Vista Media Center plays HDTV but records in SDTV

Consumer Electronics
#1

Question:

Has anyone else had this issue before? Where Vista lets you view HDTV and record it, but seems not to be recording in HDTV and is giving me standard quality image instead?

Further details:

I have been trying to find an answer for some time now and nobody is giving me a consistent answer on this.

I have a vista machine and I am using windows media center to watch over the air free HDTV broadcasts. Picture looks stunning and it lets me record programs. However, after I tried to watch my first HDTV program I recorded I noticed that the image was actually in standard definition, not in high def. I checked my settings and sure enough everything is set to “best” but it does not have a particular HD selection.

From sounds of it, it seems that latest Fiji version may indeed fix this issue but I am not willing to reinstall Vista just to do that. At least not yet, not until I have exhausted all other possibilities.

Thanks for your help, I appreciate it.

#2

It’s funny how many tv stations claim to be airing HD material when it’s plainly not :wink:

#3

i think you misunderstood me. Watching live tv on my PC is in HD. So, all the signals I am getting over the air antenna of NBC, ABC are in HD format. However, recording those and then playing back, it records in standard definition for some reason.

#4

Digital Broadcast Copyright? :slight_smile:

#5

I think you may be right. I just tried recording TODAY show on NBC and it plays back in HD. The show I had problems with was on PBS, I didn’t think they would implement HDCP… I thought wrong apparently.

Are there alternate explanations to HDCP?

#6

I’ve played with the TV pack 2008 (RTM version) and it records HD content in SD.

There are two applications that i know records HD content in HD.
One is DVBViewer and the other is Cyberlink Power Cinema 5.1

#7

So that is the dark side of ATSC.

Glad its not actual here in europe…