View Full Version : Vu Duo Recordings - Best Software to Convert Files
Hi there,
I have already used about 60% of my 1tb hard disk on recordings, mostly movies.
The thing is that the Vu Duo saves them at such a high quality they become massive in size for a full movie (between 8-15gb per movie). I don't see any way to record at a lower quality setting on the Vu Duo...
I would like to transfer them to my network drive but I'd like to convert them to a smaller AVI or some other format firstly to reduce the space used on my 2tb network drive.
I'm sure others have come across the same issue so I was wondering what did you guys use to convert your recordings?
Cheers,
mcquaim
I use TVC (Total Video Converter), as it works with.ts files and most others don't.
However, I stopped converting now as the Vu+ Media Player is hopeless at playing anything other than files it records.
+er
I find mkv files play pretty well on vu+ a movie takes up about 5GB
It's got better though since the release of Vix 2.0. I have tried a few AVI files and although they don't play as well as they do on the pc it is now acceptable..
I will try TVC then, thanks for the info!
Hi hifial, you talking about 5gb after converting to mkv?
That still seems pretty large!
To retain quality of HD content I would not shrink much below 5GB for a 2hr movie. Try some files yourself and see what you think
What do you use to convert to mkv files??
What do you use to convert to mkv files??
one of the best pieces of software in my opinion for converting to .MKV files is handbreak, although i'm not sure if it can handle .TS files as the source as iv'e never used it on one.
if you want to give handbreak a try and see what it can do. you can download it from here
http://handbrake.fr/downloads.php
As hifial says, if you record in hd format, don't go lower than 5gb for an mkv... otherwise, you may well have jus recorded the sd version...
Sent from my HTC Desire Z
I guess I may be updating my network storage drive also...
chrisstares
09-03-11, 07:09
one of the best pieces of software in my opinion for converting to .MKV files is handbreak, although i'm not sure if it can handle .TS files as the source as iv'e never used it on one.
I concur that Handbrake is an excellent tool for converting .ts to .mkv. However, I would not use the "official" release version from the link posted by pheonix as it's pretty old now and is known to have issues. Better to go for one of the nightly builds here https://build.handbrake.fr/job/Windows/. I know that these nightly builds are not the "official" release version but in my experience they are very stable and the version I've been using (which is a few months old now) is rock solid.
Also, I don't entirely agree that a mkv file of less than 5GB is effectively SD - far from it in fact. I've done quite a bit of experimentation with different quality settings and I've managed to get mkv files compressed from the original .ts files (of around 8GB or 9GB) down to anywhere between just under 3GB up to nearly 4GB with virtually no discernible loss of quality - certainly not enough loss of the original quality to upset me. The level of compression is very much down to the quality of the source, and I'm not just talking about whether it's at HD resolution or not. Very grainy source material will not compress as much as very "clean" sources. Trying to predict exactly how large the resulting mkv file will be is almost impossible. That's why going for a particular quality setting and just accepting what pops out the other end is probably the best approach. I have not been disappointed with the quality of any of the material that I've encoded so far, and I've probably done about 30 movies or so thus far. However, I should add that I have a couple of WD TV Live media players that I tend to use to play back my mkv files and the quality they produce is staggeringly good. To be fair, I haven't really taken a critical look at the quality of these same mkvs played back on my Vu+ Duo.
I created a Word doc containing my settings for a friend who wanted to have a go with Handbrake. I can't see any way of uploading a file to my posts (as you can see, I'm relatively new to this forum), but if anyone would like a copy, please PM me email details and I'll happily forward the document.
EDIT: I should also add that you will need a pretty grunty PC for the encoding if you want the job done in anything resembling an acceptable time frame. I have a Intel Quad-Core with 6GB RAM and all 4 cores get utilised 100% when encoding. A typical 2 hour movie can take anything between 3˝ and 5 hours to encode even on my PC with the settings that I use, so it's usually a kick-it-off-before-going-to-bed job and let it run overnight if needs be. Of course, your mileage may vary.
To upload files to the forum, while making a post click on the advanced tab under the text box and then select the manage attachments tab.
Sent from my HTC Desire
chrisstares
09-03-11, 07:32
To upload files to the forum, while making a post click on the advanced tab under the text box and then select the manage attachments tab.
Sent from my HTC Desire
Thanks for that pheonix. I have attached the doc to this post.
Thanks chrisstares, I'll try this today!
