MPEG2Repair: New Tool for Error Detection (also improves 169time compatibility) - Page 3

I've used Mark's utility on 10 movies coming from various source so far. All of them were not watchable with MyHD before (no sound at all and lot of glitches...). All of them are now watchable with still some video glitches (but a lot less) but no audio problem.

I've tried several version of MyHD and I figured out that the best one to play unperfect TS streams is version 1.62.3. The version 1.63 lost audio almost on each glitch (you need to pause and restart to have it back). And the versions before produce more audio glitches.

J.

See there : http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...hreadid=455882

Mark,

Maybe it's gonna sound futile but it would be cool if your utility could be minimized. I use to process several files at the same time and I just can get rid of all the windows...

J.

Mark,
I had not thought about the command line returning right after launching the GUI. I'm not as gifted a scripter as some (batch files are as far as I go) so I think a text mode version would be nicer, if it's not too much trouble to create. BTW is there any way for the GUI version to keep control of the command prompt until it's done?

I have an update after using this tool on many AVX-1 recordings. I found another bug in my "08D6" recordings which I could not identify the source of until now. The symptom is when I play my recordings (trasferred to D-VHS) on the JVC 30k deck, the JVC decoder shows occasional loss of audio and video. It's completely repeatable by rewinding the tape and replaying the section where the dropout occured.

I was initially suspicious of MPEG2Repair, but last night I made two copies of a movie, one pre-repair and one post-repair. It turns out the dropouts occur in the exact same places on both tapes. (BTW the recording was Bad Boys II, which was the cleanest recording I've made from the AVX-1 with only 3 frames that had corrupted data, and zero continuity errors). Now here's where it gets interesting: the suspicious parts of both recordings play back perfectly on ALL other equipment at my disposal (MyHD, Mits 1100U + Samsung T165, and Mits 2000U + LG LST-3410A). I did notice a single frame stutter on the Samsung shortly after the positions where the dropouts were happening on the JVC 30k, but no loss of audio.
BTW the JVC 30k's firewire output drops out simultaneously with the internal decoder dropping out.

Bottom line: This may mean the AVX-1 is subtly, erroneously stamping the PTSes and/or PCR in such a way that the JVC decoder can't handle them, but other decoders can. Another possibility is a slight buffer underrun or overrun in either demuxed audio or video output which causes the 30k some trouble but not the other decoders. Some people were reporting similar problems with the JVC 30k and 08E6 firmware; I think I'm seeing the same issue with 08D6.

-Dylan

Thanks for the tip - I will give it a shot.

There is lot of MYHD bashing going on in a well known forum dedicated to the TIVO but for High Def shows, MYHD is the only choice for playing back files made from the HDTIVO.

Joe

Actually there are quite a few software-only players that can handle HD playback, including HD from a tivo.

I tried this software, thanks for making it. But it says it can't find PID values. Does that mean it's not actually recording anything? Because the files are reasonably sized, 30MB for 30 seconds or so, so I wonder what it is recording. Anyway, I'll make a smaller one and email it to you. Thanks again.

Blank TS files are typical when you try to dump 5C copy protected material.

Good program. Only when I did one 30 show the error report was 20 megs long and the file was 1 gig smaller because it cut out the 2nd channel.

When I did other 60 min show, it did not cut out the other channel and file was the same size and the second channel was not seen in VLC.

Maybe because I am using WINHD and it encrips the streem.

Why so amny errors and where is the other channel?

Mark, when you remove the other programs/channels, do you convert that data to null packets and preserve the ATSC 19.3Mb/sec data rate?

DonP

Unfortunately the audio and video drop out at the same time on the JVC 30k (I verified it's a problem on two different 30k decks). I tried TStoATSC3 and it doesn't clear up the problem. Since it only affects the JVC 30k I can live with it. Ironic though, since the JVCs were the most compatible with older versions of AVX-1 software.

I was going to send you a clip, but you have the same setup I do (an AVX-1 with a Dish 6000). Make sure to watch your movies all the way through. It's hard to catch just by sampling.

-Dylan

Mark,

As I was using your utility on a movie, I was wondering why the output file was smaller (a lot, around 35%) than the input file. I discovered that the file output by MPEG2Repair was cleaned of null packets. Is it also a function of this utility ???

As you mentioned that you've got something else to do this job, I was surprised.

