I've posted the latest version of HDTVtoMPEG2:

http://www-personal.umich.edu/~balazer/HDTVtoMPEG2/

I've re-united the readme and attempted to update the change log. This version includes the fixes in 1.10b and adds additional fixes by Cris Moore.

I can continue to host HDTVtoMPEG2 here for the time being, so if there isn't a more appropriate person or place to host it, please send your bug fixes to me.


Some basic info about HDTVtoMPEG2:

HDTVtoMPEG2 is primarily an MPEG-2 transport stream editor. Editing is performed as a simple transport packet level cut & splice, which means the output has a transport stream discontinuity at the splice points. Different decoders handle discontinuities with different amounts of grace. You may experience audio and/or video break-ups at the discontinuities. If you need editing with no discontinuities in the output, check out VideoReDo.

HDTVtoMPEG2 can break the output into multiple file segments. It can strip unwanted programs and PIDs from the input, and it regenerates tables. It can optionally preserve the transport stream bit rate (to keep a constant bit rate stream as such).

HDTVtoMPEG2 can scan for commercials by detecting black pillarbox bars.

I think the transport stream to program stream conversion was broken with newer versions of HDTVtoMPEG2. There are probably better programs to use for that. (X-Muxer or VideoReDo?)

HDTVtoMPEG2 (often referred to as "H2" or "H2M")
Current version: v1.11.94
The current version is available here:
http://www.eecs.umich.edu/~balazer/HDTVtoMPEG2/

What's it for?
Despite its name, HDTVtoMPEG2 main purpose is to edit commercials out of HDTV transport streams and write out another transport stream. It still has the capbability to convert to program streams (mpeg2) but this area has received little to no work since v1.10b. If you need this capability you should use another tool like VideoRedo.

HDTVtoMPEG2 Feature\Bug fix history
Feature\Bug fix history (v1.11.nn)
.94 - Fixed improper Output file name and crash when deleting from Input box introduced with tooltip change.
.93 - Input list box now only shows the file name. Tooltip shows the path.
.92 - Recognize .rec and .mpg as valid transport stream extensions
.92 - Fixed a bug that could cause the dreaded "Could not find a Channel" bug on valid TS files.
.91 - Clips button state is now saved in the ini file
.91 - Added grey color bar support during commercial scan.
.90 - Relaxed the color requirement for pure black on 4x3 color bars.
.90 - Fixed "The parameter is incorrect" dialog message when you scroll the mouse around in an empty Process list box.
.90 - Fixed code so it could handle TS streams with section encapsulated data, i.e. pointer_field != 0.
.89 - Fixed crash caused when no channel is found
.89 - Fixed crash during loading of some TS file when calculating avg TS rate
.89 - Updated to Visual Studio 2005
.88 - Fixed Max Size dialog popup bug when entering a size larger than 99999
.88 - Fixed invalid file name problem related to very large filenames when using Add
.88 - Fixed crash when using Preserve Bit Rate on some transport streams
.88 - Fixed bug that incorrectly extracted the PCR during PMT validation
.87 - Removed the transport stream extension case sensitivity.
.87 - Option to change the vertical_size_value in the sequence_header from 1088 to 1080
.87 - Added a Configuration menu
.87 - New Cut region marker. Forces a new file to be created at a specified point
.87 - Ability to re-order the input file list by dragging items with mouse
.86 - Region markers are now saved when closing H2M.
.86 - Fixed bug where shortcut keys would not work immediately after Deleting a file from the process list box
.86 - MaxSize, VideoPID, and AudioPID boxes now handled properly when shortcut keys are being used
.85 - Added Alt+D\d to delete region marker
.85 - Default Channel is now auto checked
.85 - Added an RUSure dialog when the Clear All region markers button is clicked
.85 - Fixed bug where a .TRI file was not created if a .TRI file was selected as the input file
.85 - Region info is no longer saved when Clear All is selected, only when Process\Include\Exclude\Delete\Move
.84 - Fixed missing TS info (Resolution, FPS, etc.) for some streams
.83 - Fixed possible crash when editing low bitrate SD channels
.83 - Added message box indicating SD channels are not supported with Commercial Scan
.82 - Attempt to include black frames before and after program. Disable with IncludeBlackFrames=0
.81 - UI indicates Avg. TS Rate now instead of bogus Video rate
.81 - Weighted average TS Rate is now calculated instead of using a fixed 19.2Mbps rate
.81 - Option to select 10 second Commercial Scan rate instead of the default 60 seconds
.80 - Re-work of Commercial Scan code to fix troublesome ABC\FOX stations
.79 - Small tweak to code that determines frame type
.78 - Fix bug that could cause the second file to be ignored during scan if Exclude section had been specified
.77 - Fix bug that would sometimes not let you type letters in the Output FileName and Ext boxes
.76 - Fix to scan code to handle pre-defined Include\Exclude sections correctly during scanning
.75 - F5 refreshes the input file data if you are editing a TS file that is currently being recorded.
.74 - Files are now opened with FILE_SHARE_READ and FILE_SHARE_WRITE
.73 - Minor changes
.72 - Ability to disable .TRI file creation using the CreateTRIFiles=0 flag in the ini file
.72 - .TRI files not created until an Include, Exclude, <Move, or Move> button is pressed
.71 - Fixed major bug when Scan filters were being used
.70 - New Commercial Scan code (HDTV support only)
.70 - Jockeyed around the manual editing buttons
.56 - Changed default Channel to now be the first stream with a horizontal size >= 1280.
.55 - Default output file type is now transport stream instead of mpeg2. Last used setting is still saved in the .ini file.
.55 - File type list order is now Transport Stream, HiDTV, Mpeg2.
.55 - NOTE: You will need to manually update the Ext edit box
.54 - Default Channel is now the one with the lowest video PID number
.53 - Fixed possible crash caused by code being too slack when parsing for video start_codes.
.52 - Fixed bug where channel would not be displayed if the audio was of stream_type 0x06(PES private data).
.51 - Commented code out that ignored PMT's with CA_descriptors(build 49). This didn't always indicate that the channel was scrambled.
.50 - Fixed possible crash do to too aggressive of checking for corrupt PMT
.49 - Ignore PSIP packets for Channel info if any of the PMT's contain CA_descriptors
.48 - Fixed bug where audio was not being mapped properly if the PMT was incomplete.
.47 - Fixed possible crash when editing QAM files.
.46 - Fixed. If the KeepPSIP and KeepNULL keys were missing from the ini file(you were using an older Beta), H2M would keep the PSIP and NULL packets until you had de-selected them.
.45 - Fixed bug if "PreserveBitRate" is missing from the ini file H2M will ALWAYS include NULL packets
.45 - Fixed. When using "PreserveBitRate" a small number of packets would get stripped instead of being converted to NULL packets
.44 - Fixed PID swap bug when 2 PMT's referenced the same video PID
.43 - Fixed bug introduced in build 39. Files would not load if duplicate file was encountered
.42 - Fixed PID drop down list box for W2K displaying only 1 entry
.41 - "PreserveBitRate" option flag available in ini file
.40 - Increased scan buffer size a bit
.39 - 0 byte transport streams are now discarded with warning.
.38 - commented out some new code that could cause a crash if the MGT had a large number of tables
.38 - PID swap bug fixed
.37 - Fix to bug introduced by code to detect corrupted PAT and PMT
.36 - New Clip feature
.35 - .TRI files not created now until the "Include" or "Exclude" button is pressed
.34 - Contrast and Brightness settings saved
.33 - detect and strip corrupted PAT and PMT
.32 - write multiple PAT and PMT's at the beginning of the file to make sure H2M will have Channel info to display
.31 - PID 0x1fef recognized as a NULL packet (old HBO recordings?)
.31 - Fixed small memory leak
.30 - ??

1.11 Beta
NEW
- PID stripping support
- MPEG-2 audio now supported when converting TS to MPEG-2
- Option to create sequential "clip" files
- Ability to preserve the stream bit rate using the "PreserveBitRate" flag in the ini file.

FIXED
- Fixed an old memory leak in scan_channel_info() function
- Fixed problem with some transport streams not displaying a preview when "Show Progress Image" is checked
- Fixed missing preview display on Progress dialog for MPEG-2 conversion on some transport streams
- Fixed missing video\audio on MPEG-2 conversion for some transport streams
- Fixed input path not being applied after selecting files from Explorer(Note: if a .tri file is selected, the path is set to the path to the transport streams NOT to where the .tri file was selected)

1.10.6
NEW:
- Drag and Drop support for TS and .TRI files onto H2M desktop icon from Explorer
- Double click of .TRI file in Explorer starts H2M and auto loads files

FIXED:
- Tweaks to scan_channel_info() to improve pid detection

1.10.5(Merger of Alan Haverson's code and Cris Moore's code)
NEW:
- Hot key short cuts
- Basic Contrast\Brightness controls
- Specify fixed location for .TRI files through .INI file

FIXED:
- Possible freeze during file transitions

1.10.4
NEW:
- Auto save of region edits
- Mouse wheel steps by i-frame

FIXED:
- >>| Seek to End would not move the bar to the end of the slider
- Crash in Progress dialog when showing progress image
- |<< Seek to beginning would not display first i-frame
- Channel resolutions were sometimes swapped

1.10.3
FIXED:
- Resolution\FPS\Aspect Ratio\Bit Rate not displaying for some transport streams
- No preview picture for some 720p streams
- No preview picture for WB HD transport streams recored with TSReader
- Channel display now favors PSIP data if available and now displays digital and analog channels. If no PSIP data is available, you will get the familiar NONAME channel

History of HDTVtoMPEG2
Year 2002 - Ben Cooley
v1.00 to v1.07
The original developer of HDTVtoMPEG2. HDTVtoMPEG2's original purpose was to extract program streams from transport streams and create a mpeg compatible file that was playable by media players and compatible with video converter tools like VirtualDub. Hence the name of the tool, HDTVtoMPEG2. This original version of HDTVtoMPEG2 did not have any transport stream editing capabilities, it was strickly a conversion tool.

Ben Cooley's original version of HDTVtoMPEG2 v1.07 is currently available here.
http://www.midwinter.com/~bcooley/

Year 2002 - Grant Reeve
v1.07 to v1.10b
The second developer to work on HDTVtoMPEG2. Grant Reeve's effort into H2M went into adding HDTV editing capabilties. His version allowed you to view and edit the stream on I-Frame bounderies and write out a new transport stream minus the "cut out" parts.

Grant Reeve's original version of HDTVtoMPEG2 v1.10b is currently available here.
http://www.derangedkiwi.net/index.php?view=hdtvtompeg2

Year 2003 - Alan Halverson, Cris Moore
v1.10.3 to v1.10.5
These versions continued with the focus on improving the HDTV editing capabilties and robustness of the tool. New features like "hot" keys, the ability to use the mouse to step from one I-Frame to the next, contrast and brightness, and the ability to save edit points were added in these versions.

Year 2004 - 2007 - Cris Moore
v1.10.6 to v1.11.94
These versions continued with the focus on improving the HDTV editing capabilites and robustness of the tool. New features like PID stripping, Clips output, and new Commercial Scan were added in these versions.

Great, just let me know if you're going to give it a new home.

I'd like to pass on a big THANK YOU to Cris for the time he spent improving HDTVtoMPEG2.

Thanks for the great work!

Can I ask for one small thing.
Can you make the mouse wheel act like the left and right arrows (forward and reverse 1 time slice)

That would make editing even easier.
Thanks!

One thing I've noticed is that HDTVtoMpeg2 is having troubles reading the transport streams capped from the new cable boxes with firewire.

Any ideas as to why?

Some representative samples are at :

My Website (http://terminus.litz.org/hdtvtompeg2)

All of the above sometimes load with incorrect resolution readings.

All of the above always have incorrect time length readings.

And all of the above WILL crash hdtvtompeg2 if you try to scroll within the file. Editting also is choppy (it's like the timeslices are way too far apart).

thanks !

- litz

Is there a file size limit in this version?

I've tried to edit two HDTV broadcast movies and the application always crashes around 9.5 GB when converting.

litz,
- Problems with TS files
I'm downloading your sample files and will look at then when I get a chance. Please be patient though, debugging display preview problems takes a lot of time and effort.

- Timings are wrong
I believe H2 uses the bit rate specified in the TS file for the Video Rate and for calculating the times. Tools that remove items like NULL packets and PID's change the TS file from a CBR to a VBR file and the times are no longer accurate. I have the same problem when I record with TSReader when I have it remove NULL packets and PID's. I believe STB are removing items like NULL and possibly PID's(sub channels) too in order to save HD space. To fix this problem, I believe H2 would probably have to be changed to calculate the average bit rate of the TS file itself in order to be more accurate on the times.

Cliff,
This is probably a side effect of a "fix". Is the file your using 1 big huge file?

"Cliff,
This is probably a side effect of a "fix". Is the file your using 1 big huge file?"

Both

One was 17+ GB recording from ABC (720p) and the other was 1080i (NBC) recording with 32 files of 650 MB. Both crashed around 9.5 GB processed file size.

Originally posted by Cliff Watson
"Cliff,
This is probably a side effect of a "fix". Is the file your using 1 big huge file?"

