The Settings Tab provides various options. Some of the settings are used by the DVBViewer Recorder as default, without a possibility to change them. The Videorecorder Plugin allows to switch them on and off, in case you suspect that they cause playback- or rework-problems (e.g. with DVD authoring).
Please note: If you want changes
on this tab to „survive“ closing and re-launching
DVBViewer, they have to be saved by clicking Save Settings.
General Settings | Memory/Disk Settings | MPG Settings
Filename scheme: This input line allows to preset a filename
scheme. There are four variables (%e, %s, %d, %t) that serve as
placeholders for the event (resp. title), the station, date and
time. Everything else is inserted unchanged.
The following exemplary filename scheme adds 2005 to the date and yields to a filename like „BBC World_BBC News 2005-04-29“.
%s_%e 2005-%d
The availabe placeholder are displayed as tooltip when the mouse cursor moves over the input line. The default filename scheme consists of the channel's name, date and time. Adding the title by inserting %e will only work reliably with DVBViewer Pro 3.2.1 resp. DVBViewer GE 1.5 (or later), and requires the presence of EPG data for the channel.
Write
Log File: Lets the Videorecorder Plugin write a log file for
each recording. It contains the EPG data for the broadcast, if
available (except for multi channel TS files), reports stream errors
and (except for TS files) video/audio format changes, like 4:3 to
16:9, stereo to mono, Dolby Digital 2/0 to 5/1 etc, which may cause
rework problems. The log file is written to the same folder and
carries the same name as the recorded file.
Write PID info file for TS: This option lets the
Videorecorder Plugin additionally create a text file when recording
as TS, that contains the program elements, their Packet Identifiers
(PIDs) and the names of the channels that are recorded, for
reviewing the content later. Furthermore the log file enables the
TSPlayer to display channel names instead of service numbers. An
alternative way to inform the TSPlayer about the channel names is
including the SDT in the TS file (Service Description Table, an
element of the General Section of the Channels
Tab).
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Minimum
Free Disk Space: If the free disk space falls below this value
(in MB), the Videorecorder Plugin stops recording.
Please note: It has to be
considered that Windows doesn't count every single byte. The free
disk space reported by Windows may be updated only every 8 MB during
an ongoing recording. Thus setting the value to 10 MB may let the
Videorecorder Plugin actually stop at 2 MB remaining space. With a
value less than 10 MB the automatic stop may fail.
Maximum buffer size: Determines how many MBs of your
computer's memory are allocated at most as data buffer when
recording. If you set it to 0 MB, no buffering takes place (except
the buffering provided by Windows). It is recommendable to use
buffering, however, since it avoids recording errors in case of a
temporary heavy processor or hard disk usage, especially when using
other programs while recording in the background.
Don't be afraid to provide 8 MB or even more, just for security. The Videorecorder Plugin starts with 2 MB as default, which is sufficient in most cases, and only allocates more memory dynamically if it is necessary.
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Set
First Video Header to Average Bit Rate: If this option is
switched on, the Videorecorder replaces the bitrate in the first
video header of MPG files by a calculated average value, after the
recording is done, thus helping media players to determine the
correct length of the video.
The original bit rate value, which is inserted by the TV stations, is sometimes much too high, so that media players are likely to calculate a wrong length, preventing accurate searching. Therefore it is recommendable to keep this option switched on. The DVBViewer always patches the first video header in this way.
Write
AC3 Substream Headers: Lets the Videorecorder write AC3 (Dolby
Digital Audio) data in the same way as they are stored on DVDs. If
switched off, the DVD-like substream headers are left out.
Usually it is recommendable to keep this option switched on (the DVBViewer always writes the substream headers in case of MPG recordings with AC3 audio), since DVD authoring software or certain DirectShow filters want it this way (e.g. the Elecard Demultiplexer). However, other software may only accept the AC3 audio stream or play it properly if the substream headers are not present.
The three Packet Size Options allow to select different packet sizes for MPG files.
Though DVB (Digital Video Broadcasting) and DVD are both subsets of the MPEG2 standard, there are some significant differences, which may cause trouble when using software for playback or rework, that relies on DVD-like files. One of the differences is the size of the data packets. DVDs consistently contain packets with a size of 2048 bytes. DVB packets are mostly much larger.That's why stand-alone DVD players and even software DVD players like WinDVD sometimes refuse to play DVB-like MPG files. You can try to adapt to different circumstances by choosing one of the following options:
Unchanged:
Records the MPEG2 packets „as they come“. Creates the
smallest file size, but WinDVD doesn't play it. For recording HDTV
(High Definition TV) it may be necessary to tick this option. Some
players resp. DirectShow filters can not cope with HDTV data in
small packets.
Max.
2048 Bytes: Splits the packets into smaller packets with a
maximum size of 2048 bytes. Some of the resulting packets may
contain less. Increases the file size a bit (since there are more
headers), but less than 1%. Should be preferred - WinDVD plays it
happily.
Always
2048 Bytes: Strictly DVD compliant size. Smaller, left over
chunks of data are padded with stuffing bytes, that enlarge the file
size considerably (about 10%). Should only be used for DVD players
that won't do their job without it.
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