[corrected by Yaobing on 1-21-03]
These will still change, but for now....
Media Center 9.0 can pause live TV playback just like a TiVo.
It can also record shows by scheduling it using Media Scheduler, or choosing "Start Recording..." from the "TV Recording" menu.
The default settings will work for most people, but if you have trouble, try changing the video settings.
TIME SHIFTING
You can pause and resume live TV by pressing ctrl-P. You can fast forward and rewind with ctrl-right arrow and ctrl-left arrow.
All settings are currently accessed by running TV, then right clicking on the TV display screen.
Choose TV Options/Configure TV to access TV configuration. There are four tabs to choose from. For Time Shifting and Recording, choose the Recording tab.
The top portion of the "Recording" page allows you to choose a folder for saving recorded video. This will also be the folder where temporary recording files are saved. The default folder is:
"<The Drive with the Most Free Space>\Video" folder.
Choose a different folder if the default does not suit you.
The bottom portion of the "Recording" page allows you to choose a recording profile. There are four preset profiles, which are not editable. but you may select Add and add your customized profile.
The four presets are:
"640X240 JRiver Codec Timeshift, WMV Recording, 29.97"
"640X240 JRiver Codec 29.97fps"
"640X480 JRiver Codec 29.97fps"
"320X240 JRiver Codec 29.97fps"
The first one (the default) is best for most ATI ALL-IN-WONDER users with a fast computer. For Time Shifting it captures 640X240 video size, compressed with JRiver Video codec. For recording to file, it uses WMV format at 640X480, 2000kbps. Audio is recorded in 44100/16/stereo PCM.
The second preset is similar to the first except it does not use WMV format for recording. Video is recorded in AVI format, using the same parameters as in Time Shifting. The third and forth presets are similar to the second, except for the video size.
The color space format of recording and time shifting defaults to UYVY if your TV card supports it, or YUY2. If your card supports neither, then it will default to whatever your capture driver gives you. Normally you do not need to worry about it. But if you need to change it, you need to go to "Advanced Properties" tab and double-click "Video Capture Pin ...".
If you are having problems time-shifting or recording, you may need to try different profiles and choose one that works the best. If your computer is not fast enough, try using a profile with lower video size. Some TV cards are not capable of recording at high video sizes while at the same time displaying the video on screen. If that is the case, you must choose a lower size (such as 320X240) or allow recording to be done without monitoring it.
You can create customized profiles by selecting Add. You will be guided through several simple steps, the first one being to choose a name for the profile. You can start building your custom profile by basing it on one of the presets, or another existing custom profile. To do so, simply choose an existing profile, and then click Add button. The settings of the existing profile are copied, and you can make changes in each step (if you keep clicking the Next button without making any actual changes, you end up with a duplicate profile named "Copy of ... ").
A custom profile can also be deleted or edited by using the Delete and Edit buttons.
TV RECORDING
This option allows you to record an entire show. There are two ways of recording - through Media Scheduler, or recording instantly while you are watching. It is assumed that you are not watching it at the same time when recording via Media Scheduler.
You can record in either AVI or WMV format depending on which profile you have selected.
The setup described above for Time Shifting also applies here.
Right click again on the TV display and choose "TV Recording", you will find three items: "Start Recording (Stop Recording)", "Allocate Temp File Space", and "Save Captured Video As".
The first one is for you to start/stop recording instantly while you are watching TV.
The other two items are for AVI recording only. If you record in WMV, these are irrelevant and will not be available.
For AVI recording, you should allocate a big chunk of your disk space before you start recording. Choose "Allocate Temp File Space" for this purpose. I'm not certain yet how this should be set. I chose 5000MB (5GB). AVI files at high resolution may take up to about 60GB/hour (before compression), so you may have to use higher settings. It all depends on the video size, color space format, compressor, and how long you plan to record. You do not have to set it precisely. If your allocation is too small, and the recorded file exceeds the allocation, recording will still work, but may be more prone to errors.
Another purpose for "Allocate Temp File Space" is for you to specify the location of recorded files. If you have not done this, your recorded files will be located in <The Drive with the Most Free Space>\Video folder.
Both of the above procedures can also be done when you do "Configure TV...", as described above.
"Save Captured Video As" is not used often. By default, immediately after recording is stopped, the recorded video file is copied from the preallocated temporary file to a final destination file. If you turn off automatic copying, or want to have an extra copy of your recording, you can use "Save Captured Video As" to save the video to a new file.
You should now be able to use Media Scheduler to record a program. Start small (3 minutes, for example). Video recording takes up to about 60GB/hour uncompressed and up to about 4GB/hour compressed. To do a scheduled recording, run Media Scheduler and schedule a "Start TV Recording" task, set the start and stop time, and choose a channel. You need to set output path and file name too. The file can have an AVI, or WMV extension. The recording will be done in the format of the file extension you chose, regardless of which recording profile you have chosen. If you record in AVI, make sure you have done the configuration steps described above, to choose a suitable compressor, and to preallocate a temporary capture file.
SOUND
If you have problems getting sound during Time Shifting or Recording or during regular viewing, you may need to do a little configuration. Choose the "Audio Connection" tab on the "TV Options" property sheet. If you have already run the TV program, a similar dialog will have asked you to make selections. However if you have since made changes in your hardware (TV card or sound card), or you have made the wrong selections the first time, you may make changes here.
If you use a cable to connect from your TV card to your sound card, you need to make sure that the check box "There is a physical audio connection from my TV tuner card to my sound card" is checked, and that the appropriate Mixer device and Audio line (usually Line-In) are selected.
Some TV tuner cards (such as the ATI TVWonder USB Edition) do not use a physical connection for audio. In such a case, uncheck the checkbox.
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Topic: TV Time Shifting and Recording Instructions (Read 17984 times)