[mythtv-users] Bitrate/quality on PVR-150

Brad DerManouelian myth at dermanouelian.com
Mon Aug 11 21:14:45 UTC 2008


On Aug 11, 2008, at 2:04 PM, Bobby Gill wrote:

> I'm just checking to be sure I am recording/watching at the highest  
> quality my card can do (I know it's not the sweetest one but  
> nevertheless hehe). I have a PVR-150 and under MPEG-2 encoders my  
> default is using an MPEG-2 PS stream and 6000 bitrate. Does a higher  
> bitrate = better quality (hd space not a concern) or is there a  
> number on the scale where it maxes out and me setting it any higher  
> is irrelevant? And is MPEG-2 PS the highest quality stream to set?

I notice an improvement when setting mine higher than 6000. I think I  
set mine around 8000. That being said...

Your source has a lot to do with what settings is appropriate. If you  
have a nice clean source (like s-video from an STB), the higher the  
better I think. If you are viewing over the air analog (for the next  
few months) then lower bitrates might actually help smooth out some of  
the static and improve the look of your video.

Also, quality is subjective to some degree. The best advice I can give  
is to bump it to the max, look at it, bring it down a bit, look at it  
again, and keep doing it until you find a place where you're  
comfortable saying, "This is the best quality I can get from this card/ 
source combo". It really only takes a few minutes.



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