1/2000 it became apparent where, if any, there were problems. I am just trying to anticipate and plan for maximum flexibility. My FIOS installation will be on Wednesday so I will then be able to see what can and can not be done. Of course, my first priority will be to get the tuner cards to use Clear QAM (for recording my local channels).

[mvallevand]

I meant did you have that PC when you first bought your MVP? Have you upgraded capture cards?. What about your TV?

Martin

[LewE]

I meant did you have that PC when you first bought your MVP? Have you upgraded capture cards?. What about your TV?

Martin

I use my PC for normal everyday PC use as well as GBPVR. I find that GBPVR puts almost no load on the PC and the MediaMVPs stream recorded programs without putting any load on the PC.

I have Hauppauge 1600 and 2250 capture cards. This gives me a single tuner that can only capture analog signals, a signal tuner that can only capture QAM and two tuners that can capture either analog or QAM. My main TV is a Samsung 42" Plasma and two other sets are old SD sets. All output is done via the mediaMVPs or Popcornhour.

There is no CPU processing load during playback.

One reason I like GBPVR s that I don't need to have a dedicated PC to act as a server.

I don't need any hardware upgrades for the transition to FIOS from basic analog cable. I will only need additional hardware if I need to replace the mediaMVPs to display programs that were recorded from QAM. If I can have it do transcoding on the fly during playback of QAM-recorded programs then that may be what I have to live with. If this happens, then the quad core processor in the PC will let me do that without crippling the PC.