Originally posted by NizZ8
Thanks for the guide! up and running/recording in only 10 minutes!!

i can't get live play to work. can you tell me what setting you used? i can record and play back fine- but when i try to open the capture device nothing happens.

Im sure this has been discussed but in 63 pages a search didnt find an answer...

Is there a way to straight "download" your recorded files to the computer? Instead of playingthem and capturing that stream?

Originally posted by jagouar
Im sure this has been discussed but in 63 pages a search didnt find an answer...

Is there a way to straight "download" your recorded files to the computer? Instead of playingthem and capturing that stream? WE WISH!! (but no). Also, I don't think it's specifically mentioned anywhere in this thread but be sure not to activate any transport functions during playback (pause, ff, etc) or this will most likely screw up audio/video sync in the capture.

Originally posted by bdraw
Kevin, Great article!
It is good to see someone improve upon my work. Honestly since I bought a HDTivo over a year ago I have spent very little time on this, and I appreciate you picking up where I left off. I also appreciate you helping others out on this thread. I would link to your article from my first post, but I think a moderator would remove it. Thanks bdraw but all gratitude is owed to you and the original thread on the subject - I'm just trying to make it easier to follow for some as well as adding the HD->DVD flow that is not trivial.

Originally posted by cjv123
can i get a quick primer for someone runniing MCE2005?

1) despite having a tuner card, can MCE2005 simply be told on install to look for an STB and it will find it via the firewire port "instead" of the tuner card?

2) alternately, do you tell it you have a digital TV tuner in addition to the tuner card, and it will find the firewire as the digital tuner?

the MCE2005 seems to require the analog tuner card be present, but i would prefer to use my STB as the primary (normally numbered) channels, if possible? i'd also like the convenience of the EPG being accurate "out-of-the-box" using the assigned channels for the HD channels.

I have done some work with MCE (see www.thegreenbutton.com). It uses firewire in parallel to the analogue tuner. You use the MCE as normal but when you change channels and the MCE would do it via IR, in parallel I do it over firewire. Similarly when MCE records via analogue tuner, I record via firewire. I record into dvr-ms MCE format and place in MCE's recorded tv directory, copying metadata into the file from teh analogue recording so MCE things there are 2 recordings but if the channel was HD the 2nd is an HD recording. I dont delete the MCE recording yet (not fully trustworthy yet)
So you need the analogue tuner and you use the MCE as normal but you get more reliable change channel and firewire recordings.

tim-

thank you for your wonderful stuff.

your software seems to be working properly, in that it changes the channel on my STB. it also created the folder "fire" under recorded TV. but when mytray.exe receives the channel change instruction from MC it bombs. have you ever seen this before? i'm running a very clean MCE2005 on a recently purchased (sony) PC.

First off, I am new here so be gentle. :) Second, moyekj, the guide that is in your sig is excellent. I was capturing HD in under 15 minutes. I have tried the conversion process to dvd you included in the guide and it works.

I do have a question though. If this isn't the right forum for this let me know and suggest which forum I need to direct it. I have this HD program on my machine and I would like to make it letterboxed for my 4:3 tv. Using the method you included, it is an excellent full screen nonletterboxed video on my 16:9 tv but when I play it on my 4:3 tv it isn't letterboxed and is cutting off the left and right sides. Could I have a setting wrong on my DVD player or do I need to change how it gets converted?

Sorry for the long post.

E

Thanks mystere2. The non-letterboxing on a 4:3 display is most likely either a problem with DVD player settings or even more likely with DVD authoring. What DVD authoring software are you using? If using Rejig or Ifoedit/Vobedit there could be some additional edits needed to the DVD .ifo files to make it letterbox properly for 4:3. I typically use commercial software for DVD authoring and haven't run into this problem.

I will check my dvd player settings tonight. As for the DVD authoring program I converted it to vob with rejig, and burned it with nero. I just used nero smartstart and chose burn dvd video files. so does that make rejig my authoring program?

E

Yes, DVD authoring refers to the program you use to create the VIDEO_TS folder and the .vob & .ifo files - in your case Rejig. I believe there is a setting in the .ifo files that specifies aspect ratio and auto letterbox. My guess is Rejig is setting 16:9 as aspect ratio but is not setting "auto letterbox". If this is the case the fix should be pretty simple - just start Ifoedit and edit each of the .ifo files and set the "auto letterbox" flag. I don't know exactly where this is but can check it out tonight if I get a chance, and this would probably be worthy of adding to the guide.

Off the top of my head, you need to do something like:
* Open .ifo file with Ifoedit
* Locate the first line of info that has a filmstrip logo beside it and doubleclick it. A dialog box will appear showing all the video attributes.
* Make sure AUTO LETTERBOX is checked, then click OK
* Save both .ifo and .bup files
* Repeat for each .ifo file

P.S. Please p.m. me or email for any further discussion on this since this is way off topic in this thread.

Has anyone tried a Pace 550 box yet?

Frank

Originally posted by JackLT

It would be helpful to see a post or guide suggesting what filters and splitters to use for best PC playback of HD, SD analog, or SD digital, and how to set it up?
Yes, it's very confusing because Windows provides no user level control over Directshow filters (DSFs). Nearly all media players simply use the DSFs installed on the system, with the one notable exception being VLC, which is fully self-contained. MPC can use the installed base of DSFs but also has many internal filters.

MPC gives you much control over how your file is split, decoded, and rendered. So do many of the other players, like Zoom Player, popular with enthusiasts. The best combination of filters varies with the source you're decoding (not even all mpeg2 transport streams are created equal) and the hardware (mostly video card but also CPU). You must try many combinations to find an optimal set of filters and settings for each file type or even subtype (1080i vs 720p or even Fox 720p vs. ABC 720p!)

For mpeg2 playback on ATI cards that support it, I like the ATI mpeg2 DxVA decoder and the internal MPC splitter. Otherwise, I've had good luck with the latest Moonlight DxVA decoder and Moonlight splitter. For some source, the Nero mpeg splitter seeks better. Reclock is often a worthwhile option to improve playback smoothness. My FusionIII card software comes with a very high quality DxVA decoder. The 3.0 software has been quite stable since beta2 on my machine. With some trial and error, you'll soon have your favorites too.

Originally posted by cjv123
tim-

thank you for your wonderful stuff.

your software seems to be working properly, in that it changes the channel on my STB. it also created the folder "fire" under recorded TV. but when mytray.exe receives the channel change instruction from MC it bombs. have you ever seen this before? i'm running a very clean MCE2005 on a recently purchased (sony) PC.
Yes, I did some changes so that recordings are now seekable under MCE but a managed to break HD recordings at the same time :(. Working in it :)
Edit: I believe I have fixed the problem, if you download the latest version

tim-

you are quite a fine chap to do this for us- if i see a paypal link somewhere i'll send a few $ your way. i don't know if you saw the post that the 6412 may now have HD disabled on firewire. i think i'll hang onto my 6200 awhile longer :)

Please help. I think I may be close to a Sony KD34XBR960 firewire driver?

I have the following firewire device chain:
DCT6412 DVR --> Sony KD34XBR960 HDTV --> WIN XP SP2 PC

I can view DCT6412's output on the TV or on the PC, or on both at once. But I cannot communicate between the Sony TV and the PC. The Sony TV sees the PC as "Other Device [with no video]". The PC sees the Sony as a "Sony KD34XBR960" but with no drivers.

On the KD34XBR960 device in Windows, when you try to select a driver, here is what happens...

Can Windows connect to Windows Update? [No, not at this time.] [Next]
What do you want the Wizard to do? [Install from a list/specific location] [Next]
Search/Installation Options? [Don't search, I will choose] [Next]
THIS SCREEN DOES NOT GIVE THE "Show only compatible items" CHECKBOX.
THIS SCREEN DOES NOT LIST SONY AS A POTENTIAL MANUFACTURER.
YOU ARE SCREWED.

But, if I try to change drivers for the DCT6412, it goes something like this...
Can Windows connect to Windows Update? [No, not at this time.] [Next]
What do you want the Wizard to do? [Install from a list/specific location] [Next]
Search/Installation Options? [Don't search, I will choose] [Next]
UNCHECK "show compatible hardware" CHECKBOX
SELECT "Sony" MANUFACTURER

There are then 4 potential devices listed...
Sony 1394 CCM-DS250 Desktop Camera
Sony AV Device
Sony DV Camcorder
Sony DV Tape Recorder/Player

So it seems to me that the Sony drivers MAY exist within windows, it is just that it doesn't normally allow you to attach them to the KD34XBR960 device. Anyone with some Windows savvy know how to connect these two together?

Device Instance ID:
1394\SONY&KD34XBR960\752E7A044460008
Hardware IDs:
1394\Sony&KD34XBR960
Compatible IDs:
1394\5068&10101
1394\5068&1
1394\5068

Based on this knowledge, is it possible to do something? It seems it might have something to do with the monitor being in the "1394"... uh ... class?... when it should be in the "AVC" class in order to hook up with the right drivers.

UPDATE: It shouldn't be too tough to get it to work. Here is a message (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/printpost.php?postid=4889751) in a thread about Apple Firewire where they manageed to output to the KD34XBR960 HDTV from an Apple computer. Other messages in the thread seems to indicate that the newer Sony TVs w/firewire can additionally be an input as well as an output device.

Has anyone got this working with the SA8000HD box yet?

Thanks,

Frank

Apart from Firebus, has anyone successfully played back the TS from their PC to a 1394-equipped TV?

Xesdeeni

i was able to install the drivers and et everything set up, however i have a few problems.
i cannot cap any channels from 0-99. i was only able to get the preview channels in the 100s, and a disney cartoon channel around 150.

for the hd channels, i can cap those, however, when i view the ts files, they are 80-90% covered in a solid green pixelated mess.

ive got windows xp SP1, P4 2.0, 512 ddr ram.

any ideas on what the problem is or how i can fix it?

i was able to install the drivers and et everything set up, however i have a few problems.
i cannot cap any channels from 0-99. i was only able to get the preview channels in the 100s, and a disney cartoon channel around 150.

for the hd channels, i can cap those, however, when i view the ts files, they are 80-90% covered in a solid green pixelated mess.

ive got windows xp SP1, P4 2.0, 512 ddr ram.

any ideas on what the problem is or how i can fix it?

Try upgrading to SP-2 and if possible, slipstream RyanVM's (http://ryanvm.msfn.org/) pack in with it, at least version 1.2.2, which contains all the fixes since SP-2 was released. Then retry it, using the instructions at the beginning of this thread, and download the fileset from the link below, which includes DMA's revised drivers for the Motorolla boxes, timmoore's channel changer, and graphedit with a sample for watching from the Motorolla 6412, as well as a copy of CapDVHS, which works better than the graphedit, or you can go hunt everywhere for all these files. It would also be benificial if you have NVDVD from NVidia to view the files with as it has a built in ts info parser which is something you need to view them with. I would also reccomend at least another 512MB DDR, PC3200 or better, memory.

DVHS_Drivers.zip (http://DisabledTrucker.home.comcast.net/DVHS_Drivers.zip)

i have it running well on a sony vaio PC, only after having to hack thru a conflict with some bogus parallel "media center" software the sony wants to run. i posted the hack in tim's thread at greenbutton, for any sony vaio/media center 2005 folks who are trying this.

thanks for the tip DisabledTrucker, but it didnt work. i still get garble when capping.

however, i did find 1 hd channel i can cap, and thats UPN HD, it comes in fine. all the other channels give me the garbled crap.

any other ideas?

for an SA 3250HD

A huge thanks to pioneers who tested and documented the Moto6412 capture capabilities. I followed the guide and was capturing within 10 minutes. Awesome! I do have a question or two and hope its not too basic. I searched the thread, but found no answers.

I captured One Tree Hill last night and MplayerClassic plays it beautifully. After Dgindex and HDTV-to-MPEG it still plays on Mplayerclassic, but Encore and/or Premiere don't recognize the AC3 audio although both claim to support it. I went back to DGIndex and noticed that there are two audio and two video channels (somethign like 0x840, 0x841 and 0x201, 0x202. Both have some of the content, but 202, 201 seem to have all 2hours while 840,841 have only 1 hour.

Interestingly, the latter is 1920x1080 and the former is 720x480. The show seems to be SD, but I recorded it off a channel that offers HD. Don't know if this is affecting the audio problem or not.

Thanks for any coaching on this.

Paul

Can I use firewire to capture steight to DVD format. I just want a DVD of a missed show for my friend.

I completed all steps... Pretty Cool! I can record whatever comes from the tv. But, i have a whole bunch of recordings on the DVR HD waiting to be edited and burned to DVD, does anybody know how to literely "find" and "download" the recorded files from the DVR HD onto your computer without having to re-watch and record it? Thanks!

Thanks to all, works for me too! Now I wonder why the h@$% I stayed with D* for so long.

Doesn't appear my local cable office is observing 5C. Don't know how long it will last, but its fun right now!!

Wondering one thing about CAPDvhs. Seems the minutes to put in for recording is a max of 99. Is there any way to say record a 2hr. show and still have it stop? I think putting in nothing would just record forever. Maybe I need to look at the scheduling page. Or try one of the other recording apps.

Thanks to all, works for me too! Now I wonder why the h@$% I stayed with D* for so long.

Doesn't appear my local cable office is observing 5C. Don't know how long it will last, but its fun right now!!

Wondering one thing about CAPDvhs. Seems the minutes to put in for recording is a max of 99. Is there any way to say record a 2hr. show and still have it stop? I think putting in nothing would just record forever. Maybe I need to look at the scheduling page. Or try one of the other recording apps.

Yes, I thought this at first as well. If we have the same version, the minutes scroll out of the window. Put your cursor in the window and use the arrow keys to move the digits into view.

Yup, I just figured it out too, you just can't see the most significant digit.

"THIS IS GREAT!!" - Gopher in Animal House

Yes, I thought this at first as well. If we have the same version, the minutes scroll out of the window. Put your cursor in the window and use the arrow keys to move the digits into view.

I'm not sure of the specifics of the TS you're getting, but if you run it through any of the later versions of HDTV2MPEG, you can select the PIDS you want to keep, strip null packets, and set the PIDS to "normal", 11 and 14.

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

Do not save it as a program stream (mpeg), save it as a transport stream. Then DGIndex should be able to identify the pids and demux it for further processing. Another option I have better luck with is ProjectX to demux and create a d2v.


A huge thanks to pioneers who tested and documented the Moto6412 capture capabilities. I followed the guide and was capturing within 10 minutes. Awesome! I do have a question or two and hope its not too basic. I searched the thread, but found no answers.

I captured One Tree Hill last night and MplayerClassic plays it beautifully. After Dgindex and HDTV-to-MPEG it still plays on Mplayerclassic, but Encore and/or Premiere don't recognize the AC3 audio although both claim to support it. I went back to DGIndex and noticed that there are two audio and two video channels (somethign like 0x840, 0x841 and 0x201, 0x202. Both have some of the content, but 202, 201 seem to have all 2hours while 840,841 have only 1 hour.

Interestingly, the latter is 1920x1080 and the former is 720x480. The show seems to be SD, but I recorded it off a channel that offers HD. Don't know if this is affecting the audio problem or not.

Thanks for any coaching on this.

Paul

Is anyone else having problems downloading the dvhs.zip file found earlier on this thread?

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=36572


Nevermind, it started working again...

Hey guys... i have tried these drivers with my Cox Motorola DCT 6412 and i am having NO LUCK WITH THIS! Any suggestions on how to get the Firewire connection working with the 6412? The MEITAPE file doesn't work... WinXP SP2 says that it doesn't contain information on my device.... go figure.

(there are too many pages to go one by one through and figure out of it has already been addressed)

Hey guys... i have tried these drivers with my Cox Motorola DCT 6412 and i am having NO LUCK WITH THIS! Any suggestions on how to get the Firewire connection working with the 6412? The MEITAPE file doesn't work... WinXP SP2 says that it doesn't contain information on my device.... go figure.

(there are too many pages to go one by one through and figure out of it has already been addressed)
Get the drivers from the post immeditely before yours. That is the best driver package to use.

Get the drivers from the post immeditely before yours. That is the best driver package to use.


for those of you with the moto 620*, the simply wonderful mr. moore has a great version of his recording package now up at http://www.thegreenbutton.com

Hello
I had all of this working. Now it stopped and I don't know why.
I followed the instructions on page 1.

Now...I can record SD but no sound.
No HD at all.
So I downloaded the new dvhs drivers and have the 6412 and the Panny DVHS like page one but still no sound on SD Content and nothing on HD.
I really did search. Can anyone help me out. If I go back to the past and start over what post has the instructions to make the 6412 work to capture video using firewire to my windows xp sp2 machine. I have a brand new computer that I know is fast enough and with enough memory. 3.8ghz and lots of ram and an audigy card and nvidia with the dvd decoder and all the goodies. Thanks in advance to anyone that can help.
Ken

ken987 I have 6412-specific instructions + drivers described in my sig link guide below. Note that sometimes it can take several tries of plugging in firewire cable for handshaking to work for me but eventually does work.

for those of you with the moto 620*, the simply wonderful mr. moore has a great version of his recording package now up at http://www.thegreenbutton.com


where abouts? I looked in the "download center" but didn't see it.

Hello
I had all of this working. Now it stopped and I don't know why.
I followed the instructions on page 1.

