How-To: Get TV shows off of Windows MCE and onto your iPod (with video)
posted Nov 1st 2005 3:50PM
Apple may have sold a million videos, but if you're running Windows Media Center Edition you're sitting on a gold mine of free content. The good news for MCE users? It's ridiculously simple to move your content onto a video-capable iPod.
Videora iPod Converter is my current
tool of choice for massaging video into an iPod-friendly format. Like many conversion applications you'll encounter,
free or otherwise, Videora simplifies the process by providing a front-end for the command line
ffmpeg. Videora iPod Converter and her older brother
PSP Video 9 are good choices because they've canned common settings, offer
batch conversions, and cost exactly zero dollars.
1. Launch Videora iPod Converter
2. Setup Videora iPod Converter
The first time you launch Videora iPod Converter, you’ll want to verify your conversion settings and modify the
location where it will drop you output files.
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Click Setup
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Click Settings tab
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Verify One-Click Profile is MPEG-4/320x240/768kbp Stereo/128kbps
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Click Browse button to the right of Output Videos to:
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Choose a more convenient folder, such as My Documents\My Videos, and click OK
3. Convert Video
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Click Convert
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Click One-Click Transcode
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Browse to your Recorded TV folder and double-click the show you want to prepare
4. Load iTunes and Sync
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Launch iTunes
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Click File > Add File to Library
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Browse to and double-click your show
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Click Videos to see that your show has arrived
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Sync and go!
The video-capable iPod supports MPEG-4 video resolution up to 480x480 though the screen is limited to displaying 320x240. As you poke around Videora iPod Converter you’ll notice a variety of encoding options, but given the iPod’s capabilities and drive space the default settings are sufficient. What you will want to explore in Videora iPod Converter is the ability to queue multiple show for conversion. For example instead of buying those five episodes of Lost, repeat step 3c. using your freely recorded copies until all episodes appear in the Transcoding Queue. When you get back from dinner, season 2 of Lost will be ready for syncing.
Before the QuickTime Pro comments roll in, let me state Apple’s QTP ($30) does include an option for creating iPod compliant files but it does not natively support MPEG-2 derivatives such as DVR-MS files. They’re peddling a MPEG-2 add-on ($20) though it does not support all MPEG streams – purchase and use at your own risk.
Addendum:
While Videora works great for many source file formats, it seems ffmpeg is unable to properly capture the audio track from DVR-MS content. Meaning, we’ll need an additional software tool to perform the transcoding or to provide an intermediary conversion prior to running shows through Videora. Using another application may make preparation more costly and less efficient; however you’ll have the additional functionality of editing out commercials and stringing shows together if you so choose. ArcSoft Showbiz DVD and Nero are examples are more full featured video editing and conversion software tools that can handle DVR-MS files. In fact, both Nero Recode and NeroVision Express transcode directly into MPEG-4 files. Though these are commercial apps, they’re often bundled with CD/DVD drives and computers.
The directions for file conversion via NeroVision Express are as follows:
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Launch NeroVision Express
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Click Make a Movie
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Click the magnifying glass icon, then click Browse and Add to Project
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(if you choose, edit out commercials and/or add additional episodes here)
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Click Export button
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Choose Export Template Nero Digital, Profile Memory Stick Video (PSP compatible), LC AAC CBR – 64 kbit/s
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Click the ellipse button to specify output file name and location
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Click Export button
dont u guys EVER put the MCE gui on an ipod again... never do it again...
If it was actually a media center extender I might buy one :)
retsel . . . . get some counceling for your mac addiction. please.
i have nothing against mac, in fact i'm typing this on my fairly new ibook.
there is nothing sacred or unholy about converging ms and apple.
Now media center extender for psp would be a better idea!
I have DVR-MS files and tried Videora for converting them to iPod-compliant files. DIDN'T WORK for me!
I also tried a handful of other programs and none of them worked. ITunes kept complaining that the encoded files were not compatible with the iPod and thus did not transfer them.
I finally stumbled upon one that DID work - flawlessly. It also does the job very fast.
http://www.nurs.or.jp/%7Ecalcium/3gpp/3GP_Converter031.zip
Are those Jay and Silent Bob dolls in the bottom photo?
-Scott
I've heard that fast-forwarding is not permitted on the video iPod... Is that true? 'Cus I think having to sit straight through hours of whatever recording would be a deal-breaker on this one.
Is this for the iPod only or could it be used for playback on a PocketPC?
No, that's Dante and Randal from Clerks.
