Native DIVX Support

[Outvit]

I know I've asked this before but a very long time has passed and other software now seems to encode directly to DIVX files, i.e. BeyondTV. Now, I have no intention of ever switching to BeyondTV because I find the software cumbersome and not nearly as friendly as SageTV is, but I do want to see native DIVX support or a plug-in/add-on made by a user unofficially or officially SageTV, Inc. I would be happy if someone would tell me how to do a manual modification to my SageTV (I just upgraded to v4.1.3.67 yesterday) to add DIVX too.

I am just sick of having to do 2 GB an hour to get decent video quality when I see these 150 MB (30 minutes) and 300 MB (60 minutes) files on BitTorrent for extremely high quality video and I'm stuck with 2 GB (60 minutes). No, I don’t download these shows illegally. I record them on my own legitimately but I used the file sizes as a baseline comparison. This should not take a terrible amount of CPU power from what I heard in previous topics and I’d much rather SageTV do it in real time as I’m recording the show and sacrifice 5-15% of my CPU cycles than have to spend 90-120 minutes encoding the movie after the fact.

Anyone know of a way to enable this or manually add it through plug-ins? (Ideally it would just add it to the recording quality selection in detailed settings). There's got to be someone out there who has felt my pain but had the technical expertise to fix it rather than being religated to simply complaining it does not exist like myself.

Thank you ahead of time.

[gplasky]

BTV does not encode directly to Dvix. It uses Showsqueeze to do that after it is recorded in MPEG2. Sage can record directly to Dvix with the Plextor ConvertX. I think you'll find out most of those files you're looking at on BitTorrent were NOT recorded in Divix but CONVERTED TO Divix from the original format.

Gerry

[Juncti]

I know there isn't built in conversions so I tried some of the ways to compress that are listed on here and I was never able to achieve the same quality to size ratio.

Any ideas?

[Outvit]

Originally Posted by gplasky

BTV does not encode directly to Dvix. It uses Showsqueeze to do that after it is recorded in MPEG2. Sage can record directly to Dvix with the Plextor ConvertX. I think you'll find out most of those files you're looking at on BitTorrent were NOT recorded in Divix but CONVERTED TO Divix from the original format.

Gerry

Well I don't have the Plextor box and I much prefer internal solutions like my Hauppauge PVR500 MCE. I just wish there was a way to do it into DIVX in real time or approximately real time. I was unaware BeyondTV did it after the fact as it pretty much advertises real time.

[Opus4]

Towards the end of the List of available customizations are a couple links for recompression.

Also, please leave references to downloading copyrighted TV shows out of the forum. Thanks.

- Andy

[Outvit]

Originally Posted by Opus4

Towards the end of the List of available customizations are a couple links for recompression.

Also, please leave references to downloading copyrighted TV shows out of the forum. Thanks.

- Andy

Thanks. I'll read up on nielm's method of recompression without affecting its place in SageTV recording lists. But I'd still like this to be added to Sage. Or at the very least an API created for a common DIVX compression system like DIVX Pro.

[stanger89]

Originally Posted by Outvit

I just wish there was a way to do it into DIVX in real time or approximately real time.

It's a hardware, not a software limitation, the cards available, with the exception of the ConvertX, only record to MPEG-2.

[dvd_maniac]

I am just sick of having to do 2 GB an hour to get decent video quality when I see these 150 MB (30 minutes) and 300 MB (60 minutes) files on BitTorrent for extremely high quality video and I'm stuck with 2 GB (60 minutes). No, I don’t download these shows illegally.

Hmm, that's a pretty neat trick.... I wonder how you know the quality is decent if you do not download them?

Anyways. Give AutoGK a shot. http://www.autogk.me.uk/modules.php?name=Downloads It's very easy to use and will give you decent quality at 350/hr or 175/ half hour. You can also batch them up. Almost completely automated.
Everyday just add the files to batch queue and when finished delete the mpeg. There are threads here to help with keeping the info but I believe if you just delete the mpeg while Sage (& service) is shutdown then it will keep it.
If it recorded on the fly straight to divx then it would be a 1-pass encode. The quality at that filesize would TOTALLY STINK.

[mrc_jose]

http://www.fusionhdtv.co.kr/eng/Products/ATSC5Gold.aspx

And let us know how it works. I haven't got it working yet, but it says it can do everything you (and I) want it to do.

