Page 1 of Sky+ Program Sizes

Does anyone know why the file size of Sky One programmes has increased since the new year? Hour-long programmes such as SG-1 used to take up 4%-5% of the disc space and now they are taking up 9%. On other channels similar programmes are still taking up 4%. Is Sky One using Hi-Def now or is this a ruse to force customers to buy the new version of Sky+ with the bigger disc drives?

I wasn`t sure how the %ages worked as if your hard disk has stuff on it the programs seem to take up more space than if the disk is empty. Wasn`t sure if the %age was to do with the remaining space on the disk?

Do what I did and replace the hard drive - a 2 hour program now takes up 2%!!!!

"Do what I did and replace the hard drive - a 2 hour program now takes up 2%!!!!"

But for how long for is the question ...

but here are your answers ...

www.theregister.co.uk/2005/01/06/sky_dvr_bug/

I don`t own Sky+ yet..gonna wait until they sort the problem out.. and btw why should you have to pay for repairs? arn`t you paying enough already?

Rikki

This item was edited on Saturday, 22nd January 2005, 21:19

I don`t know how the software works out the percentage used but this problem might be caused by a known bug in the software.

Are you aware that if you are recording a program and then press Record again in the planner followed by Delete to delete the partial recording, the space is lost forever until you do a full reset to format the disk? This lost space might lead to the calculation you refer to, using the reduced available disk size. I don`t know if a Planner rebuild sorts out the problem or if a full reset is required.

This problem does not occur if you do not press Record before Delete but simply Delete the recording from the planner while it is being recorded.

Whether this is the cause of your problem I don`t know, but it is still worth knowing about.

John.

I too have noticed that some programmes now take more disk space. But it is only some programmes on Sky One (e.g. SG1, Cold Case) I haven`t noticed it happening on any other channels yet.

If you delete the programme then the disk space DOES come back, so it`s not the bug another poster mentioned.

I assume it`s happening because these programmes are filmed/recorded at a higher resolution (for HDTV is the USA) but I`m just guessing here.

How does the software work out the percentage?

Well a "standard" Sky+ box will hold approx 20 hours of TV. So an hour long recording should normally take approx 5%. Whilst a half hour recording should take approx 3%(Though this might vary by +/- 1% because of time added at the start/end of the recording & also some programmes may just "compress" better than others)

This item was edited on Sunday, 23rd January 2005, 10:16

Quote:
If you delete the programme then the disk space DOES come back, so it`s not the bug another poster mentioned.

I was talking about a specific way of deleting a recording that definitely does lose disk space unless this has been fixed in an update - I`m fairly sure it hasn`t.

John.

I`ve used the Planner Rebuild a couple of times and it`s usually recovered some 5-10% of "lost" space. It`s also left existing recordings untouched.

Quote:
I`ve used the Planner Rebuild a couple of times and it`s usually recovered some 5-10% of "lost" space. It`s also left existing recordings untouched
I don`t know exactly what the Planner Rebuild does. But if it de-fragments the drive then this would explain how you suddenly seem to "recover" some space.

What I`m talking about is that certain hour long programmes need 9% disk space, whilst most others only need approx 5% (but it`s always the same programmes that need the 9%)

If you delete the programme, the space then comes back. It`s not "losing" any space it`s just that certain programmes now take up more space than they used to.

This item was edited on Sunday, 23rd January 2005, 16:10

Just found this thread on Digital Spy http://forum.digitalspy.co.uk/board/showthread.php?t=180732&page=1&pp=25

It seems Sky have upped the bit rate on Sky One (but not any other channels yet). The result is a better picture, but it uses more disk space per programme.

" What I`m talking about is that certain hour long programmes need 9% disk space, whilst most others only need approx 5% (but it`s always the same programmes that need the 9%)....................."

The answer to your question is that certain programmes are done at higher bitrates ie: sports and movies, a lot has to do with the sound as well, try recording a movie on Sky Movies 1 ( its in Dolby Digital ) and then try recording at another similar length of movie on one of the other channels in normal stereo and you will see that the DD one will require a lot more space.

Thats why certain channels are far superior in pic quality than others, it`s because there is more data therefore increasing quality and hence the more room required on your hard drive.

Same priciple really as mp3, an hour long album done at 128kps will be about 60mb but the same one done at 320kps it will be well over 100mb, same album but bigger file.

Hope this answers your question, I will probably be corrected but that`s as plain as I can put it without referring to other websites for the info.

:-)

This item was edited on Sunday, 23rd January 2005, 16:47