Custom dvr-ms to mpg transcode intercepted by gbpvr

[wtg]

I've added a command to my config.xml CustomFFmpegConversions section to select from Video Library's Transcode menu, in hopes to try converting my dvr-ms files to mpg. The option appears in the Transcode selections but it gbpvr intercepts the command and runs it's own DVR-MS to MPG conversion for me. I see gbpvrconvert running in the background instead of ffmpeg and I find a newly created mvptranscode.grf graph sitting in my gbpvr root directory.

That's nice for gbpvr to try and handle it for me , but unfortunately the Cyberlink MPEG muxer that it uses doesn't work - it crashes. I really want to use ffmpeg directly with my own command line.

[sub]

Sorry, there is no way around this at the moment. It always tries to use its own dvr-ms to mpg conversion.

You might be best to disable all conversions, then manually run the commands in PostProcessing.bat instead.

[wtg]

Any chance of that changing in the near future?

I finally found a ffmpeg version and command line that succeeds on some of the .dvr-ms files and I'd love to be able to use it in gbpvr. Not to mention, it's kind of perplexing to pick a option you've added to the Transcode list and then have something else completely different happen.

Thanks!

[sub]

Any chance of that changing in the near future?

Yes, I had hoped to, but I cant provide it as a patch, so it'll probably be in 1.3.x, which is quite a while away. You might want to try my PostProcessing.bat suggestion in the mean time.

[Caseyjones]

What resolution does ffmpeg detect in the source, I'm running from a UK PAL digital signal but FFMPEG sees the res as 544x576 rather than 720x576 which is what I would have expected?

I'd also be interested in what settings you use for the encoding. do you set the biterate or quality, and how about lowering the res?

[sub]

Several freeview channels in the UK do use a resolution of 544x576.

[Caseyjones]

Ok thanks. trouble is after transcoding all my images are now skinny . I'll have to mess around with the aspect ratio settings etc as ffmpeg doesn't seem to pick them up automatically.

[zehd]

Any chance of that changing in the near future?

I finally found a ffmpeg version and command line that succeeds on some of the .dvr-ms files and I'd love to be able to use it in gbpvr. Not to mention, it's kind of perplexing to pick a option you've added to the Transcode list and then have something else completely different happen.

Thanks!

I wrote a replacement convert utility that would call ZProcess (or I guess I could have iot call ffmpeg).

Would you mind putting me in touch with the version of FFmpeg that's working for you, and I can wrap up my solution for you?

[Deusxmachina]

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

Whatever version this guy is using apparently works.

http://mcebuddy.com/ Looks interesting, too. Not sure if it can be called via a script or not.

I thought for sure the first one had been discussed before, but a search doesn't bring anything up.

I haven't tried either yet, just happened upon them recently.

[wtg]

I can't recall where I downloaded the binary from, but the ffmpeg that's working for me is a Feb-5-2008 build. I think it's revision 11870. Older versions like the one included within gbpvr don't handle dvr-ms. This one isn't perfect, but it's doing ok.

The command line I'm playing with right now is this:

-y -i {SOURCE_FILE} -target ntsc-dvd -b 4200k -vcodec mpeg2video -ab 224 -ar 48000 -acodec mp2 -ac 2 -r 29.97 -s 720x480 -aspect 4:3 {DEST_FILE}

Like caseyjones, I have to play around with the aspect ratio and padding settings some because converting to ntsc dvd format is making everyone skinny. I think with a widescreen HD broadcast I'll be able to use the -padtop and -padbottom settings to letterbox the program. I'm not sure yet what switches to use on pillarboxed HD broadcasts, because then I should just be able to cut the pillarboxes off and have a perfect 4:3 aspect ratio, but I don't yet know how to do that.

However, this is the first version I've come across that could make mpegs from my dvr-ms files at all, so I'm happy to have something to experiment with.