Record DTV in non-HD Format?

**CowboyDren** · 12-09-2007 05:45 AM

I was watching Next Great Band through the digital tuner on my TV, admiring the 1080i widescreen goodness, and thinking about how my 625 was currently recording the same program in SD format via an overly-compressed feed that was several seconds older than what I was watching.

Then I started thinking about bandwidth and storage capacity and how I really don't care about the 1080i bit as much as I care about the aspect ratio. I'd probably like it just as much in digital 480i as long as it was 16:9 with at least stereo sound. Honestly, 4:3 would probably be okay, but the 625 makes everything look like crap on my 37" LCD. I've seen inexpensive DVRs at Wal-Mart with full ATSC tuners but only record in SD.

Can a 622/722 record an HD broadcast in a lower-quality format? Can it do so over a Sat or OTA feed? OR does the OTA DVR function as HD at all?

**EricBskiVT** · 12-09-2007 07:30 AM

A 622/722 will record in HD stations in HD format. I have used two different DVD recorders to record OTA HD with good results. The old Toshiba did not have an ATSC tuner, but my TV has composite out that I fed into the recorder. I got 480i in widescreen (correct aspect) that looked pretty good. Then I got a Panasonic recorded with digital tuner and it records HD OTA in 480i and widescreen. I set it to record at a lower resolution to DL DVD-RAM to increase capacity to 8 hours. It upconverts out HDMI and it looks good.

**CowboyDren** · 12-09-2007 08:06 AM

Good to know about the OTA tuner being full HD. But can the 622 record a DTV broadcast and not suck up all the internal DVR disk space of full HD recording?

**garys** · 12-09-2007 08:23 AM

Originally Posted by CowboyDren

Good to know about the OTA tuner being full HD. But can the 622 record a DTV broadcast and not suck up all the internal DVR disk space of full HD recording?

Dish supplied HD is in mpeg4 but the software reading the time amount left is not. If you record an mpeg4 HD program only 1/3 amount of space is used as opposed to mpeg2. In other words, an 1 and 1/2 hour program uses just over 30 minutes. OTA is close to mpeg2 and uses more space than mpeg4. Of course to use even less space, you can record the sd version (if there is one). If you need more space you can also add an external hard drive.

Changing the output resolution does not change the amount of space used.

**tnsprin** · 12-09-2007 10:14 AM

Originally Posted by garys

Dish supplied HD is in mpeg4 but the software reading the time amount left is not. If you record an mpeg4 HD program only 1/3 amount of space is used as opposed to mpeg2. In other words, an 1 and 1/2 hour program uses just over 30 minutes. OTA is close to mpeg2 and uses more space than mpeg4. Of course to use even less space, you can record the sd version (if there is one). If you need more space you can also add an external hard drive.

Changing the output resolution does not change the amount of space used.

Not that good a ratio. It is estimated that a really good encode can get the same quality picture with mpeg4 in 1/2 the space of mpeg2. Such can probably be reached if a movie channel such as HBO does the encode in advance and Dish than just transfers that (note HBO has such a plan coming). But currently the "live" encoders are no where near that good.

As for the Dish DVR's, they do no conversion of the mpeg4/mpeg2/VC1 (vc1 possible on 722 only) signal and simply record them as broadcast.

**kb7oeb** · 12-09-2007 06:57 PM

You could use a dvd recorder with an ATSC tuner built in to get a 16:9 SD picture, you can feed it from the tv1 output if you want one of the dish hd channels

**Jim5506** · 12-09-2007 11:40 PM

I have a TiVo Series 2 stand alone connected to the my 211. It records HD material in widescreen 16X9 letterboxed.

Used to have it on my 622 but the outputs distort either the HD screen on TV1 output or the letterboxed SD.

You could use the DVD recorder connected S-video.

**kovach** · 12-10-2007 09:05 AM

I have an S-Video line run out of my 622 into my DVD recorder, records very good 480p picture quality in 16X9. About as close to HD as you're going to get.

**KKlare** · 12-11-2007 06:01 AM

It's too bad they did not provide an S-video signal on TV2 so you could record to DVD one thing while watching another. Of course, DVDs are not Dish's "responsibility."

It's also too bad that DVD recorders with component inputs are hard to find anywhere and HDMI inputs are not to be found at all. Maybe, when we have Blu-ray/HD-DVD recorders available and can afford the disks.

I end up recording 4x3 programs in S-video stretch and if I want to look, the TV will chop it back to unstretched on component/HDMI. It should then play properly on a standard TV, untested. Some recorders allow for this, IIRC.
-Ken

**CowboyDren** · 12-13-2007 01:30 PM

Originally Posted by garys

OTA is close to mpeg2 and uses more space than mpeg4. Of course to use even less space, you can record the sd version (if there is one). If you need more space you can also add an external hard drive.

Are you saying that an OTA recording could/would probably use more disk space than a recording from the Dish satellite?