Plextor ConvertX PX-TV402U and WinDVR 5 - DivX Templates Q..

[Guest]

Archived from groups: rec.video.desktop (More info?)

I have the Plextor ConvertX PVR model PX-TV402U and use the WinDVR 5
program that comes with it to record TV programs in both DivX and VCD.
I have
two problems.

1.) WinDVR 5 splits the VCD files after about 600 MB but I want one
file for about 640 or 680 MB so I can record about 70 to 78 min's in
one file not splitted. The WinDVR 5 software will not let me edit this
split size. Does anyone know of a patch for this or can tell me a way
to edit it. This is a real problem for me in the file splitting after
600 MB. This is only for VCD. DivX's splits at 2000 MB and DVD splits
at 4000 MB and that's not a problem.

2.) The portable setting for DivX has two settings Med and Hi Quality.
The medium setting has a video size of 352 X 240 which is TV size 4:3
(save as VCD) but the HQ setting has a video size of 640 X 480 which
is square not 4:3. How can I change the size to 352 X 240 at this
setting or another standard 4:3 setting? I NEED to record all in
standard 4:3 size no matter what format (VCD/DIVX/DVD) or bit rate. I
need to maintain a standard TV aspect ratio.

I know about Plextor GoCap Capture Tool that can be setup for various
bit rates/video sizes but I need to schedule recordings so only WinDVR
5 works with this unit. Also for some reason the quality of recording
at low bit rate don't look as good as with WinDVR.

Why did they call the Intervideo software WinDVR 5 when the newest
version with more features is called WinDVR 3 and this software looks
more like the WinDVD recorder program by Intervideo instead of the
WinDVR 3 program?

Will WinDVR 3 from Intervideo's website work on this hardware
(PX-TV402U) or do they have patches/fixes/support for version 5?

I heard Intervideo charges $15 for an upgrade to the WinDVR 5 software
from a web posting but nothing about it on Intervideo's website.

It would be nice if people posted Tried and Tested Capture settings
that wook well using the Plextor GoCap Capture Tool at
http://www.plextor.com/english/support/M402GoCap.htm . What would be
the best settings for visual quality using bitrates in DivX of
Portable setting of 768 and Home Theatre setting of 2000.

You can change settings like:

Target Bitrate:
Sets the target bitrate to encode at. The higher the bitrate setting,
the higher quality the video will be and the larger the file size will
be. The actual bitrate of the file may not reach the target bitrate
depending on the content which is being captured.

Peak Bitrate:
Sets the peak bitrate to encode at. The peak bitrate is used to encode
high action scenes with lots of motion. The higher the peak bitrate,
the higher quality you will get for high action scenes in a video.

Sequence:
Sets the GOP structure (I only, IP, IBBP).

GOP:
Sets the size of the GOP.

I'm most interested in getting good quality results using the portable
DivX setting of 352 X 240 and a bitrate of 768. Once you get into
2000 and higher I would rather use MPEG-2 but I like the idea that you
can get good quality with a low bitrate to fit a large amount of video
(like 12 to 15 hours) on one DVD-R. If I have to go to higher bitrates
to get good quality I would rather go with MPEG-2 because it can play
on any DVD player instead of just special DivX Players and computers.
So far I have better quality using
a bitrate of about 1500 using a NEW Panasonic that get 8 hours of DVD
video on one DVD-R. The 768 DivX so far is more blocky. (I speaking
about realtime capture and not 2 pass file conversion). I'm surprised
because DivX is made for low bitrates and MPEG-2 for high bitrates.

I'm thinking the Plextor ConvertX PX-TV402U must need it's settings
tweaked to get better quality. Right now I'm getting just below VCD
quality with the 768 DivX setting. I'm not looking for perfect quality
but when you have quick motion I would like to know what's moving on
my TV screen instead of large blocks and a blurry image.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: rec.video.desktop (More info?)

I have received NO postings or emails on this unit. I have tested it
for several weeks and did not like what I seen. The portable DivX
profile 352X240 768bps does not look like the same profile used
with software to encode from DVD. I know DVD is better resolution
than TV but the TV signal is very clear and I tried it with non-copy
protected DVD's. The Plextor DivX encoder just can't match software
encoders like Dr. DivX. The video shows blocky video in fast moving
clips and changing from clip to clip. It is watchable but it looks very
bad. Not DVD or even VHS quality as some people say. It would take
more time but it's better to use a regular mpeg encoder and convert
with
software to DivX to Get better quality. I was surprise because I
thought
a hardware encoder would give better results that a software encoder.

I like software by intervideo like WinDVR BUT they have the software
crippled for this bundled hardware/software package. It comes with
WinDVR 5 that looks more like WinDVD that WinDVR 3 that's on the
official website. You are stuck with some profiles they give you for
DivX/DVD and does not support MP3 audio without paying a upgrade
fee. Even then you can't change setting in the profiles like video size
(352X240/720X480/ETC), video splite size, bitrate, etc. Your forced
to use the profiles they give you. Also if you schedule to record
a TV show, you can only create or delete. You can't go back and
modify what you already made. If you want to later pick another
record profile or change the time, you have to delete the old one
and make a new one. If you want to check to make sure you selected
the profile you wanted, you can't recheck what settings you made except
for a list of the record event that shows some but not all info. It
shows
what you called the schedule and date/time you set to record but not
record profile/channel?/etc.

