newbie Q: play mpg files to PV-350 TV-out

[ehensen]

Now I got all the major things installed with my PVR-350/SageTV including FDDShow/Sonic decoder (and xmltv and all that kind of nice stuff) - it is really fantastic!!

Now I have in my imported video files two types of .mpg files:

- some that were recorded with SageTV, if I play these they show up on my computer monitor AND the TV (via PVR-350's TV out)

- some of them from other sources (but they're .mpg) and if I play these they only show up on my computer monitor.

Now, I'm quite at a loss because it appears to be possible to play .mpg through the pvr-350 tv out but not those files not recorded by SageTV???? How can I make them appear on my TV????

What about playing DVD's? I can play them on my monitor and not on my TV - that is correct as I read on this forum - but what now if I rip them into .vob format, any chance to get that on TV out.

[mls]

I don't remember for sure, but the PVR-350 may not be able to play MPEG-1 (would have to check on that).

The 350 decoder will not play encrypted or certain copy protected MPEG files (that is why it can not play most DVD's).

As for "ripping" DVD's and playing them, all that is needed there is a ripper the removes the encryption and Macrovision (which almost all are capable of doing).

Just be sure to rip them to a video_ts folder as one full large file and not broken up into smaller .vob files. You'll have to set that up in whatever ripping software you decide to use. DVDShrink should be able to do that for you.

kny3twalker can explain how to do it better than I have.

[ehensen]

Seems to me that this is a real problem. Please also refer to the thread of Mr. X.

There it is stated that MPEG-1 playback should be possible - anyway, all my .mpg files can be correctly displayed in WMP which uses the FDDSHOW - SONIC codec. As I understand that SageTV uses the FDDSHOW MPEG-4 decoder to get the signal to the TV-out it should show up there as it does for shows recorded with SageTV........

So I cannot see what the real difference is other than the format.....any chance that one can convert existing .mpg files to .mpg files into a format that you can successfully feed to SageTV......

[kny3twalker]

for DVDs you also will need to use the sound card output to the TV and not the pvr 350s because it cannot playback AC3 sound
you will have most likely adjust the audio delay as well
ripping them (use DVDshrink) and if you are going to add one long vob to the library you will need to .vob to the library files list in the properties file
good luck

[stanger89]

Originally posted by ehensen
As I understand that SageTV uses the FDDSHOW MPEG-4 decoder to get the signal to the TV-out it should show up there as it does for shows recorded with SageTV........

That is not true, Sage uses nothing but the 350 to output via it's TV out. ffdshow only comes in to play if you are using software decoding and display via your video card.

If they are decoded fine via software on your monitor, then most likely there's something with those files that the 350 doesn't like, as kny said, possibly they're MPEG-1 (just a guess). Regardless, the 350 is quite picky about the formats it supports.

[ehensen]

Thanks!!!

But now for .mpg files that were not recorded by SageTV. I can play them in SageTV (only monitor) and in WMP, both runnning the fddshow/sonic codecs. But only .mpg files recorded by SageTV show up on the TVout of my 350, how can I get these .mpg files
across???

[ehensen]

Okay, thanks for all the help: I found out that indeed the file type is not totally correct. That's why some of the .mpg files do not play over the PVR-350 but do in WMP.

So one good way around that is to use TMPGenc which allows you to put an existing file into a .mpg file of e.g. the SVCD format. Then SageTV will play it!!