DVR-MS files are HUGE and stuttering (1 Viewer)

[tedpoe]

Hi everyone and happy new year. I have an issue with recording using my Hauppauge PVR USB2 that doesn't occur when using Hauppauge's WinTV program, but it does occur in MediaPortal 0.1.3.

I recorded a sample of approx. 1 min. The dvr-ms file is 246MB (yep, MB) and, hovering over it in Windows Explorer, it shows 2 min 00 sec length, recorded at 64192 kbps. I've tried through the separate MediaPortal setup program and through the television wizard in MediaPortal to fix the capture rate at 6MB/sec, but it never seems to stick.

Playing this file with MediaPortal shows stuttering in the video and audio. Playing it inside GraphEdit with nominal filters shows no stuttering???

I did run the DRV2WMV Standalone program against this dvr-ms file
and got a 13MB, 1min 15sec file at 1776 kbps (vbr) that seemed to be OK.

There must be something wrong with the enormous size of the dvr-ms file; it translates into 11GB for 1 hour of recording. Can anyone give a clue as to what I should check? I haven't seen any report like this in the forum. Basic info below.

Thanks,
Ted



Area: Media Portal Program
MediaPortal Version: 0.1.3.0 (2005-07-16)
MediaPortal Skin: BlueTwo
Windows Version: Windows XP (SP2)
.NET CLR Version: 2.0.50727
DirectX Version: 4.09.00.0904 (9.0c)
Audio Codec: MPEG/AC3/DTS/LPCM Audio Decoder
Video Codec: Mpeg2Dec Filter
CPU Type: Intel Pentium 4 - 3.00GHz
Memory: 1 GB
Motherboard: 'P4SD-LA' (ASUSTeK Computer INC.)
TV Card Model: Hauppauge PVR USB2
TV Card Type: -
TV Card Driver: 2.2.73.23053
Video Card Model: Nvidia Geforce FX 5200 (128 MB)
Video Card Driver: -
Video Card Resolution: 1280x1024
Video Render Type: Overlay
Audio Card Model: Realtek AC'97 Audio
Audio Card Driver: -
Synopsis:: -

 

[jawbroken]

Somewhere in the order of 10GB/hour for high definition mpeg2 recording sounds about right. If you aren't capturing a high definition channel, however, then it should be somewhere around 2-3GB/hour.

The stuttering sounds like a codec issue. Do you get the same graph built in MediaPortal as you do when you play it inside graphedit?

Have you tried VMR9 as your Video render type? Off the top of my head, I think your graphics card is compatible.

 

[talos]

Have you checked under the 'Quality' tab of your TV Card properties in the setup program?

 

[tedpoe]

Yep. I've tried changing quality via the Quality tab, setting it to Medium. I've also tried changing the default bitrate via the actual Hauppauge control panel via WinTV. Nothing seems to have worked to fix the dvr-ms file issue. Since I only have one hard drive for both Windows and recording, I might set aside the issue of the stuttering until I can dedicate a new hard drive for recording only.

I keep seeing a recording rate of 10GB/hr and it's only analog TV; the time length reported regarding the dvr-ms file is still 50% - 100% greater than the duration of the recording session.

BTW, like a duh, I just thought of attaching to the remote graphs using GraphEdit while recording. My filter sequence for the recording is:

(Hauppauge WinTV PVR USB2 TvTuner + Hauppauge WinTV PVR USB2 TvAudio) ->
Hauppauge WinTV PVR USB2 Crossbar =>
Hauppauge WinTV PVR USB2 Encoder ->
MPEG2 Demultiplexer

The Demultiplexer then feeds video to the MPEG2 Video Analyzer. Audio from the Demultiplexer and output from the MPEG2 Video Analyzer then feed an SBE SINK.

Meanwhile, the other remote graph for the display is:

live.tv ->
(MPEG/AC3/DTS/LPCM Audio Decoder + Mpeg2Dec Filter) ->
(Video Mixing Renderer + Default DirectSound Device)

The live TV looks good and stable, pausing only when I begin or end recording (via the 'Record Now' button, Manual Stop); the recording to dvr-ms is still a mess.

Can anyone with a WinTV USB2 verify the graphs?

Thanks for the help so far!

 

[talos]

I believe there is a bug in the Quality tab where actually changing to a different default doesn't work, but you can actaully change the bitrate value itself and that does work. Anyway, I'm afraid I can't confirm the graphs as I don't share your hardware.