Now...I can record SD but no sound.
No HD at all.
So I downloaded the new dvhs drivers and have the 6412 and the Panny DVHS like page one but still no sound on SD Content and nothing on HD.
I really did search. Can anyone help me out. If I go back to the past and start over what post has the instructions to make the 6412 work to capture video using firewire to my windows xp sp2 machine. I have a brand new computer that I know is fast enough and with enough memory. 3.8ghz and lots of ram and an audigy card and nvidia with the dvd decoder and all the goodies. Thanks in advance to anyone that can help.
Ken
This happens to me occassionally and it is always something dumb on my part that causes CapDVHS to fail. Make sure the only firewire plugged into the 6412 is the 6 pin that is going to your PC. I get an error if I have my JVC 40K firewire plugged in at the same time. Also make sure you try each capture device. There should only be one but a couple times I have not carefully followed the instructions and installed 2 capture devices. I have also had the dang firewire unplug in the back of the 6412 after moving some equipment around. Spent several hours troubleshooting that one. OT (because it isn't HD) Back to Fear Factor: Miss USA...yum.

where abouts? I looked in the "download center" but didn't see it.

http://www.thegreenbutton.com/community/shwmessage.aspx?ForumID=26&MessageID=104152

Has anyone tried this out with the new WinXP x64? I was wondering if there were 64-bit drivers out there somewhere for this.
I tried the driver with Win XP x64 and had no luck... you can run 32-bit programs pretty reliably on x64, but you can't run the 32-bit hardware drivers. If anyone has any information about 64-bit drivers, I would greatly appreciate it.

http://www.thegreenbutton.com/community/shwmessage.aspx?ForumID=26&MessageID=104152

Is there a way to get the firewire from pc channel change feature working via windows xp or is this just for media center?

Is there a way to get the firewire from pc channel change feature working via windows xp or is this just for media center?

yes, it can be run as a simple command line. it is XP-dependent, however.

I posted a new thread on this, but just in case anyone is subscribed to this one, and are waiting with bated breath...

I don't know if Vividlogic has fixed all the bugs, but there is a 1.1 version released now (was 1.0).

I don't have a PC by my Mits DLP anymore so I can't try it (I have a Powerbook I can use in a pinch), but I thought I would post this news in the hope that it might some you with your HD recordings...

www.vividlogic.com

Good luck

spiff,

Thanks for mentioning the other thread and VividLogic update.

Xesdeeni

Does anyone have this working with anything else besides the Motorola boxes? I read that the 3250HD doesn't work, how about the 8000HD?

Thanks,

Frank

I noticed that most of the recordings so far report the correct program length when played in a software player, however captures made from HDNet dont report the proper playback length. so the timestamp isnt being added properly on some channels? My Discovery HD recordings report the proper length, and I think HBO does as well, whereas Showtime didnt. Seems odd that some channels would have the time correction, and others wouldnt, but oh well.

I am having that same problem with HDnet and other channels. I've capped from HDNet and ABC, and both show incorrect video lengths.

For instance, a 30 second capture shows as about 8 seconds on playback. Because of that, I am having problems trying to re-encode to other video formats.

I've also captured from HBO and Fox, and those work normally.

Have you (or anyone else) found a workaround or solution? I am still searching the forums for other people who may be having the problem, or may have solutions.

I wondered if this is the "raw" captures, or after you have run them through HDTV2MPEG, and reassigned and stripped PID's. I get really weird timestamps on the raw captures, but after doing this, they seem fairly normal (They are never "perfect", I am using HDTVPump as a source filter) . I get pids in the 0x800 range before doing this.

Also, this might have been discussed previously in this thread, but I wondered how "clean" people's captures are, I'm talking about running the resulting HDTV2MPEG stripped file through mpeg2repair, I get what I would call "quite a few" errors, although they play fine. I'm talking like 50 video errors and 15 or so audio errors on a 90min. movie. I am just kind of wondering if this is normal, or maybe I need to tweak my capture process a little more.

Here's the tail end of one of my mpeg2repair log files:

Sequence Frame 145816(1006-I) / Time 1:21:06 :
VideoError: MPEG2 Intra DCT coefficient index out of bounds. MBA=3426(1056,448)
VideoError: Failed to decode macroblock at MBA=3426(1056,448)
FileInfo: Last video errors span 896 bytes at file offset 3627287876 in file MelissaEthridge!!!.01.ts

Sequence Frame 153025(21-B) / Time 1:25:06 :
VideoError: Skipped macroblocks following intra coded macroblock on B-Picture. MBA=2383(1648,304)
FileInfo: Last video errors span 164 bytes at file offset 4085804796 in file MelissaEthridge!!!.01.ts

Sequence Frame 155776(726-P) / Time 1:26:38 :
Error: Packet 47649713 has no TS Sync Byte.
VideoWarning: Discontinuity of (1+) packet(s). First packet ending at offset 4266353936 in file MelissaEthridge!!!.01.ts
VideoError: Invalid frame_motion_type for macroblock. MBA=2855(1520,368)
VideoError: Failed to decode macroblock at MBA=2855(1520,368)
VideoError: Missing 1 picture slices at MBA=2854(1504,368)
FileInfo: Last video errors span 515 bytes at file offset 4266353545 in file MelissaEthridge!!!.01.ts

Sequence Frame 156778(701-B) / Time 1:27:11 :

Info: End of sequence: 1920 x 1080, 29.97 fps, 25.00 Mbps.
Info: Found 156778 video frames since start of sequence.
Info: 54 video frames found with errors.
Info: 3 audio frames found with errors.
Info: 59098 corrupted video bytes in file.
Info: 1.001000 seconds of video timestamp gaps.
Info: 0.992000 seconds of audio timestamp gaps.

End of Log


I am having that same problem with HDnet and other channels. I've capped from HDNet and ABC, and both show incorrect video lengths.

For instance, a 30 second capture shows as about 8 seconds on playback. Because of that, I am having problems trying to re-encode to other video formats.

I've also captured from HBO and Fox, and those work normally.

Have you (or anyone else) found a workaround or solution? I am still searching the forums for other people who may be having the problem, or may have solutions.

first of of, i need to thank bdraw and moyekj's guide. it was very helpful. i had the capture working within 20 min.

i didn't go thru the entire thread but i did do the search on "bright" and "brightness" and nothin come up...

i compared the cpature ts file playback vs the file stored on DVR: the PQ resolution is about the same. however, the captured ts brightness is significantly darker than the original DVR file. any of you experience this?

if it is a common thing, is there a way to fine tune the brightness?

fyi, i used media player classic for playback of the ts file.

Has anyone been successful having Windows XP identify the firewire connection from a Sharp Aquos (any model, but I'm using the LC-45GX6U)?

Since I'm using HDMI from my Satellite Receiver (D*) I should, in theory be able to use the transport stream from the Aquos to record directly to the PC...or am I missing something?

Essentially, I'm plugging in the firewire (I.Link) cable from TV to PC and waiting for the PC to tell me it found a new device...but it never does. Trying to force the driver install does not work, even if I deselect "Show Compatible Hardware."

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

i compared the cpature ts file playback vs the file stored on DVR: the PQ resolution is about the same. however, the captured ts brightness is significantly darker than the original DVR file. any of you experience this?
The ts file you are capturing in the case of SD or HD digital channels is exactly what is transmitted from the headend and being displayed on your TV. So any brightness issue you have with playback on PC is an issue with the PC display and/or codec being used to decode it. i.e. There is no degradation of the stream when capturing via firewire since essentially it's just a bit bucket for capturing the stream as is (no D->A->D conversions involved). Analog channels are a different story since the DVR is encoding them to digital before they make it to firewire port so those aren't in any way identical to the headend transmission.

brightness issue you have with playback on PC is an issue with the PC display and/or codec being used to decode it.

My PC uses a DVI connection to my Sony GWIII. The signal is defnitely very bright.

Then there is only 1 other reason left: codec/sw. What players I can use to play TS file?

I use Media Classic Player to play it (picture is dark). Do I need to download some codec to go along with it?

I also tried Zoom Player but it give me a error saying I need to download codec. Anyone has the link for Zoom player codec for TS file?

Thanks.

My PC uses a DVI connection to my Sony GWIII. The signal is defnitely very bright.
Thanks. What kind of DVI connection is this? DVI-A or DVI-D? If it's DVI-A then that's different than the DVI-D connection from 6412. Regardless, the codec for playback is certainly different than the 6412 decoder so that is always going to be a factor as will the graphics card settings for that output. My guess is your graphics card has some settings you can adjust brightness on (for secondary display) in addition to other settings.

What kind of DVI connection is this? DVI-A or DVI-D? If it's DVI-A then that's different than the DVI-D connection from 6412. Regardless, the codec for playback is certainly different than the 6412 decoder so that is always going to be a factor as will the graphics card settings for that output. My guess is your graphics card has some settings you can adjust brightness on in addition to other settings.


moyekj, i think you misunderstand me... here is my set up:
6412 connect to TV via component
HTPC connect to TV via DVI (not sure it is -A or -D but it is definitely has high PQ)
6412 connect to HTPC via Firewire and composite (thru ATI AIW)

i did a test:
i had a recorded program on my DVR. then while i playback that file, i captured it using both DVHS and ATI capture card. i playback both captured files and compare. the ts file is noticable darker than the ATI captured file.

so, i am 100% sure that the darkness is not due to the TV, DVI connection or Video card setting. it should definitely some setting/filter/codec on the playback using MPC.

hope this clarify the issue. thanks.

moyekj, i think you misunderstand me... here is my set up:
6412 connect to TV via component
HTPC connect to TV via DVI (not sure it is -A or -D but it is definitely has high PQ)
6412 connect to HTPC via Firewire and composite (thru ATI AIW)

i did a test:
i had a recorded program on my DVR. then while i playback that file, i captured it using both DVHS and ATI capture card. i playback both captured files and compare. the ts file is noticable darker than the ATI captured file.

so, i am 100% sure that the darkness is not due to the TV, DVI connection or Video card setting. it should definitely some setting/filter/codec on the playback using MPC.

hope this clarify the issue. thanks. The ATI capture and firewire capture are obviously 2 completely different mpegs so the codecs used by MPC could be different for each. Have you checked that this difference is for all channels types? For example, do analog, SD digital and HD digital firewire captures all exhibit this lower brightness compared to ATI capture? Also, you should try different software for playback such as VideoLAN VLC or even WinDVD/PowerDVD. Obviously if you get different results then the MPC codecs are the problem.

dave888, I forgot to mention that I have taken several HD firewire captures and re-encoded them to DVD-compatible specs and authored to DVD. DVD playback using the same display I have not noticed any brightness differences/problems. So I doubt the problem is related to the source firewire capture mpeg. Also, direct playback of the .ts capture on my laptop using MPC or VideoLAN VLC I don't notice any huge brightness differences between them and never had to adjust monitor brightness for them to look reasonable. So this would seem to indicate that MPC codecs would not explain the problem you are having.

...

Since I'm using HDMI from my Satellite Receiver (D*) I should, in theory be able to use the transport stream from the Aquos to record directly to the PC...or am I missing something?

...

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Yes, you are missing a bit of the puzzle. IEEE-1394 (I.Link or Firewire) sends an MPEG2 compressed bitstream with video and audio (measured in tens of megabits per second). HDMI is an encripted full-bandwidth digital video and audio stream (measured in gigabits per second). They are very different digital signals.

While the 1394 protocol is setup for recording and multi-point communications, HDMI is setup for a point-to-point system where one of the points is a display unit only. The groups who designed the HDMI protocol do not want it recorded.

So why won't your system work? It is because the HDMI signal would have to be recompressed into MPEG2 before it were to be sent out over Firewire. The technology to do that is very expensive and it would deviate from the HDMI spec. The only way to record HD at this time is from 1394 to 1394 (or the built-in ATSC tuner).

I take it capturing the video and authoring will provide a MUCH improved PQ? For sure the Firewire capture will give you better results. Using DVD recorder from S-video not only are you suffering from D->A from the 6412 but then you have the DVD recorder A->D and re-encode that further degrades the picture, and HD channels will be letterboxed. Authoring to DVD from firewire capture avoids D->A->D and for SD channels you can avoid video re-encoding as well. Furthermore for HD captures you have control over the downconvert re-encode and can get anamorphic widescreen for the resulting DVD titleset. The price obviously is it's a lot more complicated and time-consuming to do, but a worthwhile learning experience.
Keep in mind however that some or all channels you may want to capture may be 5C protected which renders firewire capture to a PC useless.

moyekj,
thanks for your info. i went into MPC option and tweak the brightness, contrast and color. the PQ now look close to the one from DVR. i can live with that. thank for the inout.
dave

BTW, I have a 32" Sony HDTV so all I can display is letterbox anyway, right? Huh? If it's an HDTV then it should support 16:9 and therefore no letterboxing for 16:9 broadcasts if using component and/or DVI outputs from 6412. The 6412 S-video and composite outputs automatically letterbox 16:9 broadcasts to preserve 16:9 aspect ratio but for a 4:3 display (i.e. 6412 does not have option to output anamorphic widescreen via S-video and composite outputs).

[QUOTE=moyekj]Huh? If it's an HDTV then it should support 16:9 and therefore no letterboxing for 16:9 broadcasts if using component and/or DVI outputs from 6412. [QUOTE]

There are 4:3 HD displays. They will automaticly letterbox any 16:9 content coming in via a HD input (DVI/HDMI/Componet@480P+). SVideo will not support anything but 480i however, so the letterboxing will be done by the source device; in this case the STB.

-Eric

There are 4:3 HD displays. They will automaticly letterbox any 16:9 content coming in via a HD input (DVI/HDMI/Componet@480P+). SVideo will not support anything but 480i however, so the letterboxing will be done by the source device; in this case the STB.
-Eric I would consider that to be EDTV (Enhanced Definition TV that supports 480p inputs) then not HDTV but don't know the official definitions of each. Not sure who would want to buy an HDTV that doesn't support 16:9!

I would consider that to be EDTV (Enhanced Definition TV that supports 480p inputs) then not HDTV but don't know the official definitions of each. Not sure who would want to buy an HDTV that doesn't support 16:9!

I haven't looked at the specs of these units to know for sure if they support anything higher then 480p on the display, but there is no reason they can't, even on a 4:3 tube. But one thing is for sure, the INPUTS support all the HD resolutions. From what I gather, they are very similar to a large computer monitor, but with more limited resolution capabilities.

--Eric

A big reason for me to get firewire files out of my cable box and onto the HTPCs is to feed my high resolution 4*3 displays a better signal than I can get out of the motorola


For my 36 inch direct view - I can input component but in my case it that is 480i letter boxed, or I can input 1080i either letter boxed or full with a transcoder - some distortion of picture, or I can display at 480p either letter boxed or zoomed. With HTPC I run at 1440*1080i and it works great either letter box or full. HD (yes - 4x3 but at HD resolution) looks particularly spectacular at 1440x 1080i on a 36 inch direct view - so no it is not just "enhanced"

The XGA projector is more normal, auto-letter boxing HD to 1024x576; but again using the firewire I can get a much improved image at 1024x768 and use the anamorphic lens for 16x9.

I believe the 4x3 Sony's have a full mode for an HD signal - and I can't imagine it being 480p limited

I know this may seem a little off topic at the moment, but has anyone tried to get 5.1 audio from a firewire capture. Most HD shows are brodcast in 5.1 .

Yes, if the original program had DD 5.1, you will get 5.1 over the firewire. I would hesitate to say "most" hd broadcasts have 5.1, even at this point. I have seen quite a few movies lately (ok, mostly a little older ones) that only had DD 2.0, while the video was pretty spectacular.

I know this may seem a little off topic at the moment, but has anyone tried to get 5.1 audio from a firewire capture. Most HD shows are brodcast in 5.1 .

The captures I have been getting are only 2.0 when the source is 5.1. I haven't read through this entire thread yet but is there capture software other than the 2 programs listed at the beginning of this thread?

The captures I have been getting are only 2.0 when the source is 5.1. I haven't read through this entire thread yet but is there capture software other than the 2 programs listed at the beginning of this thread?

Check to make sure whatever you are using to playback the stream has the ability to send 5.1 channel audio. Also make sure that there aren't two audio streams being captured (one is 2.0 and the other is 5.1).

My experience has been that I'll capture in 5.1 and then forget to select 5.1 output during playback. I then spend a few minutes looking at everything and finally realize I had a playback setting wrong.

Unless the original program contained a 2.0 audio stream in addition to the 5.1 channel stream, it is very difficult for a capture program to change AC3 on-the-fly.

It took a while but with help from this site and others I finally am able to capture the recorded program from my DVR and create a DVD that will then play back on my DVD player. Now my next project is to also capture the closed caption stream. I know it is in the DVR recording but I'm not sure how to include it in the stream when I download it. Has anyone dealt with this aspect of capture? I'd appreciate any help you can give. By the way, I'm using CapDVHS v0.3.0.6 for the capture. HDTVtoMPEG2 to convert it. Womble Mpeg Video Wizard to encode it. and TsunamiMPEG DVD Author to create the DVD.

Do we expect firewire AV control will work under Windows 2000?

Hi

I'm using CapDVHS to capture video feed from my DCT-6208. It works perfectly for me, but only for live recording.

