Converting Windows Media Center Recordings

[Eddage]

Just wandering if any Media Center users knew of any programs that can convert the .asf format that are created when you record a tv program?

 

I usually use VirtualDub for this sort of thing but it says that it cannot convert the file?

 

Cheers for any help!

[Mr_Odwin]

There are two routes that I would try.

 

i) Install avisynth (a great move) and create a text file with the extension .avs, where the text file contains the line:

 

DirectShowSource("Full FilePath of asf file", fps=25, convertfps=true)

 

So it'll be an avs file with a line like:

 

DirectShowSource("C:\Documents and Settings\Twilight Link\My Documents\My Videos\TV Show.asf", fps=25, convertfps=true)

 

Then you can open this text file in virtualdub and avisynth will work its magic.

 

Or

 

ii) Get ffmpeg, open a command window and use the commandline:

 

"full path to ffmpeg.exe" -i "full path to file" -f mpeg -vcodec copy -acodec copy output.mpg

 

Then you can open the resulting mpeg2 file in virtualdubmpeg2 (a virtualdub modification).

[Eddage]

Cheers, I'll try them out and report back my results.

[Eddage]

I tried the first approach, however, when I try to open the .avs file in VirtualDub it just gives me this message...

 

Avisynth open failure:

Script error: DirectShowSource does not have a named argument "convert fps" (C:\Documents and Settings\Edd\My Documents\test.avs, line 1)

 

Any ideas?

[Mr_Odwin]

Do you have 'convert fps' instead of 'convertfps'?

[Eddage]

Nope, I just copied and pasted what you wrote here (I changed the file destination) so it should be correct?!

[Mr_Odwin]

Did you install an old version of avisynth?

This is the most up to date stable version:

Link

[Eddage]

I've now installed that version and it comes back with...

 

 

The file is definitely there!? Could it be that a 'Microsoft Recorded TV Show' has a different extension to .asf?

[Mr_Odwin]

Oh, you assumed it was an asf file? I believe they are normally dvr-ms files.

[Eddage]

Oh, you assumed it was an asf file? I believe they are normally dvr-ms files.

 

Well when you try to open it in VirtualDub it says something along the lines of "Microsoft holds the patent to ASF file format", or something along those lines!

[Mr_Odwin]

A dvr-ms file uses the asf container but the file extension for these files is usually dvr-ms. Go into Windows Explorer and turn on file extensions then all confusion will be done away with.

Windows Explorer>Tools>Folder Options>View>Untick "Hide Extensions for known file types"

[Eddage]

Ok, so I cahnged the file extension in the notepad file to .dvr-ms. I know get a message saying "No video stream found" when I try to open it with VirtualDub!

[Mr_Odwin]

Try the ffmpeg method then.

[Eddage]

Do you have a link to the download? I've Googled it and have found what I believe is the website but am having trouble downloading it.

[Mr_Odwin]

http://ffdshow.faireal.net/mirror/ffmpeg/ffmpeg.rev8435.7z

[Eddage]

 

Don't you just love it when things are this simple...

[Mr_Odwin]

http://ffdshow.faireal.net/mirror/pthreadGC2.dll.7z

 

Put it in the same folder as ffmpeg.

[=NukeBlaze=]

I reccomend DvrMS toolbox, if the above does not work. It worked well when I used it, and it is very specific to that format conversion.

 

http://babgvant.com/files/folders/dvrmstoolbox/entry2311.aspx

 

It has other useful feature, like the ablity to skip commericals while recording a televison program in Xp MCE.