[mythtv-users] HDPVR HD Recordings are in 4:3 format

[Joe Henley]

> A long time ago, on a cable system far far away, on an OS that
> is no longer supported.... (so nothing that follows may apply,
> but perhaps it does). 
gary.buhrmaster [at] gmail

> Indeed, you should *definitely* configure your STB to output only a
> single resolution if that option is available to you. Let the STB do
> upscaling if needed, and avoid the headaches that can occur with the
> HD-PVR if a resolution change occurs unexpectedly.
>
> Devin 

So I went back and dug into the mythtv and system logs.  I had two cases 
where I had, for a show series, both a normal HD resolution (1920x1080) 
episode recording and a reduced HD resolution (720x480) episode 
recording.  In both cases, mediainfo confirmed the AVC versus NTSC 
formatting which I was seeing on-screen.  However, also in both cases, 
there was NO discernible difference in the log entries.  There was no 
hint of any problems (problem being an HD 1920x1080 episode getting 
recorded at 720x480).

Next I used ffmpeg to look at the very first few seconds (frame by 
frame) of each recording -- I was looking for a commercial or ending 
show broadcast in 720x480.  That's from the tip Gary_Buhrmaster gave 
(posted above).  I didn't find any.  In retrospect, it's possible 
(likely??) that the frames analyzed (by the HD-PVR/driver) to set the 
resolution are not recorded.  Anybody know the answer to that one?

So now I'm going to try to set my set-top-box to "fixed at 1080i." I 
think it must be set at auto, or whatever the setting is to just push 
along whatever it receives.  Otherwise I probably wouldn't be having 
this problem at all.  Once done and left to run for awhile, I'll post 
back here with my results.

Thanks folks for your help!

Joe Henley