[mythtv-users] Transcoding and other questions

[Joe Henley]

I've read all the Docs, FAQs, and mail lists I can find.  Due, I
suspect, to MythTV's "in development" status, the issues and topics
discussed seem to be mostly bugs and work-arounds.  My questions are
more "general" and "use" oriented.

My MythTV box has a Hauppauge 350 PVR for capture, etc. and a Matrox 400 
video card (which is NOT used for TVout).

I will be using MythTV mostly as a "super VCR;" ie., it'll be used to
time shift.  It's very unlikely I'll save any programs for more than a
week or so.

(1)  Should I be using transcoding?  If so, what will be the savings 
from the approximate 2 Gig / per hour I get now?  Are there any 
advantages other than reduced file size?  Does it really take about ten 
hours to transcode a one hour TV show (my MythTV box has a 2.26 GHz 
Pentium)?

(2)  How can I have the commercials flagged and removed automatically? 
Can this be done without the full transcoding process?  I want to select
programs from the Program Guide, then go back later to find them 
recorded and the commercials gone.  Is this possible?

(3)  What is XvMC MPEG Decoding?  Do I need it?  It appears as a Matrox 
user, not NVidia, that I don't need it.  But I'm not sure.

(4)  How can I go directly to the Program Guide (the time vs program 
matrix) without going thru the menu which includes Program Guide, Enable 
Browse Mode, Previous Channel, .....?  If I change channels on it, ie., 
move to a different show and press OK, it goes to that show.  If I 
decide to stay where I was and press OK  while on the currently playing 
program, it goes to black.  I can only make it work by pressing esc a 
couple of times.  How can I make this work better?

Thanks for any and all answers!

Joe Henley