Both

One was 17+ GB recording from ABC (720p) and the other was 1080i (NBC) recording with 32 files of 650 MB. Both crashed around 9.5 GB processed file size.

Cris,

The NBC 1080i file were actually 38 files (650 MB each) so I split them into 3 groups of 13 and the application didn't crash.

Cris - no problem on the wait, these things do take time.

That is representative of the three different types of streams you can capture off a Motorola cable box (via the Mac firewire method) and they don't work very well with H2, so there's something fundamentally different about them versus a traditional MyHD .ts capture.

MyHD has fits playing them too, but it eventually gets around to it.

The goal is to figure out a way to transcribe these to something more "normal" so not only tools but playback works better.

- litz

Oh ...

In addition to the other clips, there's one more :

crash.m2t.

This is *guranteed* to crash hdvtompeg2 when you try and scroll within it.

Load load, and click the forward 1 arror a few times, bang!

Same dir as before on my web site (http://terminus.litz.org/hdtvtompeg2)

thanks !

- litz

the problems you're having with .ts files from your Motorola box do NOT occur with my Scientific Atlanta box....

:cool:

litz,

"All of the above sometimes load with incorrect resolution readings."

I wasn't able to reproduce this with the files you supplied. What other resolutions are displayed?

"All of the above always have incorrect time length readings."

Covered in an above post.

"And all of the above WILL crash hdtvtompeg2 if you try to scroll within the file. Editing also is choppy (it's like the timeslices are way too far apart)."

Wasn't able to make H2 crash with the files you supplied by scrolling withing the file. Perhaps the sample files are too small. I wasn't able to download crash.m2t. The website is no longer available.

Choppy editing - I counted the i-frames in 3 of the samples you supplied and H2 displays all of the i-frames. Granted some of the preview pics don't look so good(528x480i) I think because of the scaling, but they are displayed. Again, perhaps the sample files are too small and I need a bigger file to see the problem.

Cris

I don't know what's going on with the domain.

For some reason, an old IP is coming up in a lot of nameservers.

It should be 24.30.63.124 so if you're not getting that as the IP, your DNS is broken ...

If still no go, please post back and I'll provide a FTP link.

As for the crashing, I cannot scroll at all in ANY .m2t file I have. Two or three clicks, BAM.

They also will not write out to .mpg, but they WILL write out to .ts

Is there any way to *verify* the version of HDTVtoMPEG2 I'm running?

Yes, I've redownloaded it, but that doesn't mean windows doesn't have some cached copy sitting around it may be running instead ...

Is that something that can be easily added to the current version?

thanks

- litz

Oh ...

Also - I've verified these crashes on multiple computers each with different OS (2k / xp) and processors (athlon vs p4) ...

Two or three right arrow clicks, bam.

thanks !

- litz

okay,

Unless and until this DNS issue gets resolved, directories are NOT going to work on my web site. For some reason, an old IP has been distributed internet-wide for DNS for this connection.

Until the fix propagates, it's dead.

If anyone has any ideas on alternates, please let me know ...

thanks

- litz

Nevermind, it's fixed now (gotta love tech support).

As before, sample files are at :

http://terminus.litz.org/hdtvtompeg2

thanks !

- litz

litz,

I'm downloading crash.m2t right now. Its going to take a hour or so.

choppiness -
I just wanted to make sure you understand that H2 only shows the i-frame pictures in a stream. The p-frames and b-frames between each i-frame are not decoded since H2 only allows editing on i-frame boundaries. The number of i-frames available in a stream will determine how smooth the "steps" are between each click. The number of i-frames available in the stream is up to then encoder I would guess.

By "choopiness" I mean two things ...

1) large jumps from one Iframe to another. If I decode to mpeg2 video and frame step it in, say, virtualdub-mpeg2, I can see it's missing I-frames as it steps

2) occasionally there is NO frame displayed at all for a step, or it's the same as the previous step.

- litz

litz,

I wasn't able to get crash.mt2 to crash while clicking or dragging the slider back and forth. I don't know what is causing the crashes on your systems. I've tried downloading the exe on balazer's web site and tried it on a Win2K system. Still no crash.

As far as version, on the left side of the title bar, if you click on the little icon, and then select About HDTVtoMPEG2, the version should be 1.10.3.

choppiness -
Here are the number of i-frames that are in some of the file samples you sent me:
1920X1080i - 63 i-frames
720X480i - 30 i-frames
528X480i - 53 i-frames
I verified the number of i-frames using Mpeg Stream Eye v1.02. When I load 1920X1080i into H2, I can click the right arrow 63 times and walk through all of the i-frames. Each one is different except for the first one and there is never any blank preview. I don't know whats going on except that you may not be running 1.10.3 but an older 1.10b version?

Cris

Just checked - version reported IS 1.10.3

I cannot scroll through these .m2t files, period.

Bang, crash, very unstable.

This is on multiple OS's, multiple computers, different processors.

Got any ideas?

If I had some way to give you a crash report other than windows generic "the program stopped working", that would be good ...

What are you compiling with?

The "crash.m2t" can be made to crash very easily, here ...

Just load it into hdtvtompeg2, then click on the scroll bar.

Now right arrow repeatedly until it crashes. Won't take more than 4 or 5.

I also get massive numbers of blank preview window when single step scrolling through the file.

I could put up with the occasional crashes (I can get around them, once I learn where they occur) if I could actually SEE the frames I was editting.

But since so many are blank, I can't.

A couple of questions, unrelated though ...

1) what would it take to be able to save/load the edit points?

and

2) the >>| symbol does not take the scrollbar pointer to the endpoint of the file

thanks !

- litz

Hmm

Ok, I went through and zapped EVERY copy of hdtvtompeg2 I had on any system and replaced with your binary specifically.

I did find multiple instances of the program on several machines.

It seems to work now.

The version I had *WAS* 1.10.3, but maybe not your compile?

It was shipped with Visual C++ 7.0 dlls, and yours is not.

Dunno ...

The ability to save/load the edit points and fixing the >>| button would still be nice though ...

Thanks for checking all this, however ...

:-)

- litz

One of the very first versions of 1.10.3 that I sent to someone did include separate dll's. Since then, I been compiling using MFC as a static library so I don't have to include the dll's separately.

Glad you got the problem figured out. I was running out of ideas.

The ability to save/load the edit points

Funny you should mention that. I've just about got that finished. :)

The way it works is that when you select "Convert" it will automatically create a "tsri.tri" file in the same directory as the TS file. tsri stands for "TS Region Information". If H2 crashes, restart H2, select Add, and then under "Files of type" select the new option "TSRI Files", then select the tsri.tri file. This will automatically load all of the TS files that were loaded before and reset all of the edit points to the way there were. :cool:


fixing the >>| button would still be nice though ...

Yes I've noticed that too. Will ad it to my list of things to look at.

Also, I noticed with your file sets that none of them will display a preview in the Progress dialog box when you select the "Show Progress Image". Yet another problem to look at. :(

Cris

I spoke too soon.

I can't convert any of these .m2t source streams to .mpg.

All I get are 3kb sized .mpg files.

Any ideas?

Also - on the edit points, it would be nice to be able to save the file without starting the conversion, that way you have the ability "recover" if there's a crash while editting.

thanks

- litz

I haven't done ANY work on the problems with converting to .mpg. I've never used the option so I don't even know what the problems are.( Well, I guess I know one now :) ) When I've gotten some more of the TS editing problems solved I'll take a look at the mpg conversion problems. Right now thats kinda low priority for me.

it would be nice to be able to save the file without starting the conversion

Being able to save at any time sounds like a good idea. I'll add yet another button to the dialog. :)

Cris

Okay, sounds cool.

Meanwhile. v1.09 does write .mpgs, but it skips the very first I-frame (it starts writing the .mpg at the 2nd I-frame so you lose the first few bits).

also, if you want some eye candy I put some other stuff for you to play with in the hdtvtompeg2 directory at the previously mentioned URL ...

- litz

litz,

The ability to save\load your edits is done. :) :cool:

Just need to do a little more testing with it.

Cris

Hi Cris,

Very rarely, H2 can crash before you click on Convert.

It would be nice if the TSRI file was updated every time you add or modify a region boundary.

Hi Robert,

That should be easy to add. If I do that, does that mean we could get away without having a "Save Edits" button on the dialog? It would just be automatic then right?

Cris

I think I've found another problem ...

I editted a .ts, and the file as written has P and B frames BEFORE the first I-frame.

This, of course, makes the resultant .m2v stream, when demuxed (and the .ts for that matter when loading into m2edit) invalid.

Any ideas?

I added the actual invalid file and the source it was pulled from to the previous URL.

thanks !

- litz

Oh,

and Cris ... not to try to rush things, but when can we play with the new toy?

:-) :-)

thankx

- litz

Robert,

That was a great idea!

Now anytime you do one of the following, the TSRI file is updated automatically.
Begin Include
Begin Exclude
Delete
Clear All

I just edited an Alias TS file with those changes and it worked great. I'm removing the "Save Edits" button. It's not needed anymore. Its automatic now.

litz,

As far as I know, H2 has always included P\B frames before the first i-frame and after the last i-frame. That shouldn't be a problem if the P\B frames before the first i-frame are forward predicted and the P\B frames after the last i-frame are backward predicted. I'll have to look at the code to see if it is doing it on purpose.

when can we play with the new toy?

Need to remove the "Save Edits" button and code I put in now that its no longer needed and then do a little more testing. I suppose I could sent it out after that.

Cris

Originally posted by Cris Moore
Now anytime you do one of the following, the TSRI file is updated automatically.
Begin Include
Begin Exclude
Delete
Clear All
Cris
It should also be updated when you click "< Move" and "Move >" buttons.

Thanks,

Bear in mind if you update TOO many places, you will slow down performance (due to the disk writes) ...

Moving a edit pointer shouldn't be a problem though - that's a great idea !

Cris - the invalid.m2t clip DOES play correctly with VLC.

Starts with a black frame, and fades in.

the first I frame is actually fully faded in.

However, no utility I have will *touch* that transport stream OR a demuxed mpeg2 video from it.

The ones that do, skip ALL frames prior to the first I frame.

For example, load the transport stream with VirtualdubMod 1.5.10.1 (use the "nic" helper in the open dialog) and you'll see what I mean.

- litz

Robert,

Thanks, missed those.

litz,

I'll take a look at the code and see why it is including the P\B i-frames before the first i-frame. No need to include them if they are always skipped.

Cris

well, sometimes they are needed !

In this case, VLC is playing fadein frames, that are *in* those P/B frames prior to the first I frame.

But no utility I have will deal with those.

This is a critical thing ... for instance, if you want to do frame-accurate editing on these .ts files you do the following :

Clip "roughtly" with H2, and write out a smaller .ts

Demux to .m2v and .ac3

Edit the m2v in m2edit, and the ac3 with besplit

Then remux with transmux or mp2tsms

The problem here is, with the invalid frames at the front of the .m2v file, it's unusable.

And the programs that CAN use it, jump immediately to the next I frame.

And since you use dvd2avi to deterimine the delay on the ac3 file, and you don't know *how much* was cropped by the p/b/iframe problem, you have no way to easily cut the ac3 audio without extensive work to figure out the new delay amount.

This causes desync between audio and video, which is not good ...

:-(

- litz

Just got to use the new auto save edits feature. I recorded "Remember the Titans" off ABC tonight. It was 3 hours long, 39 files at 650MB per file. Made my edits, and started the conversion to 2048MB per file. About 8Gig through H2 crashed. ( I was trying to reproduce Cliff's crash ). So with the new "save feature" I was able to just bring up the debugger, start H2, load the TSRI file, and I'm ready to start debugging. Cool. Well except for the fact that I've got to debug a crash. :mad:

Cris

hehe, cool.

All this work is greatly appreciated, can't wait to try it out ...

Just out of curiosity, why are you splitting at 650mb? for storage on CD ?

DVDR is cheap now ...

:-)

- litz

I'm trying to reproduce Cliff's crash problem. One of his crashes happened when he was using 650MB files. When he converted them to 13MB files, the crash went away.

Ahhhhhhhhhhh ... sounds like you succeeded in reproducing it, then ...

I always capture to single files, so never run into that ...

Makes it easier to demux if you want to do frame accurate editting, after all.

- litz

Hmm ...

Some clarification on the .mpg writing problem as well as the P/B before I problem.

If I cut a .ts with 1.10.3, I do NOT get a .ts that is readable in m2edit, loadable into dvd2avi (or virtualdubmod) or a .mpg that is in any way readable, either.

However, if I take that .ts, and load it into H2 1.09, and use that version to write the .mpg, it *is* readable. And in sync.

However, if I try to use 1.09 to transcribe a .ts written by 1.10.3 to a new file, that new file is STILL not useable.

Oddly enough - all of the above files play perfectly fine in VLC.

Don't know if that helps, but maybe it can ...

- litz

Grrr.

Once again I spoke too soon.

Unfortunately, 1.10.3 is producing mpeg2 that is unuseable in any way shape or form by any normal utility or tool.

Neither the .ts files, nor the .mpg files produced by a 1.10.3 cut can be used by any editor, mpeg utility, or anything else I've been able to test with.

They WILL read in tsreader (with a LOT of "P" and "B" shown on the bottom of the window, before it sees the first I and starts analyzing).

