Captured TS file - time length issue

[JoeJones1999]

I am capturing a 2 hour video as a TS file (with the HDPVR2 and HDMI connection) using the arcsoft showbiz included software.

When finished capturing the 2 hour video at the max bitrate, the file size is accurate ~13GB.

My problem is the time length is wrong, it is showing as ~10 minutes in all my media players, and MediaInfo also shows this inaccurate time of ~10minutes.

Any ideas on how to fix this?

Thank you

[jman98]

Yes, I have an idea how to fix this but it's not free unfortunately. I'd use VideoReDo to edit the file and save it and that might fix the problem. Also, VideoReDo has a stream fix function that might be able to fix your problem. I'm guessing that there may be some bad frames there.

What are you capturing? Game play? There may be unique problems with game play capture. I don't do that at all so I can't offer personal experience.

[JoeJones1999]

Yes, I have an idea how to fix this but it's not free unfortunately. I'd use VideoReDo to edit the file and save it and that might fix the problem. Also, VideoReDo has a stream fix function that might be able to fix your problem. I'm guessing that there may be some bad frames there.

What are you capturing? Game play? There may be unique problems with game play capture. I don't do that at all so I can't offer personal experience.

Thanks, ideally I would like to fix this on the front end (having accurate times from the capture). I am capturing a 2 hour movie.

[PuzZLeR]

Yes, if this is MPEG in the stream, then VideoReDo should easliy fix this. I'm sure there's a trial you can sample before you buy.

Tools->QuickStream Fix...->Choose your destination->Save as type: MPEG Program Stream (*.mpg)

Choosing the MPEG P/S also provides lower overhead and better compatibility. This process is also lossless in audio/picture quality.

And this is good practice for all captures in MPEG since many GOPs have to be recalculated - capturing is an intensive feature, and MPEG is a highly compressed format, so errors like this in timing aren't surprising when the file is written on the fly one frame at a time.

[JoeJones1999]

Yes, if this is MPEG in the stream, then VideoReDo should easliy fix this. I'm sure there's a trial you can sample before you buy.

Tools->QuickStream Fix...->Choose your destination->Save as type: MPEG Program Stream (*.mpg)

Choosing the MPEG P/S also provides lower overhead and better compatibility. This process is also lossless in audio/picture quality.

And this is good practice for all captures in MPEG since many GOPs have to be recalculated - capturing is an intensive feature, and MPEG is a highly compressed format, so errors like this in timing aren't surprising when the file is written on the fly one frame at a time.

I usually encode the .TS file to MP4 with staxrip. Is the process you are recommending compatible with that?

[PuzZLeR]

The first thing I always do with all MPEG captures, however small or large, is run each through one pass with VideoReDo's QuickStream anyway. The wrong timing information isn't the only thing that can go wrong with such MPEG captures - they may have playback issues, and may be problematic with editors too, so it does serve as a peace of mind when it's only a simple step, and ingrained in habit.

But if you're directly encoding the capture to another format, the VideoReDo step likely wouldn't be needed as StaxRip is re-writing the GOPs anyway to the new format.

And that's assuming that StaxRip decodes the source properly, which I'm pretty sure a credible app like that does. I haven't used it in a while myself, but I don't recall ever seeing such errors from captures ever translating to the final result.

The VideoReDo step in my last post would be more necessary if you wish to use/keep the transport streams for MPEG playback (in its original quality), and comes in handy if you want to edit/archive them properly.

I usually encode the .TS file to MP4 with staxrip. Is the process you are recommending compatible with that?

In other words, to answer your question, if you are using the captured streams for playback as well, or are editing them before you load them into StaxRip, and/or are wishing to keep them also as Source archives, then yes, the VideoReDo process is highly recommended and would be very compatible with a functioning workflow.

Try it first before you buy (I'm sure you could). If it solves the problem, or corrects your workflow, then the small price the app costs is more than worth it.

Only if you're encoding directly to StaxRip (without edits), and disposing of the Source afterwards would I say don't bother.

[JoeJones1999]

Thank you PuzZLeR

[dmacgreg37]

I've been having the same issue, using the HDPVR2 (1519) and the Showbiz software. I upgraded after my 1212 fried due to my error of plugging in the wrong cable (lasted 4.5 years, so not too bad).

My second or third video recorded on the 1519 shows the wrong timestamp, etc.

I d/l the demo version of VideoReDo (4.21) and when I follow the link posted above for a QS Fix, it shows it's going to take 200+ hrs and continually going up? Is there something I need to do differently? The file is actually 4 hours (should basically be exact), and is showing up as 1 min, 17 seconds.

Thanks.

