wmv to mpeg/avi converter?

[joecool]

i need a good one, preferably free. any suggestions?

thanks,

joe

 

[xtknight]

Originally posted by: joecool
i need a good one, preferably free. any suggestions?

thanks,

joe

I can construct you a graphedit filter graph to do the conversion. It's free, but the user interface isn't what I'd like to call intuitive. It's definitely usable. Download graphedit first. Just google it. Though may I ask WHY you want to convert it? What are you trying to do? Video quality degrades when you transcode it.

 

[joecool]

i just got a copy of winxp media center, which i mostly like, but it has this very annoying "Feature" of the video in creates - it's in this proprietary dvr_ms format. blech! fortunately i'm not the only one who doesn't like this; there is an app out there that will convert dvr_ms to wmv. this is better, but what i really need is a truely generic format like mpg or avi. then i can move it to my handheld for video on the go.

and yes, i realize i'll lose quality, but what other choice do i have?

 

[Mari0Br0s]

WinAVI

 

[dr muska]

aint free

 

[rbV5]

and yes, i realize i'll lose quality, but what other choice do i have?

Strip the MPEG from the ASF wrapper and you'll lose no quality( I prefer graphedit myself, but TGB has tools to strip the MPEG from DVR-MS. )

Your other choice is to simply leave it DVR-MS, it will play fine in any XP PC unless its a protected file. You can get your hands on the sonic encoders and burn to DVD within MCE, or use an authoring program that accepts DVR-MS natively. There are otther 3rd party tools like MyDVD from Cyberlink that will do the same.

Myself, I haven't found any trouble with DVR-MS files other than MCE doesn't ship with MPEG decoders to play them.

 

[joecool]

true, there aren't any problems with dvr_ms, unless you want to copy it to an archos device (like my gmini 400) and play it on the go. can you give more details on stripping the mpeg from dvr_ms?

btw, the tools on tgb that generate mpg don't work - that's why i've got a wmv file - the only tool that works is the dvr_ms->wmv utility.

 

[xtknight]

wmv NOT dvr-ms:
---------------------
the problem is there's no MPEG in the asf wrapper (talking about WMV). it's all windows media video codec. if his device supported windows media then it should play the asf file just fine. but since it doesn't (?) he needs to transcode that into another standard MPEG codec and mux it into an avi or mpeg file, which will 99% of the time be a lossy (though slightly) operation.

ok don't get your hopes up but i sent you instructions for graphedit. you should just get a trial version of something if it doesn't work. either that or search for MPEG encoder apps like TMPGEnc. Generally mpeg encoders can open any video file and encode it, but they're not directly called WMV to MPEG converters. They can do it though. May be a better idea to ask on doom9.org forums or AVSForum...tons of people there and I'm sure they have a free solution. you can also try a trial of vegas video and just do file save as as a different format.

but there's lots of codecs...there's no such thing as just a AVI file or MPEG file. they all have different formats within them and you need to determine what your player supports and doesn't.

 

[rbV5]

the problem is there's no MPEG in the asf wrapper. it's all windows media video codec.

You are incorrect. (have you worked with DVR-MS files?) DVR-MS is definately not WMV, it's MPEG-2 in an ASF wrapper just like I described (HD DVR-MS files are MPEG2 video + AC3 audio...again, in an asf wrapper). I ought to know, I've stripped plenty of these files files myself and I'm currently using 2 MCE 2005 rigs I built myself with both analog and DTV tuners.

Why do you think you need a DVD decoder to view the files? <hint....because its MPEG2> Why do you suppose hardware "MPEG" encoder cards are required for MCE TV PVR? <hint...because its MPEG>

can you give more details on stripping the mpeg from dvr_ms?

Here's how I do it for analog DVR-MS filesLink

You can also go to The Green Button and check out the tools in the download center.

 

[rbV5]

Microsoft Digital Video Recording (.dvr-ms)
In Microsoft Windows XP Media Center Edition, Microsoft introduced the *.dvr-ms file format for storing recorded TV content. Similar to *.asf files, *.dvr-ms file enhancements permit key Personal Video Recorder (PVR) functionality, including time-shifting, live pause, and simultaneous record and playback. Video contained in a *.dvr-ms file is encoded as MPEG-2 video stream, and the audio contained in the *.dvr-ms file is encoded as MPEG-1 Layer II audio stream.

Link

 

[gsellis]

Windows Movie Maker can import WMV and save as DV-AVI. During Save Movie... Use the Other Settings and select DV-AVI (NTSC).

Free with XP; upgraded to version 2 with SP2.

 

[joecool]

thanks, guys ... i knew i could count on AT!!!

 

[imported_humey]

You can do anything to avi with virualdub MODDED (must be modded to mount mpegs) but only saves as avi so wmv will be fine as input or output.

http://fcchandler.home.comcast.net/

All you need is codec install like kazaalite codec packs.

 

[xtknight]

Originally posted by: rbV5

the problem is there's no MPEG in the asf wrapper. it's all windows media video codec.

You are incorrect. (have you worked with DVR-MS files?) DVR-MS is definately not WMV, it's MPEG-2 in an ASF wrapper just like I described (HD DVR-MS files are MPEG2 video + AC3 audio...again, in an asf wrapper). I ought to know, I've stripped plenty of these files files myself and I'm currently using 2 MCE 2005 rigs I built myself with both analog and DTV tuners.

Why do you think you need a DVD decoder to view the files? <hint....because its MPEG2> Why do you suppose hardware "MPEG" encoder cards are required for MCE TV PVR? <hint...because its MPEG>

can you give more details on stripping the mpeg from dvr_ms?

Here's how I do it for analog DVR-MS filesLink

You can also go to The Green Button and check out the tools in the download center.

ok rbV5 I was referring to WMV, the original subject, not dvr-ms. not sure how dvr-ms got into this. i've heard of dvr-ms files before but i've never used them so i would never comment on them and intentionally try to spout out lies. somehow i missed the fact that's what you guys were talking about. i amended that post. that is the truth for WMV, right?

 

[joecool]

rbv5 nailed it, as i said in my second post in this thread what i actually need is dvr_ms to mpg, i just couldn't seem to find this but did find dvr_ms to wmv and figured i'd have to do a second translation to avi &/or mpg. all this is because mce forces you into dvr_ms - won't let you select the format for the video files it creates - stupid microsoft wanting to control all my digital content! my gmini 400 can't play dvr_ms, requires their own special format, but i've got an app that will create their format from avi or mpg. so, the need to convert dvr_ms to mgp. ideally lossless since i'll be going through a second conversion step to get to the gmini.

anyway, rbv5's trick worked, and lucky me, i googled the cyberlink filter he suggested (Cyberlink MPEG Muxer) and somebody at thegreenbutton made a script to do exactly what he said. fast and easy and it worked like a champ - output mpg looks great if there is any loss i can't see it. so mce is on my good list now, as is rbv5!