# MPEG2 vs MPEG4 bandwidth Usage



## Jake34 (Feb 24, 2007)

I currently have the HR10-250 in our living room and the new HR20 in our Family Room.
I know that everything is being sent to me via MPEG2 at this point. It is obvious that a recording in High Def uses much more space on my hard drives than std def.
I think I read somewhere that High Def uses about 6 times more hard drive space with MPEG2.
Here is my question: I think I read that one of reasons Directv is going to MPEG4 is that it can broadcast much more without using so much bandwidth. If this is correct, what does that mean when the HR20 is receiving MPEG4 broadcasts? Will it use up less space than current MPEG2 broadcasts so that I have capacity to fit more recordings on my DVR? In other words how much space will MPEG4 use verses the MPEG2?
Any clarification would be appreciated. I apologize if this has been addressed already, but I could not find it.
Thanks


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## veryoldschool (Dec 10, 2006)

:welcome_s to the forum..
You right MPEG-4 uses less [bandwidth &] space. How much? I don't have the numbers, but it's true.


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## RCinFLA (Oct 4, 2006)

It about 2-2.5 times less for MPEG4 H.264 over MPEG2 but there is about 4 to 5x more data for a 1080i HD transmission over SD 480i.

Net recording of an HD program is about 2 to 3 more HD space used then a SD MPEG2 recording.


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## P Smith (Jul 25, 2002)

We posted a few diagrams for MPEG-2 and MPEG-4 of Dish channels at satelliteguys.us
Not that big difference, it very dependable of content and provider intention.


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## DonCorleone (Jan 29, 2006)

I thought it said somewhere that the HR20 would hold 20 hours of MPEG-2 and 50 hours of MPEG-4


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## directvfreak (Feb 1, 2006)

MPEG 4 uses roughly 1/2 of that of MPEG 2.


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## carl6 (Nov 16, 2005)

DonCorleone said:


> I thought it said somewhere that the HR20 would hold 20 hours of MPEG-2 and 50 hours of MPEG-4


I think it is rated at 30 hours of MPEG2 HD, 50 hours of MPEG4 HD, and 200 hours of MPEG2 SD.

Carl


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## P Smith (Jul 25, 2002)

directvfreak said:


> MPEG 4 uses roughly 1/2 of that of MPEG 2.


I would like to see real diagrams rather then read this.


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## PoitNarf (Aug 19, 2006)

P Smith said:


> I would like to see real diagrams rather then read this.


Give me 5 minutes with Excel and I'll show you whatever pretty graphs you want :lol:


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## houskamp (Sep 14, 2006)

carl6 said:


> I think it is rated at 30 hours of MPEG2 HD, 50 hours of MPEG4 HD, and 200 hours of MPEG2 SD.
> 
> Carl


ding ding ding we have a winner!


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## P Smith (Jul 25, 2002)

PoitNarf said:


> Give me 5 minutes with Excel and I'll show you whatever pretty graphs you want :lol:


I know pretty well real snapshots from TSReader and could bet I'll catch your fake one .


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## PoitNarf (Aug 19, 2006)

P Smith said:


> I know pretty well real snapshots from TSReader and could bet I'll catch your fake one .


Especially since I don't have a clue what TSReader is! :lol: :lol:


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## P Smith (Jul 25, 2002)

Take a look at satelliteguys.us , check these posts with such reports.


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## macEarl (Jan 2, 2007)

Other threads show the mpeg2 hd programming from D* is not at 1920x1080i, but more like 1440x1080i or 1280x1080i.

I'm not interested in the theoretical mpeg2 vs. mpeg4 bitrates - I have converters for both, as I'm sure many do, and can do that for myself.

My question is will the increased bandwidth available from mpeg4 be used to provide 1920x1080i hd or will we get 1280 | 1440x1080i and then get to record 50 hours of that?

Which would everyone rather have? 1440x1080i or 1920x1080i - more hours or less throwaway?


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## Jake34 (Feb 24, 2007)

I appreciate the excellent feedback and education on this subject. I guess I can surmise that MPEG4 High Def will still not use as much bandwidth as MPEG2 High Def, but it will still be a lot more than std def in either mode. 
My reason for asking initially was to get a handle on just how much recording capacity my HR20 will have in the coming years when most everything we record is in high def. What seems like a lot of recording capacity now is not sounding like nearly so much when most of what you record and watch is high def. Right now I still record and view quite a bit of std def stuff and I see that diminishing as time passes.
As we look to the future I am assuming the HR20 will be replaced with an upgraded DVR with even more hard drive space just to keep us all happy. Anyway, thanks for the help on this subject.


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## DonCorleone (Jan 29, 2006)

Well, 2 things: (1) HR20 doesn't go higher than 1080i, so when 1080p actually begins transmitting, they'll need an HR30 and (2) the eSata function will allow you to connect an external hard drive to address the space issues you mention.


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## P Smith (Jul 25, 2002)

Nobody expect to see 1080p from satellite/cable providers ( we have HD or BR DVDs for that ), but we're waiting when they will feed our TV sets with ATSC HD standard signal - 1920x1080i and 1280x720p and bandwidth enough to support _motion_ pictures.


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