HDTV SD recording time

[curtishd]

Tell me this: if I have the 622 set to 1080i output and say I record a show in hd it uses more space on the hard drive. Now say I record a SD show but the 622 is set to output at 1080i will it record it in hd or SD, basically do I have to change the output (1080i to 480i) if I want to record a SD show in order to conserve hard disk space?
Also, how is the remaining space shown on the 622? I ave a 625 and it shows how much time I have left but that wouldn't;t necessarily apply in the 622's case because you could record SD or HD and the time remaining would be different.

 

[Jim5506]

It matters not what your output is set to, the 622 records the digital stream as it comes from the satellite/antenna.

All decryption and screen formatting is done on the playback side.

 

[RobertsD]

If the show is in SD, it records in SD, thus taking up no more space then it should.

With the 942(I assume the 622 is the same) when you are in the DVR screen, it shows the remaining time for both HD, and SD.

FYI, one hour of HD programming uses the equivilent hard drive space of about 7 hours of SD programming.

 

[garys]

Very true. 1080i is set for output only. SD programs can be viewed at 1080i and true HD can be viewed in sd. Output does not change the amount of space used on the hard drive.

 

[jrfuda]

Speaking of which, Dish was a little conservative in their "time remaining" estimates. For example.

Empty, the 622 says 30 hours HD and 200 houes SD.

I recorded 90 minutes of HD and had 28 hours 38 minutes of HD remaining.

I should have used 5% of my total capacity, but only used 4.55%. Over time, that may net me 2 hours 42 minutes of extra time.

Then again, it was SNL I recorded (from OTA), and it probably was low bitrate. If it were an action movie or something with lots of movement, it might have used 1 hours 45 minutes of space for 90 minutes of HD.

I bet, though, that the bitrate is higher on the OTA broacasts than it is on the Sat HD channels, so we likely still have a bit more than 30 hours worth of HD available.

It's always better to promise less and deliver more.

 

[Jim5506]

I have not checked the file size for HD programming, but OTA SD a 1 hour show occupies about 2-2.5 GB harddrive space, where as a satellite 1 hour show is in the neighborhood of 1.2-15 GB. This was recording a digital SD program via composite output and a satellite program via composite output on a TiVo.

 

[scottrell]

If the show is in SD, it records in SD, thus taking up no more space then it should.

With the 942(I assume the 622 is the same) when you are in the DVR screen, it shows the remaining time for both HD, and SD.

FYI, one hour of HD programming uses the equivilent hard drive space of about 7 hours of SD programming.

More accurately, if the CHANNEL is SD, then the recording takes less space. ESPN-HD broadcasts a lot of SD, and it takes up the same recording time as a real HD program of theirs.

You may find that different channels use HDD space at different rates, based on the bitrate you get on reception. I would guess that OTA digital takes the most space since you should be getting the full stream, less from sat-HD due to compression/resolution shenanigans, and the least from sd sat channels.

If the show I'm recording is not HD, I make sure I record it from the version simulcast on the SD channel.

-sc

 

[Bill R]

Some "interesting" information (given to me by a DISH tech): The ViP622 has a 350 GB drive. 250 GBs are available to the user for recording HD and/or SD programs. All the rest is for the OS, Dish on demand, and "other" items (EPG data?).