I record HD material from Dish and Voom downrezzed via the S-Video inputs on my E85 and though the picture quality while viewing is not that big of a difference, during pause or slomo there is quite a difference in PQ. I normally use SP mode though as I record tons of movies and burn them off to DVD.
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E85 -- What does XP give you over SP
Maybe it's my middle-aged eyes, but I can't really see much of a difference between a program recorded in XP mode vs. SP mode. Now to be specific, I don't have cable or satellite, I get my reception OTH out of Philly. And I'm talking about content recorded to the E-85 HDD in XP mode and viewed from the HDD (VBR = Fixed).
So, what is XP supposed to give me. Correct me if I'm wrong but the resolution in XP is the same as SP (704x480). So is it just a higher bit-rate that doubles the size of the file. The picture in SP mode already looks like the original viewed from the E85 tuner. Am I supposed to see something noticeably better. Or perhaps the higher bit-rate of XP would show an advantage for fast motion content like football or NASCAR.
I would like to hear your comments, experiences and opinions.
So, what is XP supposed to give me. Correct me if I'm wrong but the resolution in XP is the same as SP (704x480). So is it just a higher bit-rate that doubles the size of the file. The picture in SP mode already looks like the original viewed from the E85 tuner. Am I supposed to see something noticeably better. Or perhaps the higher bit-rate of XP would show an advantage for fast motion content like football or NASCAR.
I would like to hear your comments, experiences and opinions.
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I've noticed the same thing about better picture quality/resolution when pausing. I record animated programs like South Park and The Simpsons, which often have background jokes, at XP so I can better see small text when I pause the image.
BTW, does anyone know the point between 1:00 and 2:00 where flexible recording switches resolution?
BTW, does anyone know the point between 1:00 and 2:00 where flexible recording switches resolution?
You can get up to 2:20 in SP mode so I would assume around 1:10. I would think it matters how well the image compresses.
Marissadad,
Let me understand this. If I record a program to the hard drive that is up to 2:20, does that mean I can dub it at high speed to the DVD in SP mode. I was thinking I had to record anything over 2:00 in FR mode to be able to dub at high speed.
Let me understand this. If I record a program to the hard drive that is up to 2:20, does that mean I can dub it at high speed to the DVD in SP mode. I was thinking I had to record anything over 2:00 in FR mode to be able to dub at high speed.
You can get about 2:09 to 2:10 at SP on a high speed dub.
tbill1 is right, but the E85 will hang onto SP doing a FR dub to about 2:20 before dropping to LP.
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And from jpurkey:
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So how does pausing (or slow-mo) in SP mode on DVD compare with pausing an SP recording on VHS?
(When I pause commercial DVD's, which of course are in SP mode [that is, they have 2+ hours of content], they look perfect. Why shouldn't home-recorded DVD's in SP mode look the same when paused?)
| Originally posted by Marissadad: I record HD material from Dish and Voom downrezzed via the S-Video inputs on my E85 and though the picture quality while viewing is not that big of a difference, during pause or slomo there is quite a difference in PQ. |
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| I've noticed the same thing about better picture quality/resolution when pausing. I record animated programs like South Park and The Simpsons, which often have background jokes, at XP so I can better see small text when I pause the image. |
(When I pause commercial DVD's, which of course are in SP mode [that is, they have 2+ hours of content], they look perfect. Why shouldn't home-recorded DVD's in SP mode look the same when paused?)
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Much better, in my experience. There will be more visible artifacts (blocking) when you pause an SP DVD than an XP DVD, but it still beats pausing a tape.
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There's a big difference between the equipment used to produce commercial DVDs and your $500 DVD recorder.
Your DVD recorder has to do real-time MPEG-2 encoding. Video for commercial DVDs can be encoded much slower, using more expensive and better methods. It can also be tweaked manually by compressionists, if needed. It all adds up to much better results.
| Originally posted by Captain Shirk So how does pausing (or slow-mo) in SP mode on DVD compare with pausing an SP recording on VHS? |
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| (When I pause commercial DVD's, which of course are in SP mode [that is, they have 2+ hours of content], they look perfect. Why shouldn't home-recorded DVD's in SP mode look the same when paused?) |
Your DVD recorder has to do real-time MPEG-2 encoding. Video for commercial DVDs can be encoded much slower, using more expensive and better methods. It can also be tweaked manually by compressionists, if needed. It all adds up to much better results.
Ah, I see. Interesting. Thanks for the info. 
Also commercial DVDs usually are DVD9 type and not DVD5 (as are DVD-R/+R single layer).
DVD9 type means dual layer = double capacity of DVD5 (single layer).
That means that a commercial DVD with two hours should sustain a average bit rate similar to XP mode and not SP mode.
Hope that helps
DVD9 type means dual layer = double capacity of DVD5 (single layer).
That means that a commercial DVD with two hours should sustain a average bit rate similar to XP mode and not SP mode.
Hope that helps
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I think it depends on whether still and slow mode on the player is in fields or frames. If it is frames, then you do get the same resolution when pausing as you do during playback. However, you may also get flickering if the two fields are different. The difference/flickering doesn't seem to happen on regular DVDs, but it can on recorded programs which are often 60 fields per second (2 different fields per frame), rather than 30 or 24 frames per second.
Anyway, I would rather have lower resolution when pausing XP, SP or LP recordings instead of the flickering so I have the still-mode setting at automatic and let the recorder chose the appropriate setting for the recording mode and media.
| Originally posted by Captain Shirk And from jpurkey:So how does pausing (or slow-mo) in SP mode on DVD compare with pausing an SP recording on VHS? (When I pause commercial DVD's, which of course are in SP mode [that is, they have 2+ hours of content], they look perfect. Why shouldn't home-recorded DVD's in SP mode look the same when paused?) |
I think it depends on whether still and slow mode on the player is in fields or frames. If it is frames, then you do get the same resolution when pausing as you do during playback. However, you may also get flickering if the two fields are different. The difference/flickering doesn't seem to happen on regular DVDs, but it can on recorded programs which are often 60 fields per second (2 different fields per frame), rather than 30 or 24 frames per second.
Anyway, I would rather have lower resolution when pausing XP, SP or LP recordings instead of the flickering so I have the still-mode setting at automatic and let the recorder chose the appropriate setting for the recording mode and media.
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