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Part 1: Unzip the firewire.zip file
Extract (unzip) the contents to a folder, like c:\temp\naylia Part 2: Install the drivers by connecting the cable box to your firewire card
From Naylia's post at http://htpcnews.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=10499
My additions are in [brackets]
Additions from other sources are in {braces}
---------
Ώ) Set a System Restore point in Windows XP in case you want to back out of the installation later
* Start > All Programs > Accessories > System Tools > System Restore > Create a restore point > Give a description, "Create"]
2) Turn off your cable box and the PC [Personally, I don't think this step is necessary, but I suppose it doesn't hurt to do it.]
3) Connect the firewire from the cable box to the PC. {IMPORTANT: The DCT64xx has 2 6-pin firewire ports. When facing the back of the DCT64xx make sure you use the firewire port on the right hand side (left side if looking from the front). I had problems using the other firewire port and many others reported problems trying to use that one. (replayguide note)}
3) Turn on the cable box
4) Turn on the PC
5) When Windows XP boots it should auto-detect some new hardware. Click 'Cancel' for all of them.
6) Open Device Manager...it can be found in the Control Panel -> System -> Hardware Tab -> Device Manager
7) You should now have some 'Unknown' Devices. Double-click AV/C Tuner [Or is it "Tuner AV/C Device"?]. Choose the 'Driver' Tab. Then select 'Update Driver'.
[If you don't see "AV/C Tuner" here, then maybe you should stop here and post what you see.
Hardware Update Wizard window: "No, not this time"
"Install from a list or specific location (Advanced)"
"Don't search. I will choose the driver to install."
"Have Disk"
Browse to the location in Part 1 above, where you extracted the files, like c:\temp\naylia
Select meistb.inf, then OK
You should see a compatible piece of hardware in the list. If not, try unchecking "Show compatible hardware". Choose Manufacturer Motorola, model DCT-6416 (or DCT6412 if the 6416 isn't listed?)
If it appears, ignore the warning about "Windows Logo Testing", and click "Continue Anyway"
"Finish"
]
8) This should successfully install the drivers for your cable box.
9) Back in 'Device Manager' right click on the other 'Unknown' Devices that appeared and Disable them.
(End of Naylia quote)
At this point, in Device Manager you'll have AV/C Tuner under Imaging Devices [check] and 2 Unknown Devices. We'll deal with one of the unknown devices later, once we get the basics setup.
^That's not exactly what I have. Hope this isn't a problem.
http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i64/khm32584/Random/other/devicemanager-1.jpg?t=1166129800
[NOTE: If, on the Data Info tab you see no resolution displayed, then you are collecting nothing on your computer, even though the file will continue to grow. If you see this, try closing CapDVHS and unplugging the firewire cable from your computer. Wait a little, then plug back in. Try CapDVHS again. I had to do this once for HD even though SD was working ok.]
I may be having a problem here. I didn't see any resolution displayed when I was recording (I tried a one minute clip). I tried playing the file with MPC and it says "Cannot Render The File". I did the unplug thing and tried again..nothing.
Converting captured TS to MPG
Commercial programs
Programs you pay for are generally easier to use. So you might want to try the trial versions of two programs I’ve read about but I don't have a whole lot of experience with them:
Video Redo Plus: http://www.videoredo.com/Download.htm Video Redo Plus will take your TS file and convert it directly to MPG. You can cut out commercials, save individual parts of the video and do other editing. Best of all, you just have to work with 1 program. However, it’s a 15-day trial and expires. Also, it’s not very intuitive to use.
Womble MPEG2VCR: I’ve never tried this. http://www.womble.com/products/ Womble: I haven’t tried their program, but I hear positive things about it.
Mostly free programs
The other way to do things is to use free programs. It’s more tedious and it takes more time. But you end up having more control over how things are done. It’s a matter of personal preference.
Converting captured TS to MPG (continued)
A. DGMPGDec: http://neuron2.net/dgmpgdec/dgmpgdec149b5.zip B. Delaycut: http://www.videohelp.com/tools?tool=delaycut C. TMPGEnc (not free): http://download1.pegasys-inc.com/download_files/TMPGEnc-2.524.63.181-Free.zip D. mpeg2repair: http://www.videohelp.com/tools?tool=MPEG2Repair
Summary: Program A converts the TS to individual audio (AC3) and video files (M2V) Programs B+C: puts the audio and video into one MPG file ("multiplexes" or "muxes" them) Program D is optional. It can fix errors (rare) in captured files
Details on installing the programs A. DGMPGDec
This is the main workhorse to convert the TS into 2 separate audio and video files. It is written by Donald Graft aka neuron2.
Download: http://neuron2.net/dgmpgdec/dgmpgdec149b5.zip Unzip somewhere, like c:\program files\DGMPGDec\ If desired, make shortcuts to DGIndex.exe
After DGIndex, you have separate audio and video files. Before we put them back together, in other words before we "mux" the audio and video, we need to account for the fact that the audio is offset from the video. Basically, there's a delay between the start of the video picture and the audio sound.
B. Delaycut This little piece of software will add the appropriate delay to the audio file so that the audio and video are in sync, once we put them back together.
Download: http://www.videohelp.com/tools?tool=delaycut Unzip somewhere, like c:\program files\delaycut\ If desired, make a shortcut to delaycut.exe
C. TMPGEnc Now that you have the separate AC3 and M2V files, you can mux them together with TMPGEnc. The drawback is that certain functions, including the feature we need, expire in the free version after 30 days. After that, you would have to either buy it or override its rather primitive protection, which involves two renamable registry keys located here:
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{1ABF72A3-8502-4EC4-A42A-BCE3755E0C70} HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Pegasys Inc.\TMPGEnc\2.5
However, I would never advocate overriding expiry protection. I'm just commenting on the lack of robustness for educational purposes for aspiring software authors. Seriously.
Download: http://download1.pegasys-inc.com/download_files/TMPGEnc-2.524.63.181-Free.zip Unzip somewhere, like c:\program files\TMPGEnc\ If desired, make shortcut to TMPGEnc.exe
D. mpeg2repair (optional. mostly for troubleshooting, but not a bad preventative measure for preventing problems