Getting real fed up with these TS files

[CursedLemon]

So my El Gato capture card records video natively in TS format. It apparently provides for like 12 different audio channels, when all I want to do is record some PS2 gameplay videos.

I want to work with these native TS files in Sony Vegas instead of using the transcoded MP4 files that the El Gato software spits out after you stop capturing (partially because it takes the software FOREVER to do the conversion). Only problem is that Vegas hates TS files and won't open them.

I'm trying to use Avidemux to convert the transport stream to a program stream in MPEG format using "Video > Copy", "Audio > Copy", and "Output Format > "MPEG PS Muxer (ff)". But when I do, Avidemux screams at me saying:

[MISMATCH] video not compatible

Muxer: cannot open

Failed: [File] was NOT saved correctly

Can someone tell me how I can work with these dumb TS files without transcoding them?

[netmask56]

Use TSDoctor to demux them and then use the individual video and audio tracks in Vegas

[Selur]

What formats are inside those ts files?

[raffriff42]

What formats are inside those ts files?

Wondering that myself. From the product description:

https://www.elgato.com/en/video-capture

• Video resolution: 640×480 (4:3) or 640×360 (16:9)
• Video format Mac Software: H.264 at 1.4 MBit/sec or MPEG-4 at 2.4 MBit/se
• Video format PC Software: H.264 at 1.4 MBit/se
• Audio: AAC, 48kHZ, 128 kBit/sec

So remuxing to MOV or MP4 is trivial.

BTW, don't hate TS. TS is much more robust against file corruption after an interrupted write operation (ie, crash) than either MOV or MP4.

[usually_quiet]

You could try opening the file in tsmuxer and select m2ts muxing for output. If that fails, try TSDoctor or VideoReDo TVSuite. They can process the file to remove corrupt frames and correct for missing frames and other irregularities in the transport stream. VideoReDo TVSuite has more output options than TSDoctor.

[CursedLemon]

Yes, the files are apparently H.264, which I found after using tsMuxeR which dumps them to a ".264" file that Vegas can apparently read (with some loading difficulty).

However, there seems to be some lingering glitches. If I render a file using one of these dumps out from Vegas, there is some discrepancy about time. For example, if I try to render out a ten-second section of a one-minute clip, the clip renders successfully, but MPC player will treat the file as if it is one minute in length and it will not allow me to seek through the video using the scroll bar.

This happens regardless of which format I export to.

[ndjamena]

Is it possible they're Variable Frame Rate?

Just for testing purposes, try remuxing the file with MKVMerge then look at the resulting MKV with MediaInfo. It should give the exact frame rate and should tell you if it's VFR or not.

[CursedLemon]

Here's a MediaInfo dump for the raw recording. Says "overall bit-rate" is variable, which I assume means yes.

[CursedLemon]

Doing it with MKVMerge does list a variable frame rate, but the resulting video seems a little off as well.

[usually_quiet]

Here's a MediaInfo dump for the raw recording. Says "overall bit-rate" is variable, which I assume means yes.

No. Variable bit rate does not indicate that the frame rate is variable. The frame rate listed in your MediaInfo report was constant, 29.970 fps.

[CursedLemon]

I guess I'm just confused about why if this is just a simple H.264 video stream that I'm having such a hell of a time getting it into something usable in an editing program. Not that H.264 is a great editing codec, but still.

[netmask56]

It's possible there may be transmission errors that is causing you grief, that's why programs like TSDoctor or VideoRedo will fix those errors on the fly as it demuxes. I use TSDoctor for my TS files as it handles TS files with either mpeg2 or H264 as well as MP4 formats. You can get both programs as trials.