WMC seems to be recording in PAL AND NTSC?! Is that even possible?

[DeadSerious]

Recording from an over the air HD antenna from a Happauge HVR 2250 using WMC on Win 7 Home Prem. 64. I can get the four major networks here in the States (ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX), and for some reason, the CBS channel, and only the CBS channel seems to be recording in PAL standard, which, to my knowledge, isn't even used in the US. It's not a huge deal, as the channel still plays fine, but if I want to convert and save the program, that's where it becomes a hassle.

I use Handbrake to convert from WMC format to MP4. Most shows take about the same amount of time that it takes to watch them. (i.e., an hour-long show takes about an hour to convert on my system) BUT, when I try to convert the PAL show, an hour-long show takes about eight hours to convert. I can't be sure, but I'm almost certain that this is a relatively new thing. I convert the shows at night while I sleep, and I used to be able to do 6 or 7 at a time. Lately (last 4 months, maybe?) I've been able to do maybe two if one of them is from CBS.

I've attached a shot of the info from Media Info that shows the PAL listing. I initially thought maybe Media Info was reading it wrong, but the vast difference in conversion time seems to confirm that there's something different going on.

I've looked everywhere for a solution for this, and was hoping someone here could help me out. Thanks!

 

[Sub Styler]

Change the composite video format on the Hauppage configuration Wizard from Auto to NTSC and see if that fixes it! It may be mis-detecting CBS for some reason.

 

[DeadSerious]

Thank you for responding so quickly! Hmmmm....I can't seem to find that wizard. Maybe that's the problem? The only thing I found was a configuration tool for the IR remote.

UPDATE: Okay, I found that (didn't have WinTV installed), and changed it, but when I went back to check it, it went back to "auto." Also, the channel is still listed as PAL, even through WinTV.

 

[Sub Styler]

Strange, sorry i'm in the UK myself and it's all PAL over here (except games consoles which do both). Perhaps someone in the US can help. Changing format from PAL to NTSC should not have much impact on the recoding time... all it has to do is drop a few frames!

 

[barnabas1969]

You might try calling the tv station and ask to speak with their engineer. Could be something wrong at their end.