XP v XP MCE and DVR-MS

[StevHodge]

This is an idiots question but I hope someone can help. My GB-PVR machine runs under XP Media Center Edition. It records digital TV in DVR-MS format which I immediately transcode into MPEG2, for maximum compatibility and because I had dreadful problems playing DVR-MS over my Hauppauge MVP devices. What is driving me mad though is that the timing goes all wrong after transcoding so that skipping forward and backward is something between unreliable and hopeless.
My question is this: would it be any better if it ran under XP-SP3, ie could I then record straight to MPEG2?? I have an unused XP installation disk so could re-install with just a few hours work. Is DVR-MS a function of the operating system or the tuner card?? From various posts it sounds as though it may be the MCE operating system that insists on DVR-MS, but my analogue card also running under XP-MCE records in MPEG2 just fine,and gives no timing problems
The digital tuner card is a Hauppauge Nova DB Dual DVB-T, the analogue card is a Hauppauge winTV PVR. I am not really worried about video quality issues - MPEG2 is fine with me

[sub]

The mux you use dictates the type of file you get. If you use the DVR-MS Mux you'll get .dvr-ms files. If you use the Cyberlink Mux or ATI Mux, you get .mpg files. If you use the TS Mux you'll get .ts files. Changing operating systems has no impact on this.

[stustunz]

your options are
carry on using the dvr-ms mux
use ts mux makes ts files then you have to transcode to mpeg same as dvr-ms

use cyberlink mux makes mpeg files
use ati mux makes mpeg files

a mux in simple terms is used to stitch the file together audio and video

[StevHodge]

Thank you gentlemen.
I will have to think again
When I looked at config I found that I had already changed the mux on the misc 2 tab to cyberlink, even though I was telling gbpvr to immediately transcode dvr-ms files to mpeg on the processing tab.
It is recording mpegs, and maybe always was !
So I still have my timing problems, unless maybe telling it to transcode unnecessarily has been causing them. Am running a test now, but doesn't seem likely
Oh dear

[stustunz]

use the mux checker to see what version you are using (found in the gbpvr folder)
you can try different versions but you need to unregister the present version otherwise it will be random on which one actually gets used

[StevHodge]

Helpful, thanks
There are two cyberlink muxes, one came with with PowerDirector and one with Power Producer.The version numbers are close but not the same - 5.0.1228 and 5.0.1230. Could one capture card be using one and the other the other? Would they 'change horses' randomly? Can I tell which one is actually being used at any time? Or is it just a matter of trial and error.

[stustunz]

i think it uses the first one that appears in the mux checker

[seymoria]

Hi all.

Been reading the interesting info. I have some dvr.ms files which I want to convert to mpeg for editing. Any idea which softwae could do that? They are old TV recordings and I want to edit out the commercials and some other stuff.

They were recorded earlier when I had MCE installed which I have now scrapped for GBPVR in WinXP.

Thanks for help.
Regards.