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Program for converting the .ts stream of a HD recording

N

ntm1275

Member
What program is everybody using to convert the high definition .ts file from the T2 to other formats

I've been downloaded virtually everything I can find on the internet to see if they will work

Most of them do not support importing of the HD .ts files, but the ones that do, do not recognise that there is audio on the file

I did find one that seemed to work for while (FreeMakeVideo), but that now just crashes on my PC

I want to convert to a format that I can stream back to the Hummy to watch again from my NAS, and also so that it will play in VLC, Classic Media Player and Windows Media Player and also allow AC3 audio, so that when played back on the Hummy it will give DD 5.1 surround through my amp

When FreeMakeVideo was working, it gave me everything I needed to play back on all the above options with Video - AVC and Audio - AC3

VLC does have a Convert/Save option which does output the video and audio, but the audio is a bit poor

I have no problem with SD .ts files
 
I use VideoReDo TV Suite H264 - previously used non_HD version of VideoReDo so didn't have to pay full price. Works out of the box with no changes or options to select. For me well worth the cost and has proved to be reliable, I mainly use it to edit Humax HD .TS recordings which I archive to DVD for my nephew to save disc space on the Humax.
 
After looking at other threads and doing my own testing, I can confirm that FreeMakeVideo works perfectly with the HD .ts decrypted files from my Hummy, but you have to put them through twice

Below are the options to use for it to play back on the Hummy, and to play in VLC, Windows Media Player and Media Player Classic

If you don't want to edit or cut out any portions of the recorded video, just follow Points 1 to 21 to make the converted file
If you want to edit or cut any portion of the recorded video you will have to follow all the Points below

Needless to say, you will need to UNENCRYPT the HD .ts files before transfering them to you computer

This is a Windows XP/Vista/7 only guide for the converting of the Hummy HD .ts files

1. Open FreeMakeVideo
2. Drag and Drop the unencrypted HD video .ts file in to the program, or click on the +Video button to search for the file
3. Don't try to edit or cut any part of the video at this time as FreeMakeVideo will crash (it doesn't like editing/cutting the HD .ts file)
4. Click the 'to MP4' option from the buttons at the bottom (you may have to scroll left or right to find it)
5. click the 'edit preset' button (it's inbetween the '+' and the 'x' buttons and looks like a cog)

Video Options
6. Select the 'Frame Size' you want (Original, 1920 x 1080 or 1280 x 720 - if you want 1440 x 1080 you will have to select 'Custom' and then enter the size in the 'Width' and 'Height'
7. Leave 'Adjustment' to Original
8. Select either H.264 or MPEG4 for the 'Video Codec' (both will play on all the Clients mentioned above)
9. Leave 'Frame Rate' to Original
10. Leave 'Bit Rate' to Auto (it appears to automatically output at the same rate as the original)

Audio Options - please note - it only picks up the first audio stream, but there are option to add extra streams and subtitles, but that is not included in this guide
11. Select either AAC or AC3 from the 'Audio Codec' (if you use AAC it doesn't play any sound in Windows Media Player without extra codecs installed, and if you play it back on the Hummy through an amplifier, I found that it doesn't output the original Dolby Digital 2.0 or 5.1 audio, it is just 2 channel and I have to select Dolby Prologic on the amplifier to get a 5.1 sound
For the Dolby Digital 2.0 or 5.1 to work you have to chose AC3)
12. Leave 'Channels' to Original (if it is originally 2 channel, there is the option of converting to 5.1, but I didn't find any difference in the sound to be honest, but it makes the file size slightly larger)
13. Leave 'Sample Rate' as Original
14. Leave 'Bitrate' as Auto (it appears to automatically output at the same rate as the original) (this can be changed if you want but the file size is increased)
15. Click OK to save the settings
16. Browse to the folder that you want to save the file in to (it will automatically call the file by the imported video's title followd by .mp4 (you can change the file name if you want to)
17. Click 'Convert'
18. FreeMakeVideo will now convert the file (on my Intel i5 PC with 4GB RAM and an AMD HD 5700 graphics card, it converted with at a ratio of about 18 seconds for every minute of recorded video (pretty fast really) (the program supports nVidia CUDA and DirectX DXVA hardware acceleration)
19. Click OK when it has finished
20. Click Close in the next window
21. This will return you to the screen where you imported the original video
22. Close the program if you do not want to Edit it

