Auri's Blog

Are you a Windows Media Center junkie? Do you want to work with those DVR-MS files it creates, but can’t find a tool to help you? Well, I hope this article answers your questions!

Using the free utility DVRMS Toolkit, you can:

• Convert DVR MS files to MPEG for moving to DVD.
• Convert DVR MS files to WMV for playback on your Zune or other WMV capable device.
• Remove all commercials from your shows.
• More!

To get DVRMSToolkit, go to its official Web site. Make sure you download the latest version that’s appropriate for your PC. For example, if you are running Windows Vista 64-bit, make sure you download version specifically marked x64. (Another tip: If you’re running 64-bit Vista, always try to get the 64-bit version of applications…)

Being a free tool written and designed by a developer, the interface for DVRMS Toolkit isn’t shiny and polished like Windows Live Movie Maker. So, a few pointers:

• The program to use after install is DVRMStoMPEGGUI.
• To set the Input file, which is the video you want to work with, simply double-click the white box next to Input File.
• To set the Output file, which is the video file DVR MS should create, simply double-click the white box next to Output File.
• Don’t mess with Process Priority.
• Make sure you set the Profile to the operation you want to perform.
• Keep Use Selected Profile checked.
• You likely won’t have to tinker with the Process Directory tab’s contents.
• You may randomly get messages saying DLLs aren’t registered. I’ve found it safe to ignore these messages.

A few tips about DVRMS files:

• Windows Movie Maker can also work with these files, so you can create videos directly from them.
• Converting files to MPEG makes them easier to work with in many video editing applications, since MPEG is a video standard.
• DVRMS files work a LOT better in Windows Vista’s Media Center than from Windows XP Media Center Edition (MCE). If you’re having a lot of trouble with shows recorded using Windows XP MCE, consider upgrading that machine to Vista Home Premium or Vista Utimate.

A few more tips for Windows Media Center:

• Make sure you use the Windows Media Center instead of Windows XP Media Center Edition. It’s just plain better.
• If you’re looking for a very good over-the-air tuner, get the PC HD TV from Happaugue. It comes with a great antenna, but keep in mind that antenna has a huge magnet weighting it down!

I used this application extensively to create my Superbowl

DVDs. The commercial skip feature works like a champ!

Geeky Developer Note: If you’re a software developer, you can change the program to your liking, and it’s written in C#.

Enjoy!

Best,

-Auri