AP-E1 - squeezes Foxtel

Gondy · Post by **Gondy** » Sun Dec 21, 2008 23:25

Gully wrote:
Gondy wrote:Bought mine directly from beyonwiz! Mine is sitting behind the tele and every now and then I notice the pretty blue lights.
Have you tried it again since upgrading to 280?

Actually I haven't, it wasn't listed as one of the fixes in the F/W release... I suppose I can give it another go.

DaveR · Post by **DaveR** » Mon Dec 22, 2008 08:42

Gondy wrote:Any update on LiDic aspect ratios? Does the DP-P2 solve the problem. ?

The DP-P2's A/V Input works perfectly AFAIK.

Barrybr · Post by **Barrybr** » Mon Apr 06, 2009 10:48

I am considering purchasing a LIDIC mainly for the recording of Foxtel so that I can store the data on a Computer Hard Disk or DVD. I already have Foxtel IQ however it does not allow the ease of transfer of content that the LIDIC appears to have.

I lot has been written about the squeezing of foxtel. Has this problem now been overcome? Are there any other concerns I should have prior to purchase ?

Thanks

IanB · Post by **IanB** » Mon Apr 06, 2009 14:10

Dave? wrote:
Gondy wrote:Any update on LiDic aspect ratios? Does the DP-P2 solve the problem. ?
The DP-P2's A/V Input works perfectly AFAIK.

No, the DP-P2 still has exactly all the same problems as a free standing LiDiC.

They both still write H.264 streams with 5:4 aspect ration (1:1 PAR). They both still stop dead when you put any extra load on the BW's USB bus, i.e. try to use external media.

Barrybr wrote:I am considering purchasing a LIDIC mainly for the recording of Foxtel so that I can store the data on a Computer Hard Disk or DVD. I already have Foxtel IQ however it does not allow the ease of transfer of content that the LIDIC appears to have.

I lot has been written about the squeezing of foxtel. Has this problem now been overcome? Are there any other concerns I should have prior to purchase ?

The main problem is the H.264 display code reads the 5:4 aspect flags and tries to honour it, thus displaying a 720x576 captured image as 676x576 image with 22 pixels of pillarboxing, which would be theoretically correct for a 4:3 display but is bogus for a 16:9 display. Cycling the Zoom feature allows for overriding this to get a full width 720x576 image.

However because of the bugs in the aspect selection code for H.264, you currently cannot manually correct hard pillarboxed or letterboxed material you have captured, like you would for Mpeg2 broadcast material. But if you tweak the aspect mode of the Foxtel box to suit the material before you capture you can dodge this issue.

Once you are aware of the issues the LiDiC itself works quite well. It captures a 720x576 PAL or 720x480 NTSC analogue video program and outputs a 3.5Mbit/s H.264 video with 192Kbit/s AAC audio. The quality is a bit better than SVHS but not quite as good as DVD.

There are programs for the PC that allow for directly changing the aspect flags in the H.264 data stream, so it will display correctly in any external environment.

netmask · Post by **netmask** » Mon Apr 06, 2009 15:02

I can confirm IanB's observation - the P2 is no better than the standalone LiDiC as far as aspect ratio is concerned. A friend of mine purchased a P2 hoping to use it in conjunction with Foxtel as he is a professional artist he couldn't tolerate the distortion and returned the unit in favour of a P1. I did the set up and installed the software on his computer but the conversion from 5:4 to 4:3 was too daunting a process for him. My opinion is it is a decoding firmware problem within the LiDiC unit or the equivalent in the P2. If it is a decoding problem in the general firmware then I'm sure it would have been fixed by now. I suspect it has fallen into the too hard basket.

A sensible solution for all PVR and DVD players would be to have a dedicated aspect ratio button that cycled through and forced 4:3, 16:9 and 2.35:1 being pretty well the standard industry AR's. As far as I know only the Oppo has this facility.

Barrybr · Post by **Barrybr** » Mon Apr 06, 2009 15:34

Thanks for your prompt replies.

Do the comments for the DP-P2 also relate to the DP-S1. I assuming they do as the machine are basically the same except for the DVD and WIFI. I thought I would ask all the same.

Thanks

netmask · Post by **netmask** » Mon Apr 06, 2009 16:37

Must reveal my bias first! I don't like multifunction devices of any kind. Much prefer individual devices that I can update independently.
I love a gaggle of equipment etc but then I don't have a (insert gender) WMBO to contend with.

It's been my observation on this forum that so far the P1 is the most reliable of the 4 models available. I suspect the P2 will take over that position as firmware updates progress.