Editing the converted file
22. Delete the original file that you imported by either highlighting it and pressing your keyboard 'delete' key, or click the little grey X to the right
23. Drag and Drop the newly converted .mp4 file in to the program, or click on the +Video button to search for the file
24. Click the button of a 'Scissors' to the right of the file name (next to a green 'play' button)
25. This will then open a new window with various editing buttons at the bottom

Please Note: you will be cutting the sections that you DO NOT want, not the ones you want to keep

26. Using the' Slider Bar' and/or the 'Step Forward' or 'Step Back' button, navigate to the START of the section you want to cut out
27. Click the 'Start Selection' button or Ctrl+L (it is the far left button under the 'Cutting' section of buttons) (it will place a thin blue line on the Slider Bar)
27. Using the' Slider Bar' and/or the 'Step Forward' or 'Step Back' button, navigate to the END of the section you want to cut out
28. Click the 'Selection End' button or Ctrl+R (it is the 5th button along under the 'Cutting' section of buttons) (it will place a thin blue line on the Slider Bar and highlight the whole section to be cut in blue)
29. Click the 'Cut Selection' button or Ctrl+Del (it looks like a Scissors)
30. The section you selected has now been removed from the video
31. If you want to cut any more sections from the video repeat Points 26 to 30
32. When you have finished, click the OK button in the bottom right of the window to return to the original screen

Exporting the video with the selected sections removed
33. Click the 'to MP4' button at the bottom
34. Repeat Points 5 to 22 using exactly the same settings that you used for the original file

Please Note: After you click the 'toMP4' button, don't be tempted to select 'Same as Source' option as a 'Preset', or otherwise it will use the same video and audio setting as the original HD .ts file not the settings used in the converted file

Hope this guide helps anyone to convert the HD .ts files to a video/audio standard that can be read by most media players

There is an option in FreeMakeVideo to convert to MKV, but I can confirm that if you intend to play the file back on the Hummy, the Hummy will say something like 'File type not supported' even though you have selected the same video and audio options mentioned above for mp4 files

I did also experiment with the 'to MPEG', 'to WMV' and 'to AVI' options, but this didn't convert the HD .ts file particularily well and had either no sound, poor sound or serious break up of the video, but they worked perfectly for unencrypted SD .ts files

FreeMake Video Converter can be found in the link below, and best of all, it's FREE

http://www.freemake.com/downloads/
 
steve2525 said:
I use VideoReDo TV Suite H264 - previously used non_HD version of VideoReDo so didn't have to pay full price. Works out of the box with no changes or options to select. For me well worth the cost and has proved to be reliable, I mainly use it to edit Humax HD .TS recordings which I archive to DVD for my nephew to save disc space on the Humax.
Click to expand...

I did try VideoReDo TV Suite H264, and it was great at converting files but it didn't support converting the audio to AC3 which was a shame
I went on to their offical forum and a VRD employee said that they don't support it
 
This looks a useful guide, thank you.

You may be aware: the custom software has the means to edit recordings in house (nicesplice), topic HERE (click). It would be useful to know whether your method will convert a pre-edited file, and whether it can convert to a DVD-compatible format.
 
You can avoid the double-pass through Freemake. The issues that need to be worked around are:

- VLC can't accommodate the change in the audio parameters between the programme lead-in and the main feature BUT
- Freemake crashes if you try to use its editor to edit a decrypted Hummy .ts file straight off the box.

You can work around the VLC issue by removing the programme lead-in and the Freemake issue by doing the file editing on the Hummy instead.
Remember, too, that Splash Player will play any file correctly straight off the Hummy, provided it has been decrypted, so you may not need to do anything complicated to play a Hummy file elsewhere - just use the right player.

