# Will lowering video resolution setting save storage space?



## esquared (Oct 25, 2015)

If I set the "video resolution" setting to be 720p and below, will that save disk space by recording all programs in this resolution? Or, does this setting only affect playback resolution and not recording resolution?


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## Flyn (Feb 17, 2008)

No, it records the video stream as it is broadcast. A 720p broadcast might even be a larger file size than 1080i.


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## Dan203 (Apr 17, 2000)

Flyn said:


> No, it records the video stream as it is broadcast. A 720p broadcast might even be a larger file size than 1080i.


While it's possible, it's unlikely. 720p has less pixels per second then 1080i and progressive video is easier to compress, so in most cases 720p will be 2-3Mbps lower then 1080i.

But the rest of this post is correct. The TiVo records the broadcast as-is. Changing the resolution only changes what the TiVo outputs, not what it records.


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## ThAbtO (Apr 6, 2000)

Tivo will only record shows at whichever resolution it was broadcast from. The setting you are talking about is the setting of resolution to the TV and what that TV can handle.


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## mattack (Apr 9, 2001)

Yeah, that setting is a *display* resolution, and has nothing to do with the recording.

Modern (all digital) Tivos simply record the bits that are there as they came through the cable, and don't change anything. (Analog Tivos digitized the signal and thus had quality settings.)

I was musing recently, wondering if the built in Tivo Stream could even theoretically do something like this -- input the show on one end and instead of [when it works, which is rarely, to me] sending the reencoded stream to a portable device, put it back on the hard drive. I for one would definitely do this. I know it's never gonna happen, but it would be awesome. (Better would be built in sending to a NAS, or easier end user external drives that didn't marry to the built in drive, etc.. Not like I expect those either.)

I'm one who always prefers more storage space, and with this theoretical feature, would probably reencode almost all of HD recordings to SD. If the SD channels were widescreen, I'd probably record mostly in SD anyway, even though I can tell the difference... (again, more storage space.)


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## Dan203 (Apr 17, 2000)

You realize that there is currently a way to swap the internal drive in a Bolt for a 4TB, plus you can add a 1TB external drive. 5TB of HDD space is enough to hold like 800+ hours of HD. If that's not enough then you're a hoarder and might need to seek some professional help.


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