[JoeS99]

Based on my experience, VideoReDo's Quickstream fix can get hung up on a damaged file. I use TSDoctor. TSDoctor doesn't always get it right with some problem files- the duration may still show as 10 minutes. Free programs like tsMuxeR or TsRemux can work better sometimes. If your 2 hour program shows as 10 minutes, there is a serious glitch (dropped frames?) at 1 hour 50 minutes. If you fix the file using one of these programs, VideoReDo will be able to edit it, but there will usually be some noticeable discontinuity at the 1 hour 50 minute mark.

[usually_quiet]

I've been having the same issue, using the HDPVR2 (1519) and the Showbiz software. I upgraded after my 1212 fried due to my error of plugging in the wrong cable (lasted 4.5 years, so not too bad).

My second or third video recorded on the 1519 shows the wrong timestamp, etc.

I d/l the demo version of VideoReDo (4.21) and when I follow the link posted above for a QS Fix, it shows it's going to take 200+ hrs and continually going up? Is there something I need to do differently? The file is actually 4 hours (should basically be exact), and is showing up as 1 min, 17 seconds.

Thanks.

I suspect that VideoReDo thinks there are a lot of missing frames in your capture for some reason, which may or may not be true. If the file plays back without any skips, jumps, and pixelation, then there probably are not many missing frames. You could try re-mulitplexing with tsMuxer to see if it improves the situation.

[dmacgreg37]

It plays back with no issues.

I'll try these options.

Thanks.

[dmacgreg37]

tsMuxer didn't recognize the file type and ignored the file (M2ts).

[mail2tom]

You might want to give Hauppauge Capture a try.

http://www.hauppauge.com/capture/

[dmacgreg37]

I did also do that this weekend. The reason I went with the Arcsoft product was that it was so similar to the former Arcsoft TME that I used with the 1212 for years. Just liked the consistency of moving from one to the other. I may have to switch if this is a continual problem, but would prefer to stay with this one.

[dmacgreg37]

I capture my videos at about 7.7MB/sec (variable). The file that I have here is showing as

[dmacgreg37]

I couldn't get the tsMuxer to work at all.

I did do a passthrough with TsRemux0212, and it fixed the time issue, but the video was unplayable. If I clicked ahead at any point in VLC, it would just be a still image and wouldn't play.

After doing this, I attempted to Quickfix it through VideoReDo, and it did the same thing. Was going to take several hours, and continually growing.

[usually_quiet]

I couldn't get the tsMuxer to work at all.

I did do a passthrough with TsRemux0212, and it fixed the time issue, but the video was unplayable. If I clicked ahead at any point in VLC, it would just be a still image and wouldn't play.

After doing this, I attempted to Quickfix it through VideoReDo, and it did the same thing. Was going to take several hours, and continually growing.

If the original file that you recorded is opened with VLC does it play normally?

[dmacgreg37]

I couldn't get the tsMuxer to work at all.

I did do a passthrough with TsRemux0212, and it fixed the time issue, but the video was unplayable. If I clicked ahead at any point in VLC, it would just be a still image and wouldn't play.

After doing this, I attempted to Quickfix it through VideoReDo, and it did the same thing. Was going to take several hours, and continually growing.

If the original file that you recorded is opened with VLC does it play normally?

It seems to do so on my PC.

Usually what I do is transfer it to WD Passport drives and watch through WDTV Live boxes. I'm concerned about how the timing issue would work on that (skipping through commercials, halftime, etc)

[usually_quiet]

I couldn't get the tsMuxer to work at all.

I did do a passthrough with TsRemux0212, and it fixed the time issue, but the video was unplayable. If I clicked ahead at any point in VLC, it would just be a still image and wouldn't play.

After doing this, I attempted to Quickfix it through VideoReDo, and it did the same thing. Was going to take several hours, and continually growing.

If the original file that you recorded is opened with VLC does it play normally?

It seems to do so on my PC.

Usually what I do is transfer it to WD Passport drives and watch through WDTV Live boxes. I'm concerned about how the timing issue would work on that (skipping through commercials, halftime, etc)

Maybe VLC's record function is worth a try. It won't re-encode the A/V streams. It will only capture them as is in real time as you are playing the video. Clicking the record button (red dot icon) starts and stops the recording feature. The button's background will turn blue while it is recording. If you do not see a button with a red dot among VLC's controls, click "View" on the menu bar and check "Advanced Controls" on the drop down menu to add the toolbar with the record button. VLC will use your Documents folder by default. If you want to use a different folder, go to "Tools"->"Preferences"->"Input & Codec Settings"-> "Record Directory or Filename" to specify where to put the capture.

[dmacgreg37]

Wow, that's awesome. I had no idea VLC even had a record function. That's great to know.

I normally don't edit any of these videos, and just keep the raw footage (commericals and all) but with all of these options, I may consider editing some stuff. Particularly if I can figure out VideoReDo.

