# Copy from DVR to computer DVD



## bobbo27

*Hi peeps, great forum you got here....

I have just purchased a Motorola DVR DCT6412, and I want to copy the shows I watch on TV from the DVR to my computer, and then burn them to a DVD.I'm sure this can be done but how do i do it?
thanks for your help...*


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## WeepinWillow

You will need to have a tv tuner card in order to that.


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## kidcnote

bobbo27 said:


> *Hi peeps, great forum you got here....
> 
> I have just purchased a Motorola DVR DCT6412, and I want to copy the shows I watch on TV from the DVR to my computer, and then burn them to a DVD.I'm sure this can be done but how do i do it?
> thanks for your help...*


Theres lots of tuners on the market..

http://tinyurl.com/hgdxa

and as many ppl telllling you which one they think is best


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## cwwozniak

According to Motorola web site, the DCT6412 can record HD programming. This could limit your choices of a simple "tuner" card in your PC to capture the analog output from recorded HD programs. The DCT6412 is listed also as having USB ports, a 10/100 Base-T Ethernet Port and a 1394 (firewire) port. Do you have any information on the type of support the unit has for getting video files from the Hard drive to these digital data ports?

http://broadband.motorola.com/dvr/dct6412.asp


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## kaaos

cwwozniak said:


> According to Motorola web site, the DCT6412 can record HD programming. This could limit your choices of a simple "tuner" card in your PC to capture the analog output from recorded HD programs. The DCT6412 is listed also as having USB ports, a 10/100 Base-T Ethernet Port and a 1394 (firewire) port. Do you have any information on the type of support the unit has for getting video files from the Hard drive to these digital data ports?
> 
> http://broadband.motorola.com/dvr/dct6412.asp


i have the same box (comcast) and tried hooking up via the USP port. it will see the motrola box but no good drivers for it.

maybe a call to comcast support would help


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## [email protected]

I would if you could buy a whole new video card. ATI makes the best for what you want. They are called ATI All-In_Wonders. They have killer software and extras you don't get from a tv tuner card alone.


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## -=ZeroHour=-

You do NOT need a tuner card for this.. that's redundant.. The whole purpose of a DVR is so you can record shows, the same thing a tuner card does.

there are ways to "Hack" the DVR to download the recorded videos to your harddrive but you'll have to look for it.

The DVR as-is has a firewire hookup you can use to connect to your PC and transfer videos.. but it's restricted to "copy protection" coding.


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## bobbo27

*thanks for the quick responses guys, so the way i understand this, is, i CAN copy videos to my computer's hard drive by connecting the DVR to my computer via firewire cable, and then i can "decode" the video using software, and burn to a DVD?

Bob*


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## -=ZeroHour=-

check the manual.. or google it.

it says you can use firewire to transfer videos off the dvr.. what I don't know is if it's automatically detected like a harddrive with mpg or avi files or if you need software from motorola. you could call them.


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## cwwozniak

Found a listing of required drivers and software along with a step-by-step procedure using a firewire (1394) connection:

"DCT6412 Firewire capture and HD/SD to DVD guide"
http://replayguide.sourceforge.net/dct6412/


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## kaaos

cwwozniak said:


> Found a listing of required drivers and software along with a step-by-step procedure using a firewire (1394) connection:
> 
> "DCT6412 Firewire capture and HD/SD to DVD guide"
> http://replayguide.sourceforge.net/dct6412/


i had given up a while back on getting this done! i have a H.S basket ball game that i recoded on my motorola dvdr that i want to xfer tom my PC.

thanks for the guide!


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## rbrager

bobbo27 said:


> *Hi peeps, great forum you got here....
> 
> I have just purchased a Motorola DVR DCT6412, and I want to copy the shows I watch on TV from the DVR to my computer, and then burn them to a DVD.I'm sure this can be done but how do i do it?
> thanks for your help...*


I also have a Motorola DCT6412 III. As far as I have researched there are two ways to
capture the output of the 6412.

(1) use a splitter on the RF output and use the extra output as input to a tuner card in your PC, or connect the RF to a VCR.

(2) use the firewire connection to download the files. You can find instuctions for this by
googleing "DCT64xx firewire". The filename for the ZIP file is also a link to the file.

Unfortunately my tower of power is 60 feet from my tuner/DVR so I guess i'm stuck with the RF method.


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## cwwozniak

rbrager said:


> Unfortunately my tower of power is 60 feet from my tuner/DVR so I guess i'm stuck with the RF method.


Not sure how well three or four of these added to an existing 15 foot firewire cable would work for you:

http://www.nulime.com/MacAlly-FireWire-Repeater-FireWire-Hubs-p22261-c2643.html


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## rbrager

Sixty feet of Firewire cable probably wouldn't work well. But I have a good solution to the problem. I got a Westinghouse laptop for Christmas. It has a IEEE 1394 Firewire port.
So I connect my firewire cable to the Motorola and the laptop. Using the capDVHS.exe and the stream drivers, I can record anything that that is sent to the TV. The only downside is that you must watch what you are capturing. 

The files are in motorola transport stream format so they need converting. HDTVtoMPEG2.exe does a good job, it even has simple edit function that will allow one to edit out commecials.


