Can't get MP3 audio to work with Plextor ConvertX TV402U

[mww]

I cannot get MP3 encoding to work even after spending three weeks trying all sorts of things from this forum and other places on the 'net.

My Plextor ConvertX TV402U will record in the GB-PVR's default MP2 audio mode, but, I cannot later modify these files in Virtualdub (it tells me it can't find a proper decoder CODEC.)

I've been able to encode LIMITED quality MP3 audio, but never anything over 56 kbs! I've got LAME installed on my system and would love to be able to use this CODEC, but I can't seem to figure out how to get GB-PVR to use it.

After uninstalling the default Fraunhaufer MP3 CODEC that Windows (2000) has installed (with Windows Media Player 9) I tried installing a copy of the Fraunhaufer MP3 Pro CODEC that comes with WMP 10. That would only allow me to record a few seconds of audio, then stop all GB-PVR recording.

I reinstalled the default Fraunhaufer CODEC, but now GB-PVR will not record in MP3 AT ALL (not even at 56 kbs.)

I've attached a zip file with my log files. There is a clue in one of the log files that seems to point to the problem:
20:55:58.465 VERBOSE FindFilterByName failed to locate filter: MPEG Layer-3
20:55:58.585 ERROR ConnectFilters:Failed(2)

Any suggestions on what I can try now?

Thanks in advance for any help anyone can provide!

Mark

[sub]

Your options are pretty limited when you try to capture MP3 audio. GB-PVR can only encode MP3 audio using the default filter installed with XP/2000, but even then I have no control over the bitrate.

When I was initially implementing this, I also tried to get it support the LAME encoder filter, but it refused to connect to the GO7007SB drivers, so this was never included with GB-PVR.

To be quite honest, because of these limitations, I'd probably steer away from capturing MP3 audio.

[mww]

Thanks for the reply! (And, of course, thanks for the great program!)

If no one else out there has any suggestions on how to get this to work (possibly making LAME the Windows default MP3 CODEC?) then I'll work on the other solution to the problem: Being able to re-encode a recorded show in Virtualdub.

Of course I can go through the process of demuxing the (MP2) audio and encoding to MP3 outside VDub, then muxing it back, but there must be a way to get Vdub to decode the MP2 audio that GB-PVR creates. (I've spent many hours trying to figure out this problem too, but with no results.)

Aren't computers fun?

[GoodGuys]

Hi,

I've read this thread completely, and it is confusing. Can anyone please answer my following questions?

1. Is the Plextor PX-TV402 doing DivX in HW, or is it HW assisted SW?
   
2. The audio arrives on a separate channel and must be encoded and re-muxed into the MPG file? SO it doesn't do any audio encoding in HW?
   
3. Is live preview supported for this card?
   

Thanks,
GGF

[sub]

1) & 2), its "mostly" done in hardware. All the video is done in hardware, but the audio produce by this device is raw PCM, so that needs to be encoded in software and muxed into the resulting file. The hardware doesnt support HW encoding of the audio.

3) Should be, but its a long time since I plugged in in my PX-TV402U to try it.