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DVRMSToolbox Guide

DVRMSToolbox is a collection of programs and scripts that can be used to automatically convert .wtv and .dvr-ms files to other formats, like mkv, wmv, Xvid, mpeg etc. It is quite a powerful suite of applications, but can be very difficult for people to setup and use.

Installation

Download the latest version of DVRMSToolbox from babgvant.com - at time of writing the latest version is here: DVRMSToolbox - 1.2.2.2

Extract the files from the .zip and run setup.exe. Follow through the prompts, and within a few moments it shouls be installed.

You will now find additional shortcuts in your start menu under the folder DVRMSToolbox.

Configuration

As an example, I am going to setup the DVRMSToolbox to automatically convert recorded tv shows (in the .wtv format)  to the Xvid format, leaving the original file intact.

Create the Profile

DVRMSToolbox works by compiling individual steps together as a profile, and then assigning a profile to occur under certain conditions. To configure our profile:

1. Open DVRMStoMPEGGUI, click Tools -> Settings.
2. On the DVRMSToolbox tab (the first tab) click New Profile. Give the Profile a name and  description
3. Click the Add button to add the first step in our profile. Choose the Durrant.Plugins.FWThrottle plugin, leave the default settings and click OK.
4. Click the Add button, this time choose the Durrant.Plugins.FileOperation plugin. Set the ContextFile field to InputFile, set the DestinationPath field to the folder you would like to save Xvid file, Set the WhatOperation field to Copy, and click OK.
5. Click the Add button and choose the Durrant.lugins.ChangeContextValue plugin. Set the SourceContext field to InputFile, set the TargetContext field to OutputFile, set the FindRegex field to "([^\\]+).wtv\z", set the ReplaceRegex field to "$1.dvr-ms". Click OK.
6. Click the Add button and choose the Durrant.Plugins.RunExternal plugin. Cancel the timeout choice screen. Set the ProcessName field to "C:\Windows\ehome\wtvconverter.exe" and set the ArgumentsContext to ""%InputFile%" "%OutputFile%"". Click OK.
7. Click the Add button and choose the Durrant.Plugins.DeleteFile plugin. Set the ContextFile to "InputFile" and tick the AreYouSure box. Click OK.
8. Click the Add button and choose the Durrant.Plugins.ChangeContextValue plugin. Set the SourceContext to "OutputFile" and set the TargetContext to "InputFile". Delete anyting that may be in the FindRegex and ReplaceRegex fields.Click OK.
9. Click the Add button and choose the Durrant.Plugins.ConvertWithFfmpeg plugin. Set the ContextFile field to InputFile, set the Conversion Profile field to Xvid/MP3 Fast - Medium Quality. Make sure the Change Scale box is unticked, and that the Quiet box is ticked. Click OK.
10. Click Save.

Edit ffmpeg encoding settings

The ffmpeg profiles and settings live in this file C:\Program Files (x86)\DVRMSToolbox\Applications\ConvertFfmpeg\ffmpeg.conf. Note: If you choose to install to a different path, or are using a 32bit operating system, the path will be different.

Open this file and make changes to the profiles as required. I found that I had to change the profile such that the audio sync checker was set to 44100 (instead of the deault 1) othewise I have issues with the audio getting out of sync.

<profile>
    <name>Xvid-fast</name>
    <description>Xvid/MP3 Fast - Medium Quality</description>
    <extension>avi</extension>
    <video>-async 44100 -deinterlace -vcodec mpeg4 -qscale 4 -vtag DX50</video>
    <audio>-acodec libmp3lame -ac 2 -ab 128000</audio>
  </profile>

Once you have done editing the profile, save the .conf file and close it.

  Test the Profile

Before we get to carried away with automation and conditional processing, we should test our new profile:

1. Open DVRMStoMPEGGUI if it is not open already.
2. Double-click the Input File field and select a .wtv file that you wish to test with.
3. Double-click the Output File field and choose a folder and file name for your test file output.
4. Select your profile that you created in the steps above.
5. Click Run.

Watch the log output in the box under the Run button to make sure that things are happening as you would like. Once the process is complete, try playing the output file to see how it looks.

References:

http://wtvwatcher.codeplex.com/