Is there a way to transfer previously recorded programs (from regular channels, not pay-per-view stuff) using the same manner.

I tried starting the playback, then the capture, but files generated this way seems to be corrupted. (Does the same thing when we change channel when capturing live)

Any advices please ??

_________________
DCT-6208
Cogeco Cable Quebec

It might be the channel your changing to has the copy protection flag set. And the channel you recorded might have it set as well.

In my experience, I could capture just fine live or from playback .... but only on certain channels that don't have the copy bit set.

Hi guys,

I'm running out of ideas, here. I was able to install the drivers and it is showing up in my device manager. But for some reason, no matter what I do, I continue getting "Cannot find capture device."

Any ideas? I'm running on a Motorola dual tuner HDTV DVR and Windows XP.

Thanks!

It might be the channel your changing to has the copy protection flag set. And the channel you recorded might have it set as well.

In my experience, I could capture just fine live or from playback .... but only on certain channels that don't have the copy bit set.


I did some more recording tests and what you tell me seems to be right. Recording works for playback too, but only certain channels... Very few channels... :-(

But when I check the 5C flag in the diagnostics menu, it is always "0". Maybe this indication is innacurate...

IIRC, you have to leave the box on a certain channel and then enter the menu and look at the 5C bit. I can't remember the exact procedure but you may be able to find it here if you search. Try leaving the box on a channel you can't record. Then enter the menu and see if 5C=1.

Also, people used to have the situation where they could change from a 5C=0 channel to a 5C=1 channel and it would record 'ok' for a while. "A while" seemed to vary from person to person. By that I mean start the recording on a channel you can record and then switch the channel on the box while still recording. Doesn't help much if you're trying to record a 2 hour movie though as it usually only worked for a few minutes.

Anyway, I feel your pain. I was pretty bummed when they turned the 5C flag on for most of my channels. It used to be off for everything.

I have recording all setup and running fine but was wondering if there is a similar program to monitor realtime rez/bw being allocated to the channels your tuning? (w/o having to record a small clip of a show)

Something that would run more realtime...

It took a while but with help from this site and others I finally am able to capture the recorded program from my DVR and create a DVD that will then play back on my DVD player. Now my next project is to also capture the closed caption stream. I know it is in the DVR recording but I'm not sure how to include it in the stream when I download it. Has anyone dealt with this aspect of capture? I'd appreciate any help you can give. By the way, I'm using CapDVHS v0.3.0.6 for the capture. HDTVtoMPEG2 to convert it. Womble Mpeg Video Wizard to encode it. and TsunamiMPEG DVD Author to create the DVD.
Exactly how did you connect the DVR to the PC?

I am just getting started with this whole recording via IEEE 1394 thing.

I have Comcast HD Cable. My HD Cable Box has firewire ports on it.

If I hook this box up to my Windows XP Professional computer what programs and drivers am I going to need to
A) Record Programs
B) Play Back Programs
C) View Live Programs
D) PVR Style Software

Please also provide links to where I can obtain the software and drivers.

Thanks!

P.S. Do I need a video firewire capture card or will just a standard IEEE 1394 card work?

I am just getting started with this whole recording via IEEE 1394 thing.


Shindig - since its your first post maybe we should cut you some slack and just ask you to read the thread for a while from the beginning

Yes - its long but if you really don't want to read this thread look up a few postings and you see one of the members has a website on how tos

Please also provide links to where I can obtain the software and drivers.
http://replayguide.sourceforge.net/dct6412/index.html

I have my computer connected to 1.5 year old Mits integrated TV. I can use this driver to record files to the hard drive OK. I tried using VLC for live display and get bad breakup. The recordings played back look OK though. I installed the newest version of TSreader version 2.6.42 beta that supports input via firewire and can make a live connection to VLC. This gives nearly breakup free display of the live video as long as I do not turn on deinterlacing. If I set up TSreader to record I can start the MYHD card up and watch the file while it is recording and it seems perfect with little delay from real time if I fast forward to catch up. John

Shindig - since its your first post maybe we should cut you some slack and just ask you to read the thread for a while from the beginning

I understand how to set it up, I have already read the first 10 or so pages, but the links I found were inactive. I'm still not sure what apps I need.

eplaygu.............ct6412/index.html

THANKS! This is a great start.

I am wondering what the legal status of doing this is? My cable company has seemingly implemented encrytion on all channels except those available by broadcast locally.

DO I have a legal RIGHT to have a copy?

Wolf

I am wondering what the legal status of doing this is? My cable company has seemingly implemented encrytion on all channels except those available by broadcast locally.

DO I have a legal RIGHT to have a copy?

Wolf


Comcast, in my area, offers a PVR so to a point it must be legal. Also they sell things like the Tivo with a DVD Burner. Might they just be trying to get you to buy their PVR?

Well I HAVE the Motorola 6412 my cable company gives me. For around $80 a month. And I HAVE recorded programs on its hard drive. BUT can I legally make a single copy on another medium? What is the law?

Wolf

There's more than one way to skin a cat as the saying goes! My solution is simple and I can record anything to my XP computer, protected or not! In addition, there are no play back headaches and the picture and sound is perfect everytime! I installed a MPEG TV PCI card I got at a computer show a few years ago for $60.00 and plug the DVR into it! I'm sure there are more advanced versions of this card now, but mine works perfectly fine and I'm not upgrading just for the sake of it. The web address on my retail box is: [I have to post 5 times before I include the url for my card, I got an error! :( ] You don't have to get this model but my card accepts all kinds of inputs including digital cameras, camcorders blah blah blah. Anyway, you can sync the TV Card with your Comcast DVR and presto! When a show comes on press record on the included TV Card software and you can capture to your hard drive in different modes, [MPEG2 "best"] works just fine. From the captured MPEG2 file you can convert to any other format, make a DVD, or just watch it on your computer! I usually convert to AVI and create a file 7 times smaller with no lost in sound or picture so I can watch stuff on my Pocket PC. Hope this helps . . . :)

There's more than one way to skin a cat as the saying goes! My solution is simple and I can record anything to my XP computer, protected or not! In addition, there are no play back headaches and the picture and sound is perfect everytime! I installed a MPEG TV PCI card I got at a computer show a few years ago for $60.00 and plug the DVR into it! I'm sure there are more advanced versions of this card now, but mine works perfectly fine and I'm not upgrading just for the sake of it. The web address on my retail box is: [I have to post 5 times before I include the url for my card, I got an error! :( ] You don't have to get this model but my card accepts all kinds of inputs including digital cameras, camcorders blah blah blah. Anyway, you can sync the TV Card with your Comcast DVR and presto! When a show comes on press record on the included TV Card software and you can capture to your hard drive in different modes, [MPEG2 "best"] works just fine. From the captured MPEG2 file you can convert to any other format, make a DVD, or just watch it on your computer! I usually convert to AVI and create a file 7 times smaller with no lost in sound or picture so I can watch stuff on my Pocket PC. Hope this helps . . . :) Some problems with this solution especially if you are using S-video or composite outputs of 6412:
* Degrading signal quality: D->A->D
* No way to capture true HD (only downconverted HD which is non-anamorphic widescreen)
* When you say no loss in sound or picture quality that is not correct. You are going mpeg2 transport stream -> analog (S-video or composite) -> mpeg2 encoding on PC -> AVI encoding on PC. That's a lot of quality loss.

Firewire capture means you can prevent D->A->D and re-encoding and capture in true HD if you want.

Some problems with this solution especially if you are using S-video or composite outputs of 6412:
* Degrading signal quality: D->A->D
* No way to capture true HD (only downconverted HD which is non-anamorphic widescreen)
* When you say no loss in sound or picture quality that is not correct. You are going mpeg2 transport stream -> analog (S-video or composite) -> mpeg2 encoding on PC -> AVI encoding on PC. That's a lot of quality loss.

Firewire capture means you can prevent D->A->D and re-encoding and capture in true HD if you want.

I'm using S-Video! The picture and sound is okay for me! If you want perfection, okay. But the picture and sound quality is very acceptable for my purposes and most people. But this is a tech forum and seeking perfection is understood.

I'm using S-Video! The picture and sound is okay for me! If you want perfection, okay. But the picture and sound quality is very acceptable for my purposes and most people. But this is a tech forum and seeking perfection is understood. I doubt most people in the AVS forums would agree. Also, the HD channels will come out letterboxed with your solution which is certainly not desireable compared to the firewire alternative.... but if you are happy with it that's great and you can save yourself a lot of trouble. If you're not interested in HD channels then there are much better SD PVR solutions out there: ReplayTV or Tivo for example not to mention a whole host of PC-based solutions.

Some problems with this solution especially if you are using S-video or composite outputs of 6412:
* Degrading signal quality: D->A->D
* No way to capture true HD (only downconverted HD which is non-anamorphic widescreen)
* When you say no loss in sound or picture quality that is not correct. You are going mpeg2 transport stream -> analog (S-video or composite) -> mpeg2 encoding on PC -> AVI encoding on PC. That's a lot of quality loss.

Firewire capture means you can prevent D->A->D and re-encoding and capture in true HD if you want.

To follow up, I want to make another interesting point. My solution captures everything, protected or not! What good is high quality HD if the protection stops you from copying it, you can never see it! In addition, the picture and sound is actually great. I know HD is awesome but have you actually tried my way. You should try it, I think you'll be pleasantly surprised unless you're an HD or nothing viewer. I'm happy! :)

To follow up, I want to make another interesting point. My solution captures everything, protected or not! What good is high quality HD if the protection stops you from copying it, you can never see it! In addition, the picture and sound is actually great. I know HD is awesome but have you actually tried my way. You should try it, I think you'll be pleasantly surprised unless you're an HD or nothing viewer. I'm happy! :) Matter of fact yes I have tried your method and thus am speaking from experience... have you tried the firewire method as a comparison? Obviously if 5C protection is enabled the firewire solution won't do you any good, but if 5C protection is not turned on then it's by far the best way to go especially for HD channels. In many markets at least the network HD channels are not encrypted and in my market I have been able to capture anything I've tried thus far, including VOD.

I doubt most people in the AVS forums would agree. Also, the HD channels will come out letterboxed with your solution which is certainly not desireable compared to the firewire alternative.... but if you are happy with it that's great and you can save yourself a lot of trouble. If you're not interested in HD channels then there are much better SD PVR solutions out there: ReplayTV or Tivo for example not to mention a whole host of PC-based solutions.

The downside to your solution is forcing XP to accept beta or unpoven drivers. You may get your unprotected HD broadcast to work, you will never copy the protected stuff, but you may break other stuff in XP in the process. Unless you have a dedicated XP computer for digital broadcast work and most don't, you're rolling the dice forcing beta or unproven drivers, and thinking they will have no adverse effect down the road. I've seen a lot of problems with untested drivers with XP and in some cases you need to do a complete re-install of XP! Anyway, my solution is just an alternative for those who want what I'm after, something of acceptable quality now.

Matter of fact yes I have tried your method and thus am speaking from experience... have you tried the firewire method as a comparison? Obviously if 5C protection is enabled the firewire solution won't do you any good, but if 5C protection is not turned on then it's by far the best way to go especially for HD channels. In many markets at least the network HD channels are not encrypted and in my market I have been able to capture anything I've tried thus far, including VOD.

I haven't given up on a perfect solution yet! I just wanted something for right now. I tried the firewire method a while ago but I gave up on it for another approach. We are looking at connecting to the DVR via the RJ45 port! We have successfully logged in to the box and connected it to a router. We're testing drivers for it now. We're in, but it's not clean, it looks very promising though! If I find a solution I'll post it. :)

Well I have gotten a call from a VP of marketing from my cable company and after discovering he knew nothing about this stuff he promised to have the head IT guy call me next Monday. I also e-mailed their Admin office with a copy of the pertinent FCC statute. And requested someone contact me so as to provide me with what I assume is my legal right of access.

I don't want to break the law for a copy of a TV broadcast. But as far as I have been able to ascertain I HAVE the legal right to one copy of about everything except PPV or VOD. And the HDD on the 6412 does not constitute that copy.

Oh and I appreciate the suggestion of a capture card but I can hook a decent DVD recorder up using S video. I HAVE and the quality sucked.

Wolf

Some laws can't be enforced, only the "value system" of a person can enforce them. VCR's make copying laws a joke, everybodys got one, everybody that has them uses them, you can't lock up the whole country! My MPEG TV card is very old, a few years old, but I did check out the web site of the card maker and found a whole new batch of these cards. The new cards support HD and a lot more! I might buy one. Of special note, I can plug my cable into my current card without the DVR and see channels but none above 99. I'm willing to bet if I buy a newer card I can see all the channels, there may be some restrictions I'm sure but you don't really need the DVR. I can see all my cable channels now without any other special device. If these newer MPEG TV cards do all they say, like copy to a DVD in HD and convert from different formats, the DVR may not be needed at all depending on what you want to do. I use my DVR now to see channels above 100!

anyone seen this software (http://www.iodata.jp/pr/2004/recpot/closed/avhdd_player.htm) ? is it in any way related to the topic of this thread...from what i can tell, it is. if you press the "button" on the bottom and then press the button on the bottom of the following screen, it will start downloading AVHDDPLAYER (version 2.3?) software. if you extract the download, it creates a folder that has a number of pdfs, some in english (manual, operation environment, etc.), the avhddplayer application and a folder with drivers. from the quick reading i have done, it would appear that this can be used in a similar manner to what has been discussed on this thread for quite some time.

I'm willing to bet if I buy a newer card I can see all the channels, there may be some restrictions I'm sure but you don't really need the DVR. I can see all my cable channels now without any other special device. If these newer MPEG TV cards do all they say, like copy to a DVD in HD and convert from different formats, the DVR may not be needed at all depending on what you want to do. I use my DVR now to see channels above 100! You have a lot to learn. Most of the digital lineup is encrypted so without a cable card capable device you won't be able to tune to any channel above 99. At most the HD locals and maybe a couple of token digital channels will be available via a QAM-capable tuner. This is much more restricitve than the 5C protection you talked about as being a limitation for the firewire solution. Also, copying to DVD in HD doesn't make much sense since:
1. A single layer 4.3G DVD won't fit much of anything in HD.
2. Most DVD players won't be able to play an HD format.
3. Dual layer DVD is an option but again #2 comes back into play. It will be a while before BluRay and/or DVDHD will be a viable option.
In any case, we are digressing way off topic for this thread so enough said.

Hey Moyekj!

Think I have much of a chance getting them to change their implementation? I don't want to piss them off, I think overall they offer great services and products. But my understanding of this:




Electronic Code of Federal Regulations (e-CFR)

BETA TEST SITE
e-CFR Data is current as of June 15, 2005


Title 47: Telecommunication
PART 76—MULTICHANNEL VIDEO AND CABLE TELEVISION SERVICE
Subpart W—Encoding Rules

Browse Previous | Browse Next

§ 76.1904 Encoding rules for defined business models.
(a) Commercial audiovisual content delivered as unencrypted broadcast television shall not be encoded so as to prevent or limit copying thereof by covered products or, to constrain the resolution of the image when output from a covered product.

(b) Except for a specific determination made by the Commission pursuant to a petition with respect to a defined business model other than unencrypted broadcast television, or an undefined business model subject to the procedures set forth in §76.1906:

(1) Commercial audiovisual content shall not be encoded so as to prevent or limit copying thereof except as follows:

(i) To prevent or limit copying of video-on-demand or pay-per-view transmissions, subject to the requirements of paragraph (b)(2) of this section; and

(ii) To prevent or limit copying, other than first generation of copies, of pay television transmissions, non-premium subscription television, and free conditional access delivery transmissions; and

(2) With respect to any commercial audiovisual content delivered or transmitted in form of a video-on-demand or pay-per-view transmission, a covered entity shall not encode such content so as to prevent a covered product, without further authorization, from pausing such content up to 90 minutes from initial transmission by the covered entity (e.g., frame-by-frame, minute-by-minute, megabyte by megabyte).



leads me to think I might.

Wolf

Think I have much of a chance getting them to change their implementation? I don't want to piss them off, I think overall they offer great services and products. But my understanding of this:
SNIP SNIP
leads me to think I might. I won't pretend to understand the true regulations. It seems from various postings that cable companies must provide a firewire-capable set top box if you ask for one, but you should use it with an approved firewire-capable device such as DVHS recorder or display device which will honor and abide by 5C protection. Since the XP drivers are not "approved" drivers I don't think you have much of a leg to stand on in this case. I would say unless you can prove you can't use the firewire port with an approved recording or display device that you have no case.

http://replayguide.sourceforge.net/dct6412/index.html
Moyekj, it looks like you sum it all up nicely in this link. Thanks for going through the effort.

However 8 pages of instructions is kind of daunting. Is this the kind of thing where the setup and doing it the first time takes the most time and then gets easier with each successive time you do it? I am not looking to make perfect archive copies, instead I would make dvd copies of stuff from the dvr just to free up capacity on the dvr. My family already thinks I spend too much time on this AV/Home theater stuff. How long does it take to set up this process and burn a dvd the first time, and how much time does it take to make dvds the 2nd time, 3rd time, etc?

Moyekj, it looks like you sum it all up nicely in this link. Thanks for going through the effort.

