Suggestions for converting DVDs to MPG for MVP playback

[wtg]

I'm trying to convert my wife's work-out videos to mpgs so she can avoid juggling DVDs and I'm having trouble finding a rock-solid way to do the conversion. So far my best results have come from VLC (isos -> mpg) - nothing else I tried kept the audio synched properly. However these results aren't perfect because the timeline displays incorrectly (several minutes too short) and trying to fast forward or skip causes playback to restart at the beginning.

Does anyone have any suggestions on a flawless way to do this, something that provides a video that will playback well using NPVR and the MVP?

[mvallevand]

This might not be any help but if you are using mvpmc be sure that your audio is mp2 and not ac3. There is experimental software and hardware pass through code in mvpmc but Hauppauge would not provide the SDK info needed to keep it in sync.

Martin

[wtg]

Thanks Martin. Based on your earlier posts I am converting the audio to mp3.

[mvallevand]

If I wrote mp3 I was wrong. For DVD compliance you should be using mp2 48 kHz, some DVD's have an mp2 stream you can just copy.

Martin

[wtg]

Thanks... I'm not worrying about DVD-compliance. I just want the mpgs to work reliably with the MVP and I thought I read somewhere you saying the audio track for the MVP needed to be mp3, at least for things to work with an npvr back-end. I'm probably remembering wrong or taking something out of context. Any reason to believe that's what's causing the issue?

In any event, I'm noticing that these vlc-converted mpgs show an accurate timeline in wmp, and I can skip around in the file ok. MediaInfo shows the duration correctly too. Any idea why the MVP playback won't allow skipping or why the timelines are off?

[steveum]

I use to do this quite often a couple of years ago before I got my NMT. I would rip the DVD using DVD FAB to a VOB. Then I would use VideoRedo to convert the VOB to the MPG with MP2 audio.

[wtg]

@steveum, thanks for the suggestion, though I don't have VideoRedo myself. I should have specified that I'm looking for free software that will do the trick. I'm curious though... did you use the rips via the MVP, and if so, any trouble with skipping or FF during playback?

[wtg]

I did some more experimenting and it didn't make any difference whether or not I used MP2 or MP3 audio - playback was the same. If I just let it play, its fine but if I try to skip in anyway, it restarts at the beginning of the video and the displayed timeline is really messed up.

The first video I converted shows an 11 minute timeline for a 17 minute video, and the last video shows an 8 hour timeline for a 1 hour video - it's all over the place. However, playback in VLC and WMP is fine. WMP and VLC show the correct duration, as does MediaInfo.

How is the timeline of the video determined? I assume this is done on the server. I'm going to try remuxing the files a couple different ways but I wish I knew what the problem was so I could determine how to fix it.

[mvallevand]

If you are using the latest mvpmc with NPVR post the logs and I will have a look. Older versions and the Hauppauge dongle will not work with NPVR.

Martin

[wtg]

I believe I am using the latest. I won't be home until much later but I'll give it a go again and post the logs. Thanks!