I just kicked off the latest build of handbrake with chrisstares HDTV presets and handbrake is reporting Time Remaining of 16:49:28 for a 1hr 30mn movie
I reckon a new pc is required also! This move to satellite is proving quite costly lol...
due to fact, that all of my home-tv-network is based on central linux NFS server, I preferer mencoder.
Works flawlessly with .ts, AVIs and many other exotic formats. VU's MP plays all of my files absolutely perfect. Even .ts saved by DM500 are played w/o problems.
silverfox0786
09-03-11, 16:18
if yr using pc based machine try staxrip
its brill for what u require and a little easier to navigate too
Cheers silverfox, does the encoding take as long as handbrake?
silverfox0786
09-03-11, 16:25
well on my machine i can transcode and get a avi divx or xvid in half hour thats a full 2 hour movie
i love stax rips it can make many movie file types and even has templates for ps3 xbox ipod ipad iphone zune etc etc etc
Cheers man, I'll give that a try! The 17 hours for handbrake just doesn't appeal as well as much as this sounds!
silverfox0786
09-03-11, 16:54
btw what specs pc you got
Hi,
Id like to add my 2C.
My workflow is as follow:
I am cutting .ts movies form Vu-Duo in "TSDoctor". Its paid soft but worth every penny as it correct errors in .ts stream.
Then I use freeware "Freemake Video Converter" which cope with .ts files very well. You can even use it to cut movie and to remove commercials but I prefer TSDoctor.
I had issues with MKV (mainly V/A out of sync) so I am using mp4 format and on VuDuo it works flawlessly.
Hope this helps.
Piotr
Yeah, pc spec is not the greatest but gets me by for now!
P4 3.2 GHz
3 GB DDR2
Win7
It will be my next purchase but not for a while yet!
i'd also make sure to have the latest codecs installed for your machine. i use the K-lite codec pack my self
http://filehippo.com/download_klite_codec_pack/download/cbc39aa499bbe2fec352cc3db13c4c43/ current version number 7.0
silverfox0786
09-03-11, 18:14
on yr pc stax rip will take a few hours max 2 ish and no need to cut dvd vobs or anything
just feed them into batch and setup your output and yr done the rest is automated
when u return after a few hours u will find that a avi resides in yr folder or what ever out put u asked
Yeah, pc spec is not the greatest but gets me by for now!
P4 3.2 GHz
3 GB DDR2
Win7
It will be my next purchase but not for a while yet!
it's your hardware that plays the major part in factoring the encoding times for programmes like this so if your getting huge times quoted for one i would not expect other apps to be vastly different. although the only way to know for sure is to try and compare the results.
silverfox0786
09-03-11, 19:54
remember in staxrip is using win7 or vista the firat time u start it must be done in adminostrator mode
after that it dont matter
Hi,
Id like to add my 2C.
My workflow is as follow:
I am cutting .ts movies form Vu-Duo in "TSDoctor". Its paid soft but worth every penny as it correct errors in .ts stream.
Then I use freeware "Freemake Video Converter" which cope with .ts files very well. You can even use it to cut movie and to remove commercials but I prefer TSDoctor.
I had issues with MKV (mainly V/A out of sync) so I am using mp4 format and on VuDuo it works flawlessly.
Hope this helps.
Piotr
I use videoredo to edit my files. I then used to convert to .Mp4 using TVC but found that the Vu couldn't handle them very well (loss of sound, freezing and couldn't FF/FRewind very well).
However, since then I've found that the Vu (Media Player) can't even play files in native format (ie .ts) proficiently.
The only files that play 100% are original recordings found with the button next to "menu".
+er
@plusser - please check if .ts files are recorded properly in VuDuo. I found that in some Images (I encountered this issue in Gigant image) Vu-Duo record movies with errors in .ts stream.
They are not visible when You play movie on VuDuo, BUT they create issues when You start to cut and converting to other format. Ive found many A/V sync issues, skipped frames, or even I was not able to convert movie at all ( I am not speaking of standard A/V syns problems with wrong audio codec/framereate etc. I am speaking precisely on errors in .ts stream preventing converting easly to other format).
I ve started to research this issue and found that .ts streams quite often contain errors which should be corrected before converting to other format.
Using this combination (TSDoctor/freemakeVideoConverter) I dont have now any issues.
@plusser - please check if .ts files are recorded properly in VuDuo. I found that in some Images (I encountered this issue in Gigant image) Vu-Duo record movies with errors in .ts stream.
