Converting TS files

[mykeyb38]

Right got the dreambox recording to my PC beautifully and plays faultlessly but the TS files are to say the least a little on the large side.

I have tried using the program "Super" that was recommended elsewhere but it keeps crashing and never converts a whole file.

Can anybody else recommend a prog that will do the job.

Cheers Guys

 

[Devilfish]

This thread may help you mykeyb38...

http://www.digitalworldz.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=109557

 

[mykeyb38]

Thanks Devilfish, I will have a gander at those later.

 

[mykeyb38]

Just an update really.

Im using Project X and after a little play Im quite impressed to the results.
The mpg files are approx the same size as the TS files so not really saving any disc space so unless there is a setting to reduce the output size it looks like I might have to make it a 2 stage operation.

Thanks guys for all the help.

 

[señor ding dong]

Just an update really.

Im using Project X and after a little play Im quite impressed to the results.
The mpg files are approx the same size as the TS files so not really saving any disc space so unless there is a setting to reduce the output size it looks like I might have to make it a 2 stage operation.

ProjextX does not re-encode the files, so the size will be roughly the same. Why anyone would want to further degrade the already crappy quality of Virgin's sub-standard channels is beyond me, but there are millions of ways to do it. Check out www.videohelp.com for guides and software. HDTVtoAVI is quite popular, and takes MPEG2 of any resolution and encodes them as XVID, DIVX, whatever. Considering the price of bland DVD-Rs these days, and that software like DVDLab Pro will create DVDs even from non-standard resolutions like 544x576 in munutes with no re-encoding or loss of quality, I prefer to just back my recordings up to disc this way, which also makes it easier to share with friends and family.

 

[_Phat_]

IMHO I find DVR Studio Pro simple to use, reliable & lets you crop adverts out etc.

 

[señor ding dong]

IMHO I find DVR Studio Pro simple to use, reliable & lets you crop adverts out etc.

I think DVD Studio re-encodes, doesn't it? It's an important distinction to make. One of my friends couldn't figure out why my DVDs looked so much better than his, and it turned out the bozo had been using Nero to re-encode. In principle, there's nothing wrong with re-encoding, if that's what you want, but a lot of people don't seem to know the difference, and their software won't always tell them what it's really doing.

 

[_Phat_]

@señor ding dong

Fair comment I find re-encoding does tend to result in loss of some sort and is always time consuming (approx 2hrs per film) if you can point us in the direction of something which does not have this drawback but will produce a decent mpeg I would be grateful.

What is your personal preference?

 

[señor ding dong]

@señor ding dong

Fair comment I find re-encoding does tend to result in loss of some sort and is always time consuming (approx 2hrs per film) if you can point us in the direction of something which does not have this drawback but will produce a decent mpeg I would be grateful.

What is your personal preference?

I record to TS and use ProjectX to demux to separate MPEG2 and MP2 audio file(s). you can edit out ads and overrun in ProjectX too, but I prefer to use MPEG2Schnitt. Once that's done, I use DVDLab Pro to author. No re-encoding involved, no loss of quality, and it takes a fraction of the time you would spend on re-encoding. The only thing to be aware of is that certain veeeery old DVD players don't support resolutions like 528 or 544 x 576, but I have yet to encounter such a player myself. They're very rare.

You could even record directly to separate video and audio files, which could then be imported straight into the authoring app, skipping the editing and demuxing stage, but I personally prefer to have the TS files available for playback on the Dbox until I commit them to DVD.