Significant file size difference on HD movies, same movie yet 1/3rd the size...

[tigershere]

I saw that the prestige was under 3+ gig and so was another recent recording of an HD movie
Then I look and see that the 30 min Californication I had yet to watch was about the same size of a two + hour movie.
So I go wtf and decide to record a few movies I already had 'saved' on USB storage. Walk the Line I got just a few weeks ago and it was around 9 gig stored on the ext HD

It was on today so I recorded it and when done I went to back it up and it's just over 3 gig. I mean I can't see any visual difference so I deleted the 9 gig one and am backing up the 3 gig. This is a rather huge difference.

So, it seems Starz has much smaller file sizes than HBO and all are mpeg 4 right ?

I know I have a 500 gig backup drive but 9 gig vs 3 gig is more than just a slight difference. It means three times the movies I can store.

I just don't get it that a 30 min show and a 2.5 hr movie being the same size and both HD. Bitrate that much higher or just wtf is going on as it seems such a waste of bandwidth and thus storage.

 

[mdonnelly]

HBO is still MPEG-2 on Dish.

 

[bigdaddy10]

Yes....HBO is still mpeg 2. I noticed large differences as well but not as big as yours. I would even go to say that the mpeg 4 recordings look better. I use to always save my network recordings as OTA but the size difference may force me to record the mpeg 4 feed because I can archive so much more on to a hard drive.

 

[tigershere]

Thanks, I thought all were swapped over. Showtime also is on mpeg 2 I assume.
Superman returns i think was around 11 gig.

I would take the quality over the size but my TV is 34 inches and not one of these monsters that do show a lower res or bitrate

again, thanks as that explains a lot

Now I need the OTA as my SD locals here just suck. They have bars in then and ghosts and just really poor PQ. I was ok with my distant locals as they were pretty good PQ but now I guess I would need to 'move' and since I am pointing at 61.5 I am not sure how I 'move' to NY without a friend in that area that will me uh, stay with them
Right now I download my favorite TV shows and play them through my xbox 360 to my TV as at least I get a very good SD widescreen version of my shows.

 

[dfergie]

HBO, SHO and the HDNets are still mpeg2 at 1440 x 1080i ... today I deleted the Cowboy Way recorded off of HBO 9440 - 1980x1080i a few weeks ago it showed around 10 gigs...

 

[dfergie]

Mr and Mrs Smith from 9440 = 13.3 gigs...2 hour program...