They are not visible when You play movie on VuDuo, BUT they create issues when You start to cut and converting to other format. Ive found many A/V sync issues, skipped frames, or even I was not able to convert movie at all ( I am not speaking of standard A/V syns problems with wrong audio codec/framereate etc. I am speaking precisely on errors in .ts stream preventing converting easly to other format).
I ve started to research this issue and found that .ts streams quite often contain errors which should be corrected before converting to other format.
Using this combination (TSDoctor/freemakeVideoConverter) I dont have now any issues.
Hi.
Interesting comments - am I right you run a "stream fix" before cutting out adverts/editing the original .ts?
+er
Just an update...
Staxrip was taking just as long as handbrake, approx 17hrs.. I reckon my pc is just not up to the job so I just ordered a new Dell to see what that does for me!
By the end of all this I'll be broke
I have played around with different softwares. I tried handbrake but did not like it.
Right now I use XviD4PSP, which has plenty of features. I prefer AVI format for my music video clips, while for movies I use MKV format with AC3 audio.
For cutting I use VideoReDo TV suite H264, which does the cuttings in seconds (without loosing the audio/video sync). Omble DVD wizard is a nice software for cutting, but for some reason it does not keep the subtitle/teletex streams.
So, if you would like to keep the subtitles of the movie and make them show in the MKV/AVI format, then you have to use VideoReDo TV suite for cutting.
While for encoding XviD4PSP is the best software IMO.
If you would like the the final output file showing the subtitles of the recorded program, then you have to add to your software list ProjectX.
ProjectX extracts any type of subtitles, be it DVB subtitles, Teletext subtitles, you name it. ProjectX does also extract whatever audio stream you would like to keep from your recorded program.
In a summary, this is what I do to convert a movie that has subtitles, but also has adverts in-between:
1. VideoReDo - automatically detects adverts, cuts the adverts (you can always take them out manually), and you can save the piecies you want as one whole piece.
2. ProjectX - extract the subtitle stream (you have to select the page number of the teletext - english is 888 TTX page for i.e.)
3. XviD4PSP - encode the video file in the format of your choice and combine it on the fly with the subtitle file you extracted with ProjectX
All the above 3 steps, can be done in a few minutes, while the encoding of a 2 hour movie takes around 2-3 hours (my laptop Vaio has i7 quad processor and 4 GB of RAM).
Note: the above steps make the subtitles hardcoded.
Hope this helps :)
Hi there,
I have already used about 60% of my 1tb hard disk on recordings, mostly movies.
The thing is that the Vu Duo saves them at such a high quality they become massive in size for a full movie (between 8-15gb per movie). I don't see any way to record at a lower quality setting on the Vu Duo...
I would like to transfer them to my network drive but I'd like to convert them to a smaller AVI or some other format firstly to reduce the space used on my 2tb network drive.
I'm sure others have come across the same issue so I was wondering what did you guys use to convert your recordings?
Cheers,
mcquaim
To mauri ...
I have used videoredo previously, and never had this keep the subtitle streams ... What version are you using?
I can confirm that ts doctor keeps everything as the original recording in terms of cutting. I prefer to keep the video in the original format ... just cut out the rubbish either end. But, I have had to convert some recordings to x264. On my 2.53 c2d mbp, it takes around 4-5 hours to convert a 1 hour (4.3gb original size) recording using handbrake...
Hi pooface,
I use VideoReDo TVSuite H 264 v4.20.5.600. There is no option to 'tick' to keep the subs stream, it just VideoReDo leaves untouched the sub/ttx streams.
As per TS doctor, I confirm what you say as well. TS doctor does fix some sync problems or dropped frames and stuff like that.
As per the handbrake, now I remembered why I don't like it; it does not have the option to add the subs to the video file. I like to have my music videos with subs, and the aforementioned set up helps me achieve that.
p.s. I use projectX to extract the subs so I can later encode the video with XviD4PSP (version 5.0.37.8_r132) with hardcoded subs, because this way I can play the video files with subs with any software/hardware set up.
As per the timing of encode, this all depends on PC specs and obviously on the selected encoding parameters...
To mauri ...
I have used videoredo previously, and never had this keep the subtitle streams ... What version are you using?