So, an alternative workflow - it still looks clunky, but it's not as bad as it looks. This requires the following elements of the modified firmware:
- auto-unprotect
- decrypt-in-place (unless you're using auto-unencrypt)
- nicesplice
- ntfs-3g

1) Decrypt in place using webif
2) Delete or rename the _original folder created by the decrypting process
3) Mark up the file for cropping using bookmarks
4) Crop in webif (you'll be unable to do this if you didn't do 2 above)

At this point, the file should play correctly in VLC - and I assume it is streamable, though I don't use streaming myself. It is essential to crop out at least the channel lead-in if you want to play the file with VLC. It will not play in WMP, WMPClassic-HC, POT Player or KMPlayer. To play with any of these, you will need to do step 5:

5) Run Freemake and open the decrypted/cropped file via a network share. Re-encode as required - I prefer mp4.

About on-box editing
This is a great addition to the Hummy, but it is not 100% perfect and it takes some practice. It's not perfect because it loses audio for 2 or 3 seconds after each splice, but I find that easy to live with. It takes practice with placing the bookmarks: while I don't mind the short loss of sound, I hate it when a channel logo or the first second of an ad pops up in the middle of a programme. I'm sure that everyone who uses the bookmark method has evolved a technique that works for them, but for those who haven't yet tried, this is how I use it to remove unwanted material from a typical file, i.e. one with a lead-in, ads and a lead-out.

1) Set the skip forward time in the Hummy menu to 120 seconds and the instant replay time to 7 seconds. Note that in playback you can also jump 15 seconds in either direction using the < and > buttons on either side of the OK button. Having the jumps set up in this way is key to avoiding frustration when placing bookmarks. Sadly, you can't place bookmarks when running in slow-motion:(.
2) Start replay and use skip forward to find the start of the main programme material, then the < button to move back into the lead-in. Watch the transition from lead-in to programme, then use the instant replay to back off 7 seconds and try to hit the bookmark button on or just after the transition point.

Skip the next 3 for programmes without ads
3) Now hit skip forward repeatedly until you find the first ad break. Use < as many times as necessary to back out into the programme. Again, watch the transition point, skip back 7 seconds and try to place the bookmark about 1 second before the transition. There is a short lag between you hitting the button and the bookmark getting placed - you need to practise to get the timing right.
4) Hit skip forward twice - most ad breaks are just over 4 minutes. Use < and > to adjust as necessary: watch the transition and place the next bookmark at or just after the transition point. If you place these bookmarks accurately, the ads will disappear with only a brief loss of sound to show where they occurred. You'll quickly gain the knack of placing the bookmarks quickly and accurately.
5) Repeat 3 and 4 for each ad break.

6) Place the last bookmark just before the end of the credits.
7) Go to the webif and use the crop option to remove the cut material.
 
@Black Hole
Yes FreeMakeVideo can convert to DVD format

Here is the full list of export options with the various video and audio codecs that can be chosen
Most of the options also include the facility to change the resolution, frame rate, channels, sample rate and bitrates

I haven't tried all the options out, as I don't have the relevent devices to test with

