Disk space requirements

[retireoncsco]

I am just about to build a SageTV server, but can't find anywhere the disk requirements for recording space?

I will be hooking it up to a DirectTV two tuner system.

Thanks

[ke6guj]

There isn't a disk requirement per say. It depends on how much recording space you want to give Sage access to. It will use up to the limits you specify.

Depending on the recording quality level you want, you could use a recording quality setting from <1gig/hr. to >3gig/hr. I use a 2gig/hr setting and that looks fine on my 27" SDTV. Others may tell you that anything less than 3gigs is junk, but to each their own.

Depending on your viewing habits, you may be able to get away with a 40GB drive, or you may need significantly more. I originally set up my system with a 250GB recording drive but over time had added additional drives. I'm now up to a 1.3TB RAID array, but that stores my sage recording and a ton of DVD rips I have saved.

You are planning on using 2 separate tuners, not a direcTivo tuner? The 2 internal tuners in a direcTivo can't be simultaniously accessed by a Sage server.

[Humanzee]

The more disk space you have the more likely you are to realize that you don't really need to be watching all that TV. I have 750 gigs for video storage and I fill it up, then I realize I don't really watch show x y and z anymore because after you skip the commercials and watch 10 episodes back to back they all start to seem the same and become predictable. I watch less tv now then I ever have in my life. But my time spend in front of the tube is better spent than ever before too.

Its, kind of funny, since I dont really watch regular tv anymore so I have to make a point to record the news and shows like Ebert and Roper so that I know what is going on in the world and what movies are coming out etc.

Welcome to the forum, If you treat your HTPC like a hobby you'll have a lot of fun.

As a newbe some stuff to look into in no particular order:

64k clusters.
Automatic scheduled defragmentation (I use diskeeper)
Unofficial secret features (5309)
Commercial advance plugin (I use showanalyzer for detection)
Look through customizations forum. Lots of neat stuff.
version upgrade procedures (backing up certain files wiz.bin etc.)

[blade]

Originally Posted by ke6guj

Depending on the recording quality level you want, you could use a recording quality setting from <1gig/hr. to >3gig/hr. I use a 2gig/hr setting and that looks fine on my 27" SDTV. Others may tell you that anything less than 3gigs is junk, but to each their own.

I use a capture rate of 3.2gb/hr anything less and I see compression artifacts. I'm using a 57" HDTV. If you're using a smaller SDTV then of course a lower rate may work fine.

Whether or not you're using a SDTV or a HDTV and it's size is going to make a difference when you're choosing your capture rate. Of course in the end it comes down to personal preference.

[Menehune]

I'm using DVD-standard play (3.2GB/hr?) and I rarely use more than 130GB on my recording drive. I remove the commercials and archive the shows onto the other 370GB+ storage space on my system. I'm running around 75% full in the drives that I store my imported videos.

An 130GB HD is probably a good "starter" drive. Depending upon the record quality and number of shows being recorded each day, you will probably need to erase the watched videos each week.

[ben_95sl1]

I watch on a 96" Projection Screen, and I find only a small difference between extra long play and dvd standard play in most instances, hence I use extra long play as default. If I could tell with my 27" SDTV, I think my face would have to be physically touching the tube. This is due to the source: there's much more compression in my satellite feed then imparted by my pvr card. My friend with digital cable has similar issues with his 54" RPTV: At first he claimed it was the recording quality, but when we looked at the live source, it really is quite crappy compared to what he "remembered". So it's difficult to say what bitrate you'll use, and how much you'll record, but 80GB would be a reasonable start. I use about 160GB now and it works very well for our viewing habits.