MPEG-TS Capture

[OS_Man]

Hello,

My capture card creates TS files. If I copy TS file to DVD, usb disk, hdd without any convertion, can TS files be played without any problems in TVs and computers? Should I convert them to mpg? Does it differ? Is the quality of mpeg-PS and mpeg-TS the same?
Thanks.

[pandy]

MPEG-TS (Transport Stream) and MPEG-PS (Program Stream) are containers - TS support multiple programs where PS is usually single program where program mean usually single video track (elementary stream) and one or more audio tracks with usually additional data like subtitles and similar. Conversion from TS to PS should be lossless as elementary stream are not modified. For player devices it is safer to convert TS to PS as usually player are not capable to play TS properly.

[OS_Man]

For playewr devices it is safer to convert TS to PS as usually player are not capable to play TS properly.

DVD players may not supporst TS files as you said. If I copy TS files to usb disks and hdds, will it be still problem to play them. What about playing TS files on TVs via USB ports and on computers directly without using dvd medias?

[usually_quiet]

Hello,

My capture card creates TS files. If I copy TS file to DVD, usb disk, hdd without any convertion, can TS files be played without any problems in TVs and computers? Should I convert them to mpg? Does it differ? Is the quality of mpeg-PS and mpeg-TS the same?
Thanks.

The quality is the same for TS and PS files. Successfully converting from TS to PS may require the use of specialized software, like VideoReDo or TS Doctor, which are able to deal with errors in the transport stream.

I have been able to play TS files from a both a video capture device and a TV tuner card with a Blu-ray player, a TV's built-in media player, and a computer. That being said, if the transport stream contains errors, the errors prevent the file from playing smoothly.

However, the ability to play back any type of media file depends on what the hardware player or software player allows. The player/software must support the use of TS container with the types of audio and video in the file. If using a computer for playback, you would need to look at the player software's spec. ...and if using a TV's built-in media player, a Blu-ray player's built-in media player, or hardware media player for playback, you would need to consult the manual/user guide to find out what is permitted.

I don't think that you need to worry about having multiple programs in the TS file. Video capture devices don't produce TS files containing multiple programs. Some TV tuner devices might technically have the ability to produce a TS file containing multiple programs, but all of the PVR software that I've used capture only one program. All the stand-alone hardware PVRs that I know of also capture one program.

[usually_quiet]

DVD players may not supporst TS files as you said. If I copy TS files to usb disks and hdds, will it be still problem to play them. What about playing TS files on TVs via USB ports and on computers directly without using dvd medias?

DVD players which are able to play media files are limited to DivX AVI files. A Blu-ray player that supports playing video files (many but not all have that ability) is usually able to play files from DVDs, BD-R media, USB sticks, and USB hard drives. TVs that allow playing video files can use USB sticks and USB hard drives. Computers can play video from optical media, USB sticks and USB hard drives.

[pandy]

DVD players may not supporst TS files as you said. If I copy TS files to usb disks and hdds, will it be still problem to play them. What about playing TS files on TVs via USB ports and on computers directly without using dvd medias?

You may succeed but IMHO chance is low - it is better to convert (split) TS to few PS streams. This should be not very difficult but it may require extra manual work (to analyze TS file and select proper components).

[OS_Man]

I capture from Vhs, Betamax, V8, DV tapes to USB disks and hdds. I normally capture in mpeg2 format. But I've recently bought a capture card that captures in TS format and MP4. That's why, I want to be sure whether it is wrong to give people video files in TS format or convert them to PS.
Thank you all.

[usually_quiet]

I capture from Vhs, Betamax, V8, DV tapes to USB disks and hdds. I normally capture in mpeg2 format. But I've recently bought a capture card that captures in TS format and MP4. That's why, I want to be sure whether it is wrong to give people video files in TS format or convert them to PS.
Thank you all.

I looked at one of your earlier posts in another thread where you mentioned a Hauppauge HD-PVR 2. I'm guessing that is the capture card that you are using. The TS files from the HD-PVR 2 product line have one video stream, one audio stream and no subtitle streams. There is no possibility of having multiple programs or multiple audio and subtitle streams using this device for capture.

The Hauppauge HD-PVR 2 captures analog input as h.264/AVC video with AAC audio. The mpg container does not support h.264/AVC video and AAC audio. You should use TS or MP4. There is probably wider support for MP4 among devices, but the MP4 files produced by Hauppauge's capture devices are supposed to be non-standard in some way. If TS is supported, TS may work better for some software players or devices. If your capture files have dropped frames (common for video tape transfers), you may need to use VideoReDo TV Suite 5 or Cypheros TS Doctor to process your TS capture files in order for them to play properly. Both programs have a free trial.