Record tv shows in ppc format/size?

nosrac · 12-04-05, 10:18 AM

I'm trying to find a program/application that will record tv shows on my pc and automatically shrink them down to ppc format. I have a Sony Vaio that has the Gigapocket TV tuner. I could not find any settings that will allow me to change the size/format for use on my axim. I have tried recording a show and then using pocket dvd and dvd to pocket pc to shrink the program down to ppc size/format, however this process takes too long. If there was a site to download these shows like itunes for example, I'd be interested as well.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Ed

12-04-05, 06:01 PM

I use showshifter, which is a HTPC application that controlls your tvtuner & can record on the fly divx, & I record in divx Mobile 640x480 resolution, makes about 250Mb for 1 hours, which is OK quality for both viewing on the pc & my x50v with no additional conversions neccessary.
( unless it's a top movie or a Music documetary, then I set to higher quality for obvious reasons :-) )

nosrac · 12-05-05, 12:05 AM

Thanks for the responding. I downloaded the program and will toy with it tomorrow after work. Do you use the Showguide? After reading the FAQ's, it looks to be a bit complicated to get it to work in the US. I guess I'll find out more tomorrow. Thanks again!

Ed

12-05-05, 09:12 PM

there is actually a few HTPC apps out that do similar things, but I liked showshifter for a couple of reasons:
a. has divx on fly encoding built in ( divx pro is pay extra)
b. supports almost ALL wmd tv tuner's
c. excelent support
d. showguide imports xmltv really easy, and if that fails, the free version of webshifter integrates with showshifter ( which I use if the xml data is corrupt, webshifter works)
e. works well for me in australia.

some of the apps that come with the tv tuners can do mpg/wmv encoding on the fly for reasonable compression, but I'm not sure how well mpg or wmv plays on a ppc. PLUS there are more apps out there that can edit/cut/splice divx avi files than any other program.

Oh also if you use divx/xvid avi files, get virtualdubmod, the fastest and easiest divx/xvid avi editor around ( I use it to cut out advertising & join episodes together) :-)

I now haveto find a way to store all my DVDR's

good luck. :approve:

madgrap · 12-05-05, 09:37 PM

I use Beyond TV 4 to record TV. It has a built in feature called ShowSqueeze, which enables you to shrink shows to put on your PPC. It will do it automatically, if you want, or you can select specific recorded shows to shrink. You'll have to mess around with it to get a balance of quality versus size of the files, but you can go with WMV's or Divx. It is a really cool all around program. Another cool thing is that you can program it to record from anywhere you can get an internet connection. So, if I can find a hotspot with my x51v, I can program my computer at home to record "The Office". Check it out at snapstream.com.

nosrac · 12-05-05, 11:24 PM

I had about 30-45 min to work w/ Showshifter aftoer work. I didn't get it to work unfortunately. I really didn't have time to troubleshoot. I was hoping I could at least get it to get the TV feed off of my tuner card....no luck..yet. Question: If I have a prgram (Gigapocket, that came w/ the PC) that records/captures TV, do you think I need to uninstall this in order for Showshfter/Beyond TV to work properly?

I did go to snapstream and checked out Beyond TV as well. I may try that tomorrow and see how it goes.

Thanks Stevodude and Madgrap!
Ed

nosrac · 12-06-05, 04:12 PM

I decided to try out Beyond TV before I started to mess w/ Showshifter. Beyond TV worked w/ no problems at all. It was almost idiot proof. A couple of questions for madgrap. How big are your files say for 30 min and 60 min of divx video? Mine come out to be around 200 mb for a 30 min show. I'd like to see if I could get is samller. I'm experimenting w/ the settings now. I also love being able to control this while away from the pc via the web. This program is awesom....so far-so good!

Thanks,
Ed

madgrap · 12-06-05, 07:08 PM

nosrac, that sounds about right for the Divx files, although I haven't messed around with custom settings for the Divx conversion. I have a 62 minute file that is 415MB on my x51v right now. However, I did mess around with the WMV settings, created my own custom setting and I have an hour episode of CSI that is 178MB. I haven't watched it all the way through yet, but the first minutes look very good. I'll be watching it tomorrow morning, so I'll report back the quality and if it's good, I'll give you the specs on the custom setting (i.e. fps, bitrate, etc.). You guys should also check out the Beyond TV Link if you happen to have a laptop on a wireless network, other than the computer you installed Beyond TV 4 on. It lets you watch live TV on the laptop, without having a TV tuner or connected to anything! You can also stream recorded shows to the laptop too....very cool!

nosrac · 12-11-05, 06:49 AM

www.mytvtogo.com
Not sure if you know of this site or not, but I found it while browsing through snapstream's forums. It looks interesting. It works in WMV format. I'm at work now....but it'll be the first thing I try when I get home.

Also, regarding the size/quality of showsqueeze video, I'm finding anything under 290 mb isn't worth watching.