In this case, if I'm going to have to do something at real time, I may just try to re-capture it with the Hauppauge overnight tonight and see if it does it properly this time. I did have this error a handful or so times during the 4.5 years with the 1212.

The strange datarate (in the screenshot above) seems super weird. That's far higher than the Hauppauge capture device can even run at I believe (by my math, that's 1494 M/sec?)

[dmacgreg37]

Based on my experience, VideoReDo's Quickstream fix can get hung up on a damaged file. I use TSDoctor. TSDoctor doesn't always get it right with some problem files- the duration may still show as 10 minutes. Free programs like tsMuxeR or TsRemux can work better sometimes. If your 2 hour program shows as 10 minutes, there is a serious glitch (dropped frames?) at 1 hour 50 minutes. If you fix the file using one of these programs, VideoReDo will be able to edit it, but there will usually be some noticeable discontinuity at the 1 hour 50 minute mark.

I think this part might've answered my issue.

I always set it to run overnight, and when the actual program ends from my PVR, there's always a minute or so of overhang on the capture time I set. I shortened it by 15 seconds or so last night, and the video says it's 1min, 2 seconds, instead of 1:17. It's happening at the point when the program that is being played ends, and switches to the "delete recording/keep recording" screen on my Motorola PVR.

I'm going to just have to start being more precise I guess with my record times and see what happened.

Thanks all for the help in this thread.

[JoeS99]

Based on my experience, VideoReDo's Quickstream fix can get hung up on a damaged file. I use TSDoctor. TSDoctor doesn't always get it right with some problem files- the duration may still show as 10 minutes. Free programs like tsMuxeR or TsRemux can work better sometimes. If your 2 hour program shows as 10 minutes, there is a serious glitch (dropped frames?) at 1 hour 50 minutes. If you fix the file using one of these programs, VideoReDo will be able to edit it, but there will usually be some noticeable discontinuity at the 1 hour 50 minute mark.

I think this part might've answered my issue.

I always set it to run overnight, and when the actual program ends from my PVR, there's always a minute or so of overhang on the capture time I set. I shortened it by 15 seconds or so last night, and the video says it's 1min, 2 seconds, instead of 1:17. It's happening at the point when the program that is being played ends, and switches to the "delete recording/keep recording" screen on my Motorola PVR.

I'm going to just have to start being more precise I guess with my record times and see what happened.

Thanks all for the help in this thread.

I also use a Motorola DVR and usually set the record time to be 5 minutes or so longer than the program in case I decide to use the Hauppauge unattended. I use the ArcSoft capture program and set the duration to cover the entire program.
When the DVR reaches the end it just stops and the video signal loses sync, that screws up the Hauppauge.
I have signal dropouts on occasion that have the same effect. I have also noticed there are some that only get detected when I save an edited file with VideoReDo, which shows how many frames were dropped. VideoReDo also keeps a logfile which gives a lot of info- if only I could interpret it all!

[dmacgreg37]

Based on my experience, VideoReDo's Quickstream fix can get hung up on a damaged file. I use TSDoctor. TSDoctor doesn't always get it right with some problem files- the duration may still show as 10 minutes. Free programs like tsMuxeR or TsRemux can work better sometimes. If your 2 hour program shows as 10 minutes, there is a serious glitch (dropped frames?) at 1 hour 50 minutes. If you fix the file using one of these programs, VideoReDo will be able to edit it, but there will usually be some noticeable discontinuity at the 1 hour 50 minute mark.

I think this part might've answered my issue.

I always set it to run overnight, and when the actual program ends from my PVR, there's always a minute or so of overhang on the capture time I set. I shortened it by 15 seconds or so last night, and the video says it's 1min, 2 seconds, instead of 1:17. It's happening at the point when the program that is being played ends, and switches to the "delete recording/keep recording" screen on my Motorola PVR.

I'm going to just have to start being more precise I guess with my record times and see what happened.

Thanks all for the help in this thread.

I also use a Motorola DVR and usually set the record time to be 5 minutes or so longer than the program in case I decide to use the Hauppauge unattended. I use the ArcSoft capture program and set the duration to cover the entire program.
When the DVR reaches the end it just stops and the video signal loses sync, that screws up the Hauppauge.
I have signal dropouts on occasion that have the same effect. I have also noticed there are some that only get detected when I save an edited file with VideoReDo, which shows how many frames were dropped. VideoReDo also keeps a logfile which gives a lot of info- if only I could interpret it all!

Yeah, I was noticing some of this too.

Lately, I"ve been having issues where the video drops out without even having a small hiccup on the source video. It seems to be the HDPVR2 that is having the issue. Sometimes, there is an issue with the source video from my PVR (cable), but others it's just the HDPVR2 glitching for a second. It's new, and I'm wondering if there's an issue with it, and have contacted Hauppauge as well.