can improperly closed DVR-MS files be fixed?

[johnsonx42]

I recently switched to DVR-MS. For me it works better than TS Mux for several reasons (not the least of which is comskip), but the big drawback is that if a recording isn't closed properly (due to a crash, reboot, other problem in GB-PVR, etc.), the file can't be played. .TS files don't have that problem...

So, anyhow, now I'm in dutch with the wife because I had to shutdown the recording service after one of her recordings failed to finish properly. The DVR-MS file was created, and clearly contains the show, but it can't be played - it just dumps back to the menu. I know this is a known problem with using DVR-MS...

So the question is, is there any way to fix the file so it can be played? Some utility that can just go in and fix whatever is wrong with it?

[engnz]

try using this to convert to an mpg file.

http://dvrmstompeg.googlepages.com/dvr-m...gconverter

[dennit]

is there any way to fix the file so it can be played?

I've seen this once before. I tried other players until I found one that played it. I've got VLC, MPC-HC, WMP, Nero's player and a couple of others, but I suspect it was WMP that solved my problem.

[johnsonx42]

I tried playing the file using WMP, Nero Showtime, and Windows Media Center on my Windows 7 box, all to no avail.

I'll look at the dvrms to mpeg converter.. thanks.

[dennit]

I tried playing the file using WMP, Nero Showtime, and Windows Media Center on my Windows 7 box, all to no avail.

I'll look at the dvrms to mpeg converter.. thanks.

Let me know how it goes. Out of the last 3 years of dvr-ms recording, I had one file that had trouble in GBPVR (but played in WMP), and one that wouldn't play at all. I decided the one that wouldn't play was just too severely corrupted - I didn't really associate it with dvr-ms format. Is there some reason to think that dvr-ms is more susceptible to problems? If anything, my own experience is the opposite.

[johnsonx42]

Is there some reason to think that dvr-ms is more susceptible to problems? If anything, my own experience is the opposite.

DVR-MS files generally seem to be more resistant to playback skips and the like than .TS files. However it is a known issue that partial DVR-MS files simply can't be played back... I tend to get a lot of cases where the recording service just hangs at the end of a recording and never finishes it properly. (I'm hoping this issue is finally fixed with 1.4.7)

With .TS it was no big deal, just restart the recording service and all was well (except for the other recordings missed in the interim of course). But with DVR-MS the resulting file, even though it undoubtedly has a perfectly good recording in it, can't be played back. I don't know if the mux goes back to the beginning of the file and writes some header information as it closes the file, or what it is that may cause this.

The same of course holds true for any other sort of case where a DVR-MS file doesn't get closed properly.

[johnsonx42]

engnz:

Thanks, that DVR-MS to MPG converter worked perfectly. After testing the converted file, I deleted the DVR-MS file and GB-PVR is smart enough to just use the MPG file in it's place.