H.264 TS to MPEG2

[kh1369]

All right, I give up. Help me!
I just got myself a shiny new Hauppauge HD PVR, which is great.
The giant resolution H.264 TS file it creates when it records HDTV is not so great for me.
I knew when I bought it that the tech specs were pushing the limits of my desktop that I use as a workhorse for copying DVDs and playing saved video on my TV. I thought, "well, I will get it and see what I can do with it."
The HD PVR DOES record at FANTASTIC quality - but my desktop has one heck of a time playing it back.
I have spent most of the day today scouring the Internet for a way to convert the file to a good ol' DVD-compatible MPEG2. (and yes, I know I'm taking HD-quality video and stuffing it down to DVD.)

Here's what I have tried today:
SUPER - crashes when I try to convert the TS to anything at all
HDTVtoMPEG2 - doesn't seem to be able to handle the H.264 TS. I kept getting errors about not being able to find a channel in the most recent version - I tried the older version of the program, as some people suggested, but that just returns with an empty box and doesn't do anything, either.
DVRMSToolbox - I have XP Home on the desktop, so I can't use the most recent version of the Toolbox, which is only for Vista. I've seen tips to use "Convert a file for commercial scanning" - but that's only on the more recent versions of the DTb. I tried installing the latest version, but that returns with a bunch of errors (probably because it's designed for Vista, not XP)
Nero Vision 4 - when it tries to encode straight from the TS to an MPG, the sound comes out okay, but the picture is super sped-up and drops frames like mad.
I DID have success converting the TS with the built-in MP4 converter that came with the HD PVR (specs to convert to Sony PS3) - and THEN convert the MP4 to an MPG with Nero Vision, buuut... the picture looks soft and gets pixelated during fast motion.

So you see, I tried doing my homework - but I'm at the end of my rope.

So here's what I am looking for:
The short of it, I want to be able to convert this TS file to a DVD-compatible MPEG2. Since I am working with such a sharp, crisp picture to begin with, I'd like to preserve as much of the color and clarity as possible (that is, want it to look nice on my 720 plasma HDTV.) I don't really mind file size.
I am open to other file format suggestions - I do keep these files archived on an external hard drive, but I'd like to be able to have the ability to burn them off quickly to a DVD - which is why I am looking at MPG. I also need to edit out commercials and such, and MPG is easy to work with. (on that note - can whatever you suggest ALSO give me the ability to edit slightly/combine a few files WHILE I am in the process of converting all this stuff?)
I'd like to do this in as few steps as possible, but I will certainly go through a few programs if I have to.

Does anyone have any suggestions about ways I can get the programs I tried earlier in the day to work? Or any programs/program combos stepping from file format to format that I did NOT try?

Thank you!

[Soopafresh]

Why not just get a Western Digital media player for $100 and save yourself the hassle

http://www.wdc.com/en/products/products.asp?driveid=572&language=en

[guns1inger]

SUPER and NV4 I would be very low on my list of reliable software.

Try Xvid4PSP. You can convert to mpgs for author, and it handles most input formats.

AVStoDVD is probably also worth a look.

However converting to DVD will make a huge and noticeable difference to the visual appearance of the video, even though you have a high quality source. You are reducing the resolution of the video by a factor of almost 6, and on a large screen it will be quite visible. Be realistic about your expectations.

I second getting something like the WD, so you can at least encode to 720p resolution MP4 and have a good compromise between size and quality.

[racer-x]

I do this a lot with TMPGEnc when I need to downscale my 1080i AVC to SD-DVD. It works well, you may need to feed it via Avisynth script.

You may also want to try AviDemux (free).

[tluxon]

I've been using Womble's MPEG Video Wizard for this kind of conversion for years. I also use VideoRedo, which works with MS-DVR files and handles files that MVW occasionally has trouble with.

Re-encoding is not a specialty of these programs, but I've gotten very good results using these tools to convert .ts to .mpg (no re-encode, so no loss of quality) and then using SUPER to convert to DVD-compliant VOB's.

[tluxon]

I do this a lot with TMPGEnc when I need to downscale my 1080i AVC to SD-DVD. It works well, you may need to feed it via Avisynth script...

I've never been able to get TMPGEnc to open my 1080i and 720p files. Are you talking about TMPGEnc XPress?