TS-files with missing PCR?

[dagfaune]

I have a nice HD USB DVB-T topbox with the name Jacobsons.

The saved files has the name *.ts ... but unfortunately not ordinary ts-files.

When i try playback on VLC player it fails (nothing happends and no information).
The software TS-doctor tells that the PCR is missing.
I have heard that the files are a kind of program stream-files.
I don't know more - so long.

I hope it's possible to analyse/ "repair" and convert the file into ordinary ts, or somthing else.

Thanks for help!
Dagfinn

[Baldrick]

Can you post the video and audio details. Use mediainfo, open ts, view->text and copy the info.

[dagfaune]

Thanks!
I will try on my own, but som help....
May be this info will help.

Dagfinn

General
Complete name : G:\REC_0.ts
Format : MPEG-TS
Format profile : No PAT/PMT
File size : 15.8 MiB
Duration : 28s 500ms
Overall bit rate : 4 665 Kbps

Video
ID : 521 (0x209)
Format : AVC
Format/Info : Advanced Video Codec
Format profile : High@L4.1
Format settings, CABAC : Yes
Format settings, ReFrames : 4 frames
Duration : 28s 500ms
Bit rate : 4 321 Kbps
Width : 1 280 pixels
Height : 720 pixels
Display aspect ratio : 16:9
Frame rate : 50.000 fps
Color space : YUV
Chroma subsampling : 4:2:0
Bit depth : 8 bits
Scan type : Progressive
Bits/(Pixel*Frame) : 0.094
Stream size : 14.7 MiB (93%)
Color primaries : BT.709-5, BT.1361, IEC 61966-2-4, SMPTE RP177
Transfer characteristics : BT.709-5, BT.1361
Matrix coefficients : BT.709-5, BT.1361, IEC 61966-2-4 709, SMPTE RP177

Audio
ID : 676 (0x2A4)
Format : MPEG Audio
Format version : Version 1
Format profile : Layer 3
Mode : Dual mono
Mode extension : Intensity Stereo
Emphasis : CCITT
Duration : 9s 899ms
Bit rate mode : Constant
Bit rate : 112 Kbps
Channel(s) : 2 channels
Sampling rate : 32.0 KHz
Compression mode : Lossy
Delay relative to video : -2s 616ms
Stream size : 135 KiB (1%)

[poisondeathray]

I have some examples of .ts with no PAT/PMT and MPCHC or kmplayer/potplayer can play them . You might need lav splitter installed

If it doesn't work for you, there might be some other differences, then post a short sample video

[dagfaune]

Media Player Classic works! But without subtitles. Me be I do something wrong..
So next challenge: convert to a ordinary ts format or other format (with subtitles) that could play on a another soft/hardware player.

Dagfinn

[poisondeathray]

What format are the subs in ? Do you know if there are subs ? Your mediainfo text doesn't identify any

Can you post a short sample ?

[dagfaune]

Media Player Classic works! But without subtitles. Me be I do something wrong..
So next challenge: convert to a ordinary ts format or other format (with subtitles) that could play on a another soft/hardware player.

Dagfinn

[dagfaune]

A file with subtitle in norwegian (I hope the upload works). Om my topbox I can choose the sub's on/off.

[johns0]

The subs work with Media Player Classic Home Cinema,try that version instead.

[dagfaune]

No sub's an no audio when I play the file on Media Player Classic Home Cinema.
But on the (hardware box) it's works.

[intracube]

This is what ffmpeg/ffplay reports:
Stream #0:0[0x240]: Audio: mp1, 0 channels, s16
Stream #0:1[0x2a4]: Audio: aac_latm, 48000 Hz, stereo, s16
Stream #0:2[0x2a5]: Audio: aac_latm, 48000 Hz, 5.1, s16
Stream #0:3[0x209]: Video: h264 (High), yuv420p, 1280x720 [SAR 1:1 DAR 16:9], 57.73 fps, 50 tbr, 90k tbn, 100 tbc
Stream #0:4[0x25d]: Audio: mp2, 0 channels, s16

There are two audio streams with '0 channels'. If any media player defaulted to one of those, it would explain the silence.

I don't know how johns0 is getting subtitles - there don't appear to be any listed. Maybe one (or both) of the audio streams listed as having no channels actually contain subtitle data.

Another quirk of this file is the video isn't listed as the first stream by ffmpeg - it shows up as stream 0:3. But the hex value ID of the video stream (0x209) is the lowest of all of them. I don't know if that's a problem, but it's something I don't recall seeing before with .ts files.

[johns0]

The subs are dvb imbedded.

[dagfaune]

Thanks a lot !

Is the conclusion (so long) that the formats of video and audio is ok, and the file is not encrypted, but the container is proprietary?
It's seems impossible to find software for converting this proprietary file to something else .