I use the LiDiC but connected to my PC where it performs as advertised.

craigh · Post by **craigh** » Mon Apr 06, 2009 16:44

netmask wrote:Must reveal my bias first! I don't like multifunction devices of any kind. Much prefer individual devices that I can update independently.
I love a gaggle of equipment etc but then I don't have a (insert gender) WMBO to contend with.

It's been my observation on this forum that so far the P1 is the most reliable of the 4 models available. I suspect the P2 will take over that position as firmware updates progress.

I use the LiDiC but connected to my PC where it performs as advertised.

Hi netmask

When connected to your PC does it work with any capture software or do BW supply some.

Do you still have issues with aspect ratio etc ?

netmask · Post by **netmask** » Mon Apr 06, 2009 17:20

It has it's own capture software - a bit primitive but does the job and on my PC no aspect ratio problems but then I have quite a number of installed codecs including ffdshow.

craigh · Post by **craigh** » Mon Apr 06, 2009 17:43

netmask wrote:It has it's own capture software - a bit primitive but does the job and on my PC no aspect ratio problems but then I have quite a number of installed codecs including ffdshow.

Cant see it listed on the BW site for download so I assume its not gone past v1.0.

Does it have a driver and software or is all in one.

If it has a driver that supports any of the capture standards other tools like GB-PVR may work with it and be able to schedule recordings.

smeg888 · Post by **smeg888** » Mon Apr 06, 2009 19:10

If you can capture straight to your PC buy some other capture device. There are plenty around for well under $100 that don't have the aspect ration problem.

I've got an LiDC but use my Cheapy USB capture device instead. Much easier. I actually leave it hooked up to my PC all the time so I can have a Foxtel window sitting in the PC screen if I want

regards

tonymy01 · Post by **tonymy01** » Mon Apr 06, 2009 19:13

What is "ration"...? Netmask already said he doesn't have the aspect ratio problem when using the LiDiC hanging off the PC, so why buy something else?

DaveR · Post by **DaveR** » Mon Apr 06, 2009 20:48

craigh wrote:
netmask wrote:It has it's own capture software - a bit primitive but does the job and on my PC no aspect ratio problems but then I have quite a number of installed codecs including ffdshow.
Cant see it listed on the BW site for download so I assume its not gone past v1.0.

Does it have a driver and software or is all in one.

If it has a driver that supports any of the capture standards other tools like GB-PVR may work with it and be able to schedule recordings.

http://beyonwiz.com/support/others/WizDR_src_v1.0.zip

The zip file includes an installer (WizDR Setup_1.0.002.exe in the Release folder) that installs the WizDR.exe, the LiDiC drivers and a demo version of Elecard AVC Streaming PlugIn for WMP (only needed for previewing what you're recording - i.e. streaming or timeshifting etc).

The zip file also includes all the source files needed to build it, or modify it, yourself - including the installer and drivers, which is why the zip file is a bit large, at 30MB, even though the actual installer is only 2.7MB

smeg888 · Post by **smeg888** » Mon Apr 06, 2009 22:38

tonymy01 wrote:What is "ration"...? Netmask already said he doesn't have the aspect ratio problem when using the LiDiC hanging off the PC, so why buy something else?

"Ration" was typing too fast. It's meant to be ratio, given the context thought that may have been obvious, but anyway, thanks for your help.

Why buy something else - it costs less, doesn't hang, always works, etc

tonymy01 · Post by **tonymy01** » Mon Apr 06, 2009 22:55

I think the only complaints about the LiDiC is when using it plugged into the Wiz. Netmask said it doesn't have the same aspect ratio quirks as when plugged into the Wiz. Thus it has a use, despite being originally purchased to work for the Wiz.
I just figured you typed "ration" because you didn't fully understand the problem technically, and I only came to this conclusion because Netmask said it didn't have this issue when using the LiDiC plugged into a PC USB port, you were suggesting to avoid the aspect ratio issues, to get a different capture device, when Netmask said he didn't have the aspect ratio issues when used as a PC capture device.
Regards

netmask · Post by **netmask** » Tue Apr 07, 2009 16:08

It will be interesting to see if it works in my i7 processor + Windows 7 setup. But first i have to re-install all my favourite programs. Both AutoGK and ConvertXtoDVD fly.

JetSpeed · Post by **JetSpeed** » Mon Mar 15, 2010 20:07

Just purchased a DP-P2

but seem to be suffering from the same problem as the LiDiC

Any fix on the way or tips on the easiest way to clean up the resulting files?

AP-E1 - squeezes Foxtel

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