However 8 pages of instructions is kind of daunting. Is this the kind of thing where the setup and doing it the first time takes the most time and then gets easier with each successive time you do it? I am not looking to make perfect archive copies, instead I would make dvd copies of stuff from the dvr just to free up capacity on the dvr. My family already thinks I spend too much time on this AV/Home theater stuff. How long does it take to set up this process and burn a dvd the first time, and how much time does it take to make dvds the 2nd time, 3rd time, etc? In writing instructions always appear much more daunting than they are once you get the hang of it. Also note that you don't have to cover all sections of the instructions. The flow varies signficantly depending on the source mpeg2 you start with. That said of course the flow is much longer than say using a DVD writer. My focus was more on quality than speed. I don't archive very much to DVD - only a couple of select HD shows in fact: 24 and Lost (both 720p). A typical timeline for a 1 hour episode of Lost (an HD source is the most time consuming):
* Capture via firewire in real time - 60 mins + 5 mins setup time = 65 mins
* Edit out commercials - 10 mins + 5 mins of write time (I use Womble Video Wizard) = 15 mins
* Run DGINdex to create "frame serve" .avi and .ac3 files = 5 mins
* Run QuEnc to re-encode to DVD compatible mpeg2 = 45 mins
* Multiplex audio and video back together = 5 mins

So that's about 135 mins total time for a 60 min HD episode, but keep in mind that the majority of the time is for capture and re-encode which are hands off jobs where you can go and do something else while you wait for them to complete.

To complete the burn to DVD process I usually fit 3 episodes of Lost per 4.3G DVD so I wait until I have 3 episodes and then:
* DVD Author 3 titles to VOB titleset - (only audio is re-encoded) = 30 mins
* Burn the VOB titleset to a DVD (at roughly 5x write speed) = 15 mins at most

So yes it's quite a lot of work and quite time-consuming and not for the weary. Easier to just buy the commercial DVD when it comes out for most shows. However having exact control of the content and quality plus the fact that you learn a lot doing it yourself I think has been worthwhile. Will I continue doing this for shows such as Lost for future seasons? I probably will get sick of doing it especially as the novelty wears off but for now the answer is yes.

For SD shows the flow is much shorter in most cases since essentially you just convert transport stream to program stream and then author to DVD without re-encoding video, but I rarely archive anything in SD - the commercial DVD will almost certainly look much better than anything you can generate from SD source.

In writing instructions always appear much more daunting than they are once you get the hang of it. Also note that you don't have to cover all sections of the instructions. The flow varies signficantly depending on the source mpeg2 you start with. That said of course the flow is much longer than say using a DVD writer. My focus was more on quality than speed. I don't archive very much to DVD - only a couple of select HD shows in fact: 24 and Lost (both 720p). A typical timeline for a 1 hour episode of Lost (an HD source is the most time consuming):
* Capture via firewire in real time - 60 mins + 5 mins setup time = 65 mins
* Edit out commercials - 10 mins + 5 mins of write time (I use Womble Video Wizard) = 15 mins
* Run DGINdex to create "frame serve" .avi and .ac3 files = 5 mins
* Run QuEnc to re-encode to DVD compatible mpeg2 = 45 mins
* Multiplex audio and video back together = 5 mins

So that's about 135 mins total time for a 60 min HD episode, but keep in mind that the majority of the time is for capture and re-encode which are hands off jobs where you can go and do something else while you wait for them to complete.

To complete the burn to DVD process I usually fit 3 episodes of Lost per 4.3G DVD so I wait until I have 3 episodes and then:
* DVD Author 3 titles to VOB titleset - (only audio is re-encoded) = 30 mins
* Burn the VOB titleset to a DVD (at roughly 5x write speed) = 15 mins at most

So yes it's quite a lot of work and quite time-consuming and not for the weary. Easier to just buy the commercial DVD when it comes out for most shows. However having exact control of the content and quality plus the fact that you learn a lot doing it yourself I think has been worthwhile. Will I continue doing this for shows such as Lost for future seasons? I probably will get sick of doing it especially as the novelty wears off but for now the answer is yes.

For SD shows the flow is much shorter in most cases since essentially you just convert transport stream to program stream and then author to DVD without re-encoding video, but I rarely archive anything in SD - the commercial DVD will almost certainly look much better than anything you can generate from SD source.
I am looking to record college football games, and they almost never come out commercially, so I guess I need to go down this route. These past 2 years I would keep all the games on the DVR until the SC season recap DVD came out, but that is a 6 month wait from the end of the season (about 9 1/2 months after the 1st game of the season) and my wife won't put up with the DVR being filled up. Plus, I plan to record all the games from an HD channel (like ABCHD) even if it is just upconverted SD, but I hear it will take up just as much DVR capacity as a normal HD show.

Is the "Womble Video Wizard" the only commercial software that you buy to do this setup and everything else is free online? I think that is what I read in your directions.

Is the "Womble Video Wizard" the only commercial software that you buy to do this setup and everything else is free online? I think that is what I read in your directions. In the guide there is a flow for all free tools. You can use HDTV2MPEG2 (free) for editing out commercials or most DVD authoring tools will let you do it too, but it may mean re-encoding the entire video (at least with most DVD authoring tools, not sure about HDTV2MPEG2). Womble I use because I already owned it from years ago and it's frame accurate and will generate new I frames at the cut points and only re-encode at the cut points while leaving the rest of the audio/video intact, and is thus very fast and precise as well as having very good toolset for editing. It also automatically fixes the audio delay in the transport stream as a nice side-effect. I use commercial CCE as the encoder again because I own a copy, but as outlined in the guide you can use free QuEnc instead and it does a good job (just slower than CCE and with not as many bells and whistles). In any case, the intent of the guide was to do everything using public domain software but where it makes sense you can substitute out tools for something you own or think is better than the public domain tool. Also note that many of these public domain tools are evolving quickly so as soon as you write a guide it's bound to get outdated pretty quickly which is why I chose to package and make available the versions of the tools at the time I wrote the guide instead of providing links to current version of each tool.

I am looking to record college football games, and they almost never come out commercially, so I guess I need to go down this route. These past 2 years I would keep all the games on the DVR until the SC season recap DVD came out, but that is a 6 month wait from the end of the season (about 9 1/2 months after the 1st game of the season) and my wife won't put up with the DVR being filled up. Plus, I plan to record all the games from an HD channel (like ABCHD) even if it is just upconverted SD, but I hear it will take up just as much DVR capacity as a normal HD show.

Is the "Womble Video Wizard" the only commercial software that you buy to do this setup and everything else is free online? I think that is what I read in your directions. If you are strapped for time and need to quickly dump the games from your DVR to address WAF, use this method that Ralpharch uses (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=5685871) to archive. I got tired of my wife bugging me to delete content from the DVR so I took Ralph's advice and bought a $30 USB IDE cable and a 250GB HDD for $80 (after rebates) and the stuff will sit on the drive until I have time to do all the stuff in moyekj's excellent step by step instructions.

EDIT: 250MB s/b 250GB doh!

Hi guys,

I'm running out of ideas, here. I was able to install the drivers and it is showing up in my device manager. But for some reason, no matter what I do, I continue getting "Cannot find capture device."

Any ideas? I'm running on a Motorola dual tuner HDTV DVR and Windows XP.

Thanks! Is the motorola capture device showing up in the drop down list? Do you have any other firewire devices (e.g. DVHS) connected to the STB? If yes, diconnect them for the time being until you get the fw recording process working. I find that either I don't have a solid handshake or my JVC 40K is powered on and then I get the 'cant find.." message. good luck, you are close.

If you are strapped for time and need to quickly dump the games from your DVR to address WAF, use this method that Ralpharch uses (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=5685871) to archive. I got tired of my wife bugging me to delete content from the DVR so I took Ralph's advice and bought a $30 USB IDE cable and a 250MB HDD for $80 (after rebates) and the stuff will sit on the drive until I have time to do all the stuff in moyekj's excellent step by step instructions.
Could you provide links to the actual products you used?

Is it as easy as plug and play? Could you provide step by step instructions for the setup? So you hook up this external drvie by USB to the Moto 6412, but then hook it up to your PC with firewire?

EDIT: You mean 250GB HDD right?

Could you provide links to the actual products you used?

Is it as easy as plug and play? Could you provide step by step instructions for the setup? So you hook up this external drvie by USB to the Moto 6412, but then hook it up to your PC with firewire? No, hookup external drive via USB to your PC, then use the firewire drivers and CapDVHS software to capture the stream from 6412 either directly to the external drive, or copy to the external drive after the capture is completed. USB port on 6412 is not functional for external drive use. So the idea is very simple: Expand storage space on your PC using external drive(s) so you can put off archiving to DVDs to a later date (if ever).

No, hookup external drive via USB to your PC, then use the firewire drivers and CapDVHS software to capture the stream from 6412 either directly to the external drive, or copy to the external drive after the capture is completed. USB port on 6412 is not functional for external drive use. So the idea is very simple: Expand storage space on your PC using external drive(s) so you can put off archiving to DVDs to a later date (if ever).
Nevermind then I guess. Using the USB drive is a good idea if I wanted to temporarily store the recorded games, but not need to watch them anytime soon. I usually watch the games numerous times and that is why I liked the convenience of them taking up space on the DVR.

I thought I was getting advice on how to expand the DVR capability, but that doesn't seem possible on the Moto 6412, unlike the SA 8300HD. So I will probably just go straight from the DVR to the PC.

Nevermind then I guess. Using the USB drive is a good idea if I wanted to temporarily store the recorded games, but not need to watch them anytime soon. I usually watch the games numerous times and that is why I liked the convenience of them taking up space on the DVR.

I thought I was getting advice on how to expand the DVR capability, but that doesn't seem possible on the Moto 6412, unlike the SA 8300HD. So I will probably just go straight from the DVR to the PC.Sorry, I didn't mean to confuse you with my scant description. I permanently store content on these drives by either recording from the DVR or recording directly to the HDD. You could also playback using media player classic or a number of other software based TS players like Zoomplayer using various filters, if you have a PC powerful enough to playback .TS files. I don't so I playback the TS files to my JVC 40K using DVHStools. The drives are hot swappable so you can plug and unplug the USB/IDE cable as needed. I overstated how quickly you can dump recordings to the HDDs because of course you have to replay the recordings from your DVR to re-record to the HDD. I sent you a PM.

Sorry, I didn't mean to confuse you with my scant description. I permanently store content on these drives by either recording from the DVR or recording directly to the HDD. You could also playback using media player classic or a number of other software based TS players like Zoomplayer using various filters, if you have a PC powerful enough to playback .TS files. I don't so I playback the TS files to my JVC 40K using DVHStools. The drives are hot swappable so you can plug and unplug the USB/IDE cable as needed. I overstated how quickly you can dump recordings to the HDDs because of course you have to replay the recordings from your DVR to re-record to the HDD. I sent you a PM.
Thanks for the PM. However I probably will got he extra mile to record to DVD since I want to be able to watch what I recorded at all times.

It's more than a little frustrating that all the ports are not activated on these units and the manufacturers of these STB's don't recognize the need of their customers for more storage.

First time poster, long time reader. I assume this has been asked by now, but I can't find it in this thread.

My problem, if you haven't guessed by the title, is that I can't get 5.1HD to convert to 5.1DVD. It comes out 2.0.

The steps outlined in the "DCT6412 Firewire capture and HD/SD to DVD guide" worked great as far as hooking the box to my PC and creating DVDs. The original ts appears as 5.1 in Power DVD. The ac3 file created by DGIndex is 5.1. Then I go and render in QuEnc and it all goes south.

The instructions specifically mention 2 channel ac3 in regards to encoding with QuEnc so I assume 5.1 is not possible here.

Surely there is a way of doing this... isn't there?

Other than this the dvd's look great! Thanks to all who've contributed here!

-paul

The ac3 file created by DGIndex is 5.1. Then I go and render in QuEnc and it all goes south. Yes QuEnc will re-encode the ac3 audio as well as the video which means 5.1 audio is lost. I haven't found a bulletproof method of muxing in the original 5.1 ac3 audio back with re-encoded video only and keeping A/V sync perfect. After QuEnc encoding (or any other encoder) you can de-mux video from resulting .mpg and then try re-mux the video with the original 5.1 .ac3 audio taking into account the .ac3 delay, but you will find most likely the audio sync is not perfect throughout.

The other problem that arises even if you are successful in keeping A/V sync is there aren't many DVD authoring programs that accept 5.1 audio as input and even if they do they also re-encode the audio. This problem can be bypassed by using ReJig or ifoedit/vobedit to author to DVD, but those are very simple and that means no menus or anything else on the final DVD.

If someone has a reliable solution to preserve 5.1 audio on final DVD I'd also like to hear about it.

for those interested, I got a response back from motorola support regarding my request for information for real XP drivers...
_____________________________

Thank you for your inquiry,

The connection was made for it to be connected to a D-VHS or to a
television, not the computer.

If you need to reply to this email, please include a brief restatement of
the issue for our reference.

Thank you,
Motorola Broadband Support
1-877-466-8646
____________________________

one word: ...thhhbbpppt....

I ask Motorola as well and was actually directed to this forum for the solution to copy from my DCT6412 to my computer.

I finally got my computer to see the 2 tuners in my Motorola DCT6412 DVR but, there is an "Unknown device" with a "?" in "Other devices" . Anybody have any idea what this is? Could it be the actual harddrive of the 6412? If so does anybody know where to find the drivers?

Nero Vision Express 3 (in Ultra Edition 6.6) is able to take the .ts input directly and convert to DVD with 5.1 and menus. As to the quality of the video or audio vs other means, I can't comment. I've had good luck with it as a fast and easy means to archive to DVD.

Nero Vision Express 3 (in Ultra Edition 6.6) is able to take the .ts input directly and convert to DVD with 5.1 and menus. As to the quality of the video or audio vs other means, I can't comment. I've had good luck with it as a fast and easy means to archive to DVD. From what I gather here you have to buy the Multichannel plug-in to Nero to get 5.1 encoding support and that it will re-encode whatever audio input is given to 5.1 - so while it's not the original 5.1 audio you do can end up with 5.1 audio it has encoded itself. Here's a link:
http://www.nero.com/en/Multichannel_Plug_In.html
The retail version of Nero only has 2-channel dolby encoding as indicated in above link (same as most other DVD authoring tools).

I just had to reinstall my capture PC, and I installed all MS updates including SP2, before I tried to install all the stuff for the cable box. SP2 was not allowing me to record, infact it was making CapDVHS act as if the system had hung.

So I went to this link (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&postid=5315313#post5315313) which was noted in the first post. All I had to do to fix things was to install the MS hotfix which stormking mentioned, which is here (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/885222/en-us) . After a reboot, everything is working perfectly again.

This was on a Mot 6200 with an Adaptec PCI firewire card (not a 800mbs card). I did not have to do the safe boot and file renaming that stormking mentioned, so to anyone else that has this problem crop up, give the hotfix from MS a shot first.

The retail 'ultra' edition has the 5.1 audio. At least mine does. :) I believe all other editions require you to buy the upgrade. Every few months you can find the ultra edition with heavy rebates. I bought mine at Frys for $70 minus a $50 rebate = $20.

livetoflyfish,

I've tried using Nero Vision Express 3 hit and miss (mostly miss) with the .ts file. First, the .ts file won't even show up on their supported list (I have to list all files). Then it usually either errors out when I'm loading the file or when I try to write the movie. Any suggestions? What program are you doing the original recording with? I'm guessing that my HDTV signal itself may be introducing errors, but any helpful hints would be useful. I'm using CAPDVHS. I've had success with VLC, but like the timers in CAPDVHS.

Additionally, I'm wondering if my problem is similar with Benjiphil in that I'm trying a source recorded on the DVR. However, in my case the captured program plays fine on the computer, but trying to encode it directly with Nero gives problems. If I remember correctly, my one success was from a live stream.

One last question, is encoding through Nero, when it goes through its usual cycle takes about 10+ hours on my 3.2 GHz laptop - this seems much longer than what
moyekj seems to indicate his process takes. Am I doing things that wrong with Nero?

Thanks,
Gary

Gary, I am by no means an expert with NVE3. I also use CAPDVHS to capture transport streams from the DVR. I then use HDTVtoMPEG2 to cut out the portions of the program I’m going to keep, leaving them as a .ts. I also don’t attempt to sew the program back together before bringing them into NVE3 as I’ve noticed this can unsync the audio. Plus, it’s easy to create chapters in NVE3 if you already have separate video files. Of the approximate 10 times I’ve used NVE3, 9 have worked out and I didn’t have time to troubleshoot the 10th time. I typically archive to .wmv instead if I want to preserve the HD aspect of the video, but that’s a whole different story. :)

It takes about 3 hours to encode 1 hour of video on a 3000+ AMD Barton system. Do you have NVE3 set to do more than one pass?

I finally got my computer to see the 2 tuners in my Motorola DCT6412 DVR but, there is an "Unknown device" with a "?" in "Other devices" . Anybody have any idea what this is? Could it be the actual harddrive of the 6412? If so does anybody know where to find the drivers?

with the 6200, the "unknown device" is the ethernet card built into the STB. ignore it.

Has anyone seen the Windows XP "Delayed Write Failed" error come up after adding a firewire enabled cable box to their PC? I previously had a 4 bay fireware HD case working with XP SP2 system with no major issues. I finally got around to hooking up both my SA4200HD cable box and JVC 30K DVHS. Since I have added these to the firewire chain, I am now getting random delayed write fail messages in Windows XP.