[intracube]

Is the conclusion (so long) that the formats of video and audio is ok, and the file is not encrypted, but the container is proprietary?

The .ts files your DVB-T receiver creates are unusual but I don't know if they are non-standard/proprietary.

It's seems impossible to find software for converting this proprietary file to something else .

I managed to convert the file last night with ffmpeg. I'll try to find the set of parameters I used.

ffmpeg is command line based - there are probably other programs that are easier to use and can open these .ts files. Maybe other forum members can make some suggestions.

I don't know how to retrieve the subs, but they might be falsely labelled as audio streams 0x240 and/or 0x25d.

[jagabo]

ffmpeg is command line based - there are probably other programs that are easier to use and can open these .ts files. Maybe other forum members can make some suggestions.

If the commands are always the same it's easy to put a batch file in your SendTo folder. Then you can right click on a TS file and select Send To --> Dvbt2Whatever.BAT for an automated conversion.

[intracube]

ffmpeg is command line based - there are probably other programs that are easier to use and can open these .ts files. Maybe other forum members can make some suggestions.

If the commands are always the same it's easy to put a batch file in your SendTo folder. Then you can right click on a TS file and select Send To --> Dvbt2Whatever.BAT for an automated conversion.

Would a command run this way fail silently? Could it be set up so ffmpeg would be run from within a pop-up command prompt so any errors would be visible?

I've just realised the video/audio streams will almost certainly be in a different order on different channels - so the -map options would need to be modified... A program similar to HandBrake, that can open .ts files and let the user choose the video/audio/sub streams to convert would be ideal.

These are the parameters used with ffmpeg version 0.9:
ffmpeg -i REC_0.ts -map 0:3 -map 0:1 -map 0:2 -vcodec copy -acodec ac3 -ab 224k output.mp4
EDIT: under Windows it may be necessary to state the full path to ffmpeg. Something like - C:\ffmpeg\ffmpeg.exe

(I don't know if 224kbit/s is sufficient for good quality 5.1 ac3)

The video stream won't be re-encoded, so it will be exactly the same quality as the original. After conversion, the first 4 seconds of video don't play properly - probably as the source video doesn't start with an I-frame.

I couldn't find a way to convert the audio tracks without re-encoding - so they've been converted to ac3, but the 5.1 channels have been preserved, as well as a separate 2 channel track.

[jagabo]

ffmpeg is command line based - there are probably other programs that are easier to use and can open these .ts files. Maybe other forum members can make some suggestions.

If the commands are always the same it's easy to put a batch file in your SendTo folder. Then you can right click on a TS file and select Send To --> Dvbt2Whatever.BAT for an automated conversion.

Would a command run this way fail silently? Could it be set up so ffmpeg would be run from within a pop-up command prompt so any errors would be visible?

You can put a "pause" after the ffmpeg line -- the CLI window will remain open until the user presses Enter or closes the window. You could get creative and only pause on an error using "if errorlevel..." (assuming ffmpeg returns an error/success code).

ffmpeg -i "%~d1%~p1%~n1%~x1" -map 0:3 -map 0:1 -map 0:2 -vcodec copy -acodec ac3 -ab 224k "%~d1%~p1%~n1.mp4"
if errorlevel 1 pause

You can put that in a batch file in your Send To folder or drag/drop a file onto the BAT file. It will create a whatever.mp4 file from whatever.ts in the same folder as the ts file. You could even run multiple command lines, each with different stream numbers, until one worked properly. Of course, a purpose built front end would be better.

By the way, I got a big A/V sync error when I converted using your command. Oh wait -- it depends on which player I use. VLC had no sync error. MPCHC did.

[intracube]

You can put a "pause" after the ffmpeg line -- the CLI window will remain open until the user presses Enter or closes the window. You could get creative and only pause on an error using "if errorlevel..." (assuming ffmpeg returns an error/success code).

Thanks for the info jagabo - I didn't realise the Windows CLI had this sort of scripting capability.

By the way, I got a big A/V sync error when I converted using your command. Oh wait -- it depends on which player I use. VLC had no sync error. MPCHC did.

This is probably related to original stream lacking a starting I-frame. Just guessing, but if ffmpeg only starts encoding from the next I-frame, then internally aligns both a/v streams together - the video would be ahead of the audio by 3-4 seconds. But ffmpeg should set the presentation time stamp (PTS) to compensate for this. Maybe MPCHC doesn't read this and a simply plays both a/v streams from the start. Or I might be generating a non-compliant .mp4 file...

I really wish there was a comprehensive media parser which would analyse a file and give a list of critical errors and also potential problems...

[jagabo]

I didn't realise the Windows CLI had this sort of scripting capability.

It's only been around since DOS 1.0. LOL

I really wish there was a comprehensive media parser which would analyse a file and give a list of critical errors and also potential problems...

Yes, that would be nice.