March 2008 - Posts

• DvrmsThumbnail - Grab a bitmap of a dvr-ms file at a specified time

  Just a class this time, but it would be really easy to create an exe if anyone found it useful.  This class is intended to answer a question I thought was interesting over at the mediacentersandbox.  The class uses the SampleGrabber and Color Converter DMO to grab a bitmap from a dvrms file. Source  Posted Mar 31 2008, 12:16 PM by babgvant with 6 comment(s) Filed under: Source Code

• DVRMStoWMVHD - 03/30/08

  03/30/08: Added Intelligent Connect rendering for non-dvrms formats Removed synchronization block from sample writing method in WMWriterFilter.  Should stop deadlocks from occuring but may lead to A/V synch issues Moved status writing from filter to main function, application is less verbose which should make it faster Changed dummy graph run wait to not care if it fails Also created a spot in the wiki for documentation and a FAQ. Posted Mar 30 2008, 04:25 PM by babgvant with no comments Filed under: Early Access, DVRMStoWMVHD

• DVRMStoWMVHD - Update

  Update 03/26/08: Changed usage syntax Added support for custom audio and video decoders, pass guid of decoder including brackets Added mpg support Download Posted Mar 26 2008, 06:45 PM by babgvant with no comments Filed under: Early Access, DVRMStoWMVHD

• I need a Quad

  I did some testing last night with my new toy; and while the space saving are encouraging, encode times are really bad. The same 720p 2:58 min 325mb file was used for each run (the custom profiles used are included in DTB): Automatic:  1 hr 45 min, 161mb CBRWMVHD: 1 hr, 113mb [VBR]WMVHD: 1 hr, 100mb I used a Core 2 Duo T7700 (2.4GHz) laptop.  The numbers should get slightly better on a PC with better disk I/0, but probably nothing substantial.  Posted Mar 25 2008, 11:02 AM by babgvant with 2 comment(s) Filed under: DVRMStoWMVHD

• Double Speed Comskip

  If you've supported Comskip in the past, it looks like there's a double speed version available.  Not sure what the logistics are, but it looks like Erik's created an Early Access type incentive. Posted Mar 25 2008, 05:14 AM by babgvant with no comments Filed under: Comskip

• DVRMStoWMVHD - ATSC / AC3 DVR-MS Conversion

  DVRMStoWMVHD.exe is a command line utility that converts dvr-ms files to WMV files.  It is designed to work with ATSC files with HD video and AC3 audio streams.  By default (no custom profile is specified) to will convert the dvr-ms file to a WMV file with VC-1 video and WMA Pro 5.1 audio with a programmatically built profile based on the attributes of the source file.  A custom profile can be passed as the third argument if more control is desired over the target format.  I have tested the cbrZune.prx file that comes with DTB, and it will convert files to that format, including downmixing the audio, but the video will skew a bit because of aspect ratio changes. AC3Filter is preferred, and needs to be configured to deliver 5.1 audio for AC3 streams for this to work properly.  Other AC3 decoders should work if properly configured, but will not be supported.  While the application should work on XP if WMF11 is installed, it was developed and tested on Vista.  syntax: "in.dvr-ms" "out.wmv" ["wmv.prx"]  known issues: the output file is not indexed meta data is not copied from the dvr-ms file to the wmv file The application is currently only available to Early Access members, it can be download here. Forgot to say that this is very, very beta. UPDATE: Fixed indexing issue UPDATE2: Added metadata migration  Posted Mar 24 2008, 06:19 PM by babgvant with 5 comment(s) Filed under: Early Access, DVRMStoWMVHD, WMF