I'll try some of the hotfixes mentioned here and at http://www.bustrace.com/products/delayedwrite.htm , but I'm curious if anyone else has come across this problem.

CapDVHS does seem to work even though this error appears. I have not tried to write to one of the disks, though, that is reporting the delayed write fail problem.

Thanks...

Gary, for this to work for me I have to rename the .ts file to .mpg to get NVE to import the file. Others on this thread have found this as well, but not everybody. For your 2nd question, I'd say that 8-10 hours is about right, depending on the length of the movie. I usually set it up to burn overnight. Hopefully a future version of NVE will run more efficiently.

livetoflyfish,

I've tried using Nero Vision Express 3 hit and miss (mostly miss) with the .ts file. First, the .ts file won't even show up on their supported list (I have to list all files). Then it usually either errors out when I'm loading the file or when I try to write the movie. Any suggestions? What program are you doing the original recording with? I'm guessing that my HDTV signal itself may be introducing errors, but any helpful hints would be useful. I'm using CAPDVHS. I've had success with VLC, but like the timers in CAPDVHS.
Gary Try running the .ts file through MPEG2Repair. (http://users.adelphia.net/~mwilczyn/mpeg2repair/) I couldn't record .ts files back to my JVC DVHS and this solved my problem. It takes about 20 mins to process an hour of HD content. Good luck.

I also don’t attempt to sew the program back together... So you only cut large chunks out of the .ts files into separate files rather than editing out all the commercials and processing as one large file? I am just getting around to editing some tv shows so I am a noob with HDTVtoMPEG2. I am imagining dozens and dozens of separate files and a ton of editing time if I try to edit out all the commercials from the super bowl, but come to think of it, I don't care if Tom Brady's audibles are in sync. But a show filled with commercials like Lost & Alias would have a dozen or so files to avoid sync issues?

tall1, that was just my solution to a sync issue I was having. I was going to also run the whole file, sewn back together, through MPEG2Repair, but never got around to it. I hear HDTVtoMPEG2 is pretty messy in it's cut and pastes. On the surface, HDTVtoMPEG2 is very nifty in its ability to autodetect comercials and edit them out. I use it this way all the time if I don't plan on archiving.

So you only cut large chunks out of the .ts files into separate files rather than editing out all the commercials and processing as one large file? I am just getting around to editing some tv shows so I am a noob with HDTVtoMPEG2. I am imagining dozens and dozens of separate files and a ton of editing time if I try to edit out all the commercials from the super bowl, but come to think of it, I don't care if Tom Brady's audibles are in sync. But a show filled with commercials like Lost & Alias would have a dozen or so files to avoid sync issues? If you are going to do a lot of editing I would highly recommend buying Womble Mpeg Video Wizard. That's what I use for all mpeg editing (including HD .ts file editing before starting the re-encoding to DVD process). It's frame accurate meaning it will generate new I-frames at the exact cut points you choose and it's also very fast - will only re-encode around the cut points while preserving the rest of the video. It's also the fastest scrubbing I've seen in an editor and as a bonus will automatically get rid of audio delay and fix GOP errors in the .ts file in the resulting edited .ts file. It has many other capabilities too you would expect of an editor. You don't want to use it for full video re-encoding (it's terrible and slow for that) but for editing video and spitting out the same format as output it's the best tool I've found and no audio/video sync problems to deal with. I've used it for several years now for editing out commercials for ReplayTV .mpg files and now DCT6412 .ts files.

Before that tool I tried various other editors, mostly ones that come with DVD authoring tools and found them to be non-frame accurate (the resulting cut points were not exactly the frames you choose) and incredibly slow and causing audio sync problems.

I been successfully capturing off my 6412 for a few weeks and followed the guide to demux, re-encode, and archive a few of my captures. After a 3 week hiatus, I came back to the project to find that DGIndex no longer works. It creates a D2V file, but no AC3 file. I tried a new version, older version, different PID's, different computer, ad nauseum...to no effect.

Anyone ever experience this? AutoGK now experiences the same problem using DGIndex. I suspect its me, but would appreciate any pointers.
PJ

I been successfully capturing off my 6412 for a few weeks and followed the guide to demux, re-encode, and archive a few of my captures. After a 3 week hiatus, I came back to the project to find that DGIndex no longer works. It creates a D2V file, but no AC3 file. I tried a new version, older version, different PID's, different computer, ad nauseum...to no effect.

Anyone ever experience this? AutoGK now experiences the same problem using DGIndex. I suspect its me, but would appreciate any pointers.
PJ Before the DGIndex step are you able to play the .ts file using a media player and get both audio and video? Are you running detect raw PIDs in DGIndex? You should run detect PIDs and manually identify both the video and audio streams. Also make sure you check that Audio->Output Method->Demux All Tracks is selected in the DGIndex options.

I just recorded my first .ts from my 6412 to my laptop... way cool.

My new Dell M70 laptop (their top of the line) didn't have firewire (my previous M50 and M60 did) so I ordered a $4 card from WD on ebay. It came last night, but it came with a 4pin->6pin cable, so I had to wait until today to get a 6pin->6pin cable (they didn't have it at my local BestBuy, CircuitCity, or OfficeDepot, but I found a nice 10' at Target for $14 (it also included 6pin to 4pin adapters in case I ever need it). I ordered a 15' cable from ebay last night, but I was too impatient to wait for it to see if this would work.

I'm ready for Toy Story on Thursday!

Before the DGIndex step are you able to play the .ts file using a media player and get both audio and video? Are you running detect raw PIDs in DGIndex? You should run detect PIDs and manually identify both the video and audio streams. Also make sure you check that Audio->Output Method->Demux All Tracks is selected in the DGIndex options.

Yes, using mplayerclassic, the .ts file has video and sound...in sync. The .ts files have a 0x101, 0x102 and a 0x800, 0x801 stream. The former is SD video (commercials I think) which lead into the actual content I want, which is HD on the latter PID's. I've done the raw detection, demux all, etc.. Even installed it on a fresh XP image on another one of my computers. What is really strange is that I successfully followed your guide 3 or 4 times when I first started a few weeks ago. Even produced a DVD. I would think it was my DVR files if they didn't look and sound great. Guess I'll post a question to the DGMPGDEC forum. Maybe the author can suggest a debug method. I'm stumped. Thanks for your reply.

I'm in the ReJig program and added a new video stream that I just captured with CapDVHF from my Motorola 6412. In the ReJig Job list it reads [not done] C:\Documents and Settings\Monica\Desktop\New Recordings\dan_ReJig.m2v
In the Stream List & Demuxing list it reads.. Mpeg Video Stream-pid:257(0x101)
Mpeg Video Stream-pid:258(0x102)

Sould'nt the second one be the audio???? What is wrong...???
Just before this I was in DGindex : Detect PID's it reads..
ox101:MPEG Video
0x102:Private Stream 1 (AC3 Audio)

Is my problem caused from the audio being a Private Stream????

Yes QuEnc will re-encode the ac3 audio as well as the video which means 5.1 audio is lost.

Well, that stinks. Personally, it's not just the improved picture that would make me want to archive a video, but the surround sound as well. If I can't retain the 5.1 mix I'd almost rather wait for the thing to come out on DVD anyway.

I'll take a look into the Nero solution. I'd prefer to edit out commercials, but if it's something I have to keep in order to get 5.1 then it's not a unreasonable solution.

Of course, if I find another solution I'll post it here.

-paul

I'm in the ReJig program and added a new video stream that I just captured with CapDVHF from my Motorola 6412. In the ReJig Job list it reads [not done] C:\Documents and Settings\Monica\Desktop\New Recordings\dan_ReJig.m2v
In the Stream List & Demuxing list it reads.. Mpeg Video Stream-pid:257(0x101)
Mpeg Video Stream-pid:258(0x102)

Sould'nt the second one be the audio???? What is wrong...???
Just before this I was in DGindex : Detect PID's it reads..
ox101:MPEG Video
0x102:Private Stream 1 (AC3 Audio)

Is my problem caused from the audio being a Private Stream????.m2v is usually short for mpeg2 video - i.e. no audio stream. Sounds like this is a demuxed video stream but you don't indicate where it came from.

I caputured the stream to my laptop computer via the fire wire port to the motorola 6412 with CapDVHF. I go into properties of the file stream it says the file is all ready an mpg. ?? I'm trying to convert this to a DVD...

In the ReJig program it states it will out put the file as... C:\Documents and Settings\Monica\Desktop\New Recordings\dan.ts_ReJig.m2v
I never demuexed it cause it states two video streams and no audio stream...

I'm allso in the HDTV to MPEG2 Converter program and when I add a file all I get a dialoge box pop up... "X File must have a valid extension!" i'v tried changing the file name to .ts and .mpg did'nt work... ??? Can't seem to get any thing to work.....

I caputured the stream to my laptop computer via the fire wire port to the motorola 6412 with CapDVHF. I go into properties of the file stream it says the file is all ready an mpg. ?? I'm trying to convert this to a DVD...Double check these steps:
http://replayguide.sourceforge.net/dct6412/

Wolfgang

I took a look at the sp1a version of mstape.sys and the following should work to patch it


Offset 138 is CC 03 change to D1 CC

Offset 17ad is 8b f0 3b f7 0f 8c a0 01 00 00 change to 90 90 90 90 90 90 90 90 90 90
Offset 1964 is 8b c6 change to 33 C0

I dont have a sp1 system to try it though. The version number of mstape.sys is 5.1.2600.0
The changes are the same but the offsets in the file have changed.

I tried this on my sp1a system, mstape.sys version 5.1.2600.0, and I get a "windows cannot load this driver because it is corrupt (code 33) error". Capture using capDVHS via the 6412 AV/C Tuner device works very well, it is just the Panel device that I get get working. I'm using a 6412 btw. Any ideas?

If you are going to do a lot of editing I would highly recommend buying Womble Mpeg Video Wizard....Well I downloaded the 30-day trial of Womble, read the entire help section and floundered a bit with my first editing job on the 27gig Super Bowl. Wow, what an amazing piece of software. It took a half hour or so to get the hang of it but then I consider myself a hack, not much for reading directions etc. I would think most techie types would quickly be up to speed and create beautifully edited HD projects using Womble. I now have the edited 2005 SB on DVHS and playback was perfect (that is saying something when you consider it was a FOX HD presentation). Thanks for the advice moyekj!

Well I downloaded the 30-day trial of Womble, read the entire help section and floundered a bit with my first editing job on the 27gig Super Bowl. Wow, what an amazing piece of software. It took a half hour or so to get the hang of it but then I consider myself a hack, not much for reading directions etc. I would think most techie types would quickly be up to speed and create beautifully edited HD projects using Womble. I now have the edited 2005 SB on DVHS and playback was perfect (that is saying something when you consider it was a FOX HD presentation). Thanks for the advice moyekj!
Now, correct me if I'm wrong, but getting Womble takes some of the guesswork and headache out of editing the video. And you need Nero to get surround sound. Is there a program that does both?

Now, correct me if I'm wrong, but getting Womble takes some of the guesswork and headache out of editing the video. And you need Nero to get surround sound. Is there a program that does both? Using Womble I actually am able to get a DVD mpeg2-compatible file with the original 5.1 audio. The key is to use Womble up front to edit out commercials in the captured .ts file - this automatically fixes the audio delay of the original .ts file which I believe is key to keep audio sync further down the line. Then save to a new .ts file and then follow the normal flow for re-encoding and then as a final step mux the re-encoded video with the audio ac3 from the Womble .ts file. I tried this on a couple of 1080i and 720p captures and resulted in a perfectly synced mpeg2 with 5.1 audio. However, 1 problem remaining for me is the DVD authoring programs I have will not accept 5.1 audio as input so I would probably have to buy Nero or some newer program that will accept the 5.1 audio as is and without re-encoding it.

. . . However, 1 problem remaining for me is the DVD authoring programs I have will not accept 5.1 audio as input so I would probably have to buy Nero or some newer program that will accept the 5.1 audio as is and without re-encoding it.
Ok, I was following you until you got to this part. In the end it sounds like you still need 2 programs. I could justify to the wife something like a $60 program, but the Womble is $120, and then whatever the cost of Nero is adds on to it. At this point I don't imagine myself doing alot of video editing to justify the expense when all I want to do is effectively add DVR recording capacity.

Now, correct me if I'm wrong, but getting Womble takes some of the guesswork and headache out of editing the video. It absolutely did for me. I screwed around with some free editors but usually gave up quickly because they were a PITA, so I only used them for chopping off the ends of .ts files.

Ok, I was following you until you got to this part. In the end it sounds like you still need 2 programs. I could justify to the wife something like a $60 program, but the Womble is $120, and then whatever the cost of Nero is adds on to it. At this point I don't imagine myself doing alot of video editing to justify the expense when all I want to do is effectively add DVR recording capacity. If you don't need fancy DVD authoring (no menus, titles, etc) you can use ReJig or some other very simple (and free) DVD authoring tool to complete the process. In my case I usually want to add 3 or 4 programs to 1 DVD so would like some very basic menu to choose which title to playback - if you just want to author a single title to a DVD then the free Rejig tool would work OK. The other potential problem with the free DVD authoring tools is that they don't always set all the VOB properties correctly and so playback may not work properly for all DVD players - the commercial DVD authoring tools do a better job of setting up the VOB titleset correctly for maximum compatibility. If you really know a lot about VOBs you can use ifoedit/vobedit to "cleanup" the resulting titleset but this is more complicated than needs to be - easier to just fork out some money for a tool to do the job for you correctly than too much messing around.

On Womble cost I paid $100 about 3 years ago for it and thought it really wasn't worth it at the time - but considering how much I've used it since and how well and quickly it works I really think it was a very good purchase now looking back. I could have gone with cheaper or free solutions but you must factor in that your time is also very valuable and in the long run $100 is nothing compared to the amount of time and hassle you will save if you plan to do this kind of thing for any extended amount of time.

If you don't need fancy DVD authoring (no menus, titles, etc) you can use ReJig or some other very simple (and free) DVD authoring tool to complete the process. In my case I usually want to add 3 or 4 programs to 1 DVD so would like some very basic menu to choose which title to playback - if you just want to author a single title to a DVD then the free Rejig tool would work OK. The other potential problem with the free DVD authoring tools is that they don't always set all the VOB properties correctly and so playback may not work properly for all DVD players - the commercial DVD authoring tools do a better job of setting up the VOB titleset correctly for maximum compatibility. If you really know a lot about VOBs you can use ifoedit/vobedit to "cleanup" the resulting titleset but this is more complicated than needs to be - easier to just fork out some money for a tool to do the job for you correctly than too much messing around.

On Womble cost I paid $100 about 3 years ago for it and thought it really wasn't worth it at the time - but considering how much I've used it since and how well and quickly it works I really think it was a very good purchase now looking back. I could have gone with cheaper or free solutions but you must factor in that your time is also very valuable and in the long run $100 is nothing compared to the amount of time and hassle you will save if you plan to do this kind of thing for any extended amount of time.
You're right about time being money.

So if I buy Womble, but not Nero, and put multiple shows on one dvd, with the free Rejig tool then I could have surround sound, but not not have an easy menu to work with? If I put 3 shows on 1 dvd would I then just fast forward between shows (like a vcr) and do away with being able to go to each show from a menu?

It absolutely did for me. I screwed around with some free editors but usually gave up quickly because they were a PITA, so I only used them for chopping off the ends of .ts files.
I guess buying the extra software is cheaper than buying a dvd-recorder?

I guess the product from a dvd recorder is not that great either?

I guess buying the extra software is cheaper than buying a dvd-recorder?

I guess the product from a dvd recorder is not that great either?I have never had much interest in a dvd-recorder. I only create a handful of DVDs during the year for family/friends that don't have an HD setup. I prefer to archive my .ts files either on DVHS or HDDs to preserve the HD quality. BTW, Womble is $99 and if you look around you can find nero 6.6 for ~$20 after rebates. You can even buy the older nero 6.0 very cheaply (under ~$20) and DL the upgrade to nero 6.6 for free I believe.

You're right about time being money.

So if I buy Womble, but not Nero, and put multiple shows on one dvd, with the free Rejig tool then I could have surround sound, but not not have an easy menu to work with? If I put 3 shows on 1 dvd would I then just fast forward between shows (like a vcr) and do away with being able to go to each show from a menu? With Rejig you can really only use 1 mpeg as a source for DVD authoring. So if you had 3 shows you want to put on 1 DVD you could use Womble to stitch the 3 together as a single mpeg file and then author that to DVD using Rejig, but that would look like 1 single title on the DVD without any chapters or anything which is not very convenient. In my guide I describe a somewhat convoluted method for authoring multiple titles to a DVD using the free ifoedit/vobedit tools and ending up with chapter marks that you could then use to quickly get to different shows on the DVD - but it's rather complicated and convoluted and I really wouldn't recommend it - I've considered just removing that from the guide as I don't think it's useful for most people. Much easier using a commercial DVD authoring tool and getting a nice menu where once you insert the DVD you are presented with a choice of which show to play. I haven't looked for a while but there very well may be free DVD authoring tools out there that can do this too and better than the commercial tools and accepting 5.1 audio, etc. I'm sure if one looks hard enough such a beast could be found.