[mike1961]

DVD Maniac - I'm totally impressed with the AVC format where we are getting 2 hours in very high quality in under 500 megs. Now please see what happens to my screen when I install the Germsage at this thread...I'm not sure what to do.

http://forums.sagetv.com/forums/showthread.php?t=14904

By the way - I'm wondering ...If I encode my dvds, I'm thinking I should try the HDTV AVC and see how that is....but, when recording TV (if it's not digital, I'm thinking standard would be the best I could get since even at 5.9 gb/hour one can't get better than the NTSC at 480 lines).

Thanks,
Mike

[dvd_maniac]

Now please see what happens to my screen when I install the Germsage at this thread...I'm not sure what to do.

Try Opus' suggestion. He is Uber smart and is usually right.

By the way - I'm wondering ...If I encode my dvds, I'm thinking I should try the HDTV AVC and see how that is....but, when recording TV (if it's not digital, I'm thinking standard would be the best I could get since even at 5.9 gb/hour one can't get better than the NTSC at 480 lines).

I have over 1200+ movies, so HDTV AVC would be ALOT of space. I personally would not use it for every DVD conversion simply because a low-action movie like say The Breakfast Club, where it's more shots of them just talking, lighting is constant, no quick scene changes, colors are mostly bland etc... then using HDTV (IMHO) would result in a larger filesize with VERY little to no quality improvement. Plus the fact that it would take 2x as long to encode!
But to each his own.
Again, I would only use it for:
1. Movies I REALLY like
2. High Action
3. High graphic Sci-Fi
4. Everything Star Trek related
You can also use Cinema AVC, a good middle ground.

but, when recording TV (if it's not digital, I'm thinking standard would be the best I could get since even at 5.9 gb/hour one can't get better than the NTSC at 480 lines).

Definitely agree there. I use Standard AVC at 500kbps for most shows. Beautiful quality at 175MB per 44 minute show.
PS: Remember that you should take the commercials out before encoding. MP4 files are extremely difficult to edit without lossy re-encode!

[Outvit]

Originally Posted by stanger89

It's a hardware, not a software limitation, the cards available, with the exception of the ConvertX, only record to MPEG-2.

I understand that the ConvertX is the only hardware card on the SageTV website that offers native DIVX support, but I was asking about a software solution. There has to be a way, somewhere.

Originally Posted by dvd_maniac

Hmm, that's a pretty neat trick.... I wonder how you know the quality is decent if you do not download them?

Yes, it's quite a neat trick called knowing certain types of people, i.e. poor college students. Give this type of "person" a large pepperoni pizza and a 6-pack of their favorite beer and you can get some amazing things done. But as I said, nothing illegal. I was merely observing the fact that movies I've seen of others that downloaded them from various sources indeed looked crisper, more lively and generally better quality than some of my 2 GB /hour MPEG-2 files. All I wanted was a way to produce these files directly into DIVX as it records rather than transcoding at a later time.

Originally Posted by mrc_jose

http://www.fusionhdtv.co.kr/eng/Products/ATSC5Gold.aspx

And let us know how it works. I haven't got it working yet, but it says it can do everything you (and I) want it to do.

Does this work for standard definition TV? I'm absolutely refusing to get HDTV or even begin to make that leap until they can offer me more than 8 or 9 channels in true HD quality. I just don't see the point to be honest. So, if it can do SDTV and will work for future HDTV needs (1080i or 780p -- I hope I got those two right) then I might consider it for the DIVX support it has.

And has anyone had experience with the card?

[stanger89]

Originally Posted by Outvit

I understand that the ConvertX is the only hardware card on the SageTV website that offers native DIVX support, but I was asking about a software solution. There has to be a way, somewhere.

Not in SageTV, AFIAK Sage can't record to anything but MPEG-2 (even with software encoders) unless the hardware supports it.

I was merely observing the fact that movies I've seen of others that downloaded them from various sources indeed looked crisper, more lively and generally better quality than some of my 2 GB /hour MPEG-2 files. All I wanted was a way to produce these files directly into DIVX as it records rather than transcoding at a later time.

That kind of quality and file size just can't be done with single-pass encoding, ie realtime, direct to DivX encoding. You have to transcode to get it, period. It might even require some cleanup with AVIsynth scripts.