But, on the topic of the post, does iTunes recognize these files as Movies or TV shows? I know it can distinguish, but I was wondering what others have found since my one attempt with a different app yielded a movie, not TV. It doesn't matter, I'm just curious.
#4
i ran into the same problem with my video files. try shortening the file name before syncing to your iPod and you should be alright.
Another quick converter is Lathe, which was mentioned on Engadget a while ago. They're releasing their latest version "very soon" which will support .H264 as well as several other formats.
Ah good call Eddie! I was going to say.... Silent Bob there was looking a little thin... hehe
http://www.clerks2.com/movies/passion2.mov
-Scott
I just use 3GPConvertor... Only downside I have to rename them from the PSP MVxxxx naming convention.
Videora's H.264 does not work for the iPod, so overall the issue is not with the DVR-MS file but the way FFMPEG creates the H.264 file.
I found this out and then used Videora to create a MPEG4 and it worked out great.
Take a look at the forum for more info.
http://www.pspvideo9.com/forums/viewforum.php?f=18
I've been using Videora iPod Converter flawlessly. It's a great app. They also offer a BT-friendly app that puts your legally downloaded content into the conversion queue.
I've been using Videora iPod Converter flawlessly. It's a great app. They also offer a BT-friendly app that puts your legally downloaded content into the conversion queue.
I'll give this one a whirl, but so far I've tried a bunch of different tools including Qtime-Pro (don't even think of paying for PoS) Nero Decode etc with zero success.
Worse these tools have either locked my system solid, blue screened, or just hung the converter application.
It's been very frustrating :-(
Well if you used KnoppMyth (a packaged easy install version of MythTV which is an open source/linux version of media center) and then looked at the latest posts on the KnoppMyth forum you would see that you could have system which automatically converts your programs after they are recorded and then present them to iTune as a Podcast for selection and download onto your iPod.
These days, all I need to do is go into iTunes podcast section and select the recorded shows I want to watch and "poof" they show up on my iPod!
I ran across a app called MyTV To Go that had an iPod converter option... not free, but it seemed cool in that it integrated with the MCE interface so you could initiate the transcoding with your remote, and it would automatically stuff the movie into your itunes library. Looked pretty slick...
Well the solution given on the knoppmyth forum is totally free and totally automated
How do you get audio with it? Is it in the settings? I tried palyback with Quicktime and there was no audio. thanks
FYI 1 As was mentioned, make sure you're encoding to MPEG-4 and you may need to reduce the length of your show’s file name to ensure iPod compatibility.
FYI 2 The video-capable iPod does have fast forward and rewind, but it doesn’t occur in real-time. Instead you fast forward or rewind to a specific time within in the clip, at which point video playback will resume.
FYI 3 Within iTunes you can manually change the classification of a video file to either ’Movie’ or ‘Music Video’ – I haven’t come across a way to edit the metadata to specify ‘TV Show’ yet. So far only shows purchased directly through iTunes get that tag.
FYI 4 Yes, those are Dante and Randal “Inaction” figures of Clerks fame. I’m not sure where I originally got them a few years ago, but I see they are currently for sale on ebay and at View Askew’s official store http://www.jayandsilentbob.com .
yeah, that's not jay and silent bob. someone obviously has only been trend following for a few years. they're actually dante and randal from clerks the animated series that was on abc back in 2000 (i think). they were considering extending the series to like 18 episodes or so if it caught on. sadly, nobody watched it save me and about 5 other people. oh well, at least they sell the series dvd for really cheap.
Is there any similar, and free, program like this for Mac OS X?
I recorded a tv show using media center then converted that using videora at the settings specified above - when added to itunes library, only video plays but no audio. Any suggestions?
Is everyone's audio sync on throughout the whole movie when converting? What about divx files?
I've been looking for a video converter for the new iPod since before I even got mine a week or so ago. I even debated paying for a program and now I'm glad that I didn't. Thanks, Engadget!
"Is there any similar, and free, program like this for Mac OS X?"
I have seen of three or four over the past couple weeks, but sorry, I did not make a note of them. Try a google search.
For Mac, go to http://www.splasm.com/products/productpodner.html and get Podner, it works great and is only $10. I am encoding stuff for the kids, so that when they get bored waiting for something I can pull it out and say, here, watch Scooby Doo or something!
Note that the article seems to imply that that video doesn't show at full screen. I found that, as long as the source was TV size (not wide screen), it did encode and show at full screen, i.e. taking all pixels on the screen. My rips of Deadwood had black bars at the top and bottom since it was fitting the letterboxed size into the square iPod screen.
