Demuxing radio programme files

neil

New Member
Tried to de-mux a ts radio file which was copied first to external USB to decrypt then via ftp to Filezilla then using this executable "bbdmux" together with a batch file which automates the whole process of finding PID's then slotting the PID's in again ( I think) to finally get the mpeg 1 layer 2 file. Trouble is this thing doesn't seem to work now but crashes with only a very small part converted.The original ts file checked with MediaInfo and is a valid stream ( 192kbs joint stereo ) however for a just over 3hr prog the ts file seems excessively large >1GB and indeed when running the batch you could see in the command window a great number of lines with all zeroes before the desired PID came up then only 800 k of the file was converted before it gave up.
I found an earlier radio ts file which was only about 300Mb for the same 3hr approx file taken off a 9300T with the external drive mod I learned from the old Hummy site. That was the old closed disk format read with Hummyreadfiles, this converted perfectly to an *.mp2 which I can play on my Squeezebox.
Question is does anyone know of any other demuxer that might work or something that will get rid of the apparent padding of the transport stream ?.
I have video products like VideoReDo but know they are useless for this sort of job involving mpeg1 files
 
Hmm. I've not got there yet but this is something I'm definitely going to want to do (rip the audio from whatever format the recording is in) and I'm not going to be amused if I have to play it in real time and re-grab the PC audio stream!
 
Try the file conversion capability of VLC Player. Media/Convert/Save. It has various audio output options including .wav and mp3.

If anyone can upload a small sample to a file share site I can have a play.
 
I use ffmpeg but it's a command line utility. I've even used it on the Humax box itself (with modified firmware) to extract short portions of recorded radio programmes.
 
That's right. It's still a .ts file and in Freemake you open it with the Video option, then Convert and select .mp3. The same function can be used to extract the audio from a (real) video .ts file. The Audio convert option does not accept .ts as an input.
 
Here's the business end of my script that I use to demux audio from recordings on my MythTV box

Code:
/usr/bin/ffmpeg -i <input filename> -acodec libmp3lame -ab 192k <output filename>

Unfortunately, it looks like Lame isn't available. Af123 - which codec did you use?
 
Tried VLC as I've tried VLC before down the years for format conversions but we've never got on together like today, on the other hand Freemake was excellent. Slower than just a simple demux to mp2 audio as it has to transcode to mp3 I suppose. The smaller file originally pulled off a 9300T approx 330Mb took 25mins to process ( it's 3.5 hrs long) and the 1.1Gb from the HDR which was actually shorter at 3.25 hrs took about 35mins with the output mp3 file being 280Mb i.e. a lot smaller than the input. I thought it was neat that the parsing of this much larger file didn't take a whole lot longer than the first file. I thought overall the HDR is considerably more convenient for transferring and processing these files over a network compared to the laptop with hummyreadfiles I used to use.
 
Open VLCplayer, Menu Media-Convert Save. Add the .ts file. Pull down convert/save drop down and choose convert. Enter destination file.
Pull down Profile and choose audio codec and press start. MP2 is an option so should be extremely quick if you match the original bitrate.,
The spanner/screwdriver icon lets you alter the default settings.
 
Tried VLC 1.1.10 again , no MP2 option available so went for MP3 and manually set bit rate to 192kb/s (R3 prog) . Did work this time but output file had a ringing type distortion when listened to on Squeezebox. Tried a Freemake conversion - clean in comparison so I think I'll stick with Freemake as I like the fact it auto-detects the input audio bit-rate.
These prog streams are using joint stereo in anycase and I prefer recording the Proms direct off FM with my Marantz flash recorder @ 320k Mp3 using "proper" stereo. Comparing one concert involving 2 pianos between FM and Freeview , the 2 instruments were literally smeared together on Freeview !
 
I've recommended Freemake a couple of times here, but now I feel I should add a couple of words of warning. Firstly, I just added another Freemake program to my system - Freemake Video Downloader - and this time I opted to include the Firefox and Chrome plugins. The Chrome plugin didn't work and the Firefox plugin was so destructive I ended up having to do a complete re-install of Firefox (including losing all settings and bookmarks).

One other warning, Freemake Video Converter seems only able to use the first audio stream where more than one is available in the original. After a two-hour encode I've just ended up with a perfect 720p version in French (not from an off-air source). You have been warned!
 
Here's the business end of my script that I use to demux audio from recordings on my MythTV box

Code:
/usr/bin/ffmpeg -i <input filename> -acodec libmp3lame -ab 192k <output filename>

Unfortunately, it looks like Lame isn't available. Af123 - which codec did you use?

-acodec copy

The raw .ts already has mp2 audio embedded in it, I just wanted to extract that to a native .mp2 file
 
I use ffmpeg but it's a command line utility.
There is a Windows and Linux GUI for demuxing and converting for ffmpeg.
Add the following preset to WinFF and its easy to then convert a batch of files in 1 go
-vn -acodec copy

To add the preset:
  • select "Preset" from WinFF drop down "Edit" menu
  • invent and enter a preset name and a preset label e.g. mp2 and MP2
  • enter "-vn -acodec copy" in the preset box without the quotes
  • enter mp2 in the output filee extension
  • enter "Audio" in the Category without the quotes
  • select Add / Update
  • select Save
WinFF contains both ffmpeg and lame so there is no need to download them seperately.
 
I've been trying to play radio recordings from my Humax HDR Fox T2 on a portable media player. The Hummy forum has been very helpful in explaining how to get the ts files from the Humax to my PC (although it took a while to work!). Now I am having trouble converting the ts files to MP3 format. I have tried both the VLC and Freemake programmes, following the guidance in this forum. Neither works. In the VLC the file appeared to load but nothing happened. In the Freemake case I got a "file opening error". Is there some step I am missing?
 
Many thanks for your prompt response. No I have not decrypted. Sounds like a basic error on my part! I thought you just had to input the ts file into VLC etc and that was it. I used to have an earlier SD Humax PVR and my recollection is that I used to do that but I'm not sure. May I ask how to got about the conversion stage?
 
Many thanks for your prompt response. No I have not decrypted. Sounds like a basic error on my part! I thought you just had to input the ts file into VLC etc and that was it. I used to have an earlier SD Humax PVR and my recollection is that I used to do that but I'm not sure. May I ask how to got about the conversion stage?

If you copied the file to a usb drive it would have removed the encryption. If VLC won't play the file there's no way to convert it. File conversion does not need to load the file for playback. Theres a convert/save option in the File menu.
 
Many thanks for your prompt response. No I have not decrypted. Sounds like a basic error on my part! I thought you just had to input the ts file into VLC etc and that was it. I used to have an earlier SD Humax PVR and my recollection is that I used to do that but I'm not sure. May I ask how to got about the conversion stage?
It's not for definite that you haven't decrypted, it depends how you transferred the file from the Humax to your PC. For starters, ALL recordings are encrypted (locked to your specific box) on the hard drive.

If you used FTP to remotely access the media content and pull the .ts file onto your PC straight, then what you have is useless to you except to put it back onto the Humax (as a backup). What you should have done (may have done) is use the OPT+ button on the remote control to copy the recording onto a USB memory stick or external hard drive - that would decrypt anything except a HiDef recording in the process of the copy - and then physically move the USB stick/drive to the PC. There are other more sophisticated ways involving modified software on the Humax.

For further information please refer to Black Hole's Trail Guide to HDR-FOX T2 Hacking (it's sticky for easy reference - meaning always near the top of the list). The main thrust of Stage 1 is to decrypt HiDef, but it applies to non-HiDef if you ignore the parts about removing the Enc flag.
 
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