[mythtv-users] Best HD transcoding setup & settings?

[Bryan Mayland]

John Overchuk wrote:
>> Should have mentioned that that was 1.6-1.9GB/hour after transcoding.
>>     
>
> Roughly how long does it take you to transcode a 1hr HD recording?  And on 
> what type of processor? 
>
>   
      Depends on the source resolution and frame rate.  Here is the 
transcoding frame rates for an Athlon X2 3800+ 512KB cache (only one 
core is really used by mythtranscode so you can actually run 2 transcode 
jobs without them slowing down noticeably)
Source 1080i at 30fps = ~10fps (33% speed, takes 3 hours per hour)
Source 720p at 60fps = ~24fps (40% speed, takes 2.5 hours per hour)

Using ffmpeg is about 20% faster with approximately the same options, 
but speed really isn't an issue considering the machine would just be 
idle anyway.  You can also speed it up by disabling high quality and 4mv 
in the transcode profile.  I luckily don't have any 1080i shows that I 
watch either.