They WILL play in VLC.

They will NOT play with mediaplayer, virtualdubmod, or any other player I can find.

Something very weird is obviously going on here as the original .m2t files themselves ARE useable with all of the above ...

:-(

- litz

Cris.... a quick question.... did you start your work with the original version of H2 1.10 with the MPEG bug or with the susequent version "b" which had the mpeg code fixed?

:confused:

I have a minor request if it isn't too difficult. I usually archive my favorite hour long shows on 2 dvd-r's. Is it possible to have H2 start a new file after each commercial break with a skip in the number part of the .ts file?

Suppose the intro to the first break produces files Alias.0000.ts to Alias.0009.ts then after the first commercial it could start a new file Alias.0011.ts and so on.

I usually edit the first half and then the second half of a show. I do this because I like to start the second disc after a commercial break rather than the middle of a scene.

Thanks,
Rick

Jim,
I started with the 1.10b version. Supposedly that has the mpeg fix, but there seems to still be other problems.

Rick,
I'm trying to keep from adding new features at the moment and concentrating on fixing bugs. I'll add your request to my feature enhancement list.

Cris

Cris,

since I have disabled the "Show Progress Image", I never had a crash again. I guess in my case the crashes all came from the preview. Probably worth looking there first.

The only problem I encouter from time to time is that the progress hangs at the very end of a file. Everything is done, nothing is lost (probably 1 frame - I can't tell).

I am using 1.10b.

Regards,
Andreas

since I have disabled the "Show Progress Image", I never had a crash again

I believe I got this fixed last night. There were some resource leaks in the Progress dialog code as well as a few in the main dialog code.

The only problem I encouter from time to time is that the progress hangs at the very end of a file

I'm trying to get Alan to send me his "freeze fix" code. That should take care of that problem.

Cris

Cris -

Any chance we can get an interim release to play with, that has the save function?

And any luck figuring out the P/B before I problem in the edit process?

thanks

- litz

litz,
Any chance we can get an interim release to play with, that has the save function?
Sure, PM me your email address. It will have the auto save feature and the (hopeful)crash fix for when the "Show Progress Image" is selected. I'll move the version to 1.10.4.
any luck figuring out the P/B before I problem in the edit process?
No, I haven't even looked at it yet.

Cris

Got it ... thanks ...

Question for you ... in the tsri.tri file, each edit point is listed as a number then include or exclude ...

How do you derive that actual number ... it looks like it might represent the packet number (in terms of 188byte packets ...) ...

- litz

Your right, the numbers represent the number of bytes to a particular packet taking into account the number of bytes of the files prior to it. I didn't really have to calculate anything, just had to figure out how to pull the information out of the database and shove it back in.

Cris

Hmm ...

I'm also unable to actually reload a tsri.tri file. Program crashes ...

:-(

- litz

litz,

Can you load any tsri.tri file? Also when you load a tsri.tri file, thats all you load. Do not load the TS files and then try and load the .tri file. Loading just the .tri file will load all of the TS files too. Also, don't try and load the .tsi file into 1.10.3, it will crash.

Email me the tsri.tri file. Lets start with that. Do I have any of the ts files that exhibit the problem so I can try and duplicate it here?

Cris

Also when you load a tsri.tri file, thats all you load. Do not load the TS files and then try and load the .tri file. Loading just the .tri file will load all of the TS files too.
OK I did try this and it does work and shouldn't cause a problem now that I think about it. But you should let the .tsi file handle loading the files as the .tsi file is valid only for that file set.

Cris

You can grab it yourself - it's in the same directory on my website.

Source was the 1080i test clip

Hope it helps ...

- litz

litz,

If this is the 1920X1080i.m2t file that is 64.8M in size, I already have that file and it works fine for me. I have edited and then reloaded the .tri file at least 5 times for that file.

The only thing I can think of is that somehow you are still using 1.10.3 when you try to load the .tri file. That is the only way I have been able to get H2 to crash when loading in a .tri file. A good way to tell would be that only 1.10.4 has the new Files of Type "TSTR Files" in the Add dialog box. Of course the Help About also says 1.10.4

Cris

litz,

Downloaded your .tri file, edited the source file name to point to my directory for the file, leaving the edit points untouched, and it loaded right into H2 1.10.4.

Cris

Hmm ...

Ok ...

If I specifically select TSTR files, and load there it works.

Gotcha.

I cannot, however, drop a .tri file onto the window ...

Also noticed the >>| button still takes to you the start of the file ... guess you haven't gotten to that yet ...

- litz

I cannot, however, drop a .tri file onto the window ...

Didn't realize that H2 supported Drag and Drop, never use it myself. I'll get that fixed.

Cris

Thanks for taking the time to share your changes with everybody, the saved cutlist alone would save me a lot of frustration with the frequent crashes and what not. Getting it up on sourceforge would be even better =)

I usually leave the program open ... it's really easy to simply hit CLEAR ALL, then drop a new file ontop of it and slice away ...

- litz

Drag and Drop problem is fixed.

Cris

cool ...

any luck w/ the other stuff?

We still have ...

1) freeze at end of clip write (stuck on 99%)
2) mpeg / ts cuts have garbage at front

(use m2edit pro 5.0 to test this)

3) >>| button doesn't move to end ...

anything else?

thanks

- litz

1) freeze at end of clip write (stuck on 99%)
I'm hoping Alan will send me his "freeze fix" code, I think that will take care of this problem
2) mpeg / ts cuts have garbage at front
I'll look at this next I guess
3) >>| button doesn't move to end
This will take some time as it is really a preview display problem. The slider bar location is updated after a valid i-frame is found and that is failing for some reason.

Cris

mpeg / ts cuts have garbage at front
OK here is what I believe is happening.

The P and B frames are part of the original TS file. When you load the TS file, H2 looks for the first i-frame and displays it, skipping over the P and B frame at the beginning. Normally what you do then is move the slider to the first place you want to make an exclude. This of course leaves the P and B frames to be included in the first section as H2 just starts copying from the beginning until it hits an exclude.

What you can do to get around this problem is to always start with an exclude at the very beginning of the file. You can then click one time forward and place an include. That will mark the starting point at the first i-frame and will not include the P and B frames that are before it. Basically what I'm saying is don't forget to micro edit the very beginning of the TS file before you get into the meat of the editing if you plan on keeping the very first part of the TS file.

Cris

I do that already (the beginning of the file always has unwanted stuff since you always start recording before the beginning of your program !) and the problem is with the OUTPUT after clipping my wanted material out of the middle of the program.

If I demux the outputted .ts file to .m2v and .ac3, the .m2v is unreadable by any utility or application. All say it's an invalid mpeg2.

- litz

Sorry to butt in here, but I'm seeing the same problem with 1.10.3 that I saw with other versions: After I add a few edits and click Convert, it processes through to the first include region and then hangs. I saw on another thread that I might need to change the source file names, so I modified the first "Title.ts" to be "Title_00.ts" to match the remaining "Title_xx.ts" filenames, but I had the same problem. The excluded region after the first include region, on which it is hanging, does cross a file boundary (i.e. it starts in "Title_00.ts" but ends in "Title_01.ts"). Any idea what the deal is here?

Xesdeeni

Xesdeeni - you are correct that the version being discussed in this thread does NOT have my fix for the (seemingly random) freezes. Cris Moore and I are trying to consolidate the code and get one version that has all fixes. In the meantime, though, stick with the "freeze fix" version if that affects you until we announce a version that has all fixes.

Thanks,
_Alan

Originally posted by Xesdeeni
Sorry to butt in here, but I'm seeing the same problem with 1.10.3 that I saw with other versions: After I add a few edits and click Convert, it processes through to the first include region and then hangs. I saw on another thread that I might need to change the source file names, so I modified the first "Title.ts" to be "Title_00.ts" to match the remaining "Title_xx.ts" filenames, but I had the same problem. The excluded region after the first include region, on which it is hanging, does cross a file boundary (i.e. it starts in "Title_00.ts" but ends in "Title_01.ts"). Any idea what the deal is here?

Xesdeeni

Converting an accessDTV .ts file to .mpg (CSI Miami - 041204-0959PM - Blood Moon-000.ts) using HDTVtoMPEG2_1.10.3.zip failed to be read as valid by DVD Architect, DVD Workshop, Pinnacle Studio 9 and InterVideo WinDVD Creator 2.

However, converting the same accessDTV .ts file to .mpg using HDTVtoMPEG2_v107 was successfully read by all the DVD authoring programs.

Sorry to be dense, but I somehow missed that there was a fix for that. Which version had the fix?

My end goal is to edit commercials but still have a stream compatible with MyHD. Previous versions without the freeze caused bad glitches and long pauses in the resulting video. Is this something that is fixed too?

One other question, is there any way to strip the NULL packets and simulcast (RADAR) streams but write out a TS? I've read that if you do this, plus remove commercials, you can normally just fit a 1 hr program on a 4.7 GB DVDR for safe keeping.

Xesdeeni

Murray,
Any problems that version 1.10b had in the mpeg conversion part, 1.10.3 has them too. NO work has been done on the mpeg problems. If you want to convert to mpeg, stick with a version before 1.10b for now.

Xesdeeni,
Alan released a 1.10b version that has a fix for the "freeze" problem. I can send you a copy of it. PM me your email address.
H2 currently doesn't have the ability to remove NULL packets and sub-channels(PID's).... yet. There are tools available to remove NULL packets and PID's. You should be able to find a NULL stripper by searching this forum.

Cris

Cris,

I realize H2 didn't have the ability previously. In fact, I obtained the source for H2 and NullPacketStripper back in December, specifically to see if I could fix the MyHD problem and to look into NULL packet removal. But two small children keep me from doing almost any etracurricular activities :-)

The problem with NullPacketStripper is it requires JAVA (ech!).

One thing I thought about trying was editing and converting a TS to MPEG with H2. I believe that should strip NULL packets, as well as remove etraneous streams, right? Then if I used something like MPEG2TS (I'm not positive of that name, I just read about it and haven't gone searching for it yet) to convert back to a TS, maybe all three problems would be handled. Am I just whistling Dixie?

Xesdeeni
(Xesdeeni2001 at the Yahoo server)

Xesdeeni,

Adding NULL packet removal to H2 probably wouldn't be that hard. PID removal support in order to remove sub-channels would be a bit more difficult as several tables would have to be updated, but it is doable.

In theory, converting to mpeg should remove the NULL packets and sub channels( I haven't looked at that part of the code). But going through three translation tools to remove NULL packets and PIDS is likely to be a frustrating experience because all of these "free" tools have lots of bugs. :) We should just ad the ability to remove NULLs and PIDs to H2, don't you agree?

For myself, I would just use TSReader ($99). You just load in the TS file, select the Program you want to keep and select to remove the NULL packets. But then, I already own a copy and use it for other things besides NULL and PID stripping.

Cris

litz,

Can you give me a list of steps to try so I can reproduce the problems you are having with the output files.

I have the following installed on my system:
DVD2AVI v1.83
VirtualDubMod v1.5.10.1
AviSynth 2.5
M2 Edit Demo

I've done the following so far:
- Used 1.10.4 to edit a TS file.
- Loaded the output TS into DVD2AVI and demuxed the video and audio and created a .d2v and an .ac3 file.
- Created an .avs file that references the .d2v file and loaded that into VirtualDubMod.
- Also I am able to read the TS file into the M2 Edit Demo.

What are the steps I need to follow so that I can see the problem you are having.

Cris

Not to pick nits, but wouldn't H2 to edit and convert to MPEG and then MPEG2TS be just two "free" tools? ;-)

Anyway, I checked TSReader, but there is no info on whether MyHD streams are supported (either record or playback), and I don't see any editing capability. Now I'm really curious what other features you use, since most of the rest don't seem too compelling.

Xesdeeni

Xesdenni,

Yes your right, two steps there. I don't see how you have any other option right now. You will probably have better luck with H2 v1.09 as the mpeg stuff worked better there(from what I hear). Your only other option is a commercial product and unfortunately the affordable ones are still buggy.

I use TSReader for all of the other features that have no interest to you( I have a c-band dish ). It doesn't have any editing features as thats not what its for. Beyond it's DVB functions, I use it to analyze TS files( including files recorded with my MyHD 120 card ) and for NULL and PID stripping.

Cris

Anybody have a clue why the video works but the audio does not get converted at all when I use HDTV2MPEG2 v1.07 to convert an accessDTV transport stream with settings Video PID 0x11 Audio PID 0x14?

The same conversion using the latest HDTV2MPEG2 v1.XX does not open in DVD authoring software at all.

Any ideas either way?

My first try with this program was to simply split an hour (8.3GB) MyHD TP file so I could burn it onto 2 DVDs. (Keeping them "Transport Stream")

All looked good....the files on the HD said they were in the 4 GB range.

Burned the first file using Pinnacle Instant Disc....and it said the size was within range (as above...about 4GB). The time it took to complete was the same as other DVDs of this size.

Whats odd is that...when I went to test it using MyHD...It was only a few minutes long and is only 357MB! Strange....I still have the split file on the HD and it's the right size and plays the 1/2 hr as it should. For some reason the DVD burn ended up using 4.3 GB...but only has this small TS file.