What do you think about this product. I believe it need the software
uncrippled and changes to the DivX hardware settings to give better
results.

Did anyone hack this product like people did with the Dazzle DVC II
hardware MPEG encoder? People made better software with better
settings for that product because of bad support from Dazzle. I found
the people at Plextor not much help except to say, you can't change
those settings, sorry product does not do that, etc.

Also the MPEG-4 video files made with this will not play on
DVD player that play MPEG-4 files like JVC, etc. They used
a MPEG standard of their own that plays only on computers.

I would not recommend this product to anyone unless they fix
these issues. It may be useful to people that don't care about
quality of recorded video. I found to get good pitcure quality
you have to record at bitrates the same as DVD and your better
just getting a DVD encoder. Even 2 Mbps at home theatre quality
in DivX gives quality of a low bitrate DVD.

Fox in The Hat Productions wrote:
> I have the Plextor ConvertX PVR model PX-TV402U and use the WinDVR 5
> program that comes with it to record TV programs in both DivX and
VCD.
> I have
> two problems.
>
> 1.) WinDVR 5 splits the VCD files after about 600 MB but I want one
> file for about 640 or 680 MB so I can record about 70 to 78 min's in
> one file not splitted. The WinDVR 5 software will not let me edit
this
> split size. Does anyone know of a patch for this or can tell me a way
> to edit it. This is a real problem for me in the file splitting after
> 600 MB. This is only for VCD. DivX's splits at 2000 MB and DVD splits
> at 4000 MB and that's not a problem.
>
> 2.) The portable setting for DivX has two settings Med and Hi
Quality.
> The medium setting has a video size of 352 X 240 which is TV size 4:3
> (save as VCD) but the HQ setting has a video size of 640 X 480 which
> is square not 4:3. How can I change the size to 352 X 240 at this
> setting or another standard 4:3 setting? I NEED to record all in
> standard 4:3 size no matter what format (VCD/DIVX/DVD) or bit rate. I
> need to maintain a standard TV aspect ratio.
>
> I know about Plextor GoCap Capture Tool that can be setup for various
> bit rates/video sizes but I need to schedule recordings so only
WinDVR
> 5 works with this unit. Also for some reason the quality of recording
> at low bit rate don't look as good as with WinDVR.
>
> Why did they call the Intervideo software WinDVR 5 when the newest
> version with more features is called WinDVR 3 and this software looks
> more like the WinDVD recorder program by Intervideo instead of the
> WinDVR 3 program?
>
> Will WinDVR 3 from Intervideo's website work on this hardware
> (PX-TV402U) or do they have patches/fixes/support for version 5?
>
> I heard Intervideo charges $15 for an upgrade to the WinDVR 5
software
> from a web posting but nothing about it on Intervideo's website.
>
> It would be nice if people posted Tried and Tested Capture settings
> that wook well using the Plextor GoCap Capture Tool at
> http://www.plextor.com/english/support/M402GoCap.htm . What would be
> the best settings for visual quality using bitrates in DivX of
> Portable setting of 768 and Home Theatre setting of 2000.
>
> You can change settings like:
>
> Target Bitrate:
> Sets the target bitrate to encode at. The higher the bitrate setting,
> the higher quality the video will be and the larger the file size
will
> be. The actual bitrate of the file may not reach the target bitrate
> depending on the content which is being captured.
>
> Peak Bitrate:
> Sets the peak bitrate to encode at. The peak bitrate is used to
encode
> high action scenes with lots of motion. The higher the peak bitrate,
> the higher quality you will get for high action scenes in a video.
>
> Sequence:
> Sets the GOP structure (I only, IP, IBBP).
>
> GOP:
> Sets the size of the GOP.
>
> I'm most interested in getting good quality results using the
portable
> DivX setting of 352 X 240 and a bitrate of 768. Once you get into
> 2000 and higher I would rather use MPEG-2 but I like the idea that
you
> can get good quality with a low bitrate to fit a large amount of
video
> (like 12 to 15 hours) on one DVD-R. If I have to go to higher
bitrates
> to get good quality I would rather go with MPEG-2 because it can play
> on any DVD player instead of just special DivX Players and computers.
> So far I have better quality using
> a bitrate of about 1500 using a NEW Panasonic that get 8 hours of DVD
> video on one DVD-R. The 768 DivX so far is more blocky. (I speaking
> about realtime capture and not 2 pass file conversion). I'm surprised
> because DivX is made for low bitrates and MPEG-2 for high bitrates.
>
> I'm thinking the Plextor ConvertX PX-TV402U must need it's settings
> tweaked to get better quality. Right now I'm getting just below VCD
> quality with the 768 DivX setting. I'm not looking for perfect
quality
> but when you have quick motion I would like to know what's moving on
> my TV screen instead of large blocks and a blurry image.