mpconverter (WTV --> MKV; MP4) - Kodi & Plex

[tipitoe]

The reason I started working on this converter is that I wanted to bring over some recordings from Windows Media Center to other platforms like Kodi and Plex. There are other tools that can do the job, however they rely on external services like thetvdb.com. Basically, these tools convert video file and fetch metadata from other websites. The problem is that some TV Series do not exist in thetvdb.com and they will never be allowed over there due to some licensing restrictions. I’m talking mostly about sports events or competitions. So what to do when you would like to archive some of your recordings and create necessary metadata? This is where mpconverter comes in. You can easily convert entire series or sport event and add it your library.

More info http://mpcdigitize.com/blog/2016/11/06/ ... -beta-0-1/

[Crash2009]

That looks really nice. Thanks for throwing it together. I think I will try it out in the new year.

[gary94080]

when I run the program I get "WindowsApplication1 has stopped working" and the only option I get is Close Program.

before that I had changed the location of recordings to C:\Users\Public\Recorded TV

[Crash2009]

when I run the program I get "WindowsApplication1 has stopped working" and the only option I get is Close Program.

before that I had changed the location of recordings to C:\Users\Public\Recorded TV

Are you using Homegroup?

and

Where was WMC recording previously?

Have a quick look at your network settings.....Control Panel\All Control Panel Items\Network and Sharing Center\Advanced sharing settings....

In Guest or Public, confirm network discovery and file and printer sharing are enabled.
In All Networks, confirm Turn on Sharing is enabled.

[gary94080]

Homegroup - everything is marked share

converter program default had C:\Recorded TV. web site instructions said to change it if it was different. I think all my Windows 7 computers have the recordings under public. I don't remember if it was the same with Vista.

[tipitoe]

when I run the program I get "WindowsApplication1 has stopped working" and the only option I get is Close Program.

before that I had changed the location of recordings to C:\Users\Public\Recorded TV

I'm sorry you experiencing this. It looks like app has a problem creating necessary folders or accessing them. It could be folder permissions and sharing issues. If all folders were created, go to \mpconverter\settings\settings.global.xml and see if all fields under folders are filled properly.

[gary94080]

when I run the program I get "WindowsApplication1 has stopped working" and the only option I get is Close Program.

before that I had changed the location of recordings to C:\Users\Public\Recorded TV

I'm sorry you experiencing this. It looks like app has a problem creating necessary folders or accessing them. It could be folder permissions and sharing issues. If all folders were created, go to \mpconverter\settings\settings.global.xml and see if all fields under folders are filled properly.

I did see the Recorded TV, temp and output folders in the root directory. the setting show that the program points to C:\Users\Public\Recorded TV for recordings.

does your program first convert WTV files to DVR-MS? ever since Comcast changed most channels to h.264 the convert function no longer works for h.264 or for MPEG-2

[tipitoe]

Is this a directory where you keep your recordings?

I tried to convert to dvr-ms first, but the process took significantly longer. Therefore, I skipped that step. However, I could include this option
WTV --> DVR-MS --> MKV.
Or WTV --> DVR-MS --> MPEG -- > MKV

This app follows this pattern
WTV -- > MPEG -- > MKV

How would changing WTV to DVR-MS would help? The source is already h.264. Maybe switching container to mkv is better solution?


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[gary94080]

C:\Users\Public\Recorded TV is where WMC puts the recordings. that seemed to be the default for my computers.

when I was viewing settings.global.xml I noticed that WTVconverter that was listed there.

I was speculating that converting to DVR-MS may have been the source of the problem since I get an error message when I use it.

[tipitoe]

At what point do you see this error?

Please give as much detail as possible.


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[gary94080]

when I first installed MPConvertor it ran fine, but there were no files shown.

I looked at your web page I saw that I needed to change the recording location. after I did this I get "WindowsApplication1 has stopped working" and the only option I get is "Close Program".

the built-in MS conversion feature for WTV to DVR-MS can not handle WMC recordings since Comcast changed most channels to h.264. the error message says not compatible with DVR-MS format.

just to be clear, these are two separate events.

the only reason I mentioned the MS conversion problem was that when I was viewing settings.global.xml for MPConvertor I noticed that WTVconverter that was listed there.

