[mythtv-users] DirecTV H21 via S-Video

jedi jedi at mishnet.org
Fri Aug 1 13:35:23 UTC 2008


On Thu, Jul 31, 2008 at 08:55:23PM -0700, Brad DerManouelian wrote:
> On Jul 31, 2008, at 8:39 PM, jmk wrote:
>
>> Hi,
>>
>> I’ve finally gotten around to replacing my oldest DirecTV receiver  
>> with a H21 and upgrading my dish for HDTV. I’ve reread some of the  
>> discussions about leveraging the receiver’s anamorphic output to  
>> maximize the quality of the S-Video signal. Unfortunately, I don’t  
>> think I fully get it yet. I’m hoping someone can help me tweak my  
>> setup...
>>
>> Current relevant MythTV environment: (2) IVTV cards, 1080p 16:9 LCD,  
>> DirecTV D11, DirecTV H21
>>
>> H21 Setup:
>> - Within the H21, I have an option to specify either 4:3 or 16:9 and  
>> the format (stretch, pillar, crop). IIRC, I read 4:3 and stretch were 
>> the recommended pair.
>
> Set it to 16:9.
>
>> - The H21 has a “native” mode which auto-adjusts the resolution. I’m  
>> assuming this should just be disabled.
>
> Leave it enabled.
>
>> - I’m allowed to tell the device what resolutions my TV supports (e.g. 
>> 480i/p, 720p, 1080i). If my TV supports them all, any reason to not 
>> have them all selected? Since S-Video is limited to 480, I’m assuming 
>> it doesn’t matter.
>
> Make sure they are all enabled.
>
> Basically, let it think it's going to output to a high-def TV, but then 
> connect the S-video connector and it will scale down correctly for that 
> output.
>
>> Myth Setup:
>> - Under the Recording Profiles settings (Default, Live, etc.), I’m  
>> able to set aspect ratio and resolution for the ivtv cards. I’m  
>> assuming this should be 16:9, but I’m not sure on the resolution. It’s 
>> currently at the default (640x480). I’m guessing I can create two 
>> different sets of profiles, one for 16:9 content and the other for 4:3. 
>> This would require me to pick the right one when I set a program to 
>> record, correct?
>
> I think I bumped mine up to 720x480 since that's the max of s-video, but 
> I think 640x480 is just fine.

So how well do you think that fares over an old SD unit?

On my old unit I have some very agressive PVR150 settings and
I still see pretty crappy signal on most channels. I suspect
it's DirecTV overcompressing things. I have DVD content recorded
at and transcoded to similar bitrates that's dramatically better.

So I suspect my broadcast source of being (well) crappy.

For most stuff I am perfectly content with a clean 720x480 or even
640x480 but I really don't think that's what DirecTV is sending.

[deletia]


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