HD Home Run Questions

[mike1961]

I just set up the HD Home Run on Sage but I do have a few questions.

First, I'm wondering if I can set the recording quality/speed or because it is high definition that it just sets it's own format?

Also, what is the extension for the HD file it uses - I just got this and I was not sure if it just uses one extension?

Finally, can someone elaborate on the GUIDE instructions. It talked about going to the Zapit site and matching the channels? I was confused by this because it found a lot of stations but sometimes all I would see is something like KABC with no channel number at all and other times it would have both the name and number. But, I didn't understand what I needed to do at Zapit for matching them in my location. I don't get that part because it seemed that the channel number did not matter and only the name did like KABC so I'm not sure what I need to compare it with or to at Zapit.

Thanks,
Mike

[stanger89]

Originally Posted by mike1961

I just set up the HD Home Run on Sage but I do have a few questions.

First, I'm wondering if I can set the recording quality/speed or because it is high definition that it just sets it's own format?

It just captures the raw bitstream, quality settings don't apply.

Also, what is the extension for the HD file it uses - I just got this and I was not sure if it just uses one extension?

Sage records in the MPEG-2 Program Stream (.mpg) format.

Finally, can someone elaborate on the GUIDE instructions. It talked about going to the Zapit site and matching the channels?

In general, you shouldn't have to do anything. Though it depends on your provider. For OTA, Sage should already have all the stations you can receive. For cable they should have them too. The looking up channels on the Z2I website is just for when channels you get aren't in the lineup you selected.

[parkimar]

Hi,

It records .mpg files.

With regards the recording quality - I think (others may know better here) , that it uses the broadcast quality.

I can't help on the guide setup - on mine all are filled, but if you can match the name to a Zap2it channel - just put the number from there into the channel number in the hdhomerun setup.

Cheers

Mark

[Brent94Z]

With my HDHR, I picked up 43 channels when connecting it to Digital cable. About 15 of these were "unknown". About 10 of them had the .1 after the channel and the rest were completely wrong. The Zap2it site allows you to try and match up what is playing with what is in the guide. As a backup, I also tuned my cablebox to the channel I thought it was to make sure it was right

I also made sure that the channel NAME was exactly as it was in the Zap2it guide. Supposedly you aren't required to do this but since I had it all up, I didn't want to take any chances so made them match.

[PiX64]

try this to get the channels, and then use zap2it to get the apprpriate info to merge your guides...

http://www.silicondust.com/support/channels/

[mike1961]

Brent - that is what is confusing to me. Suppose the channel name is KABC and there is no channel number then how can I know what it is if there is no match at zapit? But then the instructions also say the channel number does not matter. So what if there is a channel number but the wrong channel name then how can I get the channel name from zapit. It just seems a little twisted and confusing to me but maybe most of it is correct. When I did the scan in the HDHR software it had a lot of channel names and not all of them had numbers so I'm thinking maybe Sage will get the numbers anyways when it does its scan but I'm not positive.

By the way, does anyone know what the resolution is for the HD with the HDHR? It seemed to be around 500+ by 300+ or so but I thought HD was much higher.

Thanks,
Mike

[Brent94Z]

Originally Posted by mike1961

Brent - that is what is confusing to me. Suppose the channel name is KABC and there is no channel number then how can I know what it is if there is no match at zapit? But then the instructions also say the channel number does not matter. So what if there is a channel number but the wrong channel name then how can I get the channel name from zapit. It just seems a little twisted and confusing to me but maybe most of it is correct. When I did the scan in the HDHR software it had a lot of channel names and not all of them had numbers so I'm thinking maybe Sage will get the numbers anyways when it does its scan but I'm not positive.

Yes, I had some of that too. Here is what I would do (and I did!) in your case... if there is no channel number for KABC then on the Zap2it webpage, search for "KABC". Also use the "view" button so you can watch the channel at the same time. If you get a couple hits, look at what is listed as being on in the guide but just to make sure look at the rest of the hits as well. I might have gotten say two hits... KABCSD and maybe a KABCHD. If you are watching Jerry Springer in HD in your viewing window then look at the lineup and chances are the KABCSD is the SD version and the KABCHD is the HD version. Now you've positively identified which channel it is so put the channel number that shows up on the Zap2it website in the channel number for the HDHR setup and then type over the "KABC" in the HDHR setup with "KABCHD" so it matches the Zap2it guide.

For things that you can't really figure out, see if there is a logo on the screen and then search for that logo on the Zap2it guide. Or, search for the show you are viewing if you know it. It is also best if you have a cablebox to tune to that channel to make sure what you are seeing on the HDHR is the same as the cablebox... then you know for certain you have it right (so long as you don't mess up the SD and HD channels!).

It took me well over an hour I'd say to get mine figured out.