Does this work for standard definition TV?

Not well, no hardware encoder.

[RedR]

Heya,

Just wanted to ask about an automated/alternate solution other than AutoGK since it seems to only do AC3 audio. I want to have the option the "compress" via SageTV and I dont even mind if this is a manual selection. The problem I am running into is the mediaMVP's do not like AC3 audio. I've got a manual process that involves three different applications to convert a mpeg2 file w/ AC3 audio to mpeg2 w/ mp2 audio (thank you again stanger89). This process works perfectly, but it leaves me with mpeg2 not AVI. Any suggestions on how to retain the mp2 audio stream and covert these files to AVI?

Thank you,
RedR

[jimwhite]

Stanger, why so negative on software encoding?? FWIW, I use a PMS/Sweetspot card connected to my cablebox with 480i Component connection in Sage with software encoding, and when I record a movie off one of the HDTV channels I get an anamorphic 16:9 mpeg with full 720x480 resolution and it looks stunning.... I've tried Hauppauge 150/250, ATI Elite 500 Pro.... simply NO COMPARRISON!!! And I'm watching on a 61" screen, so believe me, I can see a BIG difference.... I bet even a single pass divx encode at high quality settings might even be better!

[Outvit]

Originally Posted by jimwhite

Stanger, why so negative on software encoding?? FWIW, I use a PMS/Sweetspot card connected to my cablebox with 480i Component connection in Sage with software encoding, and when I record a movie off one of the HDTV channels I get an anamorphic 16:9 mpeg with full 720x480 resolution and it looks stunning.... I've tried Hauppauge 150/250, ATI Elite 500 Pro.... simply NO COMPARRISON!!! And I'm watching on a 61" screen, so believe me, I can see a BIG difference.... I bet even a single pass divx encode at high quality settings might even be better!

Care to elaborate on the process? I found this Sweetspot card on Google but it seems associated with projectors, not what I need. Am I misunderstanding something here? This iswhat my Google search turned up. And from the prices in Euro I'm assuming it's meant for the European broadcasting system, not NTSC in North America. I was looking for DIVX encoding. I already have a PVR 500 MCE and thats my input card. I'm most interested in your mention of single pass DIVX encoding producing good files and under what settings so I can see for myself if I can get this setup.

Gah. I hate being confused with this stuff.

[stanger89]

Originally Posted by jimwhite

Stanger, why so negative on software encoding??

Because generally it does not work well.

If you don't have gliches, sync problems, instability, general unreliability, congrats, you're probably lucky.

How much CPU does it use?
Can you put another card in and record 2 things with soft encoding, or 3, or 4?

[korben_dallas]

Hi BossLady

I found a few things solved my issues with my ConvertX:

1. Disable timeshifting of divx recordings. Bummer, but it only affects divx recordings.. mpeg2 shows work fine playing & recording simultaneously. Not sure what the issue is here, but SageTV just doesn't behave well trying to record and play divx files simultaneously.
2. Delete all divx .mpg files that were recorded by the ConvertX when timeshifting divx flag was active. SageTV will try to transcode/process () these files from .mpg to .avi, but it doesn't work right.
3. Go to the divx codec control panel and max out all the processing/quality/manual/advanced settings. This will make a marked improvement during SageTV playback of divx shows.
4. Record in Best recording quality for important shows or shows you'd likely want to watch while recording. The ConvertX cannot record at a higer quality than best (limited by hardware). That said, with the Nvidia Purevideo mpeg2 decoder and vmr9 + hardware acceleration, shows recorded on the ConvertX at Best quality look really good.
5. For all other recordings, use the highest divx recording quality. It's not as good as Best (mpeg2), but it's pretty good and about 30% space savings.

I haven't upgraded to SageTV 4.x yet, so I don't know if any of these issues were addressed, but I have a feeling they were not because of the hardware limitations of the ConvertX. The ConvertX is not a bad little box, and the USB 2.0 connection pretty much ensures it will work on most any computer without worrying about internal space needs or case heat.

[TripleTapper]

I use a Plextor with the latest version of Sage and have timeshifting enabled and record only Divx and have run into no problems at all....(knock on wood)

[Outvit]

korben_dallas,

I don't use the Plextor ConvertX. I use the PVR-500MCE from Hauppauge.