[mythtv-users] Tutorial on Encoding (mostly re: file sizes)

[Niels Dybdahl]

> 
> I am pretty sure that I will encode at 640x480 but don't know about any
> other settings or how they will affect file size. For a normal 1-hour show
> (most of our favorites are this long), what kind of file sizes am I 
> looking
> at? This will affect the size of the hard disk I buy for the storage.


I doubt that you can see the difference between a 720x480 pixel and a 
480x480 pixel recording, so I would recommed go down to 480x480 pixels. That 
saves 25% of the data.
If you want to export to DVD you might however consider 720x480 pixels and 
keep the recordings in MPEG2.
Also if you want to use the output of a PVR-350 you should keep the 
recordings in MPEG2. In all other cases you can let MythTV transcode to 
MPEG4.

The encoding rate is very much up your personal taste. If your signal is bad 
you need a higher data rate. I usually record 480x576 pixels (PAL) at
4.5Mbits/s in MPEG2 and transcode it to
1.4 Mbits/s in MPEG4. On some channels I can see the artifacts, on others I 
can't (except in special situations like fast scrolling text).
Shows that I want on DVD are recorded at 720x576 pixels at 4.5 Mbits/s in 
MPEG2.
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