to AVI - H264, MPEG4, XVID - MP3, AC3, PCM
to MP4 - H264, MPEG4 - MP3, AC3, AAC
to Apple - H264, MPEG4 - AAC
to WMV - VC1, WMV3 - WMA Voice, WMA Lossless, WMA, WMA Pro
to DVD - no video options apart from PAL or NTSC - AC3, MP2 - it creates a standard VIDEO_TS folder with BUP, IFO and VOB files
to Blu-ray - no video or audio options to choose from - it creates a standard Blu-ray folder structure with a .m2ts file
to MP3 - audio only, but there are options for number of channels, sample rate and bitrate
to MPEG - MPEG 1, MPEG 2 - MP2, MP3
to MKV - H264, MPEG4 - MP3, AC3, AAC, FLAC
to FLV - H264, FLV - MP3, AAC
to SWF - FLV - MP3
to HTML5 - creates 3 files - MP4 with AVC and AAC, OGV withTheora and Vorbin, WEBM with VP8 and Vorbis
to Android - H264, MPEG4 - MP3, AAC
to Sony - H264 - AAC - with PSP and P3 options
to 3GP - H263, MPEG4 - AAC, AMR
to Nokia - no video or audio options, but you can choose the Nokia model and it will automatically choose the correct settings for that model
to Samsung - no video or audio options, but you can choose the Samsung model and it will automatically choose the correct settings for that model
to Blackberry - no video or audio options, but you can choose the Blackberry model and it will automatically choose the correct settings for that model
to YouTube - this appears to be an YouTube upload facility - it will use the original file to upload, so if it is in HD, it will upload the large HD file for YouTube to convert to it's own format - it is probably better to use the other Video options above to reduce the file size first
 
@fenlander and Black Hole

My next job is to try out the on-box editing, but the wife is watching the TV at the moment, so I'll have a go later
 
@ntm1275

Is freemake video converter still working for you?

I've just tried on a deccrypted HD .TS file and it crashed, converting to either MPEG or MP4. Version 3.2.1 On Windows 7. gets to about 6% each time.

Update. Preset "TV Quality" looks more promising. Currenty at 69%.

Update. That crashed eventually too.
 
Bear in mind that my last contribution to this thread was over a year ago. There may have been developments in that time. Personally, I long ago decided that if I really want an archive copy of something, it's far quicker and much less frustrating to download it. Second best option, record it in SD on my old Windows Media Centre, edit it in my ancient copy of VRD and save as mpg. That's really quick (<5 minutes for a 1 hour programme) and the result, played in Splash Pro with a good dose of detail enhancement is almost indistinguishable from HD. The Hummy just doesn't cut it as a machine for archiving TV shows.
 
@Green Armchair

Freemake can be iffy with HD recordings

I've experienced the same issues as you with it crashing

As this thread is over a year old, I have since found a stable free program for editing my HD recordings - Avidemux (currently on version 2.6 I believe)

I'm in the process of creating a 'how to' using this method, so once it's finished I'll post a link to it here or ask Black Hole to add it to the Wiki
 
ntm1275 said:
I'm in the process of creating a 'how to' using this method, so once it's finished I'll post a link to it here or ask Black Hole to add it to the Wiki
Click to expand...

If you want to submit something to the WiKi, post it here or if you prefer PM me
 
ntm1275 said:
I'm in the process of creating a 'how to' using this method, so once it's finished I'll post a link to it here or ask Black Hole to add it to the Wiki
Click to expand...

Woe betide me doing anything in the Wiki - that's EP's jurisdiction.
 
Woops, sorry Ezra and Black Hole, got myself mixed up a bit - please accept my apologies

Ezra, I'll PM you with the file - what format do you want it in Word (docx) or PDF?
 
Plain text would be better, but why not post it here so we can all benefit? Ezra can easily copy it into the Wiki from bulletin board format. There is no straightforward conversion from word processor formats or PDF to either bb or wiki mark-up.
 
@ntm1275

Thanks for the response.

I don't really need to edit. All I'm really looking for is a tool to convert my unprotected and decrypted HD (and SD) humax recordings to a format that my Linkstation, running Twonky, will serve to my Sony DLNA client TV.
 
I've tried (I have autodecrypt and unprotect set):
download via the WebIf
convert to mpg via the WebIf
FTP
renaming the .TS from both the above methods to .MPG

With all the above, I can see the file being served by Twonky on the TV, but none of them play. Just get blank screen.

Freemake. This crashed part way through, but does create a truncated .MPG file. I haven't had the chance to try the truncated output yet though.

I hopefully will get time tomorrow to read your linked topics.

Failing all, I can simply plug my laptop into the TV and play via VLC. Not so slick, but will serve the same purpose.
 
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