[mythtv-users] Bitrate questions (tuning/quality/standards)

Steve Smith st3v3.sm1th at gmail.com
Wed Jan 9 12:30:23 UTC 2008


On 08/01/2008, Scott Traurig <straurig at comcast.net> wrote:
>
>
> Message: 21
> Date: Tue, 8 Jan 2008 15:08:50 +0000
> From: "Steve Smith" <st3v3.sm1th at gmail.com>
>
> On 08/01/2008, Scott Traurig <straurig at comcast.net> wrote:
> > Environment: Comcast Moto DCT2224 STB inputting to PVR150 via NTSC
> > composite, Nvidia outputting to Sony 32" NTSC CRT monitor via composite.
> > Myth 0.21.
> >
> > Top of the list is fixing video quality. The quality of set-up is
> nowhere
> > near that achieved with the Pioneer unit. Detail is substantially
> lacking
> > and motion artifact is severe. I turned off de-interlacing since it has
> no
> > meaning in my setup and this helped a little. More importantly I simply
> > doubled the default live TV bit rate settings from 4.5 avg/6 peak to 9
> > avg/12 peak (I left the default 720 x 480 resolution alone). This helped
> a
> > lot but is things are still not as sharp as the Pioneer and a lot of
> > motion
> > artifact is still evident on scenes that have a lot of change.
> >
> > Don't be blaming it on the rest of the setup: I literally plugged the
> myth
> > box in where the Pioneer used to be, same video cables and all.
> >
> > So...
> >
> > a) I don't care about disk space. What bit rate should I run?
> > b) Is this bit rate a "standard"? Shouldn't it be?
> > c) Or am I well and truly screwed, i.e. am I limited by the intrinsic
> > quality of the available codecs, PVR and Nvidia hardware regardless of
> > what
> > bit rate I run?
> >
> > Thanks,
> >
> > Scott
> >
> >
> > Scott,
> >
> > I'm afraid my friend you are limited by the intrinsic poor quality of
> the
> > TV-OUT available on most video cards including Nvidias.
> >
> > If you only have a PVR-150 as your input you could try adding a PVR-350
> card
> > and using the TV-OUT of that. The quality is much better, probably more
> what
> > you're used to. If you were in Europe I'd suggest using the RGB/Scart
> input
> > on your TV which will put your Panasonic to shame, but alas....
> >
> > (Another option is to use a Hauppauge Media MVP if you don't mind the
> less
> > rich interface. This also has great output)
> >
> > Cheers
> >
> > Steve
> >
>
> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
>
> Steve,
>
> Thanks for breaking it to me gently :-)
>
> Tell, me: if I break down and buy myself a nice plasma or LCD TV with a
> VGA
> input all my problems will be solved? In other words the video input and
> encoding circuitry are up to snuff, but the composite output of the Nvidia
> is second rate?
>
> While I await your reply I am planning on going home tonight and plugging
> in
> a 19" VGA monitor I have to see what that looks like. However, I suspect
> that even going VGA will not fix the motion artifacts? What's up with
> that?
>
> Finally, I'm still looking for an answer on what the next highest
> "standard"
> bit rate settings are over and above the 4500/6000 default.
>
> Thanks,
>
> Scott
>
> P.S. Brad--I've still got my Pioneer DVR (a model 520). No, you can't have
> it :-) You *can* get grey market ones off of ebay for about the same price
> as a myth setup.
>
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>

Sorry forgot to answer your question.

The answer is.... yes the picture will be much clearer using the VGA output
(or any output other than TV-OUT) such as you could use with an LCD screen.

However, you'd be MUCH cheaper trying a PVR-350 card from ebay. Before I
went the SCART/RGB route I tried a PVR-350 and it was indeed very good, I
even made a small profit when I sold it again on ebay.

Or maybe you can try RGB? What inputs does your TV have?

Cheers

Steve
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