TS and Comskip

[sub]

With TS files you're dependent on how good the timeline is that you're receiving from the broadcaster, which unfortunately is often not great. With DVR-MS the content is remuxed and Microsoft effectively has their own additional timelines. This makes it sounds more basic than it is though - its a very complex area.

There is some skipping acuracy improvements in the next release, but these only apply to new .ts recordings, not existing ones you already have on disk.

[dennit]

Thanks a lot for the reply. The problem I always had with .TS was that errors were cumulative. Skipping worked OK for the the first half hour, but I recently recorded some four hour bike races. By the end a TS recording would be so out of sync that I'd delete the comskip control file and manually skip. A DVR-MS would still be perfect to within a second or less even at the end.

[sub]

Try it again with a new recording in the next release.

[johnsonx42]

Try it again with a new recording in the next release.

May I wonder aloud when that will be available? There are so many items on my bug list that are fixed or improved in the fabled next release that I'm starting to check the site almost compulsively.

[sub]

May I wonder aloud when that will be available? There are so many items on my bug list that are fixed or improved in the fabled next release that I'm starting to check the site almost compulsively.

I'm hoping to get it out later this weekend.

[johnsonx42]

cool. I'll stop being compulsive for a day or two then... sometime on Sunday my head will probably just explode though

[petercooperjr]

There is some skipping acuracy improvements in the next release, but these only apply to new .ts recordings, not existing ones you already have on disk.

While this is great news, it leaves me a little puzzled. Isn't the point of the .ts format on a digital recording that you're just writing to disk directly what the tuner's receiving? How do things differ at record time? I've been doing some testing with files recorded from GB-PVR; might these not work as well as files recorded by N-PVR? Is there some way to convert existing .ts files to the new & better format?

[sub]

Basically NPVR is now storing an alternate data stream inside the newly recorded .ts files, containing time index information collected at recording time. While its not technically inside the .ts data, its stored with the same file.

The application will make use of this extra index information if its available, otherwise you'll get the normal estimated .ts skipping that you've been getting up til now.

[johnsonx42]

so in effect you've created your own extension to the .ts format that is only seen by a program that knows to look for it like your own ts reader; any other program just sees a normal .ts file. very clever. can't wait to take it for a spin.

[whurlston]

so in effect you've created your own extension to the .ts format that is only seen by a program that knows to look for it like your own ts reader; any other program just sees a normal .ts file. very clever. can't wait to take it for a spin.

Not exactly. Alternate streams have always been available with the NTFS filesystem: http://www.flexhex.com/docs/articles/alt...eams.phtml

GBPVR used alternate streams for storing metadata.xml as well.