I've burned many unaltered 1/2 hour MyHD TPs this same way, and all were the appropriate size when I tested them. The only thing different this time...is that I split the file using HDTVtoMPEG2.

Did I botch something ;)

@Cris

Glad to hear TSReader works with MyHD streams. I also e-mailed them about 1394 support for the Mitsubishi TVs. It's not in there, but the response said they were thinking about it for a future release. That would allow me to watch a pre-recorded program while I record another, and that's worth $100 by itself to me easily (that goofy VividLogic product is vaporware, and won't deal with the numbered files from MyHD if it ever comes out).

@StormCrow

Did you use a UDF format DVD? I don't know what the UDF limit is, but the ISO limit appears to be 2 GB. The UDF may have a 4 GB limit, which might explain why your 4.3 GB file is seen as a .3 GB file. Try more smaller files. I have used two 2.25 GB files with a UDF DVD. I assume three 1494 (ish) MB files would work for ISO DVDs.

Xesdeeni

bagmouse7 -
Can you make the mouse wheel act like the left and right arrows (forward and reverse 1 time slice)

Done. The mouse wheel now moves the slider bar 1 i-frame at a time. Scroll down moves it forward, scroll forward moves it back. Sure saves a lot of clicking.

Cris

litz -
Also noticed the >>| button still takes to you the start of the file

Fixed. Note: although the bar on the slider now moves to the end, sometimes the preview will still be blank. Most likely because the last i-frame at the end of the file is incomplete.

Also fixed the problem when you used |<< to go to the beginning of the file and it would not redraw the first i-frame.

Cris

litz,
All of the above sometimes load with incorrect resolution readings

Fixed a bug that would sometime swap the Resolution information between two or more entries in the Channel menu.

Cris

FYI The version of H2 I'm running (1.10b) hangs during scanning unless I disable one of the processors (2 x 2.8 under XP), after that it works great.

Cris -

Were you using an existing .ts for the m2edit test or the .m2t test files I put on my www server?

When I try to load a clip cut from the .m2t files, m2edit gives a no valid mpeg stream found error.

- litz

Cris,

Also had a thoght ...

As you know, the time length of the file is "guestimated" off the provided bitrate / length of file.

Can we have an option to use the timecodes in the file as an alternate?

Although most .ts files have a running timecode, so they don't start at 00:00:00, it does give a more realistic idea of where IN the file you are, when the .ts has a highly variable bitrate.

For instance, these cable .ts files I capture read in H2 as roughtly 16 minutes long, despite the fact that it's an hours worth of capture.

That's because the realistic average bitrage is 8-12mb/s, and the bitrate in the .ts header is 15mb/s.

Any idea how hard this would be?

thankx

- litz

Here is what happens for me:

Test Files tried: crash.m2t, 1920X1080i.m2t, Alias.ts

M2Edit:
crash.m2t
- original loads
- H2 edited loads

1920X1080i.m2t
- original will not load. M2Edit gives “not a valid mpeg”. Probably the file is not big enough.

Alias.ts
- original loads
- H2 edited loads

Using a .AVS file:
crash.m2t
- could not load .avs file into VirdualDubMod or WMP. Application would hang or AVISynth would give “caught access violation”

1920X1080i.m2t
- NA, not considered a valid mpeg file

Alias.ts
- .avs would load into VirdualDubMod and WMP.

Basically I didn’t have much success with .m2t files. It appeared that if I had a big enough file, M2Edit would load it, even if it was edited with H2. But a no go with AVISynth.

Cris

For instance, these cable .ts files I capture read in H2 as roughly 16 minutes long, despite the fact that it's an hours worth of capture.

I have the same problem with the files I record with TSReader after it removes the NULL packets and strips the extra PIDS. My 2h5m recording shows as 1h3m worth.

I was thinking that the only way to get this to work is to have an option to calculate the average bit rate for the ts file, then use that as bit rate instead of the one stored in the TS stream. It won't be perfect, but it should be a lot closer than the way it is now.

I'm going to try some experiments where I use another tool to calculate the average bit rate for a ts file, and then hard code that rate into a build of H2, then load the ts file and see how the times turn out.

Cris

Here are some numbers after hard coding an average rate:

Recording:
~2h5m recording of Smallville\Angel using TSReader. TSReader removed NULLs and unwanted pids. TS rate was 30Mb/s

After editing out commercials for Smallville and leaving all of Angel out:

H2, normal numbers:
Included: 23m55.13s 3.21GB
Total: 1h03m17.57s 8.48GB

H2, with average rate substituted:
Average TS rate used, 9.384Mb/s - 9Mb/s Vid, 384Kb/s Aud

Included: 48m58.28s 3.21GB
Total: 2h09m35.12s 8.49GB

As you can see these time numbers are much better.

BTW, H2 uses a hard coded value of 19.2Mb/s for calculations. The Video Rate that is display( which really should say TS rate ) is not used in calculations.

Cris


After taking into account all PID' s in the stream:
PID
0x11 - ~9.072 Mb/s
0x14 - ~389.076 Kb/s
0x1ffe - ~42.244 Kb/s
0x10 - ~ 13.3 Kb/s
0x00 - ~ 13.3 Kb/s
Total: ~9529920 bits/s

Included: 48m13.29s 3.21GB
Total: 2h07m36.07s 8.49GB

These numbers are even better.

Cool ...

What about showing the actual video time stamp somewhere on the window as well, so you can get some idea of relative position in case the time calculations aren't accurate? They are, after all, just estimations ...

I'll see if I can get you a bigger .m2t file to play with ...

what kind of incoming speed do you have? I can output at 768kbits ...

- litz

What about showing the actual video time stamp somewhere on the window as well

I'll take a look and see what can be done when I get a chance.. Keep in mind that I currently don't even know how to calculate the average bit rate of each of the PIDs yet to implement my idea. So much to know, so little time...

what kind of incoming speed do you have? I can output at 768kbits ...

I have Comcast cable, so I can download at up to 3Mb/s.

Cris

Well, the important thing with the timecodes is this ...

Let's say I start recording 5 mins before program start ... being able to see the TS packet's own timecode, so I can scan forwards 5mins relative, as an example, is what I'm talking about ...

Not really having the ability to take that timecode and reference to 00:00:00 off that, but just having a "here's where you are" readout kinda like the tape counter on a VCR.

On the .m2t files - dunno what's going on. I can't open ANY of them in m2edit anymore.

MyHD .ts files open fine, but .m2t files do not. They are both 1080i HD transport streams. Heck, the .m2t files *play* on the MyHD card !

Any ideas?

This is somewhat critical, as the ability to do a frame-accurate .ts edit relies on m2edit for the video cuts (and besplit for the ac3 cuts), then transmux or mp2tsms for remuxing back to .ts.

And (of course) - any chance we can get a sneak peek at the version with all the fixes?

:-)

- litz

litz,

In M2Edit, the numbers that look like 00:28:37:10, and are shown on the Navigator and Storyboard windows, are those the timestamps that you are talking about?

Cris

The most useful timecode in a Transport Stream is either the PCR value or
the PTS values in the video or audio PES streams. PCR's and PTS's don't
get touched by null packet strippers, so they will always indicate the
correct time (in a contiguous stream).

GOP timecodes (in the video stream) are pretty much useless. There are streams
with no GOP headers and streams with the timecode always set to 0:0:0:0.

If you can parse out the first video PTS and last video PTS out of the
bitstream, you will have a very accurate measure of the file time length.
Intermediate PTS's will also work fine. The only time PCR's and PTS's don't
work is if the file is the concatenation of two or more different TS streams
(not usually the case with OTA capture).

PCR's are 42 bits and PTS's are 33 bits.

For a program that can parse PCR's and PTS's, see my TS demuxer source code
posted here:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?postid=3660263#post3660263

This code will also dump the instantaneous TS bitrate. There is no indication
of TS bitrate in a TS stream. It must be calculated.

Ron

Ron,

Thanks for the information and the source code. I figured I would probably go down the wrong path trying to solve this problem. Using the PTS appears to be a much better solution.

Your expertise is appreciated.

Cris

Cris

I'm still trying to figure out this m2edit / mpeg2 problem.

I think the problem is that the .ts files I'm clipping out of the .m2t master files do not start with sequence headers. ie: there is garbage stuff BEFORE the first header.

Because of this, anything looking for a header at the start of the file refuses to use it. This includes m2edit, tmpgenc, dvdpatcher (useful for patching bitrates and other flags), vegas, and even dvd2avi.

All those either refuse to use the file or hang upon opening it.

It doesn't matter WHICH .m2t file I use off the cable captures. Anything clipped out of it with H2 is totally, utterly unusable.

Every single one of those movie trailers I clipped fall into that category, if you want some material to play with.

All of the above DO play in VLC. They will also load in TSReader, but with LOTS of "P" and "B" blocks found prior to the first I-frame.

I've tried restreaming with tsreader - it didn't help ... tried demuxing.

Can't remux - the .m2v file produced is unusable due to the no sequence header at start problem.

Any ideas?

thankx

- litz

Originally posted by arock
Xesdeeni - you are correct that the version being discussed in this thread does NOT have my fix for the (seemingly random) freezes. Cris Moore and I are trying to consolidate the code and get one version that has all fixes. In the meantime, though, stick with the "freeze fix" version if that affects you until we announce a version that has all fixes.

Thanks,
_Alan Alan--

I imagine that means that the .3 and .4 versions also don't have your keyboard shortcuts, right? I hope they'll migrate along with the freeze fix, as I've become so habituated to those that I'd hate to lose them! :D

--Terry

litz,

I download the Van Helsing.ts movie from your site a while back.

Here are some observations and just "thinking out loud" stuff on my part.

1 - For H2 v1.10b, no preview window will display for this file.
2 - For H2 v1.10.4, the preview window works fine, although the "Show Progress Image" doesn't work yet.
3 - M2Edit will not load this file.

Now the interesting thing about this is that the fix I put in for some ABC 720p files that wouldn't display preview windows was because the sequence_header wasn't available. Instead of being at the beginning part of the PES packet, it was at the end of the previous video PES packet. What I did to fix the problem was to keep a look out for sequence_header's. When I find one, I'd hold on to it, and stuff it into the buffer just before the video packet data that is to be decoded and shown in the preview window.

Running the Van Helsing.ts file through the debugger shows that this file has the same problem. BTW, this sequence_header problem is the same reason why the "Show Progress image" doesn't work at the moment for files with this problem.

Now this sequence_header "weirdness" is part of the original transport stream and is not being done by H2 to the best of my knowledge, as I discovered this problem from other peoples files that would not display preview windows in H2 v1.10b.

Of course since H2 cuts at i-frames, the sequence_header that is required is lopped off because it is in the previous PES video packet. Its also possible that not all of the sequence_headers are "off" like this and sometimes you might get lucky when you make a cut that the sequence_header is correct. This also might be the reason why your original .m2t master files work, but the clips do not.

Now if the editing tool your trying to use just requires the first PES video packet to have the sequence_header in the correct spot and the rest can be "off", then one possible fix would be to stuff the sequence_header into the first video PES packet. However, if the tool requires all sequence_headers to be "correct", i.e. at the beginning of each video PES packet, then the whole transport stream would have to be fixed. This type of fix should be done by a separate tool.

Cris

Terry,

Right. The 1.10.3 and 1.10.4 versions do not have Alan's "freeze fix" or keyboard shortcuts support yet. Hopefully we will get the code merged sometime soon. Unfortunately, every day life activities have higher priority over working on H2 so we don't know how long it's going to take.

Cris

Cris--

Thanks, I feel better already, just knowing that you're aware of both mods. :D I'll just stick with the version Alan sent me many moons ago, which seems to work fine for editing commercials on all my TS captures, until you get around to the merge.

Hmm ...

Cris - how hard would it be to make it an option to move those sequence headers, if needed ?

This makes perfect sense ... and if we want to make the .ts more like a "normal" .ts, then things need to be re-ordered.

The problem with needing another utility to fix this, is that that other utility does not exist ... as you know, utils for working on transport streams are rare beasts, indeed.

I'm reasonably sure the existing tools will be happier if just the first PES packet had its header .. but if you're gonna reshuffle that, may was well reshuffle everything else and bring the rest into line too.

What do you think?

Also - just as a note ... the .m2t files when converted to .mpg result in a totally corrupted file. It's only 3kb long.

- litz

Oh ...

also had another "feature" idea ...

can H2 autoload a file dropped on the icon or when launched via Explorer?

the .tri extension could be linked to the H2 executable and therefore doubleclicking the file after a crash would autorun H2 and load the tsri.tri file (or whatever .tri).


- litz

how hard would it be to make it an option to move those sequence headers, if needed ?
This would be "non-trivial" as programmers like to say. I'm not that familiar with H2 yet nor all the requirements for valid TS streams, so it would take me quite a while to code and test it to make sure I wasn't creating invalid transport streams when trying to shuffle the sequence_headers around. I'm not saying I wouldn't like to try, I'm just not ready to do that type of editing to H2 yet.

Right now I'm trying to switch H2 to using the PTS information for calculating time information so that the times are more accurate. This will require a number of changes and I don't know how long it is going to take me AND I still have a list of other bugs that I want to fix.

