Analog capacity vs. S2

[joelkfla]

I just hooked up my S3. I don't have the cable cards yet, so everything is analog.

My old TiVo is an early S2 with a 120GB second drive.

I expected there to be a lot more space on the S3, since the capacity at Basic quality is nearly double that on my old TiVo.

But at Medium or Best, the capacity is only 15-20% higher on the S3. At High quality, it's only 3% (a mere 2 hours)!

Why the discrepancy? Does the S3 compress analog less than the S2 at higher qualities? Is High quality on the S3 actually better quality than High on S2?

[Shawn95GT]

The S3's 'Best' quality looks WAY better than the S2's 'Best' quality setting. I'd guess that the S3 isn't as lossy and likely has larger files as a result.

If you can stand it, knock the quality down if you need space.

[megazone]

Why the discrepancy? Does the S3 compress analog less than the S2 at higher qualities? Is High quality on the S3 actually better quality than High on S2?
Yes. The S3 compresses things much less than the S2. And I suspect it also records at 720x480 and not 480x480 - like the DVD units. But the bitrate on the S3 is even higher.

See my Review - linked in my signature. I have tables in there doing a rough comparison of capacity and bitrates.

[joelkfla]

I see it now. Thanks, megazone.