I can confirm that ts doctor keeps everything as the original recording in terms of cutting. I prefer to keep the video in the original format ... just cut out the rubbish either end. But, I have had to convert some recordings to x264. On my 2.53 c2d mbp, it takes around 4-5 hours to convert a 1 hour (4.3gb original size) recording using handbrake...
chrisstares
30-03-11, 00:48
As per the handbrake, now I remembered why I don't like it; it does not have the option to add the subs to the video file. I like to have my music videos with subs, and the aforementioned set up helps me achieve that.
I don't know what version of Handbrake you used but in the version I am using there is a whole configuration tab devoted to subtitles. For the majority of the stuff I'm converting (movies recorded from TV), the subtitles are already "burned in". However, for later DVDs, there are many options for dealing with subtitles, from burning them into the video stream to embedding subtitles files into the MKV file container. Since virtually all of the DVD content that I've converted through Handbrake has been in English, the only subtitles I'm interested in are the "forced" ones that appear when someone is speaking in a language other than English (e.g. Iron Man, District 9, etc.). In this case, I usually select the first language stream in the DVD content and select the "forced" option only (so that only the non-English bits are subtitled). Then I choose to "burn" the subtitles into the video stream so that they are there permanently.
I know that Blu-Ray subtitles are a whole different can of worms that I can't comment on as I don't have any Blu-Ray content. However, I just wanted to set the record straight re. Handbrake and subtitles. Since the last time I posted, I've probably done another 10 movies off Sky and Handbrake continues to output superb results. I guess at the end of the day you go with what works for you. I've got a recipe that works for me. I just thought I'd share it with others.
Went over the thread and learned a lot, but one question...in hope to save the effort of installing each of those softwares you mentioned...
I'm looking for a software to convert my .ts files that are ~4-5gb to files that are ~1gb. Quality doesn't have to be super great, but decent enough to watch it.
Any of the above softwares give you the option to choose the estimated size of the converted file?
Thanks!
chrisstares
21-05-11, 21:29
Went over the thread and learned a lot, but one question...in hope to save the effort of installing each of those softwares you mentioned...
I'm looking for a software to convert my .ts files that are ~4-5gb to files that are ~1gb. Quality doesn't have to be super great, but decent enough to watch it.
Any of the above softwares give you the option to choose the estimated size of the converted file?
Thanks!
Certainly there is an option in Handbrake to specify a target file size rather than letting the other quality settings control how big the final output file is (see attachment). I haven't used this option myself so I can't comment on how effective it is at a) actually hitting that file size and b) what the quality of the final file would be. From what I've read, the conventional wisdom is to use the quality settings to control the output and just accept the size of the file that pops out at the end (which is what I do), but I guess if the option to achieve a target file size is there, it will probably work OK.
Thanks!
Will give it a shot...
My DU is connected to my DVD recorder . If I want to save something I just burn it to DVD . If I want to edit it , I use TMGeng and then burn it. I find converting,is too time consuming on a computer.
Hi does anyone know if .srt harcoded subs on an mkv file are supposed to work in the duo via a usb stick as it does,nt for me but works ok on laptop.I get picture and sound perfect on duo but no harcoded subs.does anyone know a way to fix that thanks. using latest vix image
silverfox0786
16-11-11, 03:31
try using srt files name then same as video file and use the subtitle button so select it
i have found that MKV files are the best format to use for my VU duo, but can be a right pain if you lose where you were up to. does anyone know anything about chapter markers or similar for MKV?
i have found that MKV files are the best format to use for my VU duo, but can be a right pain if you lose where you were up to. does anyone know anything about chapter markers or similar for MKV?
sorry for multiple post - my browser isn't as quick as i am
Are you using mediaplayer to play them?
If so play them as you would locally recorded content - go into your recordings press yellow navigate to location of your files and play that way, it keeps location when you stop and replay.
Pls read last post, my browser has gone mad and posted my same query three times...
I double submitted for somereason....
Hi folks,
I'm back on this topic again after a break... I tried a lot of the options that you all suggested but not of them provide decent results or just take way too long..
Firstly, Handbrake is pretty good although it doesn't convert my *.ts files to *.avi and I need avi to work on my screenplay (Doesn't support *.mkv)
Secondly, StaxRip just doesn't work for me. I have tried various versions and it will just pop up with some obscure error (latest is something about access violation when it starts to encode)
Thirdly, I like the look of FreeMake Video Converter but the resulting *.avi produced from my *.ts file is not watchable as it is very distorted. I contacted the developers to see what they come up with. (Missing codecs maybe but same on *.mp4) :confused:
Currently I'm trying XviD4PSP but man is it slow, taking forever to encode a 1hr33min movie. I don't think this is going to be an option to be honest.
