Buffer, Buffer, where is the Buffer?

[Mugsy]

Does anyone know where on the C: drive the Live TV buffer is saved? And can it be viewed?

Thx.

[stuartm]

If you have not changed the location for recorded TV then it is in:
C:\Users\Public\Recorded TV\TempRec but otherwise it will be in <some drive you chose>:\Recorded TV\TempRec

The buffer consists of multiple files so I don't know if you can really easily view the contents

[Mugsy]

Thanks. I did indeed change the default save location to a larger drive. I unhid hidden files/folders and found a bunch of ".sbf" ("Streaming Buffer"?) files in "[target]\TempRec\TempSBE\". I tried changing the extension to ".wtv" but they still weren't playable.

Every once in a while, I'll see something on TV that I wish I had recorded, but you can't just backup and click record to capture it. So I'm hoping I can view/convert the buffer to a viewable file for editing.

[Space]

I have never tried this but using Google I found this:

http://blog.unhandledexception.net/save ... se-buffer/

Read the comments as well on that page.

Looks like you need to copy the file while it is still recording and convert it to another format.

I have no idea if it works or not.

[Mugsy]

Thanks for the reply.

The instructions at the provided link were out of date (with dead link to the conversion software used), but I figured out a solution based on what I read in the Comments. Here is what worked for me:

When I rechecked my "TempRec" folder this morning, it was empty, telling me the folder must be wiped when WMC is closed. So I launched LiveTV to create a fresh recording for testing purposes and copied the file that was created while it was still recording. Depending on how you configured WMC, by default, a new file is created every 30 minutes and only up to 3 hours (6 buffer files) are saved at one time. Every 30 minutes, the oldest file is deleted and a new one created. Note: a new file is NOT created when you change the channel.

While earlier versions of WMC created files ending in ".dbf" that can simply be renamed ".wtv" and still play, buffer files from later versions of WMC end in ".sbf". These will NOT play using WMC (or anything else) after they are renamed, but they are are indeed ".wtv" files.

Using a reliable free universal video transcoder called "Super Video Transcoder" (caution, includes a bunch of optional junkware during installation), I was able to convert the "wtv" file to an mpg (or avi). (another popular free transcoder called "MediaCoder" detected it properly but could not convert it.)

Now if I spot something on TV (like a news clip, a catch-phrase, or even an entire TV program), that I'd like to save but wasn't already recording, I can now save it. Thanks.

[Mugsy]

(Quick addendum. I can't seem to edit my prior post.)

The transcoder utility I note using above: "Super", I just downloaded & installed the latest version (April 2016) and it is now FULL of malicious AdWare that... even if you decline all the extra apps they try to trick you into installing... not only still installs some annoying needless apps, but tries to replace all of your browser icons with shortcuts to .bat files that redirect you to another website on launch regardless of your homepage settings (including your QuickLaunch icons) as well as create malicious dupes of numerous other desktop shortcuts. It even reset all of my Browser settings, theme, and some AddOn's to their default state.

So you should now AVOID "SUPER TRANSCODER" (the "free" version at least) unless you can find a much older copy. It took me HOURS to undo all the damage it did (and I'm a tech.)