Also - just as a note ... the .m2t files when converted to .mpg result in a totally corrupted file. It's only 3kb long.
Yes. Grant said that when he fixed some of the problems when reading transport streams, he broke the mpeg output support. It was low priority for him to fix since he didn't care about that option. Yet one more thing to look at when I ( or someone else ) gets a chance. Unfortunately, the 1.09 version source code is lost, so a direct comparison is no longer available. Expect this to stay broken for a while unless someone else wants to fix it.
can H2 auto load a file dropped on the icon or when launched via Explorer?
We could set it so that the .tri file will auto start H2 and load the file set when clicked on in Explorer. Also drag and drop support of .ts files or .tri file on the icon could probably be done too if windows supports that type of thing. Never tried it myself.

Cris--

The version of H2 that I have from Alan also has a "fix" to the MPEG2 output that was added shortly before he put in the freeze fix and shortcuts. IIRC, the problem with the first 1.10 was a typo that was pointed out to Grant and he corrected it.

Anyway, Alan's H2 1.10b produces MPEG2 outputs that play in some, but not all, players with audio--which was not the case in 1.10.

Terry,

That's good to know. I'll shoot Alan some mail and see how close he is to getting the first code base into SourceForge.

Cris

Well, the idea with drag 'n' drop / autolaunch is this ...

If you set an association for extension .tri to launch H2, explorer will, I guess, do the equivalent of dropping the .tri file onto the icon.

The problem is, H2 doesn't actually load that file when it starts - dropping the file on the icon just starts the program up.

It should check to see if the file is a .tri, and if so, autoload it ...

That way doubleclicking a .tri file will bring you back to the state you were at before a hypothetical crash occurred.

- litz

litz,

Yes, I tried it after you mention it earlier and discovered the same thing. I'll see if I can get that to work.


Cris

Originally posted by litz
The problem with needing another utility to fix this, is that that other utility does not exist ... as you know, utils for working on transport streams are rare beasts, indeed.- litz
Wizzard from Womble does that, it reformats the stream entirely and the result starts with a GOP.

Unfortunately, that's the reason Wizard is so buggy. There are wild variations between streams aired by the different stations, and when you start reformatting, you must know in advance all the formats.

The reason H2 works so well most of the time is that it does not reformat.

Modifying H2 to do it will open a can of worm and bring endless bugs. It's been more than one year that I have been sending Womble stream samples, and their products (MPEG first, Wizard now) are still unusable with 90% of the various streams I get.

Where can I get version 1.10.4?
Thanks

Here can I get version 1.10.4?
PM me with your e-mail address.

Cris

I've got a set of MyHD .tp files capture from the local NBC affiliate. The bitrate shown in h2 s somewhere around 17MB/sec, which seems OK. However, when I try to conver it to an mpeg file, it shows the output bit rate to be around 4-5MB/sec...and the file has no video.

I know I'm getting the right PIDs--there's only one program, and also I've checked the PIDs using TSReader Lite.

I'd be happy to supply you a smallish sample of this video it you want to look into it.

Thanks--

Lonnie

Double check with an old H2 1.09 version that the .mpg still doesn't come out right- several of us have had issues with mpeg generation in 1.10.x ...

When I run into this, I cut to a new .ts, then dump that into 1.09 and see what comes out.

It's supposed to be fixed, but I think someone forgot to actually tell the program that ...

It's on Cris' list of "things to do", but simply hasn't been addressed yet.

- litz

I believe the mpeg issue has been fixed in Alan's branch but not yet in Cris's. Once they get sourceforge going and integrate their respective fixes life will be good.

You can try the one on GrantR's site here (http://www.derangedkiwi.net/index.php?view=hdtvtompeg2) which I think has some of Alan's fixes in it.

Also you can grab one from Alan in this post (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?postid=3045688#post3045688)

-apnar

I am using 1.10b to write MPEG-2 files and have encounted two problems.

1) The audio is missing. My source material was analog stereo written to a DVHS tape and I assume it ended up as MPEG-2 audo. Do I need to strip the audo separately?

2) There are numerous "jumps" in the video stream. I don't seem to get an entire copy of the source material. The source file (DHVS tape) plays just fine through MyHD. However I see a lot of video dropped. The location and size of the drops varies from file to file. I have one file that seems to drop about 20 minutes and another drops 30 seconds or so.

I used another video tool (MPEG Video Wizard) to create MPEG encoded files from these transport streams. It decoded the audio just fine but a lot of noise was added as part of the MPEG encoding. So I am still looking for the perfect solution :)

Litz, Apnar--

Assuming you guys were refering to my post, yes, I've used h2 1.09, 1.10, 1.10b, 1.10b freeze-fix, and 1.10.3. They all behave identically--the 17mbps stream is reduced to 4-5mpbs, and the resulting file has no video (not sure what is in there, that's might big for just an audio stream).

Hey, here's another idea, though: Any other programs that you folks out there know of that can demux the audio out of a ts file? With the Elecard encoder, I can get TMPGEnc to read the ts file directly, but I can't get the audio. If I could do that, I'd have an A-OK workaround.

Thanks--

LDog

Any other programs that you folks out there know of that can demux the audio out of a ts file?


DVD2AVI will demux the audio.

You have to set up its .ini with the proper audio/video Pids. Well at least audio. :)

Have you looked at ProjectX? Seems to me that might work.

Can you cut a chunk of this file out and make it available for us to play with?

If you need somewhere to ftp it to, email me and I'll set you up with a login and put it the same place the other samples I'm hosting are at.

- litz

Well, hold the phone...

In attempting to create a small chunk-o-file (with 1.10.3) to be looked at by y'all , I thought I'd try converting that (again, or so I thought) with 1.09....and...it works! I think. Have to double check it again (the problem with working on this stuff only late at night is I'm often a bit fuzzy...).

So appologies--and thanks for all the tips! Editing the DVD2AVI .ini file may make it so I don't have to convert to MPEG at all.

Hmmm...is there a similar way to get virtualdubmod to open a TS file?

Also, I tried using ProjectX, didn't get too far with it; maybe I'll look at it again.

Once again--thanks, really appreciated.

JHL -
The audio is missing. My source material was analog stereo written to a DVHS tape and I assume it ended up as MPEG-2 audo.

The mpeg-2 conversion only looks for AC-3 audio in the transport stream. If the audio is of another type, like mpeg-2 audio, it is ignored. I found this out when tried to convert an episode of Angel that I recorded off c-band. I ended up with video, but no audio. It might be possible to get it to recognize mpeg-2 audio as well.

Cris

Cris --

any progress on a new version?

Got another bug for you ...

If you try to open a .tri file with any name OTHER than tsri.tri, the program crashes ...

thanks !

- litz

any progress on a new version?
Alan and I have merged the code bases. I'm waiting to hear from him to see if he is ready to let this one go for a SourceForge release. I can send you a copy of a build with the merged code bases if you like.
If you try to open a .tri file with any name OTHER than tsri.tri, the program crashes ...
Yes, I guess it would do that. I didn't make if very flexible. How about I change it so that you can use <any name>.tri?

On second thought, how about this:
The automatic file name that is created will be <filename>.tri. H2 will attempt to read any .tri file as long as it has a .tri file extension, just in case you want to rename the <filename>.tri file and have multiple .tri files for the same transport stream.

Cris

Originally posted by Cris Moore
The automatic file name that is created will be <filename>.tri. H2 will attempt to read any .tri file as long as it has a .tri file extension, just in case you want to rename the <filename>.tri file and have multiple .tri files for the same transport stream.
I often have 2-hour files with 2 different episodes, and while H2 is saving the first edited episode, I use a second H2 instance to edit the second episode.

Using <filename>.tri would create a clash between episodes.

I'd suggest that H2 first tests if <filename>.tri exists, and if it does, tests <filename>1.tri, and so on until it finds a non-existent <filename>NN.tri.

That would prevent any overwriting.

Hi Robert,

IIUC, the current method of having a hard coded .tsr file name also causes clashes between episodes for you?

Cris

Yes, although it's not a big hurdle to rename the first TRI file before starting an H2 second instance.

If you make the effort of having a <filename>.tri name, it will just take a few more lines of code to make them <filename>NN.tri. I guess I could do it myself if you don't have time.

Wouldn't it be easier to name the .tri file off the filename in the output field?

Even with multiple instances of H2 running, it's not likely you're gonna try and output to the same filename ...

Cris - if you'd like to email me the current version, I surely wouldn't mind it ... :-)

- litz

Question for folks out there ...

Who has tried playing files created with H2 back onto a MyHD ?

Are you seeing a LONG pause before it starts playing?

I seem to get this with anything that wasn't originally recorded on the MyHD and have no idea why MyHD sourced files play instantly while anything else (cable caps, freshly muxed stuff, etc) takes so long.

But MyHD sourced material plays perfectly even after H2 editting.


- litz

I've noticed long pauses when loading some non-MyHD transport streams into MyHD. However, I believe this happens to me whether I edit them with H2 or not.

I've got weird stuff like this happening:
I record two episodes of Smallville and Angel from c-band using a DVB card and TSReader. The first set loads quickly and plays fine, the second set takes forever to load and freezes every 3-4 seconds, basically it is unplayable with a MyHD card. What's the difference?... I have no idea.

Cris

Cris

Been playing with the 1.10.5 version, seems VERY polished now ...

Question though - have you implemented the new timecodes yet?

It doesn't seem like you have ... the .m2t files still read far short than their actual time length.

- litz

No, I haven't done that yet. Don't expect to see that until 1.11. This is pretty much just a merger of Alan's and my code bases. Although you probably notice a new feature that Alan was playing around with.

Cris

"What's the difference?... I have no idea."

Cris, the only unedited TS I've tried with MyHD have been TP files from MyHD and FusionHDTV. Both seem to play equally well. I have seen some MyHD files that had playback problems back when the local PBS station was mucking with its PSIP and had some messed up PMT/PAT entries. Maybe that's a clue for you to look at in the DVB files. I've also seen long hesitations before starting play of files that have been stripped of some PID. Just stripping nulls seems not to cause problems for HDD file playback, although some have noted that NPS files often don't play well in MyHD from DVD recordings.

I'm glad to hear that your and Alan's code bases have been merged! If you don't mind having another tester, I'll PM you my email address after I get back home this week, so I can give 1.10.x a spin.

--Terry

Yeah, saw that ... :-)

Haven't crashed it yet, either, which is a good sign ...

- litz

hey guys, I don't know if this is easy or hard, but once you have other things stable, could you work on the scan option? It would be neat if it cut in the very middle of black intermissions, and if it could do a better job of finding commercials.

Darius

Terry,

Thanks for the insight. When I record using TSReader, I tell it to strip the NULL packets and PID's. I think what I will try next time is to record the entire stream and not remove anything. If that plays, I will then use TSReader to strip out the NULL packets and remove the PID's and see what happens.

Cris

Darius.

The truth is that the "Scan" function isn't suppose to be available. Grant Reeve was working on that as a new feature and he didn't get it finished. Somehow a version got released that had the button enabled. Since then I have been leaving it on , but as you know, it still needs a bit of work. I've been thinking about disabling it again, but I'm sure some one would complain. I'll add your requests to the bug\enhancement fix list.

Cris

Originally posted by litz
Who has tried playing files created with H2 back onto a MyHD ?

Are you seeing a LONG pause before it starts playing?
...
But MyHD sourced material plays perfectly even after H2 editting.I have problems with edited MyHD content as well. After removing commercials, playback either pauses for a long time at the breaks, or the video is scrambled for a few seconds after the break.

Is there a trick to getting this right?

Xesdeeni

Like Xesdeeni, I have a qick question,

I have a saved HD movie that is spread over a lot of .TS files.

There are gaps between the numbering, where the commercials have been cut out.

My question, how do I use this program to "re-number" the files, so there are no missing ones?

MyHD will pause/lock up when it tries to play the next file but it is not there.

Example, it plays .129 and then then .130 but the next file is .134 and it will lock up/pause because I assume it is looking for .131.....

Thanks!

Definitely don't turn off the scan function - while it's not perfect - it's pretty good, and saves me a lot of time walking through the video....

Gruson,

I assume the reason you have missing files is that you removed the commercials manually by deleting individual small files? In that case you should be able to load all of the files that are left over into H2, specify a minimum file size, and let H2 repackage the files. You should probably choose a larger minimum file size as the really small sizes your currently using aren't needed anymore.

Cris

Originally posted by litz
Question for folks out there ...

Who has tried playing files created with H2 back onto a MyHD ?

Are you seeing a LONG pause before it starts playing?

I seem to get this with anything that wasn't originally recorded on the MyHD and have no idea why MyHD sourced files play instantly while anything else (cable caps, freshly muxed stuff, etc) takes so long.

But MyHD sourced material plays perfectly even after H2 editting.I have also seen this on some MyHD streams that have been NULL Stripped. I have been editing with H2 and stripping MyHD recordings with NPS. One stream in particular showed the "Long Pause" problem - A recording of Alias from KGO in SF. They have 3 sub-channels now (HD 720p, SD 480i and SD 480i low bitrate weather radar). I was going to try to fix it up with the "Fix-KQED" utility after stripping sub channels and Nulls. This utility was made by another Bay Area HD user to fix up the PATs and PMTs to remove references to subchannels that no longer exist in the stream. The utility got its name because KQED (SF PBS station) was broadcasting with 5 subchannels (1 HD and 1 SD or 4 SD depending on time of day) and just not muxing the ones that were not active at the time. Now they have their encoders fixed so that the PATs & PMTs only reference subchannels that are active. I think this would be a valuable feature to add to HDTV2MPEG.