• Comskip Update

  If you're a comskip user, you will want to pull down the latest rev (there have been several since the version that comes with DTB).  Looks like Erik made a ton of improvement.  Don't forget to say thanks. Revision History  Changes in 0.79.125 - It is strongly adviced to set max_repair_size=0 for HDHomerun recordings. - Bug solved: Comskip crashes under certain rare conditions - Some HDHomerun recordings contain a track without sound, after 50 frames without sound another track is automatically selected Changes in 0.79.124 - Setting skip_b_frames=2 will have Comskip skip frames on HD but not on SD, only available for donators Changes in 0.79.123 - Adding output_aspect=1 to you ini file will instruct comskip to generate a .aspects file. This file lists the input resolution and aspect ratio changes. This information can be used for more efficient transcoding or automatic aspect ratio switching during playback. Changes in 0.79.122 - Comskip can now skip frames to speed up processing, should work on HD streams. Set skip_b_frames=1 in your comskip.ini, only available for donators Changes in 0.79.121 - New detection method added: RESOLUTION_CHANGE (detect_method 8), replaces the unused FUZZY_LOGIC (which is always on). Resolution_change will insert a hard cutpoint when the resolution of a digital recording changes. - Improved accuracy during reviewing of cutpoints. Comskip could be up to 15 frames off during preview. Changes in 0.79.120 - Bug solved: Comskip crashes when the recording changes from 1080i to 480i or 720p. Changes in 0.79.119 - Bug solved: Preview failed on certain TS files. - During preview the 's' and 'f' keys will jump to Start and Finish of the recording Changes in 0.79.118 - Bug solved: Previewing TS files failed once viewing near the end of the recording - Added ini parameter: edge_step=1 Set to 2 when you need extra speed on scanning for logo's on HD files. Will make logo detection slightly worse Changes in 0.79.117 - Bug solved: On certain MPEG PS recordings no audio was detected leading to much worse detection quality Changes in 0.79.116 - Fixed a bug that could cause the preview to freeze when reviewing .txt or .csv files - Improved the demux to better find the audio stream on HD TS recordings, not having audio will make detection quality much worse. Changes in 0.79.115 - Changed the Zoomplayer Chapter list using AddChapterBySecond to output integers instead of floats - Default comskip.ini file has now output_edl=1 to ensure correct skipping in SageTV and GBPVR Changes in 0.79.114 - Increase input buffer to reduce strain on disks when running multiple comskip in parallel - Solved the long outstandig "Why does Comskip find a very short commercial at the end of the recording" bug Posted Mar 22 2008, 06:34 PM by babgvant with no comments Filed under: Comskip

• DVRMSToolbox for XP - 1.1.0.8 Public Release (R3)

  1.1.0.8 is now available for public download.  Thanks to everyone who helped test the Early Access release.  If you installed R2, the only difference can be had by installing this dlll; the full install is not required.  Binary | Source Posted Mar 19 2008, 06:17 PM by babgvant with no comments Filed under: DVRMSToolbox, Source Code, XP

• ShowAnalyzer 0.9.3

  Jere posted an updated version of SA on Friday.  I haven't had a chance to install it yet, but the change log looks promising. 0.9.3 - Added aspect ratio output. - Fixed hang on small files and just beginning recordings. This will probably fix a LOT of hangs. - Corrected early quit when a Closed Caption character cannot be converted to an 8 bit character. - Removed buffer clearing when a Resume Caption Loading or a Resume Direct Captioning is received. Posted Mar 16 2008, 08:43 AM by babgvant with 2 comment(s) Filed under: Show Analyzer

• DVRMSToolbox for XP - 1.1.0.8 Early Access Release (R2)

  Uploaded an updated version that fixes an "Object Reference not set to instance of an object" error when loading the commercial settings. Version 1.1.0.8 Early Access - Waiting to process messages more descriptive - Status writing is more timely - Fixed a problem with DVR2WMV usage, should [finally] resolve hanging issues - Added reprocess functionality to the addin (press 4 on the remote) - Added FileName to meta data returned - Fixed lost status messages when process ends quickly - FindCommercials action waits one minute before scanning file. - Addressed localization issue with commercial files (thanks fenschop) - OOTB mpeg "conversion" using DShow method deprecated - Comskip 0.79.113 included and configured for live detection Download   Posted Mar 06 2008, 08:10 AM by babgvant with 1 comment(s) Filed under: DVRMSToolbox, XP, Early Access

• DVRMSToolbox for XP - 1.1.0.8 Early Access Release

  Version 1.1.0.8 Early Access - Waiting to process messages more descriptive - Status writing is more timely - Fixed a problem with DVR2WMV usage, should [finally] resolve hanging issues - Added reprocess functionality to the addin (press 4 on the remote) - Added FileName to meta data returned - Fixed lost status messages when process ends quickly - FindCommercials action waits one minute before scanning file. - Addressed localization issue with commercial files (thanks fenschop) - OOTB mpeg "conversion" using DShow method deprecated - Comskip 0.79.113 included and configured for live detection Download  Posted Mar 02 2008, 05:00 PM by babgvant with 1 comment(s) Filed under: DVRMSToolbox, XP, Early Access

• Site Upgrade

  Just upgraded the site to the newest version of Community Server.  The wiki still needs some work, but everything else went very smoothly for most part.  I had to clear my babgvant.com cookies to login in, so if you can't get in clear your cookies.  Let me know if you find something broken.  Posted Mar 02 2008, 10:13 AM by babgvant with 9 comment(s) Filed under: Site Upgrade