Video quality is sweet, by the way, even with MPEG4 (which is much quicker than the h.264). Now all Podner needs is a batch option.
They should have included divx file playback and microsoft MCE file playback to start with. The "Apple friendly" content is so limited without it, and converting is a pain. I might forgive all that if the screen on the IPod wasn't so tiny :(
I've tried this several times using different settings but only got the video to show (which looked great) but no audio. I've been browsing around looking for other software and am tempted to try My TV To Go--anyone given that a try with success?
DVRMSToolbox is a free app to convert DVR-MS files to mpeg2; I wrote my own MCE to iPod tutorial that explains the process (click on my name for the link).
I have been experimenting with getting Tivo-ed shows and DVDs onto my iPod. I didn't have any luck with the default settings on Videora's iPod converter -- perhaps the H.264 thing someone talked about above was the problem -- I don't know.
What did work for me were Tivo2Ipod from www.tvharmony.com (free, but slow) and PQ DVD's software from www.pqdvd.com (costs $35, but it's fast).
As someone else noted above, you may have to shorten the filename -- that tripped me up also...
If you have Nero, NeroRecode will handle iPod vid conversions just fine...just use the PSP setting. Pick your vid file to convert, select the option that says something about "convert to Nero Digital Video", go into options & select the PSP format...It converts to H.264, pretty straightforward. At some point it tells you you don't have a PSP connected. Bypass the message, and it writes a file that can sync directly to your iPod. It remembers your settings for next time, too.
Mix in a little DVDShrink up front for your source vid, and on a system with reasonable performance, you should be able to have Episode III ripped, decrypted, region-free, shrunk and sync'd all in under 90 minutes.
And that, my friends, is some tiny Yoda.
OARN -- I made the mistake of buying QTPro, against my better judgement, thinking maybe this latest version would actually work. Well, it sucks...We can say "sucks" on the Internet now, right? Very slow, and hasn't yet successfully converted anything I have unless it is already a .mov file. On a positive note, at least I'm out 30 bucks that I might have otherwise spent on drugs, alcohol, or violent video games.
-Tz
To answer a few questions posted earlier.
Yes, you can fast-forward on the video ipod, if you're familiar with the older ipods, press the center button once, then use the scroll wheel to fast-forward.
I have had similar encoding issues using Videora, I have had much better luck with 3GP_Converter031. It's less of a memory hog than videora and I like the drag-and-drop interface, plus the ability to add files to the queue without having to stop the current encoding job.
Hi. I use videora but I have a problem.
I use dvd decrypter to create a vob from dvd.
Than I convert the vob with videora but audio and video are not synchronized.
This is the 4th vob I try to convert and there is always the same problem.
What's it?
Thanks
I bot mytvtogo for the ipod. It was very slick...integrates right into Media Center. I converted 5 shows to my iPod flawlessly. Very simple to use...just click the show ... it even imported the shows directly into my iTunes library.
I've been trying to convert from .wmv format using Videora iPod converter, only to find that while the audio ports over fine, the video gets hung up on one frame. It may jump ahead every minute or so. Anyone have any idea what the issue is? I've tried converting an .mpg format video using Videora, and it works great. Would converting wmv to mpeg rectify the problem? If so, what's a good (free) app?
I have a Comcast Dual DVR DCT6412 cable box and I have media center on my HP desktop. I don't know how to set it up. I was able to on my old cable box but I dont have it. can anyone help me?
when i converted a show, there was no sound. what do i have to do to enable it?
when i convert the tv shows there is no sound how do i fix this
i figured out how to fix the audio when converting the videos, first you must convert the video through a program called dvrmstoolbox which you can download from download.com just by searching the name of the program. if you are converting recorded tv shows you can even have the program automatically remove comercials. then when you are done converting that file to an mpeg throught that program you can then convert it to an mp4 using videora and put it on your ipod with SOUND.
you can also go to this website for an excellent tutorial.
http://www.litwack.org/?page_id=1114
when i converted a show, there was no sound. what do i have to do to enable it?
I just tried to convert a South Park episode I recorded using Media Center with the Videora iPod Converter...
It didn't work! :-( ...
When I tried to open it with Quicktime it said "Error -2048: the file is not a movie file"
I tried a regular Mpeg and it worked fine, but I REALLY want, no... NEED, to be able to convert a Microsft Recorded Tv Show to MPEG4 that WILL WORK WITH QUICKTIME!