I also have not installed MyHD 1.63 yet. That may or may not address this issue.

- Mike

Originally posted by Gruson

My question, how do I use this program to "re-number" the files, so there are no missing ones?


Try ACDSee.

litz--

I do not see long pauses before MyHD starts playing H2-edited files, nor more than momentary video glitches at excised-commercial points. I do see long pauses with files that have some non-null PIDs removed via NPS. I haven't done enough testing of this to say for sure which PIDs seem to cause this.

OT

Thanks for the updates to HDTVtoMPEG2.

If you need help hosting a file just use freecache.org

Just append your url like so

http://freecache.org/http://www.eecs.umich.edu/~balazer/HDTVtoMPEG2/

They will cache it for you for free and there is no additional setup.

Originally posted by TPeterson
litz--

I do see long pauses with files that have some non-null PIDs removed via NPS. I haven't done enough testing of this to say for sure which PIDs seem to cause this.

I used to have the exact same problem with NPS as well as dvhstool when I was using them to do PID stripping. I sprung for the full version of TSReader and now use it to do PID Stripping etc and it works perfectly. As a bonus I ran all my previous recordings that had the long pause at the start through TSReader and it fixed the pause problem on those as well, so now all my recordings start perfectly.

Did you remember to strip PMT PIDs for the programs that you were removing? Did you try the latest version of NullPacketStripper?

Originally posted by litz

Been playing with the 1.10.5 version, seems VERY polished now ...


Is the 1.10.5 version currently publicly available? The site at the start of the thread only carries 1.10.4 & 3...

Thanks!

DAve.

Originally posted by Gruson

My question, how do I use this program to "re-number" the files, so there are no missing ones?


You can use DVHSTool to renumber the TS files. It does a fairly good job. I use it often for this task...

Cheers!
DAve.

Is the 1.10.5 version currently publicly available? The site at the start of the thread only carries 1.10.4 & 3...
I just sent "balazer" v1.10.5. Hopefully he can make it available soon.

Cris

It is up now - excellent! Thanks!

Cheers!
DAve.

Excellent Job!

I can't thank you guys enough for continuing on this software program!

I do have several features/requests if you would consider them.

1) I have tried to find a way to mute the audio over the credits (when networks sell other upcoming programming for example) by changing the Audio PID. I haven't found a successful way of doing that. Is it possible to have a mute button just as you do an include/exclude or does this involve changing the actual stream too much?

2) On shows like CSI where the breaks are tight, sometimes you need finer control than the 1/2 second you now get to keep something from clipping. Is it possible to get it down to tenths of a second?

3) Is there a way to rip the channel info out of the converted stream on the fly with the program?

4) Is there a way to take a subchannel out during the conversion (ie a weather sub-channel)?

Again, thanks for your great work!

Is it possible to have a mute button just as you do an include/exclude
If H2 supported NULL and PID stripping this would be possible. At the last include you could select an option to drop the audio PID. You would just get the video and the audio would be effectively muted.

Alas, H2 doesn't support NULL and PID stripping.

Is it possible to get it down to tenths of a second?
Anything is possible given enough time, energy, determination, and money. Unfortunately, I'm lacking in all of those. :)

Seriously, the amount of time between edit points is determined by the number of i-frames in the transport stream. The number of i-frames is determined by the encoder I assume. To edit between i-frames, the GOP(Group Of Pictures) has to be decoded, edited and re-encoded. This would be really hard, not to mention the problems trying to keep the audio synced. Thats one reason why really good TS editors are so expensive and why H2 is free.

Is there a way to rip the channel info out of the converted stream on the fly with the program?
Not sure what you mean here...

Is there a way to take a sub-channel out during the conversion (ie a weather sub-channel)?
H2 doesn't support PID stripping yet, although it would be nice if it did. Programs like NullPacketStripper(free) and TSReader($99) can strip PID's like sub-channels and NULL packets from transport streams.

Cris

Cris--

I just tried v 1.10.5 for the first time. Great work! Congratulations to all the team of contributors. It really is easy to use now and I especially like the brightness&contrast gadgets for those too-dark scenes that then fade to black.

Here is one glitch I noticed and a suggestion for further noodling:

1. The shortcut keys (which I dearly love!) now interfere with editing the file extension string. I tried to change ".0000.ts" to ".000.tp" and discovered that I couldn't type either a "p" or an "s" in that box--had to paste them to make my edit.

2. Even though it isn't 100% accurate, the scan function usually works and (given that 4:3 commercials are probably not here to stay) I doubt that it's worthwhile to put much effort into improving the edge-detection algorithm. But...it would be more useful as a "first cut" if it were faster. It could be speeded up enormously if the search were to proceed by 1-minute jumps plus interval bisection, rather than frame-by-frame, as it does now.

The shortcut keys now interfere with editing the file extension string
I used a different technique in implementing the short cut keys than Alan used because I wanted to get rid of the "letters" in the keys. Looks like I missed a box. Should be an easy fix.

Cris

Cris,

Could you remind me what are the shortcut keys and what they do?

Thanks,

Could you remind me what are the shortcut keys and what they do?
This is what they should be:

Timeline:
J - forward 1/2 sec
K - forward 10 sec
L - forward 60 sec
F - back 1/2 sec
D - back 10 sec
S - back 60 sec
I - Begin Include
E - Begin Exclude

Edit points:
P - Prev
N - Next
V - move edit point back
M - move edit point forward

Misc:
A - Add files dialog
O - Output file name box
C - convert

Alans original post is here (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&postid=3056386#post3056386)

Cris

The shortcut keys now interfere with editing the file extension string
TPeterson,

PM your address and I will send you the fixed version. If you give it a thumbs up, I will send it to balazer to replace the existing version.

Cris

Please,

Call me Jacob. Or at least don't put me in quotes. :)

Jacob and Cris - thanks so much for keeping this going.

I didn't notice that things were happening in this forum - I mostly watched the HD Recorder forum...

Anways, can't wait to try out the Scan function and see what it does.

Also, a quick feature request if you get a chance...

I noticed that if you add segments, the output filename will change to be based on the filename of the new first segment. Can we have this happen if we delete segments from the list also? Then we would never have to fiddle the output filenames...?

Regardless, great effort, much appreciated!

Cheers!
DAve.

quote:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Is there a way to rip the channel info out of the converted stream on the fly with the program?

Originally posted by Cris Moore

Not sure what you mean here...

Cris

I knew after I posted that it would probably be confusing.

Can I delete WABC 7.1 out of the Channel Stream Info during the convert?

Chris

Another feature I would like to see. I like to put about 5 seconds of pure black video at the beginning and ending of my programs so it doesn't start and stop so abrupt. Looks a little more professional to me. I do this now with a couple files of black video that I put at the beginning and the ending. Would it be possible or feasible to have the program generate black for a series of say 1 sec, 2 sec 5 sec and 10 sec and insert it at any point within the time-line? Some may want to add a short burst of black where the commercials where. Just be a nice to have feature.

I have been using the program for quite some time now. I think you guys have done a great job of enhancing it. Keep up the good work.

Steve

Can I delete WABC 7.1 out of the Channel Stream Info during the convert?
If I understand what your saying, this would be part of the PID removal stuff.

What I would like to be able to do is just select the Channel I want to edit, like we do now, and then when converting, remove all of the other Channels from the transport stream and remove the NULL packets.

Cris

I now find this tool an indespensible part of my system.

I have found that taking 169time recordings, converting to MPEG2
using HDTVtoMPEG2, then playing back with WinDVD5 is the best way
to play them "glitch free" on the PC. Better than Fusion, VLC or Elecard...

I am still using the 1.10.03 version that Jacob posted a while back with
his fixes. Is 1.10.05 still "just as good" (or even better) in terms of
making good MPEG2 from all sources?

With 1.10.03 the only problem I had was that sometimes the app
would put up a crash dialog part way through some long jobs,
but the disk(s) would keep on writing until it was done. Sortof like
one of the threads crashed but the others kept going.

Do brightness/contrast controls actually change the saved MPEG2 files, or is that just for the little playback window inside of the HDTVtoMPEG2 application?

Here is a history of the 1.10.X versions that I can remember:

1.10.5(Merger of Alan Haverson's code and my own)
NEW:
- Hot key short cuts
- Basic Contrast\Brightness controls

FIXED:
- Possible freeze during file transitions
- Should also have picked up the fix to the problem with the mpeg conversion creating 3Kb files.

1.10.4
NEW:
- Auto save of region edits
- Mouse wheel steps by i-frame

FIXED:
- >>| Seek to End would not move the bar to the end of the slider
- Crash in Progress dialog when showing progress image
- |<< Seek to beginning would not display first i-frame
- Channel resolutions were sometimes swapped

1.10.3
FIXED:
- Resolution\FPS\Aspect Ratio\Bit Rate not displaying for some transport streams
- No preview picture for some 720p streams
- No preview picture for WB HD transport streams recored with TSReader
- Channel display now favors PSIP data if available and now displays digital and analog channels. If no PSIP data is available, you will get the familiar NONAME channel

In theory, everyone should now be using v1.10.5. It supposedly has all of the fixes that are available. Well, except for the quick fix I did for TPeterson today that he is testing.

Cris

Originally posted by Cris Moore
If you give it a thumbs up, I will send it to balazer to replace the existing version.Cris, you definitely fixed the issue I found, thanks! :) :cool:

Do brightness/contrast controls actually change the saved MPEG2 files, or is that just for the little playback window inside of the HDTVtoMPEG2 application?
The Contrast/Brightness controls are just for the preview window to make it easier to see what your doing.

Cris

Does this include the latest conversion to MPEG-2 and back to TS also, or is it considered broke in this version? Thanks.

Mike

Does this include the latest conversion to MPEG-2 and back to TS also, or is it considered broke in this version?
Mike,

It sounds like your saying H2 could at one time convert a MPEG-2 file to a TS file? I wasn't aware it could do that. I though it was strictly TS file in, TS file or MPEG-2 file out.

Cris

I don't really know for sure, but it acts like it works anyway. I was using Alan's version from December.

Thanks again for all the work guys... And answering questions here.

I am using 1.10.5 now, and all seems well.

Being able to convert MPEG2 back to TS would be nice to have someday...

You need a transport stream multiplexer to convert from program streams to transport streams. Why not just leave everything as transport streams?

Hello all: I'm new to posting here, but have been following along for some time. I've used the latest version ( and BTW, thanks for all the hard work in codeing ) to convert .tr streams from an HDP100 card to mpeg2. If I play the converted mpeg file with ATI's video player I get perfect video, but choppy audio. If I try to play the file with windows media 9 player I get good HD video but no sound at all. I was hopeing to be able to convert HDTV files to HD WM9 files as that would preserves HD quality, but compress the files by about 4 to 1. The process would go .tr to .mpeg then .mpeg to wmv9. I've been sucessful only in getting video converted into wmv9; no audio. ( It looked really good too.) The sampler files in HD of wmv9 are truely impressive to me. HD quality at 5 to 7 mbits/sec. Anyhow, I'd be interested in knowing what the recommended "player" is for the mpeg files produced by H2. If you can vector me to any other forums on this subject or have suggestions, it'd be much appreciated. I got into this a little late, and I've some catching up to do. Thanks

Originally posted by balazer
You need a transport stream multiplexer to convert from program streams to transport streams. Why not just leave everything as transport streams?

I have started to convert many TS files from my library to raw MPEG2.
They play well with WinDVD5, but someday I might want to turn them
back in TS files for HiPix playback. Pulling out the raw MPEG2 shrinks
the files in one step which is nice.

I know I could use "null-packet-stripper" on the TS files, but I like the one step process of stripping out the wanted PIDs and just saving the minimum needed data for playback.

Oh, and of course I don't trust the muxing on the AVX1 streams very much, so I would just as soon junk that as well.

H2's mpeg conversion still has a lot of problems and is not the best thing to use right now if your trying to get to WM9 format.

The best working solution for taking a transport stream to WM9 is here:
The Comprehensive Windows Media 9 HDTV Encoding Guide (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=227837&highlight=Wm9+encoding.)

It is very involved, but produces very good results from what I've heard, if you have the time and patience to learn. Sorry I don't know of a short cut that works.

Cris

Also, not sure you intended this, but when program alphabetizes the file segments, it will move any file from c: drive to the top, then d: drive, then e: drive etc.

So for example, even if you add in correct order, the program will move them to where you get:

c:\csi_04.ts
d:\csi_01.ts
e:\csi_03.ts
f:\csi_02.ts

Any chance you could post that "kqed-fix" utility?

Can't find any mention of it on a search ...

thanks

- litz

Originally posted by litz
Any chance you could post that "kqed-fix" utility?

Can't find any mention of it on a search ...

thanks

- litz

Look here. (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?postid=3216312#post3216312)

but when program alphabetizes the file segments, it will move any file from c: drive to the top, then d: drive, then e: drive etc.
The list box is just doing a standard alpha\numeric sort(default setting). I assume it was done this way so that you wouldn't have to worry about accidentally selecting the transport streams out of order. You are the first person that I know of that has consecutive streams on different drives. Why?

