Editing (and Transcoding) Freeview|HD Recordings

Forums › Home Theatre (including HTPC and EPG Collector) › Editing (and Transcoding) Freeview|HD Recordings

Deev8

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#56327 13-Jan-2010 17:18

There has been some occasional discussion, normally as a sideline in other threads, about the difficulty people have editing transmission stream files that result from Freeview|HD recordings and transcoding the recordings to produce more compact files. I thought that it would be useful to have a dedicated thread to discuss what has worked in practice, and what hasn’t!

I’ve had some recent success using a combination of the following FREE applications:

TS-Doctor to clean-up any TS files that may contain a few errors. Later processes are more prone to fail if the TS files contain errors.

H264TS_Cutter to edit the cleaned-up TS files.

Handbrake to encode the edited TS files in an mkv container.

So far that combination of applications has worked successfully with all of the Freeview|HD broadcast material that I have thrown at it no matter whether the original broadcast was an SD or HD programme with HE-AAC or AC3 sound.

What is anyone else using, and how successful has it been?

eXDee

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#289744 13-Jan-2010 18:15

Oh wow cheers for TS Doctor, errors in recordings have always screwed over handbrake etc.

Deev8

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#289760 13-Jan-2010 19:12

eXDee: Oh wow cheers for TS Doctor, errors in recordings have always screwed over handbrake etc.

TS Doctor certainly helps, but it obviously can't perform miracles if you have a very poor signal and masses of errors in the TS file.

mm1352000

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#289807 13-Jan-2010 20:58

I tried TSPacketEditor but that was quite some time ago and my results were mostly unsuccessful. Now I'm hanging out for the new version of VideoRedo TVSuite which is due "any day"...

dacraka

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#289811 13-Jan-2010 21:10

That is pretty much my set-up as well and have been using that combination (except for H264TS_Cutter) with success for a while now : )

Deev8

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#289879 14-Jan-2010 08:54

mm1352000: I tried TSPacketEditor but that was quite some time ago and my results were mostly unsuccessful. Now I'm hanging out for the new version of VideoRedo TVSuite which is due "any day"...

VideoRedo TVSuite costs US$74.99 (just over NZ$100 at current exchange rates). That's quite a price tag, but I suspect quite a few people will be prepared to pay it if the new version just does the job without any messing around.

Personally - I'll continue to use the free tools for some time at least. If / when a commercial product has really proven itself, I may put my hand into my pocket later on.

mm1352000

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#289892 14-Jan-2010 09:19

I certainly agree that I would prefer to use free (as in "no money") or even free (as in "libre) software, but in this case I'm making an exception. Unlike mpeg2 I hear that the implementations of h264 in broadcast, encoders and decoders seem to have slight differences which leads to compatibility problems. As for VideoRedo: they claim to be able to cut out ads etc. with minimal re-encoding (I'm not really interested in compression, mostly just trimming) and somehow avoid loss of sync and artifacting. If they are telling the truth then it is worth the investment for me...

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burtz

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#290178 15-Jan-2010 07:40

Just to add my two cents for those using Windows 7 and Media Centre for Freeview Terrestrial recording. I have found that the new .wtv files that are produced can be converted to .wmv files in a variety of bit rates and definitions (480p, 720p, 1080 etc) with Windows Live Movie Maker (a free download from microsoft) and then converted to dvd format and burnt with Windows DVD Maker.

mm1352000

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#290263 15-Jan-2010 11:22

That new version of VideoRedo that I mentioned is now out. I think it is great but at ~$95USD I know it won't be for everyone. You can try it free for 15 days. Link: here.

Deev8

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#290343 15-Jan-2010 15:12

mm1352000: That new version of VideoRedo that I mentioned is now out. I think it is great ...

You've had success editing and transcoding Freeview|HD recordings with it? Any issues or traps for new users to be aware of?

mm1352000

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#290409 15-Jan-2010 19:19

I've fiddled with the mpeg2 version before of course, but I've only been able to download and install the h.264 version today when it was made public. In the short time I had available I tried cutting the ads out of a TV2 recording. I had a "problem" with one of my cuts - on playback, ~0.5s pixelation and then audio glitch in VLC that I didn't encounter in the input or in MediaPortal - and subsequently another problem with their quick stream fix tool removing the subtitles and teletext streams. Other than those (what I would call) "minor" issues it pretty much just works. As expected, output of a ~2h movie happened in ~5min without major re-encoding or loss of sync at cut points!

If you want more advice I'd suggest you ask allstarnz about this - I believe he was part of the beta testing team. Alternatively download and try the *free* 15 day trial... there isn't much to lose!

allstarnz

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#290441 15-Jan-2010 22:40

I have always found there are issues playing back Freeview|HD recordings, either edited or raw. They tend to crash a lot of apps.

But as for VRD, as I said in another thread. It's not bullet proof, but it's the best out there by far. There are still a few minor things with our NZ recordings, but in general, it's pretty good now. Usually you can edit frame accurate, and as long as there aren't too many errors in the recording, you should get output .ts files that are in sync.

Usually i'll recode them afterwards with Handbrake or Megui, rather than leave them in their original form.

I haven't used it that much to transcode files, but the odd time I have tried it (for using in DVD) it seemed to do its job.

As I already own it, I think the upgrade fee is something like US$25, which I will buy in due course.

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dale77

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#290643 16-Jan-2010 23:45

I was/am in the market for a freeview hd editor. But now I wonder whether it is really necessary. skip 3 minutes deals with ads in "livetv" and anything worth watching again is probably worth a blu or dvd...

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