Exactly how did you connect the DVR to the PC?

I used the firewire port on the laptop and the Motorola DVR cable box.

Is their any way to capture video from both tuners at the same time in the Motorola 6412? capture two different shows at the same time? Or can you play a show from one tunner saved on the pvr and capture it to the computer while swapping to the other tuner and watch a different show while your first show is being captured to the computer???

Nope, what you are capturing is what is being played on the DVR. It can be recording something else, but not two at the same time or while watching something else. I do however sometimes watch something else already captured on the htpc while capturing from the DVR.

Is their any way to capture video from both tuners at the same time in the Motorola 6412? capture two different shows at the same time? Or can you play a show from one tunner saved on the pvr and capture it to the computer while swapping to the other tuner and watch a different show while your first show is being captured to the computer???

I tried this on my sp1a system, mstape.sys version 5.1.2600.0, and I get a "windows cannot load this driver because it is corrupt (code 33) error". Capture using capDVHS via the 6412 AV/C Tuner device works very well, it is just the Panel device that I get get working. I'm using a 6412 btw. Any ideas?
Guess your the first try it, I made a typo
Offset 138 is CC 03 change to D1 CC
should be
Offset 138 is CC 03 change to D1 58

Let me know if this works

Guess your the first try it, I made a typo
Offset 138 is CC 03 change to D1 CC
should be
Offset 138 is CC 03 change to D1 58

Let me know if this works

You da man Tim! That worked!! Thank you thank you thank you!!!

I'm using the HDTVtoMPG2 program and have loaded a .ts video file. I'm having trouble to edit out the commercials, their is no picture displayed in the time line below. I only get a few lines of video showing at the top of the video box the rest of the video box is empty. I can not see the video to where I can add start and stop lines to edit out commercials. What do I need to do??

I'm using the HDTVtoMPG2 program and have loaded a .ts video file. I'm having trouble to edit out the commercials, their is no picture displayed in the time line below. I only get a few lines of video showing at the top of the video box the rest of the video box is empty. I can not see the video to where I can add start and stop lines to edit out commercials. What do I need to do??Download Womble MPEG Wizard trial. You'll be amazed how easy it is to edit commercials out of .TS files. At the very least you will have 30 days to accomplish this project and then decide if Womble is worth $99. Good luck.

Download Womble MPEG Wizard trial. You'll be amazed how easy it is to edit commercials out of .TS files. At the very least you will have 30 days to accomplish this project and then decide if Womble is worth $99. Good luck.
How about a link?

How about a link to this Nero software as well, both the new and old versions?

How about a link?

How about a link to this Nero software as well, both the new and old versions? Google is your friend ;) WOMBLE LINK (http://www.womble.com/products/) NERO LINK (http://ww2.nero.com/enu/index.html)

BTW, Womble is $99 and if you look around you can find nero 6.6 for ~$20 after rebates. You can even buy the older nero 6.0 very cheaply (under ~$20) and DL the upgrade to nero 6.6 for free I believe.
Where can you buy the older Nero? I didn't see that on the linked site. Are there ever rebate deals for Womble or is it only sold through the Womble website?

EDIT: On the Nero website it lists other retailers Nero is available through, and the Fry's link will take you to a deal for a $50 rebate that is only good through tomorrow.

CompUSA has a similar deal, but the rebate is conditioned upon the buy being an upgrade to various other prgrams, and the rebate is good till the end of the month.

Where can you buy the older Nero? I didn't see that on the linked site. Are there ever rebate deals for Womble or is it only sold through the Womble website?

EDIT: On the Nero website it lists other retailers Nero is available through, and the Fry's link will take you to a deal for a $50 rebate that is only good through tomorrow.

CompUSA has a similar deal, but the rebate is conditioned upon the buy being an upgrade to various other prgrams, and the rebate is good till the end of the month.I'd go with the fry's or compusa deal; that way you get the CD media. You can froogle nero 6.0 and come up with several Etailers that have 6.0 OEM (No CD just an activation code) for under $20. I don't know of any other places to obtain Womble other than their website.

Thanks guys! Womble works great!! Love it..!

I insert my newly made DVD in the DVD player and it doesn't work.. you hear the laser keep trying to pick up, then I get an error message "DVD is dirty" its a brand new DVD-r disk just authorized and burned using Adaptec easy media creator latest version. I tried several other disks that I have DVD-r , dvd+r , and they all work perfectly in my DVD player... the DVD's I made from TV capture .ts file to mpg file to editing out commercials to new mpg file then to the dvd authoring burning stage... these DVD's won't play in my DVD player, I'v tried 4 of these dvd's and non work..... I know its not the DVD player, and I know its not the blank DVD-r disks.. I have used these same disks to copy other media and work perfectly in my DVD player... I don't know what I'm missing or doing wrong..... any ideas ???

Bigfish6, does it play in your PC DVD drive? What DVD authoring software are you using?

Yes it does play in both my pc dvd drives no problem. I convert the .ts file with DGIndex then HDTV to MPEG2 then I edit the commercials out with Womble and re save it as a mpg again. Then I take that mpg and import it to Roxio Easy CD Media Creator 7.0 dvd creator program and it authories and makes the dvd. When i try to play this after on my DVD home reciever player 9/10 times you put the disk in it does'nt work "Disk is dirty" once in a while it will work.. the menue will come up, I select the show and it will play ! I try to go back to the menue and it gets stuck "Disk is dirty" comes up.. I try to take the disk out and put it back in.. same thing.. "Disk is dirty" But works no problem on my PC dvd Drives....

My Cable company has told me that the reason I can no longer record ANYTHING other than local channels thru the 1394 port is because they did a software upgrade on something they call the DAT(NOT a firmware upgrade) and have set it to "auto". Their stated intent is to allow the providers control of the flags. ALL the digital content is unavailable. Even the religious stuff, HSN and the weather.

I am still unsure as to my legal standing. Do I or do I not have a RIGHT to one recording of anything other than VOD or pay-per-view? After e-mailing the company and demanding someone that had a clue as to what I was asking contact me I ended up speaking with a IT manger. The honcho I spoke with got rather testy with me. He told me I could use the S video port to conect a DVD recorder. Originally theu told me the S video port was disabled and even ILLEGAL to use! Regadless, I don't want a degraded copy. He told me their legal dept. was looking into the matter and I would be receiving a e-mail from them.

I don't want to do anything illegal but as far as I can determine I'm entitled to have one copy on the medium of my choice.

Wolf

I solved my problem!!! I started using DVD+R disks instead of DVD-R disks for my captured burnings and they work perfectly with the menues in my dvd player now... I don't know why the DVD-R disks gave me trouble in burning captured video... I'm just happy that the DVD+R disks solved my problem...

I'm stumped. The short of it is: Im trying to capture a show from the NFL channel onto my PC but all I get is the audio. I tried an older show I still have on DVR from HBO and it recorded fine. I tried a Discovery channel show just on tonight and it was a bad capture but there was video and audio. I checked the NFL channel to see if it had this 5C protection and it doesnt appear to.

Am I missing something?

To be honest, this whole firewire capture has been turning into an exercize in frustration. The countless hours I spent trying to get 5.1 audio into my completed DVDs and now this. I'm about ready to throw in the towel and buy a cheap firewire DVD Recorder (which I will no doubt find out wont record the video either)

-paul :mad:

I have become rather frustrated with trying to get capture to work.

I have tried two different firewire cards, one based on a VIA chipset, the other on agere. I have a SA3250HD cable box. I also have a JVC 40k DVHS deck.

Both cards, when I install the drivers, will say that they are recording in CapDVHS, but there is nothing being populated into the Data Info tab, and when I play it back it doesn't work at all. When I use VLC to try to preview the stream it doesn't work either, doesn't display anything.

Another thing is when I try to use the DVHS deck to try to record content off of that as well and it doesn't work. I have installed the meidvhs drivers, and also tried the JVC Tape device using these instructions as well (http://www.webtc.com/DVHS/default.htm) but CapDVHS does the same thing, it records nothing. In VLC, when I click configure it will give me a DVHS control pad, where I can hit play or stop or fast forward, and it actually tells my VCR to do that, but it still won't display or capture anything.

I tried using Sony Vegas and a couple other things to try to capture as well, and they all say the capture device is being used by a different program.

I have tried using a different PC, I have tried reinstalling windows xp. Nothing seems to work.

Now I have tried the drivers from Timmmoore for capture and it seems to be able to record/stream from the JVC 40k only through what the 40k is getting through its s-video input or coax. If I try to play a VHS tape it gets all scrambled in VLC and doesn't update very often. If I try to record from the DVHS it doesn't do anything, same with if the JVC 40k is set to the firewire input.

I am able to use his channel changing app to change channels on the 3250HD box. When I try to capture from the 3250HD, it does nothing as before as well.

One thing I might try is getting a firewire card with a TI chipset, I have seen somewhere on the internet that those might work better for DV capture.

Anyone have any suggestions or things I could try? Either pm me or post in forum.

Exactly how did you connect the DVR to the PC?

I used the firewire port on the laptop and the Motorola DVR cable box.

It took a while but with help from this site and others I finally am able to capture the recorded program from my DVR and create a DVD that will then play back on my DVD player. Now my next project is to also capture the closed caption stream. I know it is in the DVR recording but I'm not sure how to include it in the stream when I download it. Has anyone dealt with this aspect of capture? I'd appreciate any help you can give. By the way, I'm using CapDVHS v0.3.0.6 for the capture. HDTVtoMPEG2 to convert it. Womble Mpeg Video Wizard to encode it. and TsunamiMPEG DVD Author to create the DVD.

I took a long time coming back when someone responded. Sorry.
I'm using the firewire port on the Motorola cable box and the laptop.
I have found some of the "subtitles" on the internet and I'm able to add them but they do take a lot of extra work. It would be much easier if I could "capture" the closed caption stream.
Thank you

I'm hoping that Alaska Wolf's problem is isolated. I'm purchasing a firewire card this week so that I can start recording video straight from the cable box to my computer. Is anyone else finding this impossible outside of the local channels? (Note: I'm not trying to record HD; just standard digital cable)

Hi and thanks for the good info.

I followed all the steps religiously, several times. I updated my Windows XP due to the SP2 issues and I am able to view through VLC.

However, when I try to open CapDVHS, I get the following error

"Sample Grabberis not registered.

Result is the settings are all grayed out as well as the REC button. My device is listed there.

I captured my first HD movie (a 2hr movie) onto my laptop. the .ts file came to 12.8 gigs !!!! How on earth are you suppose to burn that to a 4.7 gig blank DVD !!?? When you convert this .ts file to an mpg2 file.. its going to be even larger than 12.8 gigs.. ! how on earth do you take such a large mpg2 file and then encode it into a movie on a 4.7 gig blank DVD ????

Take a look at this page,

http://replayguide.sourceforge.net/dct6412/index.html#Setting_up_for_drivers_for_DCT6412

He has some instructions on how to do it.


Cheers,

http://replayguide.sourceforge.net/...ers_for_DCT6412

I ran QuEnc (mpeg2 encoder) and tried loading the source avs script file and it comes up :
Avisynth open failure:
LoadPlugin: unable to load "c:\avsfilters\DGDecode.ll"

I have installed the AVISynth (Frame Server) into windows , in forces you to install it into c:\program files.. I search for the DGDecode.ll file in Start/AllPrograms/AVisync2.5 that they are asking and its non existant, the \avsfilters\ folder is not even their?! .. the only DGDcode.ll file I can find is in my unzipped dgmpgdec120rc5 and DGDecode.dll (Decoder)
folder.. I tried re naming the path in the script pointing to this DGDcode.ll file and tried re loading the source avs script file again in QuEnc and it still comes up :
Avisynth open failure:
LoadPlugin: unable to load
Do I have to down load this file or some thing from some where?

Ignore my last post!!! I figured it out... solved it.. minor typo in the path name to the DGDecode.dll file UGGG!!! kicking my self...!

I captured my first HD movie (a 2hr movie) onto my laptop. the .ts file came to 12.8 gigs !!!! How on earth are you suppose to burn that to a 4.7 gig blank DVD !!?? When you convert this .ts file to an mpg2 file.. its going to be even larger than 12.8 gigs.. ! how on earth do you take such a large mpg2 file and then encode it into a movie on a 4.7 gig blank DVD ????

you should have just kept the full res TS

just spilt it with HDTV2Mpeg2

if your gonna re encode a HD movie to DVD quality.....why not just get the DVD ?

If I keep the res TS file and split it onto a few DVD's then I won't be able to play it back on my home DVD player, or can you? I down converted the large HD .ts file to a Mpg2 and adjusted the audio delay exactly according the the instructions.. I play the Mpg2 and I notice the sound is a just tiny bit off if your watching the words and lips movements of some one talking in the movie.. when I authorize the Mpg2 to a DVD with this be corrected? or do I have to re do the Mpg2 with a different audio delay? How do I know how much to tweek it? or can adjust it in the mpg2 while authorizing it to a dvd??

I agree it would be alot easier to just go out and buy or rent the DVD.. its just a little hobby I want to learn to say that I am able to re encode a HD movie to DVD quality.. more of an experiment... All the time i have spent so far on this I could of watched 10 dvd movies!! LOL..

I took a long time coming back when someone responded. Sorry.
I'm using the firewire port on the Motorola cable box and the laptop.
I have found some of the "subtitles" on the internet and I'm able to add them but they do take a lot of extra work. It would be much easier if I could "capture" the closed caption stream.
Thank you
I am handling closed captioning via firewire in the stuff I do for MCE integration. If you read the readme http://www.thegreenbutton.com/community/download.aspx?id=1238&MessageID=104152 in the FAQ there is a picture of the graph I use to get closed captioning and some explanation of how it works.

My HD .ts file movie is 2 hrs. 7 min. long.... I followed all these instructions.... http://replayguide.sourceforge.net/...ers_for_DCT6412
and down converted to a mpg2 file. only 1hr. and 30 min. of the movie got recorded to the new Mpg2 file 1/4 of the movie is missing...!!! LOL... I open the .ts file in HDTVto MPEG2 and it says that the movie is 1hr. and 30 min long.. its not..its 2 hrs. 7 min. long.... however viewing the movie in HDTVto MPEG2 the whole movie from begining ot end is present.. All so I notice at the beginning of the movie the audio is perfect in sync with the lips of people talking toward the middle and end parts of the movie the audio becomes a bit late of the lips of people talking..

Extremely frustrating... !!

Get a Roku HD-1000 for Playback of the HD .TS files

I used QuEnc and down converted the HIGH DEF 6X9 .ts file to a mpg2 and followed all these instructions to a "T" . http://replayguide.sourceforge.net/dct6412/index.html#Setting_up_for_drivers_for_DCT6412
My resulting MPG2 file when playing it back at the beginning of the movie the audio is perfect in sync with the lips of people talking toward the middle and end parts of the movie the audio becomes a bit late of the lips of people talking.. WHAT IS GOING ON??!! HAS ANY ONE ELSE HAVE THIS PROBLEM ???!!! IS THEIR ANY THING YOU CAN DO? OR IS IT JUST THE WAY IT IS?? IF THE SOFT WARE "QUENC" IS NOT ABLE TO KEEP THE AUDIO PERFECT IN SYNC WITH THE MOVIE ITS NOT WORTH THE TIME IN DOING THIS, NOTHING MORE ANNOYING THAN WATCHING A MOVIE THAT IS OUT OF SYNC ! .... ABANDON THE PROJECT AND RUN AWAY..!

Bigfish6, it's likely the sync problem is in the original captured .ts file as well. Check playback of the .ts file towards the end to verify it's not out of sync. Sometimes the broadcast itself has sync problems (welcome to the digital age) and sometimes the firewire capture itself doesn't work properly. In my experience if the .ts file is in sync throughout then the converted .mpg comes out OK. I must admit however I haven't used QuEnc in quite a while since I now use CCE-SP so if it is indeed a problem with QuEnc (doubtful) I wouldn't know.

I played the original captured HD 6x9 .ts file with VLC and the audio sync is perfect all the way threw the movie to the end....

***OFF TOPIC WARNING***

Sorry to bash into this topic, but are there device drivers available to do the reverse thing?

I'd love to use the IEEE1394 on pioneer receivers and connect to a PC, presenting the Pioneer as a WDM audio device.

Sorry again about bashing in, please PM me if you know something.

How can you tell if the firewire is enabled? I tried to get recording with the pc but when I plug in the fw cable I get no new hardware message. I have a Motorola 6208 on Insight in Columbus, OH.

Hello all,
I am pretty new at this, but I have followed all instructions.
I have my Motorola DVR Cable box connected to the PC via Firewire.
I have installed the drivers and the PC now sees the DVR.
I have installed the CAPDVHS software.
It sees my DVR and I can record whatever I am currently watching without a problem, however, I do not see a way to access PREVIOUSLY RECORDED programs that are on my DVR.
Am I missing something?

Any help would be great !

Thanks,
Brent G.
Ft. Lauderdale, FL

It sees my DVR and I can record whatever I am currently watching without a problem There's your answer - it records whatever you are watching, so playback a recorded show in order to capture it.

I am handling closed captioning via firewire in the stuff I do for MCE integration. If you read the readme (url removed to post) in the FAQ there is a picture of the graph I use to get closed captioning and some explanation of how it works.

