Is it currently possible to prefer SD recordings over HD?. I can’t seem to find a setting anywhere. The reason I ask is that I do not have great reception where I live and sometimes the reception isn’t good enough to record HD without the picture and sound breaking up. I would rather record in SD just so I don’t come to watch the recordings to find they are unwatchable.
If some stations are unreliable, it’s best to disable them in the DVR so they don’t get recorded from.
The DVR usually prefers hd over sd, but if there’s only SD available it will pick that channel. You can also add a channel number to your passes if you edit them via the DVR web UI
Just to clarify: You’re asking if there’s a way to prefer an SD channel over an HD channel with the same content, right? Not how to record an HD channel in SD.
correct, how do I prefer an SD channel, say channel 4 here in the UK over channel 4 HD. It’s a shame to have to delete the channels as sometimes the reception is fine and when it is I watch HD over SD for obvious reasons. You just can’t reliably use HD for recordings.
I’ve edited all my passes to include the channel number but it feels like a bit of a pain/hack to have to do that every time.
Adding channel numbers to passes is the best way to achieve what you want. You can also use the advanced pass to add “Tags != HDTV” to prefer the SD airings. You would need to do this per pass as there’s no global option to prefer SD over HD.
Maybe it makes sense to invest in a better aerial so you don’t have to record and watch shows in low resolution?