I've also tried on an already null packet cleaned file. The original file size is 4,4 GO and the output file is 3,9. Where are the 500 MO missing ?

J.

J.,
I've seen this before also. If your recording originally came from the Dish 5000 modulator, it will have '0x1FEF' null packets rather than the standard '0x1FFF' nulls. Mark's program leaves in the 0x1FFF nulls but will strip out everything else except the main program. IMO it's kind of a problem since recordings from the Panasonic TU-DST5X tuner have this strange property that stripping out nulls can make the resulting file have very jerky playback on many decoders. While the jerky playback can happen on other null stripped recordings, smooth playback can usually be restored by reinserting the nulls and restamping the PCR with TStoATSC(3). This is NOT the case with Panny recordings; once the nulls are gone, you may never be able to restore smooth playback.

-Dylan

Wizziwig, just to clarify your last statement, the FAQ to MPEG2Repair states the following:
Does this statement still apply to version 1.0.0.4? If one does not enable null packet stripping, does the bitrate stay constant after the file is repaired, so that the TStoATSC utility is not required?

Mark,

I was using version 1.0.0.2. The INI file was the following :

StripNullPackets=0
StripEarlyAudioPackets=1
IgnorePCRIntervalWarnings=1
IgnoreContinuityWarnings=0
IgnoreRepeatedPacketWarnings=0
FixMacroblockErrors=1

I've just tried on the same movie with version 1.0.0.4 with the following INI file :

StripNullPackets=0
StripEarlyAudioPackets=0
FixMacroblockErrors=1
IgnoreContinuityWarnings=0
IgnorePCRIntervalWarnings=1
IgnoreRepeatedPacketWarnings=1
IgnoreAudioDelayWarnings=1

And the winner is...v1.0.0.4 which does not seem to remove anything more than errors. The resulting file is almost the same size than the original one.

I have just watched a movie processed by v1.0.0.2. It works really great. I'm now using v1.0.0.4. As my system (MyHD) handles correctly null packet removed streams, if I want MPEG2Repair to repair AND remove null packets, do I just have to change the INI file corresponding line to 1 ?

Thanks,

J.

Thanks for the clarification, Mark. The first time I processed a file with your application, the file size stayed the same, so I wondered what was going on. I prefer to keep the bitrate constant for decoder compatibility. I've had good results so far, so now I'll give it a real workout. Thanks for the application.

Hi Mark.

I'm a Mac / Unix user, and as such live in a veritably wasteland when it comes to TS repair programs. I actually sought this thread out because it sounded like something that could be run from a command line, and lo-and-behold, other users have made this very request!

I am wondering about the possibility of a commond-line version port to the UNIX layer of Mac OS X (Darwin), and to Linux? Both use gcc as their core compiler and porting to one is a huge step in getting it to the other (though there are differences in "stat" and other low level I/O calls).

For example, dr1394's "xport.c" program actually compiled without modification under darwin, and I was able to port TStoATSC without much trouble.

Obviously your program has a Windows interface, and if it's tightly coupled with the processing module, this won't be possible. However, if the file I/O and TS processing can be "broken out," I for one would beg you for a port. I'm hoping your reference to a "text mode" means that these modules can be used independantly.

Those are big "ifs" but in case it's possible, I would be happy to actually do the port (I have access to Debian Linux as well as Mac OS X / Darwin). I would willingly sign an NDA or whatever... though I know very little about MPEG2 TS format and probably wouldn't be able to disclose anything if I tried.

-Pie

I am puzzled as to why a 169Time recording that appears to play fine in MyHD twice caused the attached message from MPEGRepair on the same recording of Down with Love both times within the first few minutes.

All my other 169Time files ran through just fine.

The files run through the tool were never on a D-VHS deck- only the PC.

Thanks Mark.

I have some AVX1 DirectTV HBO recordings that normally don't run on my Samsung 165, with constant image tear.

Once repaired with the previous version, they seem to do at first, but after a while, the 165 starts to stutter. Hitting Stop/Play makes it work again, but it does not last.

Any idea if this can be corrected? Would you need a sample?

Mark,

Thanks for the minimize button

Another little bug I've found is when you're processing a file which is on a bad DVD (a dirty DVD for example or scratched or with some burning errors) MPEG2Repair crashes and sometimes crashes the whole PC.

J.