I previously thought my problems were down to my old Dell PC being ancient and not up to the job but I'm not sure if that was my main problem. I actually bought a new PC, the spec and installed codecs are:
Dell XPS 8300
Intel i7-2600 CPU @ 3.4Ghz
8GB RAM
Win7 Home Premium
ATI Radeon HD 5670 1GB
K-Lite Codec Pack 32 & 64 bit
DivX Codec pack
XviD Codec Pack
I am wondering if I need anything else installed to get FreeMake Video Converter to produce aything half decent in regards an *.avi? Has anyone successfully converted a *.ts file into an *.avi using FreeMake Video Converter?
Any more suggestions are greatly welcomed. :thumbsup:
Cheers,
mcquaim
Hi folks,
I am just raising this from the dead but it might help someone else..
I have been for quite a while trying to come up with a solution to convert my large recordings to managable *.avi files but everything was taking an age. I had been recently using StaxRip and although it worked well it was taking forever to convert a 1.5-2hrs movie.
By chance more than anything I used the combination of TSDoctor and FreeMake last night and the resulting *.avi was perfect. I used TSDoctor to cut the crap at the start and end of the recording, removed the NAR audio and then saved off a fixed version of the *.ts. I then converted this fixed *.ts to *.avi in FreeMake and the conversion was 100% :thumbsup:
I had previously used FreeMake only and the resulting *.avi was completely distorted and not watchable. TSDoctor must clean up the stream or something and FreeMake can understand it then.
Anyway, I cleaned and converted a 1.5hr movie in about 40 mins. Roughly 1 hour quicker than StaxRip :D
Here is a link for TSDoctor, for FreeMake just google:
http://www.world-of-satellite.com/showthread.php?15496-TS-Doctor-1-1-49-Beta-Freeware&p=112907#post112907
Hope this helps someone else,
mcquaim
mmm interesting thread.
Btw which is the most effective way to transfer recordings from duo to PC?
FTP, is not going to be an option since it takes hours for a 5gb ts file over a 100mbit LAN.
Is it possible to attach an external usb hdd to the DUO and copy files from internal storage to the external one?
mmm interesting thread.
Btw which is the most effective way to transfer recordings from duo to PC?
FTP, is not going to be an option since it takes hours for a 5gb ts file over a 100mbit LAN.
Is it possible to attach an external usb hdd to the DUO and copy files from internal storage to the external one?
Yes it is. will need to mount the usb gdd and than use the MOVE button in playlist to donit
what if I want to COPY instead of moving?
That is going to be via telnet command or Ftp cop and paste.
mmm interesting thread.
Btw which is the most effective way to transfer recordings from duo to PC?
FTP, is not going to be an option since it takes hours for a 5gb ts file over a 100mbit LAN.
Is it possible to attach an external usb hdd to the DUO and copy files from internal storage to the external one?
I use a portable Transcend hard drive via USB for my recording,rather than installing a hard disk.
That way, I can simply unplug it and attach it to the computer.
Due to loads of good stuff on BBC4 last night, I fell asleep and the recording continued all night! D'oh.
I normally use the free Openshot video editor for Linux to both edit and convert the VU+ recordings.
Now I have to split the various programmes, delete one of them, and convert/export.
I just hope openshot can handle the huge initial file.
I will report if successful.
Update on above.
The file size was 25GB. Openshot loaded it up but I couldnt stop it playing so that was no use.
So I opened it with avidemux2 ( also free for linux). The 1st time it took about 15mins to index the file. After that the audio was a bit out of synch,so just changed that by 1000ms. After that it was easy to slice to get the hour long vids. Each hour long film took about 15 to 20mins to convert and save.
A handy thing was that after isolating 1 film, I just had to "reset edits" to get the full 25GB back and then re-edit for the next film.
Resurrecting this old thread, which contains some great information, to just ask people what the most recent best way to do this would be?
The detailed posts with software & methods are really, really helpful and thanks to everyone that took the time to add to this thread.
I'll be trying this for the first time over the weekend, so I'll either try the most recent method posted 18 mo ago, or see if anything else is recommended.
thanks all.
mcquaim's method above works great for me, thanks! (am I missing a very obvious way to edit a post?!)
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