Cris

I just had a few final files spread over a laptop drive and discovered it when I tried to add the last 3 from the c:\ drive .... that's all.

Then did it over 4 c:\;d:\;e:\;f:\ to confirm that it would go by drive letter and then file name in alphabetizing.

Trust me when I say I am overjoyed with the work on the program. This really isn't a biggie at all, but thought I'd mention it here.

Originally posted by Cris Moore
[B]H2's mpeg conversion still has a lot of problems and is not the best thing to use right now if your trying to get to WM9 format.


Can you elaborate on this? If it completes the MPEG2 conversion without generating any errors is it creating "good" MPEG2? Or is the MPEG2 somehow damaged and worse than what was in the original TS files?

The idea I'm starting to get is that the only accurate clock references are in the transport stream control info. If you have no drop outs and do not cut commercials then converting to an MPEG-2 program stream may be okay. But if the streams are not continuous there may be no way to keep the audio in sync and you may end up with cumulative lip sync problems after stripping the transport stream control information.

Thus, if you are not going to re-encode it is probably better to keep the transport stream. The extra overhead is small and streams may be playable even after stripping commercials.

OTOH, if you are re-encoding to Xvid, WM9, etc. it is better to cut commercials in Avisynth/VirtualdubMod where you have a continuous stream and a known starting audio offset. Then it is individual frames and hopefully known audio lengths that are being cut.

- Tom

Can you elaborate on this? If it completes the MPEG2 conversion without generating any errors is it creating "good" MPEG2? Or is the MPEG2 somehow damaged and worse than what was in the original TS files?
Sorry, I guess I'm being a bit negative here. If the MPEG-2 conversion works for your transport stream, great. I've only tried it once, and it failed. It would not include the audio. From what I can tell, very little if any work has been done on the MPEG-2 conversion code in a long time. It is likely to be picky about the transport streams it will convert correctly.

Cris

In response to the last two posts - I have found that WinDVD5 correctly syncs the audio from extracted MPEG2. On some streams where I had minor lipsync issues playing TS files with DVico Fusion or VLC, I actually got better lipsync extracting the MPEG2, then using WinDVD5. At this point, I think there may be some (many) streams out there with better sync in the MPEG2 than in the TS, but only some players can do it the right way.

(This is somewhat theory at this point, but I think it is true)

The other thing, is how do the players maintain sync?
Using the Elecard player, or DVHStools + Elecard using
Reclock and AC3 filter, I found that they could maintain sync, but they
would "stutter" the audio every so often to get the audio back in sync.
From what I can tell, WinDVD5 has a few tricks to keep sync...
It seems like it can alter pitch slightly to slow down or catch up
(which is much less noticable than just dropping audio packets).
Also, I think it may be able to adjust video playback to match audio.
From what I see and hear, it uses different techniques to keep
things in sync.

The real test is what happens when you use a timeline slider to jump
way ahead into an edited recording. WinDVD5 recovers right away,
some of the other players have a lot more trouble.

Originally posted by TPeterson
Look here. (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?postid=3216312#post3216312)

Unfortunately, that's no help.

The downloadable file listed on that link is corrupted.

:-(

Any chance you can simply post it? Or email it?

thanks

- litz

EDIT : the above link is masquerading as a .zip, it should be renamed to .exe and run as-is

.I've got weird stuff like this happening:
I record two episodes of Smallville and Angel from c-band using a DVB card and TSReader. The first set loads quickly and plays fine, the second set takes forever to load and freezes every 3-4 seconds, basically it is unplayable with a MyHD card. What's the difference?... I have no idea.
I've done a little experimenting. It turns out that if I select "Force PID's to be ATSC compatible" in TSReader while using the "Record Program" option, this will cause the problem and MyHD will not be able to play the transport stream. I still need to test to see if editing with H2 afterwards causes problems.

Cris

Is there still a problem with editing large files (say over 8-9 gig)? I know when I first found the program, it had this issue - and I believe I saw someone mention it recently as well.

But after finally getting CapDVHS working on my HTPC, I realize that CapDVHS has no way to set a size of .ts files. Thus, a 2 hour movie will be 17 gig file.

If you need to put it in parts for DVD storage, this clearly is going to be an issue if the size limit still causes the program to perform an illegal function and shutdown.

Is there still a problem with editing large files (say over 8-9 gig)?
The crash that happened when Converting a large file or Converting a large number of files with the "Show Progress Image" option selected has been fixed.

Is that the problem you are talking about?

Cris

Honestly, it was January when it happened and I first received a MyHD card. At that point, I didn't know what to set file size as and I took a wild guess to set it at 8.5gig (figuring an hour per show). I just remember it croaked when I tried to do anything with the .ts, but don't remember at which point. This was also an older version of the program.

I just reduced the file size in MyHD and didn't worry about it again.

I only remembered it when making some SA3250HD-PC caputures for dr1394 to examine and realized that CapDVHS doesn't have an option for file size.

Thus, a movie would clearly run over 1 hour and 8.7 gig.

Then I believe I read somewhere someone else said something about it - Cliff maybe.

More a question as people gear up to capture to Hard Drive and all the sudden find they have issues - such as I finally realized this evening trying to figureout what to do when I captured a large file directly to Hard Drive now.

Cris,

Did you ever make any headway on putting the current GOP timestamp somewhere on the screen ?

We don't need to actually *edit* by GOP time, but just display it.

That way when you're editting a nullpacketted .ts, you have some idea of the "realtime" location versus the computed location.

Also - is the sourceforge ready to go yet?

thanks

- litz

one note...there is a bug, it seems that when you open files that are in dvd drives, it will report that it fails to open tri file and crash. Is there an option to put all tri files in one certain place?

Darius

litz,

I had gotten to the point where I was displaying the PTS timestamp for the i-frame that was being displayed, then I stopped. I'm not convinced that using the PTS information is the best solution. Although using the PTS data would be accurate for TS files that have had NULL packets removed, it would be inaccurate for any TS file that have had commercials removed. I'm thinking that the best way might be to calculate the TS rate and use that for the time display information. Although it wouldn't be exactly perfect, it should be pretty good and work for every TS file whether NULL packet or commercials or both had been removed. However, I haven't spent any time lately working on that problem or working on H2 for that matter.

Nothing has happened on SourceForge lately. It seems Alan and I have been busy doing other things. I believe Alan and I need to get the GPL headers stuff done for all of the source files before we can actually make a build available from SourceForge. The most current build is still available on balazer's site, its even newer than what's on SourceForge(code wise).

Cris

Darius,

Yes, that would be a problem. The assumption was that you were editing from a HD that you had write access too. It shouldn't crash though, just not write out a .tri file.

H2 does have an .INI file. I could put in a new entry where you could specify an output directory for .TRI files. You would have to edit the .INI file by hand. Perhaps it's time for an Option dialog box hung off the System menu.

Cris

Darius,

I fixed the crash when reading from a non-writable drive. H2 won't create a .TRI if you do this, but it shouldn't crash now.

If you would like a copy with the crash fixed, PM me your address.

Cris

I still have to keep version 1.09 around, because 1.10.5 will not save video from a broadcast recorded with MyHD from a Boston PBS station of four video streams. 1.10.5 will save it from a single HD stream.

Peter

Originally posted by avsfe
I still have to keep version 1.09 around, because 1.10.5 will not save video from a broadcast recorded with MyHD from a Boston PBS station of four video streams. 1.10.5 will save it from a single HD stream.

Peter

There's plenty of info going on in the MyHD unofficial thread about a problem with MyHD and that particular Boston station's PSIP.

You might want to make a short clip and get it to Cris as he might not have access to a clip with 4 video streams.

Yes, I had to do some tricks to get MyHD running, but that is related to the channel/program guide.
Interestingly, the Name, ID of the streams do not match the content in H2 and there is a difference from 1.09 to 1.10.5 (but I should take a close look to just to make sure). If Cris would like to have a sample, I am more than happy to provide some.

Peter

Boston has two analog PBS stations. WGBH-Ch2 and WGBX-Ch44.
The corresponding digital channels are Ch19D and Ch43D (I can receive Ch43 only).
From a capture HDTV2MPEG2 version 1.09 reports the following streams, the content may not match reported ID:
Channel, Video PID, Audio PID, Content
Create 44.3, 0x41, 0x44 and 0x45, Create (SD)
NONAME 6.1(2), 0x21, 0x24 and 0x25, WGBX Ch44 (SD)
WGBX-DT 44.1, 0x31, 0x34 and 0x35, World (SD)
World 44.2, 0x51, 0x54 and 0x55, GBH-Kids (SD)

HDTV2MPEG2 version 1.10.5 correctly reports:
Create 44.3, 0x41, 0x44 and 0x45, Create (SD)
WGBX-DT 44.1, 0x21, 0x24 and 0x25, WGBH Ch44 (SD)
World 44.2, 0x31, 0x34 and 0x35, World (SD)
Kids, 0x51, 0x54 and 0x55, GBH-Kids (SD)

When the broadcast is HD, there is only one video stream,
1.09 reports it as NONAME 0.1(2) and
1.10.5 reports PBS1DTV 80.3, both version says IDs 0x31,0x34,0x35.

1.09 can save individual SD streams, but it will not show picture for HD when seeking.
1.10.5 will not save video of SD stream and the audio part is missing a great deal of content. But it woks fine for HD.

Peter

I am using MyHd card V.163 to capture HD streams form local PBS Milw WI Ch 35. The ts files play fine in MyHd or Elecard decoder. But H2 Ver 1.10.5 will not convert to a usable mpeg file. There is no video and only a few blurts of audio. Ts captured from any other TV channel convert to mpeg properly. H2 reports PID's V31 A34 and 17mbs data rate for the PBS station. There do not appear to be any subchannels. But where is the other 2 mbs going? Apparently some part of the PBS stream is different and causing the problem. I know there are other PBS issues with the MyHD as reported in the MyHD forum. But any ideas specific to a solution for using H2MPG would be appreciated. Tod

Here is a follow up to my last post. I used TSReader to examine the PBS Stream. It reports the program as "3"

I'm new at this, so please forgive a dumb ? But what does it mean that the stream is "blacklisted"?

Elementary Stream PID 49 (0x0031)
**ES has been blacklisted**
MPEG Video: Bitrate 17.000 Mbps Resolution 1920 x 1088i
MPEG Video: Framerate 29.97 fps Aspect Ratio 16:9 Chroma Format 4:2:0

Descriptor: Data Stream Alignment Descriptor
Alignment type: video access unit

Channel 3
Service Name: MPTV2HD
Transport Stream ID: 3233 (0x0ca1)
Channel Number: 36.1
Carrier Frequency: 0
Modulation Mode: ATSC (8 VSB)
Service Location Descriptor:
PCR PID 0x0031
Stream Type 0x02 ESPID = 0x0031 Language = eng
Stream Type 0x81 ESPID = 0x0034 Language = eng

Elementary Stream PID 52 (0x0034)
AC3: Bitrate 192 Kbps Sample Rate 48 KHz
AC3: Mode complete main Coding 2/0 L, R

Descriptor: Registration Descriptor
Format identifier: 0x41432d33 (AC-3)

Descriptor: ISO639 Language Descriptor
Language: eng
Audio type: undefined

Descriptor: User Private Descriptor: 0x81
08 28 05 .(.

I sure wish there was a book about this stuff.

Thanks for any help. Tod

Peter\Tod,

Can you guys send me sample files?

Cris

I'd be happy to send you a short clip of the problem PBS stream. Just give me instructions on how and where to send it. Thanks Tod

Tod,

It would be nice to have a 50MB+ file. This leaves e-mail out. If you don't have an ftp site I can download from, then I guess the next best thing would be to send me a CD. If you want to go this route, PM me and I'll send you my address.

Cris

it may be counter-productive to spend a lot of effort working with problematic PBS streams.... the streams are faulty.... see the many comments on these faulty streams in the many MyHD threads....

:cool:

Here is a feature request for you.

Is it possible to give the option to integrate a null packet stripper into hdtv2mpeg so it strips the file as its splitting it? Not a necessity, but would be nice to have for one less step. Thanx.

Originally posted by jimwhite
it may be counter-productive to spend a lot of effort working with problematic PBS streams.... the streams are faulty.... see the many comments on these faulty streams in the many MyHD threads....

:cool:

Actually the HD Streams are different - not faulty, they are using a different protocol that PBS is adapoting at all their stations - thus, everyone will eventually have the problem on their PBS stream.

HDTVFanAtic--

They may be faulty as well as different. Since only a few PBS stations seem to be giving problems, it's very likely that they've improperly implemented the new protocol, hmm? IIRC, you said that WGBH and the (currently dark) NYC station were leading this charge, right? How likely is it that Glenfishpoint WI is the closest follower? ;)

T. Peterson. Glenfishpoint Wisconsin is a suburb of Milwaukee. We have 4 PBS stations here all operated by the same group. Ch8 DTV Ch10 Atv Ch35 Dtv and Ch36 Atv. On Ch35 DTV they usually just pass the PBS national HD service 24/7. Thats the stream I'm having trouble with. They use the Ch8 DTV for multicasting local SDTV.