[tipitoe]

Lets try something. Create folder "C:\Recorded TV" and put there 1-2 WTV files there

Right click on that folder and select Properties. Select Security tab. Pick user name and press Edit button. Check Full Control. You can also enable sharing for this folder on your LAN

You can also try to disable UAC on this PC

Go to settings.global.xml and change input folder to this one you just created.

Try to open mpconverter GUI and see if tree is being populated. Check to see if metadata files were created in \mpconverter\metadata folder.

Try to add some episode to queue.

If for some reasons GUI fails to open. Go to \mpconverter\bin and run mpconve_queue. Observe command line window. If you see any error like the one previously, make a note of the last line that was written in command line.

Do the same with mpconv_encoder. See if you get any error and check cmd window.

I will add loging capability in next release. For now, maybe you can take a picture of the cmd window if error shows up again.

Thanks


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[gary94080]

I edited the settings.global.xml file to point to the C:\Recorded TV folder the program created at install.

when I try to run the program I get the same error message.

I tried uninstalling and reinstalling the program and still get the same error message. there must be a remnant still hanging around somewhere.

all this is getting a bit over my head, so I'm going to set this aside for now. I may try it on a different computer when I have some more free time.

thanks for your efforts, I hope mine is an isolated case.

[tipitoe]

I was able to replicate your problem.

I posted solution
http://mpcdigitize.com/blog/2016/12/11/ ... ing-error/

Please let me know if this solves it.

I added forums. So, please post your questions over there. Thank you

[Crash2009]

C:\Users\Public\Recorded TV is where WMC puts the recordings. that seemed to be the default for my computers.

when I was viewing settings.global.xml I noticed that WTVconverter that was listed there.

I was speculating that converting to DVR-MS may have been the source of the problem since I get an error message when I use it.

C:\Users\Public\Recorded TV is the default recording folder for Win7 and Win10 WMC. The way I read it Tipitoe was suggesting that you go into the settings of his MpConverter and tell the converter where to find the RecordedTV files. In your case (if your WMC recorder is set to default) Your location would be C:\Users\Public\Recorded TV.

I dont have this installed yet, but what likely happens is that MpConverter copies one or all of your WTV files from C:\Users\Public\Recorded TV, converts the WTV to MKV or MP$ and then outputs the converted file to the folders it created such as C:\Recorded TV.

here is how to Show Hidden Folders http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/windows- ... ows-vista/

the other step he describes is called Take Ownership. Here is the easy way.... http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/windows- ... -in-vista/

Here is a bit of friendly advice.....BEFORE you install anything, go into Windows Restore and create a Restore Point. If something messes up or you make a mistake, you can always use the Restore Point to go back to the way it was before you installed something. As a matter of fact go check Restore Points right now, you might get lucky, and find a Recent Restore Point that will fix everything for you.

http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/70 ... store.html

[tipitoe]

This paticular issue is most likely caused by a wtv sample file that is in sample media folder or other corrupted wtv file. Converter scans input folder and creates xml files in \metadata folder. Then parses these files in order to display them in TreeView. At this point application crashes due to missing date fields in xml file. Sample files do not have recorded and broadcast dates. After you switched input folder again, application once again crashed. The reason is that metadata xml file created is not parsed correctly. Once you delete sample file from Public\Recorded TV folder and clean \metadata folder too application should start correctly.

I have almost 4TB of recordings and I did not encounter this issue before, however it is possible that some recordings may become corrupted


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[gary94080]

the error may be due to manual recordings. when there are problems with the EPG, I have to set a recording manually and those have no metadata.

[tipitoe]

What operating system are you using?

If you can please upload some short wtv file to dropbox or other service. I would have run some test to check for metadata information.


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[gary94080]

Windows 7

I'm basing this from Windows Explorer. when I open it and click on a regular WTV file there is metadata at the bottom of the screen.

when I click on a manual recording there is no metadata.

you can make you own recording. in WMC it is at the top of the screen when your viewing your recorded tv, "+ Recording", then Create a Custom Recording, "Channel and Time", then it says manual recording. that is how the file is labeled in the recorded tv folder.

[tipitoe]

This app is using the same method of accessing wtv metadata as Windows Explorer does. So, if you do not see that information at the bottom of the screen, then you are right that metadata is not there. However, Windows Explorer uses about 250 different fields to hold file information, so it is possible that recording information is put in some other fields.

If you know which recordings are manual, then try to move them to different folder. Also, you have to clean empty \mpconverter\metadata folder. Next, start app and let it scan Recorded TV folder


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