[mythtv-users] Slow, slow, slow transcode

[Brad DerManouelian]

On Dec 3, 2006, at 6:33 PM, Pete Cap wrote:

> I transcoded a video today using FFMPEG--took around 3 hours for a  
> 2-hour video and the quality was just awful.  So I tried again  
> using transcode and DivX, same properties.  I guess I should have  
> read up on multi-pass transcoding before trying, but I just noticed  
> it entered the "final pass" after 6 hours of processing...it has  
> another 7 to go.
>
> So, I have maybe 20 shows I want to transcode so as to free up some  
> space.
>
> Is there ANY way to speed up this process?  The computer is not  
> great--is a 2.4ghz Celeron with 2 gigs of RAM--maybe getting a  
> beefier processor?  More RAM?  ANYTHING?

Transcoding is a VERY processor-intensive task. Faster processor  
means faster processing time. 2GB RAM is plenty. If you're planning  
on transcoding a lot, the fastest processor you can afford is the one  
to get. Also note that you don't need to transcode on the same  
machine that you record. If you have a faster machine somewhere else  
on your network you can always pass the job off to that box. MythTV  
is even quite capable of doing this for you with very little  
headache. (I recommend at least 100BaseT between the machines, also.  
you don't want to throw video files around a wireless connection.)

Of course, you can save yourself some money and time and get a big  
cheap hard drive. Less money than a new processor and don't transcode  
anything so you don't eat up all your CPU cycles. Sometimes it's best  
to tackle the real problem than trying to fix the work-around.