I tried the site. It's a little complicated but I can probably figure it out. I didn't see the graph you referred to either. Before I can try it, I need the firestb.msi file. The link to the download doesn't seem to be working. Do you know another place I can find it. Google didn't turn up any other sites.

I tried the site. It's a little complicated but I can probably figure it out. I didn't see the graph you referred to either. Before I can try it, I need the firestb.msi file. The link to the download doesn't seem to be working. Do you know another place I can find it. Google didn't turn up any other sites.
I just tried http://www.thegreenbutton.com/community/shwmessage.aspx?ForumID=26&MessageID=104152
and the readme.htm and firewire.zip attachments both worked. In the readme.htm the graph is almost at the bottom of the page.

When down converting a 1080i .ts movie with QuEnc to a 720x480 video mpg. to be then authorized to a DVD.. is their any setting in QuEnc you can adjust the out put of the video mpg. to a higher resolution? Even if the mpg file is larger you can split the mpg. file into 2 or 3 and then authorize to 2-3 dvds? Would this maximize the video quality? or is a DVD player maximum capablility is 480i (p) so their would be no advantage in a higher up converted file from a 1080i source??? I'm trying to make the best quality dvd movie I can from a 1080i .ts file even if you have to authorize the movie to a few dvd's ....

I just tried (URL deleted for posting)
and the readme.htm and firewire.zip attachments both worked. In the readme.htm the graph is almost at the bottom of the page.

Now I see what happened. The first URL took me directly to the Readme file and I couldn't find the firewire.zip which contains the firestb.msi that I was looking for.
Now I'll give it a try.
Thanks

Ok, I too am having issues getting my setup going. I have a Motorola 6200 box FW 7.15 Time Warner Cable. Athlon 64 3700+ on Asus A8V Deluxe MB, 1GB RAM, ~1TB SATA Raid 0 Storage. Windows XP SP2.

I've followed the guide at the beginning of this thread and over at The Green Button Website and can't seem to get this thing going.

I can run CapDVHS and select the Panasonic MPEG2TS Tape Subunit Device - Convert 188 bytes, Check PTS, and Delete to SyncByte are all checked. I go to the Data Info tab and click Rec. and I don't see anything happening... If I let it record for the 1 minute, I can go to where it dumped the file and I see a .ts file there that's about 15MB. However, I can't find anything that will play it. I have Elecard Mpeg Player installed, as well as Intervideo WinDVD, Powerdvd, NVDVD, and Sonic Cineplayer. I've tried this on both analog and digital channels with the same result.

When I run VLC, it doesn't appear to do anything - I open the Capture Device - do a refresh - select the panasonic MPEG2TS Tape Sub - Click OK and it just sits there...

I changed the drivers to the ones over at the Green Button from the ReadMe I found and was able to change channels via firewire using the channel -v command. (thanks timmmoore) But I'm still unable to capture anything...

I also tried the same setup on my 2ghz centrino laptop - also running xp sp2, same results. Both of my firewire ports are 1394a, so I don't think the speedbug is the issue... I think I'll try loading the patch right quick to see if that resolves anything...

Am I missing something? Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Robert

Can a 10'-15' fire wire cable be to long and cause audio sync problems in movies?? I'm trying to figure out why I'm having audio that is out of sync in movies... I have done three HD down converted movies to DVD's all three movies have the same problem... the beginning to half of the movie the audio sync is perfect to the lip movements of people talking.. towards the last half of the movie you notice the audio starts to become late and worsens by the end of the movie..... I can't figure it out... I play the original .ts file and the audio is perfect all the way through the movie.. once I down convert it with QuEnc to a MPG. is when I notice the sync problem starting.... I don't know . could it be the length of the fire wire cable..?? I don't know what to think any more...

I play the original .ts file and the audio is perfect all the way through the movie.. once I down convert it with QuEnc to a MPG. is when I notice the sync problem starting.... I don't know . could it be the length of the fire wire cable..?? I don't know what to think any more...

It's not the cable, it's the software. I haven't messed with this stuff in 6-9 months, but at the time, there wasn't much of any software that could do this well. It required a lot of tweaking to get it to work. Doesn't sound like much has changed.

Give TMPGEnc a try. I use this for making my home movies from DV and have never had a problem, even on some of the stuff that has exceeded an hour. I'm not using the latest version, but I think they support TS files now.

--Eric

When down converting a 1080i .ts movie with QuEnc to a 720x480 video mpg. to be then authorized to a DVD.. is their any setting in QuEnc you can adjust the out put of the video mpg. to a higher resolution? Even if the mpg file is larger you can split the mpg. file into 2 or 3 and then authorize to 2-3 dvds?

DVD is 480i@30fps. 480p@24fps can be encoded into this and later retrieved with 3:2 pull-down. If you go any higher on the res, it won't be a DVD, and likely won't play on your STP. A few DVD players are capable of working with higher non-spec resolutions, but you are still limited by the bandwidth a DVD can provide. (Because of the decoder chips, not the physical format it self.) Trying to increase the res beyond normal DVD res is likely to result in a worse picture because you will then have to encode more pixels with the same bandwidth.

Depending on what the original source is, (from film?), your best bet might be to convert that 1080i into 480p@24fps and then write that to your DVD using software that supports flag-based encoding to 480i@30fps. This allows you to use the bits to only encode the actual content, rather then having to use some of them to encode the duplicate frames of a true 30fps source.

--Eric

Can a 10'-15' fire wire cable be to long and cause audio sync problems in movies?? I'm trying to figure out why I'm having audio that is out of sync in movies... I have done three HD down converted movies to DVD's all three movies have the same problem... the beginning to half of the movie the audio sync is perfect to the lip movements of people talking.. towards the last half of the movie you notice the audio starts to become late and worsens by the end of the movie..... I can't figure it out... I play the original .ts file and the audio is perfect all the way through the movie.. once I down convert it with QuEnc to a MPG. is when I notice the sync problem starting.... I don't know . could it be the length of the fire wire cable..?? I don't know what to think any more...No. My setup uses two 15' FW cables with a powered repeater and I don't have any problems, usually. There are some movies that will give you problems. Currently Chinatown for me. This thing was a mess. Audio synch and 2 serious glitches (the glitches were right there on my 6412 too). I finally had to chuck it so I hope it comes back on MAX. But everything for the past several months are synched perfectly durng playback from the .TS files or playback from an authored DVD. I use Nero 6.6 and it hasn't failed me yet.

Thanks for all the help guys! you are awesome! I will give Nero 6.6 and TMPGEnc a try. Thanks again for all the help!!!!

Ok. I've changed the firewire drivers to the ones from XP SP1. No difference. I am getting a file output whenever I do a capture with CapDVHS. Although I'm not able to open it with anything. The data info tab is still not showing anything during recording except for the time counting down.

I also have a HiDTV Pro OTA HD card in my pc that I can capture a HD stream with (uses .tp extension). Those files open and play fine with Elecard Player. The 1 minute .ts file that CapDVHS spits out won't play. Another odd thing is it says the clip is 14 seconds, not 1 minute.

I did my testing today with a second Moto 6200 box to see if it was perhaps the box. No such luck. The 1 minute clip I used for testing was from a local HD channel.

I opened up both test clips in graphedit and took a screenshot - might be useful for troubleshooting... they're attached. The TSGraphedit.JPG is the CapDVHS file that won't play. The TPGraphedit.JPG is the Hi-Def Tv Tuner Card that will play.

Is it possible that all of my channels are encrypted? I'm on Time Warner Cable in Richmond, TX.

I also picked up a SA8300HD box today so that I could play around with it, but it doesn't have firewire connection on it... TWC Houston said they don't have any 8300HDs with firewire ports... oh well...

Can anyone think of anything else I can try? I'd really like to get this going...

Any help is appreciated...

Robert

BTW, I can't seem to find the 'Interface Status' Menu to check for 5C encryption. I read this link: http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?postid=3855086#post3855086 but don't see this menu on my box.

Having problems with firewire to PC recording HD--using 169time - Dish 6000--read somewhere about XP service pac 2 problems in firewire. Can't find the link to fix the problem with microsoft. Computer will not "see" my JVC 40000 DVHS when hooked up to PC also. Trying to use vividlogic program.
help

BTW, I can't seem to find the 'Interface Status' Menu to check for 5C encryption. I read this link: http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?postid=3855086#post3855086 but don't see this menu on my box.

What box do you have? Those directions are for a Motorola - and you enter the menu after turning the STB Off when you had the channel tuned before turning off the STB to determine 5c status

What box do you have? Those directions are for a Motorola - and you enter the menu after turning the STB Off when you had the channel tuned before turning off the STB to determine 5c status


I have a Motorola 6200. Oh.. So I access the menu when the cable box is turned off? I went to the Cable Box Setup (after pressing menu) and was able to see the screen where it shows you the firmware version, but never found the 'Interface Status' screen. So I tune to a channel i want to check - Turn off the cable box - then press menu? I'll give it a shot when I get back home tonight after work... Thanks for the info.

I'm starting to think that Time Warner isn't allowing me to capture video through the firewire port... It looks like it's dumping out something, but I can't get it to play anywhere... File sizes vary from 13MB to 135MB for my 1minute test clips depending on analog/digital/HD.... Guess it could be my filters are jacked up, but I don't know...

Robert

Having problems with firewire to PC recording HD--using 169time - Dish 6000--read somewhere about XP service pac 2 problems in firewire. Can't find the link to fix the problem with microsoft. Computer will not "see" my JVC 40000 DVHS when hooked up to PC also. Trying to use vividlogic program.
help


I think this may be what you're looking for:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&postid=5315313#post5315313

Robert

I have a Motorola 6200. Oh.. So I access the menu when the cable box is turned off? I went to the Cable Box Setup (after pressing menu) and was able to see the screen where it shows you the firmware version, but never found the 'Interface Status' screen. So I tune to a channel i want to check - Turn off the cable box - then press menu? I'll give it a shot when I get back home tonight after work... Thanks for the info.


Actually menu brings up one screen (the one that changes aspect ratio and closed caption options) but the one you are looking for is brought up by pressing OK on my remote (could be select or info - don't know for your box but it is something different from menu)

Actually menu brings up one screen (the one that changes aspect ratio and closed caption options) but the one you are looking for is brought up by pressing OK on my remote (could be select or info - don't know for your box but it is something different from menu)

Ok, great... I'll play with it some more tonight... Thanks for the info.

Robert

Well... problem solved.... Thanks to RalphArch I was able to figure out how to check the 5C status of each channel... The combination that worked for me was tune the channel I wanted to check - then hit the Power button immediately followed by the OK/Select Button - then Option 11 was Interface Status.

I then went on to discover that Time Warner in Houston has 5C=1 on every digital cable channel with the exception of Local HD channels. All analog channels are 5C=0, but everything from channel 100 on up with the exception of Local HD (309-314) is set to 5C=1.

I was able to successfully capture video on Channel 309 and Channel 43 with CapVHS (all I've tried so far, but I'm assuming the rest that are 5C=0 will work ok.

Do I have any hope here? Or am I stuck without the ability to record my digital channels over firewire? Are there any good arguments for the Cable company to turn off 5C on non-premium digital content?

Thanks,

Robert

Regarding the SA8300HD:

1. I can change channels over the firewire.

2. When I try to do a capture using CAPDVHS, CAPDVHS gives me this error message: CapDVHS.exe has encountered a problem and needs to close. We are sorry for the inconvenience.

3. When I try to do a dctrecord, dctrecord gives me this error message: Could not find firwire capture device.

4. When I run VLC, I open a capture device but, nothing ever comes up.

I was reading that some people had to go back to 4 SP1 firewire files. I haven't done that. Do you think that is my problem?

P.S. My HTPC has 1394a. Also, when I first plug in the SA8300HD is comes up with 2 unknown devices and then the two right ones.

P.S.S. Also my devices show up under "Imaging Devices" and NOT under "IEEE 1394 Bus host controllers".

Can anyone help me?

Thanks,

Frank T. Lee

Ok... first tiem I've tried to archive off to my JVC 5u in some time, probably since I installed SP2. I'm having issues. First, following the common instructions found here:

http://www.webtc.com/DVHS/default.htm

I only get prompted to install a single device, listed as "Tuner AV/C Device". If I decide to install from a specific location then I have 4 choices for JVC devices:

JVC DV Camcorder
JVC DV Tape Recorder/Player
JVC Digital Tuner AV/C device
JVC D-VHS AV/C device

Obviously none of those are the tape tuners mentioned in the directions. And if I select either of the bottom 2, I can control the ff/rw of tape on the 5U but trying to record anything to it from DVHSTool, etc; fails. It just will not control the record. Sooo... what am I doing wrong?

XP SP2 seems to install a DVHS driver automatically for the recorder ( it works with a JVC 30000 and Mits 1100). Try uninstalling everything, then restart computer, cancel any devices that are prompted to be installed. Then see if DVHStools will work, it did for me. Also if you have an 800 Mhz 1394 card search for a fix for the 1394 driver with when XP2 is installed. John

Installed the patch, and cancelled the install for the new hardware when I rebooted. DVHSTool still sees the VCR, but behaves exactly the same as it did before. No recording.

Robert, regarding your difficulty check this thread out:

C:\Documents and Settings\Merlin\Local Settings\Temporary Internet Files\OLKF\What are the real FCC rules regarding encoding and encryption - AVS Forum.htm

My cable company , after weeks of discussion, has allowed me access once again. Even HBO says on their web site that you can have ONE copy. It took me a week just to get to someone who knew more than I did about this subject. I explained my desires and my understanding of the law, stressing that it was CONVOLUTED and I wanted to only act legally. I sent the FCC regs listed in that thread. Be NICE. Be Patient. Be Persistant.

I wanted to throw out for discussion Nero 6.6, NeroVision 3, and the Nero Multichannel plugin. I am now able to capture video using CapDVHS and then encode and burn it using Nero and get a 5.1 disc. I haven't tried it yet with a HD program but will soon. Nero's capture feature doesn't work for me so far. Anyone know why? Is it the drivers don't point in the right locations? Anyway I HIGHLY recommend Nero 6.6 with that plugin.

Wolf

thankyou for making this so easy!

coupla points that might make it a little cleaner for the next guy with a 6200. I didn't get the option to uncheck "Show compatable hardware" unless I cancelled all 3 of the found new hardware prompts. Then go to device manager and update the drivers for the tuner and now follow your instructions.

Then, the "Have Disk" part was a little sticky as I did what I thought I was supposed to do instead of exactly what you wrote I should do.

Now if you mess it up and need to start over - and SSSikora, this might work for you, chances are you'll have an AV/C device installed, but if you look at the driver details its using the windows driver file avc.sys. I had to remove that file from system32/drivers in order to wipe the slate clean.



Thx a lot bdraw for those wonderful instructions to make HD recording so easy. I cannot believe that i got this whole HD recording stuff done in 1hr. It would'nt be possible without avsforum, especially ur post.

Thx a lot jb, because i faced similar problems with my 6200. But after reading ur post, I was able to get it working.

I have DCT6200 firmware 7.15 and Windows XP
Here is what I did to get it working

1) Dont install any driver via windows hardware installation
wizard. Say NO for all three devices it detects.
(it detects unknown device, av/c tuner , av/c panel)

2) Go to device manager and disable Unknown device and av/c panel.

3) Select av/c tuner under Imaging devices and install driver. Now followed the instructions as per 'bdraw's first post.

4) selecting the proper device "ie. panasonic d-vhs avc tuner" is very important. initially, i goofed up something and it did not work for me.

Where would I find the SP1 drivers? I can't get this thing to work with SP2.

I only got one shot at it, and did not do it correctly apparently, and after that (even after removing the devices through device manager) the "tuner" section never appeared again, always "unknown hardware" then the "..panel" Lost patients at the point...may try again per the new instructions.

I only got one shot at it, and did not do it correctly apparently, and after that (even after removing the devices through device manager) the "tuner" section never appeared again, always "unknown hardware" then the "..panel" Lost patients at the point...may try again per the new instructions.
It might be worth trying the firewire.zip package from http://www.thegreenbutton.com/community/shwmessage.aspx?ForumID=26&MessageID=104152
The installer when it installs the drivers, updates the drivers if the STB is plugged in and puts the inf file in the right place so windows will find it if the STB is not plugged in. It supports DCT-62XX, DCT6412, SA3250, SA8000, SA8300, or at least the versions of the STBs that I have the PnP IDs for. The readme.htm in the same post gives instructions on how to install it and how to install the STB drivers.
If it doesn't work for your STB then run "channel -v" from the cmd line (the readme describes this) and post the output, I can add it to the list of devices it recognises.

Think it would work with my current muddled up reg or would it require a clean OS install?

Where would I find the SP1 drivers? I can't get this thing to work with SP2.

Worked for me... now the 5C encryption is holding me back....

Robert

Think it would work with my current muddled up reg or would it require a clean OS install?
It should, it goes through the list of PnP Ids it supports, looking to see if the device is plugged in or installed and updates the drivers to the inf and drivers I supply. It also supplies the inf for the devices it supports but haven't been ever plugged in.
For existing devices it updates them as part of the install, it requires a reboot at the end to load the new drivers.
If you plug in a new device afterwards, then select "Install the software automatically (Recommended)" and windows will find the drivers automatically.

