What video format does NextPVR record in?

[beachguy]

Hello, I have been looking at alternatives to Windows Media Center for a PVR and found NextPVR and this forum. But after looking through the website and doing a Google search I have been unable to find an answer to a basic question: when recording TV shows with NextPVR what video format are they saved in?

I would like to record shows and edit out the commercials using an editing program like Adobe Premiere. I tried out Windows Media Center but the files are saved in a "WTV" format which can only be edited after converting to something else, which is a cumbersome process and even then the results were not good. BeyondTV appears to save in Mpeg2 but I'd like to avoid paying $100 for a program.

So what format does NextPVR use?

Thanks!

[gEd]

Welcome!

from a digital tuner, NPVR records as a Transport Stream (.ts format) that is basically a container storing everything that was transmitted by the broadcaster. You can edit and cut these shows.
Also, take a look at comskip that scans the recording and creates a file with all the cut points for where the commercials are. Don't use it myself but I think many people in the US do where they are easier to detect (than the UK).

[johnsonx42]

actually analog is also recorded as an MPEG-2 Transport Stream, the same as digital. Using NPVR in the US, the only difference between Analog, digital SD and digital HD is the resolution; it's all MPEG-2 Transport Stream. Many MPEG-2 editing programs can handle transport streams as well, and there are also plenty utilities available to remux a transport stream to a program stream (i.e. a regular MPEG-2 file).

[stustunz]

http://www.nextpvr.com/features/
Bottom of page

[OTAjunkie]

Every recording I make is automatically scanned for commercials, remuxeded from TS to AVI and saved without commercials.
Comskip creates a file (EDL) which is a list of when the commercials are.
Mencoder remuxes TS to AVI and uses the EDL to "cut" the commericials from the output file.
I use the NPVR recordings as is (TS) and view them without commercials because NPVR reads the EDL file.
The AVI files are for my phone and archives(deleted after 2 months cuz it's just TV)

[mvallevand]

It really depends on the tuner

- analog SD are almost always mpeg2video with mpeg2audio but some old cards were mpeg1 only
- analog HD for HDPVR are h264 with mpeg2audio, ac3, or aac
- OTA ATSC and clear QAM is mpeg2video with ac3 and rarely mpeg2audio
- DVB varieties can be lots of combination h264 or mpeg2video with mpeg2audio, ac3, eac3, aac or he-aac

In NextPVR these are all stored in mpeg-ts containers. A couple of corrections

- you can comskip .wtv files

- tools that convert wtv to other format can remux to pretty much the same format as saved by NextPVR

- a major difference in North America is digital is almost always ac3 audio while analog SD is mpeg2audio

- going from ts to avi is remuxing. Changing from the broadcast mpeg2video/h264 to the typical Xvid for avi is transcoding

Martin

[ttfitz]

In NextPVR these are all stored in mpeg-ts containers. A couple of corrections

- you can comskip .wtv files

Martin

A small correction to your correction - I believe you have to have the donators version of Comskip in order to process WTV (and H264 for that matter) files.

[mvallevand]

Not really a correction since I said 'can'. It's a good time to go into soapbox mode and add even if you don't want to support eric with a donation or want the extra formats the faster speed makes it worth the small price.

Martin

[ga_mueller]

+1 Soapbox here: I have difficulty explaining the awesomeness of Comskip to friends who typically don't even use their dvr remote to ffwd through recorded commercials... "what... you don't have to touch the remote... it's... automatically skipping commercials????"

[pcostanza]

beachguy, just FYI, .wtv files can be edited with a few programs without conversion. VideoReDo does cost as does Bigasoft WTV Converter.
Freemake Video converter should work if you first right click the file and convert to dvr-ms.