Cris, I sent you a snail mail PBS transport stream on a CD. I forgot to put a letter inside explaining where it came from. Look for an envelop from T3 reasearch. Thanks again for all your effort. Tod

Tod, although I'm guilty through my phrasing of fishing for a cheesehead rise ;), my point was that there's precious little broadcaster experience these days with DTV in any U.S. market, so the possibility of station-engineer error is pretty large--and one doesn't "just pass" a DTV feed, as there are plenty of little buttons and switches to poke and push the wrong way! (Take a tour of your local PBS station and you'll likely see what I mean) :)

Tod,

Go here (http://www.coolstf.com/tsreader/support.html) for an explanation.

akula

Originally posted by tecqboy


....

I'm new at this, so please forgive a dumb ? But what does it mean that the stream is "blacklisted"?

...

Thanks for any help. Tod

One other very important feature request I have is to be able to select where those TSRI files get saved. When I try to edit something I have that has been recorded to DVD it cant create one and won't let me edit. Also It would be nice to just have them created all in one folder so I can randomly delete the contents of that folder at a later date.

chap,

I've made a quick edit to H2 and added a TRIOut entry to the H2 ini file. The entry is added after you run H2, or you can add it manually.

By default the entry is "TRIOut=", indicating no output directory is specified and H2 will write the TRI file to the source directory as it currently does now. If it can't write a TRI file to the source directory, you will get a warning message but you can continue using H2.

If you specify a directory, like "TRIOut=d:\temp", then all TRI files will go to this directory, assuming of course it's a valid directory.
Note: Do not include a '\' on the end of the directory name.

There is currently no UI for adding the entry, you must edit the H2 ini file by hand.
Note: The directory must exist, H2 will not create it for you.

PM me if you want a copy.

Cris

Chris -

YGM. That is an essential option for me because I often archive a bunch of ATSC test data on DVDR's and then want to extract short sections of them at the office. That can't work when I can't write to the disc.

- Tom

Is there a program that will allow me to cut out commercials from a transport stream?

I have used Womble, but there is a glitch at the intersection of the files. I use and MDP-120.

Help!

pw--

Despite its misleading name, HDTVtoMPEG2 (aka "H2") does what you want. Download it from the link at the head of this thread. There are, however, inevitably glitches at edit points of some programs--but better a 1/4-sec. glitch than a 5-min. commercial, I say. ;)

Despite its misleading name, HDTVtoMPEG2 (aka "H2") does what you want. Download it from the link at the head of this thread. There are, however, inevitably glitches at edit points of some programs--but better a 1/4-sec. glitch than a 5-min. commercial, I say. ;)
Does HDTVtoMPEG2 1.10.5 support the function that its name does lead one to believe it can do? :confused:

Originally posted by bart745
Does HDTVtoMPEG2 1.10.5 support the function that its name does lead one to believe it can do? :confused: Bart, yes, sort of.... YMMV but I find that it will usually create an MPG file that at least one of my MPEG players can tolerate. However, they don't play in all; e.g., MyHD doesn't like 'em.

Has anyone attempted to use a video capture program (one that can see DirectX overlays and record audio) to downconvert a TS file to AVI?

I am still unable ( after much experimenting ) to use H2 to convert TS files captured by MyHD from the local PBS DTV station to mpeg files. All I get is a nearly empty mpg file with small chunks of ac3 audio. It is only a problem for the PBS station. All other DTV stations (6) in my area make streams which convert just fine. Is anyone else having a problem with PBS? My issue is that I can't determine if the problem is in the MyHD capture or the H2 conversion. H2 goes through the motions, but no video is seen on the preview screen. It will edit as it should if I save as .ts If I could only afford a real time analyzer......

Can you play the recorded .ts files using MyHD? The reason I ask, is that I finally got around to upgrading to the latest drivers and app, and now I can't watch recorded PBS programs. I haven't had time to do any tinkering, but when I watch a recorded PBS file, its just blank.

Originally posted by rbonzer
Can you play the recorded .ts files using MyHD?(KQED in S.F.) Yes. Contact your station and notify them of the problem.

The PBS .tp files I record on MyHD play fine in MyHD vers 163. They can also be played on the Elecard software decoder without problems. But, H2 treats them differently than other .tp files. So the problem is that the format of the PBS stream has an "unusal" dialect that H2 does not like. If I had access to better test gear, I think I could isolate this. The "clue" is that the stream decodes as program 3, even though there are no other programs in the stream. PID's are 31 and 34, and data rate is 17 mbps. Null packet stripping doesn't help.

Originally posted by rbonzer
Can you play the recorded .ts files using MyHD?
Originally posted by TPeterson
(KQED in S.F.) Yes. Contact your station and notify them of the problem.

(Sorry this is a bit off topic for this thread)

I was thinking that if I could view the channel live, the station isn't really to blame. If this is not true, I'll take my question to another thread.

Originally posted by rbonzer
....If this is not true, I'll take my question to another thread. It's not.

rbonzer -
The reason I ask, is that I finally got around to upgrading to the latest drivers and app, and now I can't watch recorded PBS programs. I haven't had time to do any tinkering, but when I watch a recorded PBS file, its just blank.
I'm having the same problem. I recorded Soundstage off PBS last night. Tried to play it back with MyHD120, all I get is blank, no video or audio.

If I uninstall 1.63 and install 1.61 from my CD, MyHD will play the file just fine. Uninstall 1.61 and install 1.63, MyHD won't play the file, just blank.

rbonzer, do you know if this problem has been addressed in the MyHD thread?

Cris

Originally posted by Cris Moore
I'm having the same problem. I recorded Soundstage off PBS last night. Tried to play it back with MyHD120, all I get is blank, no video or audio.

did you try switching the subchannel? i recorded sheryl crow last night as well, & when i play it back, it first shows subchannel 1. i have to switch it to subchannel 2 to get the hd stream. i have v1.63 drivers. good luck.

Originally posted by Cris Moore
I'm having the same problem. I recorded Soundstage off PBS last night. Tried to play it back with MyHD120, all I get is blank, no video or audio.

If I uninstall 1.63 and install 1.61 from my CD, MyHD will play the file just fine. Uninstall 1.61 and install 1.63, MyHD won't play the file, just blank.

rbonzer, do you know if this problem has been addressed in the MyHD thread?

Cris

There has been a lot of talk about the PBS stations on the MyHD thread. I didn't pay much attention, since it was working fine for me. Now that I've upgraded, and have the problem, I think we need to go back and read those parts. I'm sure there is less than 1000 pages to wade thru;)

kpoon,
Thanks for the suggestion but our local PBS station only has one channel.

rbonzer,
I've tried all beta versions of 1.62 and none of them will work. Only 1.61 that I installed off my CD will play the file.

Cris

Cris, this is where Cliff Watson usually chimes in to request a short clip of the file to send to MIT. :D I still say that you guys in Portland ought to contact the PBS local and complain that they've effed up their stream, though. (KQED is playing fine in 1.63. I've not checked recordings lately from KCSM and KRCB but will do so)

--Terry

[Edit: I just tested both KCSM and KRCB streams with v1.63 and they play fine too.]

P.S.: You might try fiddling with the "subch" button even though your station has only one program, on the chance that their PAT/PMT makes MyHD think differently.

Got this back from Cliff after sending him a short clip.
Cris,

MIT confirmed Glenn's finding that the PAT is broken and must be fixed by the station.

The reason you can play the file in v1.61 is because that version actually has a bug that didn't comply with the correct table structure.
Cris

Got this back from Glenn who I had also sent a short clip too.

Cris,

I did the experiment and changed 1 bit per PAT packet (and recomputed the packet checksum). Now the repaired short clip plays just fine with MyHD. That confirms that that was the problem.

The bad news is that Physicsguy's workaround that I referred to on the AVS Forum doesn't work. Or, at least I couldn't get it to work. I guess MIT "improved" the software so it won't play properly sequenced file names if there is too much discontinuity in the data.

I haven't gotten a response from KOPB Engineering yet, but I've asked my contact at our local PBS station if he could refer me to the right person there in Portland.

Glenn

So it looks like its an OPB problem.

Cris

All I get is 3KB MPG files when I try to convert .TS to .MPG - someone mentioned on page 2 I believe that 1.09 was able to convert them properly...where can I find this version? or can someone send it to me? koebel_adam@hotmail.com

much appreciated

Originally posted by kami
All I get is 3KB MPG files when I try to convert .TS to .MPG - someone mentioned on page 2 I believe that 1.09 was able to convert them properly...where can I find this version? or can someone send it to me? koebel_adam@hotmail.com

much appreciated This version works as well as 1.09 ever did for me to make MPG files. Are you sure that you have the correct PIDs selected for the conversion?

How do I know if they are right? It doesn't give me any options to change them, I can't even type in something manually. When I import the .ts file it says Video PID 0x1122 and Audio PID 0x1123. When I type something in, it reverts back to those values.

I can convert to another .ts or HiDTV file fine, just not mpeg.

You would change them by using the dropdown list of stream IDs above the PID displays.

The other conversions don't filter out any PIDs, so they don't count for verifying correct selection. Do you see a proper preview and stream data on H2's status panel? BTW, what sort of source is that with those PIDs?

I only have one choice in the drop down menu and its called NONAME 0.1

yes I can preview the video fine and scroll through it. ouputting to the other two formats works fine, just not mpeg.

Here is a screenshot of what I see. I have the drop down menu dropped down:
http://www.adamkoebel.com/h2.jpg

Seems like you may need Ben Cooley's original version, here: <http://www.midwinter.com/~bcooley/>

I tried 1.07, it crashes when I import - lol!

I think I'll just give up.

thanks.

What's the status of the null packet removal inclusion? I have a few multicast stations that I'd like to remove their additional programming in addition to cutting commercials.

Some time back, I had those same thoughts, but after investigating the problem we had with KQED and the one you are having with KOPB, it is clear that MyHD relies more on PSIP info for live viewing and PSI (i. e. PATs and PMTs) for playing back recordings. Both have PID directories, so it is reasonble to use either one.

Unfortunately for Portland folks using MyHD, KOPB's PSIP info looks good, but the PSI doesn't.

Actually, the problem is just one bit per PAT packet. It's not very hard to write a program to fix it.

akula


Originally posted by rbonzer


...

I was thinking that if I could view the channel live, the station isn't really to blame. If this is not true, I'll take my question to another thread.

For the bug list - Just noticed latest version doesnt create a folder if specified in the output - just says unable to write to file.

I have a problem with joining ts files and ac3. All my files are misflagged after joining to 2 channel ac3 (when they were 5.1). I have used several apps to examine the resulting streams. I am using HDTV2Mpeg 1.10.5 . Thanks

All the sudden I have been having problems with this App and DiscoveryHD.

At MANY breaks (changes from bumpers to program, inserts,rejoins etc), the one step button will not go any further. It hits a brickwall and will not move past that point.

I can use the 10 or 60 to jump past and move backwards one step at a time until it also hits the wall from the other direction.

It's like you changed channels, except the video doesn't go blank on the app.

Thus far, only on Discovery HD.

Anyone else noticed this?

Originally posted by HDTVFanAtic
All the sudden I have been having problems with this App and DiscoveryHD.

At MANY breaks (changes from bumpers to program, inserts,rejoins etc), the one step button will not go any further. It hits a brickwall and will not move past that point.

I can use the 10 or 60 to jump past and move backwards one step at a time until it also hits the wall from the other direction.

It's like you changed channels, except the video doesn't go blank on the app.

Thus far, only on Discovery HD.

Anyone else noticed this?

I've had the same problems too. And also with Discovery. If I can't get through it, sometimes I revert to an older version of this program, and it will get past the problem area.

I've also had this problem with streams from a couple OTA stations recorded with MyHD. Usually there is a problem with the stream. I haven't gone to the trouble to analyze further, I just use the 10sec jump and go from the other side. The un-steppable sections are usually quite small - like 1 or 2 I-frames unless there was a big dropout in the signal.

I'm using 1.10.3.

- Mike

I have noticed that the problems are usually right at a source change - ie, Promo into Program etc.

This was not with MyHD, but direct 1394 to computer.

I did not have this problem in the past - just recently started.

Also, on some files if you hit the >> it doesn't go to the end....just sits there.

<< always seems to work though.

Anyone else having problems with their 5.1 streams being flagged as 2.0 when joining multiple TS files?

Just started using this program. I have converted a TS to mpeg2 file. How are people playing the mpeg2 files ? Windows media player v9 is saying it doesn't have the codec.

Just started using this program. I have converted a TS to mpeg2 file. How are people playing the mpeg2 files ? Windows media player v9 is saying it doesn't have the codec.



dozens: I use the moonlight elecard mpeg decoder. Google it up. It works better than any others I've run across. With that codec installed, WM9HD encoder will handle mpeg as well as TS streams directly. Tod

Ok I could use some help here. I just cannot get the sound to follow to the MPEG file. I can get the audio in my saved .ts file, but when I play the MPEG I have no audio. Does anyone have any ideas?

thanks,
Schmitter

One of the things that can cause H2 to drop the audio when converting a TS file to a MPEG file is if the audio in the TS file is not AC-3. If it is, for example, mpeg-2 audio, H2 will ignore it.