I'm having success capturing video using CapDVHS and then encoding and authoring the file using the newest Nero along with the multichannel plugin. 5.1 DVDs!! I have the file extentions set to .mpg on CapDVHS. Then it's a breeze to encode, author, and edit using Nero. Nero doesn't work for the capture though, wish it did! Think that firewire.zip might be what I need to enable Nero for capture?

Wolf

I'm having success capturing video using CapDVHS and then encoding and authoring the file using the newest Nero along with the multichannel plugin. 5.1 DVDs!! I have the file extentions set to .mpg on CapDVHS. Then it's a breeze to encode, author, and edit using Nero. Nero doesn't work for the capture though, wish it did! Think that firewire.zip might be what I need to enable Nero for capture?

Wolf
Depends on the problem Nero has, if you see blue screens or other problems when the recording stops, the new inf may help. Also there are a number of XP firewire fixes that I found helps
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=887170
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=894480
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=885222

Gotta love 'em!

"This hotfix may receive additional testing. Therefore, if you are not severely affected by this problem, we recommend that you wait for the next Windows XP Service Pack that contains this hotfix."

Nero gives the error " Failed to initalize capture device. Please check device settings."


For devices I have "FireBus MPEG2TS Tuner Subunit" or "Motorola AV/C Panel Device".

Both give that error when I try to start a capture.

I have a few days off and plan on refining my technique!


Wolf

Worked for me... now the 5C encryption is holding me back....

Robert


Thank you Robert... hopefully they do the trick for me as well. I'm getting fairly annoyed that this was broken. I need to archive :)

Using Womble I actually am able to get a DVD mpeg2-compatible file with the original 5.1 audio. The key is to use Womble up front to edit out commercials in the captured .ts file - this automatically fixes the audio delay of the original .ts file which I believe is key to keep audio sync further down the line. Then save to a new .ts file and then follow the normal flow for re-encoding and then as a final step mux the re-encoded video with the audio ac3 from the Womble .ts file. I tried this on a couple of 1080i and 720p captures and resulted in a perfectly synced mpeg2 with 5.1 audio. However, 1 problem remaining for me is the DVD authoring programs I have will not accept 5.1 audio as input so I would probably have to buy Nero or some newer program that will accept the 5.1 audio as is and without re-encoding it.
First of all - to moyekj - thank you very much for your easy to follow guide to capturing from Motorola box. It works great on my Motorola 6208 box (I have not been able to get other procedures to work in the past)

My problem is the dreaded video/audio sync. issue
SD programs work fine and the DVD has no problems, but HD programs get out of sync.
I tried your method exactly and ended up with an MPEG file out of sync.

I since downloaded Womble MPEG Video Wizard - it makes editing original .ts file extremely easy. I then exported the edited video as a NTSC DVD format MPEG.
The resulting MPEG file has perfect audio sync all of they way through.

However when I use Rejig to author DVD using listed procedure or I use Roxio DVD Builder to make DVD I end up with video and audio out of sync towards the end of the DVD.

Any ideas?????

I can't access the standard definition Discovery channels. I can capture the file but with the exception of VLC Media Player, NOTHING can access the video portion of the file with the exception of the VLC Media Player, a free player. Just the audio is available. I am able to capture HD Discovery just fine but not there SD channels.

It is not a 5C issue.

Is anyone able to capture a SD Discovery channel successfully?


Wolf

I can't access the standard definition Discovery channels. I can capture the file but with the exception of VLC Media Player, NOTHING can access the video portion of the file with the exception of the VLC Media Player, a free player. Just the audio is available. I am able to capture HD Discovery just fine but not there SD channels.

It is not a 5C issue.

Is anyone able to capture a SD Discovery channel successfully?


Wolf
Yes, I capture SD Discovery on a DCT6200 without problem. Some SD channels will be analogue and the STB encodes them, others are digital channels and the STB passes it through from the headend. If its analogue some motorolas encode audio with a sampling rate of 32KHz and some encode with 48KHz. I have found so far all cable encoded is 48KHz audio. Discovery for me is an analogue channel or a HD channel.

Please bear with me while I ask a womble question; I recently recorded Chinatown to my pc. The movie from SHOHD had 2 serious glitches (one at 1:34 and one at 1:46) that I edited out. I clicked on the red button to encode (not really sure which format I should select, it outputs as a .mpg). Now when I playback using zoomplayer or playing back through my JVC 40K I have lipsynch problems through out the movie. Did womble introduce this lipsynch because I am re-encoding? The lipsynch problem also happened to a recent sopranos episode I recorded and used womble to chop off the back end of the ep. I always had great results with womble until these 2 problems, anyone experience anything similar?

tall1, be sure to set Save As Type = Automatic. You want Womble to spit out the same format as the original mpeg not to re-encode the whole video - only re-encode at the cuts. I have not had any lipsynch problems after Womble stage yet with any .ts file I have edited. However, if you are getting lipsynch problems and your goal is to generate a DVD mpeg, try re-encoding the whole .ts file first to DVD mpeg and then use Womble on the re-encoded mpeg. The other thing to try is to run Womble's Mpeg GOP fixer on the original .ts file and specify to fix GOP and PTS errors and save to a new file name. Then try editing that fixed .ts file.

Hello,

First off thanks a million for those who put this thread together. I was able to record off the 6412 using CAPDVHS via firewire within minutes.

However, I'm having a problem that I don't see described here. While CAPDVHS was recording, I noticed that the timer on the bottom of the app would sometimes stop, then restart after a few seconds, with no apparent regularity. I let the recording finish ("Finding Nemo" off of my DVR recordings, 106 minutes ), and played back the ts file using VLC.

In places where I noticed the CAPDVHS timer pausing, the recording did indeed "jump" due to lost time. I played the discontinuity over and over again to make sure it happens consistently and it does. So I'm pretty sure it's the recording, not the playback.

Any ideas what's going on here? One interesting thing I noticed was when the recording timer stopped, if I wiggled the mouse it would always start up again. Strange... At the end of the movie I had about 12 minutes extra on the timer, to account for the "lost" time.

I'm using an emachines T6212 which is an athlon 64 3200+ with 512M Ram (-64M for onboard video) and a 160G ATA (not SATA) hard drive, not sure what the rpm is on the drive. I have all windowsXP power management turned off as well.

Any ideas would be appreciated.
-coflo

coflo, I don't mean to sound like chicken little but I had that same thing happen to me and a few days later my hard drive crashed. In any case, it isn't a good idea to record to the same drive where your OS lives so consider an external drive. I buy 200-250gig drives from compusa/CC whenever they go on sale and connect them via IDE/USB cable. Good luck.

coflo, I don't mean to sound like chicken little but I had that same thing happen to me and a few days later my hard drive crashed. In any case, it isn't a good idea to record to the same drive where your OS lives so consider an external drive. I buy 200-250gig drives from compusa/CC whenever they go on sale and connect them via IDE/USB cable. Good luck.

That's what I was afraid of - something going on with the hard drive? I'll pop in one of my spares and see what happens. Is there a minimum spec drive? I've got some pretty old drives laying around....

Know of any hard drive diagnostic tools I could use which may indicate the problem?

Thanks,
Coflo

coflo, I had the same problem when I was using another program that was accessing the HD. This was about a year ago and it hasn't gone bad. You can't have anything reading or writing to the same HD that you're using to record.

I have recorded to a laptop HD 5400 RPM, PATA Internal 7200 RPM (2 MB and 8 MB buffer), USB External PATA 7200 RPM. All recorded perfectly.

Thanks for the info so far.

This may be a stupid question- Can the simultaneous drive access problem be solved by partitioning the one drive I have or must I have multiple physical drives?

-coflo

Thanks for the info so far.

This may be a stupid question- Can the simultaneous drive access problem be solved by partitioning the one drive I have or must I have multiple physical drives?

-cofloPartitioning the drive won't improve the HDD performance because you are still using the same RW heads. You can certainly record to the same drive as the OS; I didn't mean to imply that this may be why you are experiencing these delays recording. But as a way to troubleshoot your problem, recording to an external HDD will hopefully help you identify the root cause.

sorry about being 50 pages late to the party :p


i hope my questions haven't been ask a zillion times already



1. is this really capturing a pure signal file through the cable box with no tv tuner/capture card needed?

2. does it only work for comcast boxes ... i have a time warner box with ethernet and usb ports on the back. any chance of this working as well?


box type Pioneer BD-V1000

1. is this really capturing a pure signal file through the cable box with no tv tuner/capture card needed?Yes.

2. does it only work for comcast boxes ... i have a time warner box with ethernet and usb ports on the back. any chance of this working as well?
box type Pioneer BD-V1000No--not to my knowledge. The ethernet and USB ports are usually included for update and diagnostic purposes, I think.

I used Nero 6.6 to authorize and create a DVD movie using a HD captured .TS file. Then using the "IFOEdit" program I accessed the DVD video_TS.IFO and it states (Dolby AC-3) 2ch 48Kps DRC. It suppose to be 6 channels to get the 5.1 surround sound.. When I use the "QuEnc" and "Rejig" programs from a HD captured .TS file I am able to get
(Dolby AC-3) 6ch. on the Dvd... Does any one know how to get Nero 6.6 to create an authorized DVD and get (Dolby AC-3) 6 Ch. ??? from a HD. captured .TS file ????

All,

I was sucessfully able to watch content from my Motorola DCT6200 using VLC and also get HD quality recordings. After a recent swap of motherboards on my pc, VLC now shows streaming video very choppy at best. The recordings are also lower quality and are choppy.

Any suggestions as to how to resolve this problem?

Thanks in advance,

tdwiek

I need to find out if anyone knows if the DCT6412 works with the firewire drives posted on page on of this thread. I have the box and want to archive my data. Also has anyone looked into the possibility of being able to mount the internal HD to a PC via a firewire external HD inclosure and copy the data that way?

I currently run a P4 2.4ghz system. I don't have alot of ram, only 256MB. Should my system be enough to copy the data to it? also can someone recommed a good shareware/freeware program that I can use to convert the files from .ts file to dvd format?

All the shows I record are either analog or digital, no HD shows....

any info would be good as I have over 80% on my unit and really want to dump it off ASAP.

thanks

jharasimo, yes DCT6412 firewire capture works for WinXP. Consult the appropriate link in my signature section below - it also has all the details on making DVDs from .ts files too (from both SD and HD sources).

Jharasimo-
I have a DCT6412 connected to my laptop with a fire wire and use CapDvhs using the driver and all the free ware soft ware on this thread to caputre, convert .ts to Mpg2 to Dvd ect. ...
http://replayguide.sourceforge.net/dct6412/index.html#Setting_DVD_auto-letterboxing_for_16:9

256MB Ram should be ok for capturing the .ts file to your computer, but if you want to efficiently do any .ts file conversions to mpg2 and then authorize to dvd it will take lots of memory... What I did purchased more ram (2gig.) and upgraded ... off of e-bay.. you can find some great deals on ram their...
i
I think the only way to archive your data from the DCT6412 pvr is to capture the actual picturethat is currently being viewed on your tv ..... It sure would be nice if it were possible to mount the internal HD to a PC via a firewire external HD inclosure and copy the data that way? I would love to hear about that if it is possible....

I just tried http://www.thegreenbutton.com/community/shwmessage.aspx?ForumID=26&MessageID=104152
and the readme.htm and firewire.zip attachments both worked. In the readme.htm the graph is almost at the bottom of the page.

I still seem to be having trouble. I can't get a clear picture of the graph mentioned above. I do not have MCE however I am using XP SP2. It appears that the ts stream I'm capturing contains the closed caption data, however, when I encode it with MPEG Video Wizard, I lose the CC. My ts files are being captured at 528x480. I have not been able to find a program that I could get to "author" the DVD in that format. I have tried converting the ts file with HDTVtoMPEG and I tried converting it to DVD-ms with SBEAPP. I seem stuck between encoding and losing the CC or using some other method and having audio sync problems. TsunamiMPEG DVD Author won't accept the files in the 528x480 format. I have tried Rejig which on a ts file sometimes fails to recognize the audio. I also tried a couple of other shareware titles but could not get the audio and video in sync. Maybe the CC option is not possible without MCE. Thanks for your help so far. I do appreciate it.

Does this work with the Motorola dct 6412? The instructions say motorola 620X.

thx

sorry to be a pain, but could someone provide me with a link to the drivers that I woudl install? I havethe motorola 6412 and windows XP SP2 with a Dynex 400mbits/sec card. so much that I have read says that there are problems with XP SP2 and doing this. It woudl be great if someone could give me a link for the drivers that i install, unless they are native to XP2. also where do I get CapDvhs or can I use the new version on nero showtime and capture with it?

Finnally I read a little bit of this thread and it said someware that curtain movies are copy protected and can't be copied from the box? is this right? Also can Analog channells be copied this way or only digital ones?

oh, ya. and it's a 6pn to 6pn firewire cable that runs from the box to my pc right?

Does this work with the Motorola dct 6412? The instructions say motorola 620X.

thxYes. Go HERE (http://replayguide.sourceforge.net/dct6412/index.html) for instructions.

oh, ya. and it's a 6pn to 6pn firewire cable that runs from the box to my pc right?The Moto STB requires a 6 pin connector. Your desktop PC is most likely a 6 pin too but look at the back of the moto and view the size of the 6 pin slot. If your pc has the same, it is 6, if smaller, it is a 4 pin. Make certain you plug the 6 pin in the correct way (rounded edge pointing down). If you plug it in upside down you can zap your gear. http://www.colby.edu/lrc/help/images/firewire2.jpg In the image, the left connector is 6 pin, the right is 4 pin. Good luck.

Thanks to all the experts here in this forum for getting me started on recording from the 6412. Everything seems to be working so far, and I was able to capture and convert one short video clip without a problem, however, I've got a number of 1 hour shows recorded from the SciFi channel that are giving me trouble.

I've followed moyekj's instructions and have captured the .ts files to the HD.

When played in Media Player Classic, the show plays fine.

DG index shows the audio and video channels.

HDTVtoMPEG2 shows some partial video at the top of the screen and converts to a blank .mpg file with no video or audio.

Was this a capture problem, or a conversion problem?

Is there a different thread that discusses this? I'll go searching but if someone out there has another thread where this question is better answered I'll be glad to ask there.

Thanks!

I still seem to be having trouble. I can't get a clear picture of the graph mentioned above. I do not have MCE however I am using XP SP2. It appears that the ts stream I'm capturing contains the closed caption data, however, when I encode it with MPEG Video Wizard, I lose the CC. My ts files are being captured at 528x480. I have not been able to find a program that I could get to "author" the DVD in that format. I have tried converting the ts file with HDTVtoMPEG and I tried converting it to DVD-ms with SBEAPP. I seem stuck between encoding and losing the CC or using some other method and having audio sync problems. TsunamiMPEG DVD Author won't accept the files in the 528x480 format. I have tried Rejig which on a ts file sometimes fails to recognize the audio. I also tried a couple of other shareware titles but could not get the audio and video in sync. Maybe the CC option is not possible without MCE. Thanks for your help so far. I do appreciate it.
Theres been work at www.thegreenbutton trying to convert .dvr-ms to .mpg including CC and they haven't suceeded yet. The mpeg encoders/multiplexers they tried dont encode CC, so the .ts or .dvr-ms files have it but when converted to .mpeg you lose it.
You can convert .ts to .dvr-ms using tsconvertor (http://dvbportal.de) but I haven't looked to see if it copies the CC across.

Theres been work at www.thegreenbutton trying to convert .dvr-ms to .mpg including CC and they haven't suceeded yet. The mpeg encoders/multiplexers they tried dont encode CC, so the .ts or .dvr-ms files have it but when converted to .mpeg you lose it.
You can convert .ts to .dvr-ms using tsconvertor (http://dvbportal.de) but I haven't looked to see if it copies the CC across.

Thanks, I feel better knowing that others are having trouble too. I thought it was just me being remedial. Until we find a program or figure out how to keep the CC when converted to .mpeg, I'll have to stick with the subtitles. Their a pain to sync up but better than nothing. If I find anything that works, I'll let you know and you can pass it on.

awsome, thanks for the help. Any info on using something other than capdvhs to capture the file? like nero suite?

This is the email I received from Comcast:
" I regret to inform you that the DVI-D or IEEE Firewire are not active.
Let me assure you, you will be notified of any updates to the
converter.

I apologize for any inconvenience.

Sincerely,"
Do I have any recourse to this? I just started Comcast, Box DCT 6208, Location Troy, Michigan.
Thanks,
Paul

My Womble 30 day trial version expired. I tried to uninstal it and reinstall a new down load trial with a new serial number. didn't work... Is their any way to remove the wombles finger print from the computers registry so I can use another 30 day trial version... ?? Is that possible or I have to go buy the program....

My Womble 30 day trial version expired. I tried to uninstal it and reinstall a new down load trial with a new serial number. didn't work... Is their any way to remove the wombles finger print from the computers registry so I can use another 30 day trial version... ?? Is that possible or I have to go buy the program....

Well, I suppose you could reinstall Windows if you really want to use another trial copy. But perhaps the point of the trial is to give you a free chance to evaluate whether the software meets your needs before having to shell out money. If you find it meets your needs and you want to continue using it, do the right thing and pay for it.