[PiX64]

if you use that link i sent, it will tell you the resolution of the particular station. up at th etop of the page once you put in your zip it will show OTA, and then you can select digital cable at the top. the HDHR will do up to 1080i full HD...

itll give you OTA digital broadcast, and <cableCO> Digital QAM cable channels.

[mike1961]

I'm wondering what would you say the average space each show takes up per hour? How many gigs per hour would you say it takes. I realize it depends on what the resolution is but I'm wondering what it ranges from in gigs per hour.

Thanks,
Mike

[m1abrams]

Originally Posted by mike1961

By the way, does anyone know what the resolution is for the HD with the HDHR? It seemed to be around 500+ by 300+ or so but I thought HD was much higher.

Thanks,
Mike

The HDHR captures the raw bitstream so the rez is whatever is sent. So 1080i if broadcast 1080i or 720p, however it may even be 480i if the station is broadcast SD digitally which is very possible.

[PiX64]

it def ranges, but avg OTA HD from my experience has been about 7 GB an hour.

[crusing]

Use the HD Homerun Setup Tool. Make sure that the "Guide Name" field matches what is on the Zap2it website exactly for your TV Source. You can verify the mapping by using the view button to view the channel. Once you have these 100% correct for your guide listing SageTV will map them correctly and your issues should go away. Being that have already run the setup you may want to delete the channels in SageTV before running the setup again.

[mike1961]

When trying to identify the stations how do I know whether to use the HD station or the SD station on the Zapit guide? When I play the station from the HD Home Run it plays the show but the problem is the guide is identical for the SD and HD station so I don't know what to match it to. In the initial HD Home Run scan for example it maps one station to KCET and the channel is blank but it could also be changed to KCETDT which appears to have the same lineup in the guide. Does it matter or do I have to wait to find two different stations on the guide that might be different for the two.

Thanks,
Mike

[crusing]

On my setup the SD and HD stations do have separate guide data. It is important to map the correct one. Most of my HD stations end in DT as in your example. I have learned that you can't trust what the HD Homerun downloads. You need to do your best to map them to the Zap2it guide. Hope that helps.

[mike1961]

More Confusion - in addition to my above post I have a question. I looked at the ZapIt website and as an example for my area it has KNBCDT2 as channel 4.2 but Sage has it as 404 which is correct as it is 404 for my cable box. If I go to ZapIt then I can see channel 404 but I'm not understanding why the HDHR software does not grab this from ZapIt and use 404 for the channel number instead of say channel 4.2?

Mike

[mike1961]

If there's an SD and HD in the guide then how can I identify which station it is?

Thanks,
Mike

[Fuzzy]

I'll assume you are using QAM from your cable feed here? This is always more complicated, because the information that is provided over the QAM feed from the cable co is far from reliable. Honestly, if it's an option for you, I'd recommend going with OTA. Los Angeles market OTA is usually VERY easy to obtain, since all the towers are in the same place (Mt. Wilson). Since the cable co's no longer really provide anything more than the locals in the clear via QAM, there's no real advantage to QAM either.

OTA, on the other hand, has all the information needed for sage to properly identify the channel, and map it to the proper zap2it guide data... and that information doesn't change arbitrarily from time to time, like the cable lineup is likely to do.

EDIT: Oh yeah, and the quality will be better with an antenna as well. CableCo's recompress the locals to be able to fit more channels in their stream.

[mike1961]

So with the OTA am I correct that I need an antenna on the roof and I have to hook up a cable and bring it inside? Approximately how many stations will I get from Mt. Wilson if I can get it at all?

One other thing though - since the cable co recompress it would seem that although the signal would not be as good, I would get more hours in the same amount of space. For me it is kind of a compromise as I would like to get as many hours as possible. You see - my family does not know there is a delete button and they just never want to erase anything. Honestly speaking, with 2 TB hard drives these days and you can stack them to easily get 6 TB or a lot more it's just amazing compared to DVRs and other solutions.

Thanks,
Mike

[Fuzzy]

If you want, you could PM me your address (or approximate) and I could help you figure out what you'd expect to get. Depending on where you are, you may be able to get awway with an antenna in the attic. As for what stations are available, it will most likely be everything you are getting in the clearQAM. As for the family using the delete key, if you get things set up right, sage will take care of that for you. I know we don't often manually delete much.

[mike1961]

I think I now have everything working but one thing is very strange. It's only recording about 1 GB per hour. My understanding is that it is supposed to be in HD and record as much as 7 from the prior posts. Since it's just a stream is there any reason why it could be less? I did notice a quality setting in the sage properties for the HD Home Run but I"m assuming that is ignored. I don't understand how it could only average around a gig an hour for two shows I checked. I have Time Warner.

Any thoughts?

Thanks,
Mike