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## kaaos

ok here is a nifty freeware tool that encodes those .ts or .mt2 HD files to MPEG very quickly and its free: http://www.videohelp.com/tools?tool=HDTVtoMPEG2

i use roxio8 (with fire wire)to capture in HD roxio 8 has 3 different resolution options smallest being 740x420 (or something like that) and the largest being (1024x800) or something like that. it captures in MT2 format. i use that HDTV to MPEG prog to encode the files to mpeg and edit with sony vegas 7 which i just bought.

tied to capture with vegas but it crashes my PC when i use the firewire.

needless to say the picture is crisp clean and outstanding.:up: .


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## rbrager

bobbo27 said:


> *Hi peeps, great forum you got here....
> 
> I have just purchased a Motorola DVR DCT6412, and I want to copy the shows I watch on TV from the DVR to my computer, and then burn them to a DVD.I'm sure this can be done but how do i do it?
> thanks for your help...*


Follow the link and print the guide, You will need to download the files with the drivers.

http://www.videohelp.com/tools?tool=HDTVtoMPEG2

Then all you need is a firewire port and cable.

I have tried both the RF capture and the Firewire solution they both work.

I'm looking for a solution that lets me download files not captured stream or RF.
I don't anyone has figured it out yet. BTW the resolution is very good via fire-wire


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## blucaller

cwwozniak said:


> Found a listing of required drivers and software along with a step-by-step procedure using a firewire (1394) connection:
> 
> "DCT6412 Firewire capture and HD/SD to DVD guide"
> http://replayguide.sourceforge.net/dct6412/


Will this work with a firewire to usb cable connection? No firewire port on computer.

Thanks,

Mark


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## rbrager

No. After much research there are only two ways. RF - user a splitter on the RF output and a a DVR device on the PC or to use a firewire connection. For a laptop there are stand alone TV decoder boxes and ethernet plugins.


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## rbrager

Kaaos.

There is another free program (capDVHS.exe ) that you can use to capture DVR output.
It in Transpot stream (packet) format. You then use HDTVtoMPG2 to convert the file to
MPEG2 Format. "capDVHS" will capture anything the DVR sends to the screen.


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## parker_twc

rbrager said:


> Follow the link and print the guide, You will need to download the files with the drivers.
> 
> http://www.videohelp.com/tools?tool=HDTVtoMPEG2
> 
> Then all you need is a firewire port and cable.
> 
> I have tried both the RF capture and the Firewire solution they both work.
> 
> I'm looking for a solution that lets me download files not captured stream or RF.
> I don't anyone has figured it out yet. BTW the resolution is very good via fire-wire


hey guys i work for time warner calbe and we are using the motorola dvrs out here and i have been trying to do the same thing ya'll are doin. i am just trying to understand that the only way to move from dvr to pc is to basicaly record it. there isnt a way to just move them from the dvr to pc like moving movies from an external hard drive your main hard drive.


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## rbrager

parker_twc said:


> hey guys i work for time warner calbe and we are using the motorola dvrs out here and i have been trying to do the same thing ya'll are doin. i am just trying to understand that the only way to move from dvr to pc is to basicaly record it. there isnt a way to just move them from the dvr to pc like moving movies from an external hard drive your main hard drive.


I've been looking for a way to just download the files but I haven't found any yet. Actually this pinhole in the armor is a concession forced by congress. Many techies were frustrated by having high quality recorded and no way to save it. Congress forced the issue so the industry responded by making it possible to capture what was sent to the screen.

You are i a better position to find out how the Motorola box works. I agree that it would be more convenient to just download files computer to computer.


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## kaaos

parker_twc said:


> hey guys i work for time warner calbe and we are using the motorola dvrs out here and i have been trying to do the same thing ya'll are doin. i am just trying to understand that the only way to move from dvr to pc is to basicaly record it. there isnt a way to just move them from the dvr to pc like moving movies from an external hard drive your main hard drive.


waht kind of a hard drive is inside the moto? i mean if i had to, i'd open it and remove it to download the files.

@ rbrager re: the capvhs prog

i have it and used it but i find roxio has a more friendly user interface and the picture quality is the same


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## blucaller

rbrager said:


> No. After much research there are only two ways. RF - user a splitter on the RF output and a a DVR device on the PC or to use a firewire connection. For a laptop there are stand alone TV decoder boxes and ethernet plugins.


Thanks to everyone for the great info. I tried the firewire style and am running into problems with some 5C content (Speed Channel) on my DVR. If I get a carture card and try it RF to PC, will 5C content still be an issue? I'm this close to getting a DVHS if this doesn't work.

Thanks,

Mark


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## Mulderator

You don't need a firewire card because you can't play the high definition on regulard DVDs anyway. I just run S-Video and RCA cables from my High-Def box to my computer (I'm assuming yours has S-Video and RCA out connections). At that point, if you have a video card that has S-Video and RCA in, then you use that--if not, then you can purchase either a different video card or an external box like this one:

http://www.adstech.com/products/USBAV-191-EF/intro/USBAV_191_intro.asp?pid=USBAV-191-EF

which is essentially just an external video capture card. That one is $59 for the S-Video/RCA capture for $59--there is a more expensive one that allows firewire capture which I use with my camcorder.

But the output is excellent because you have a High Def clarity being send over S-Video, so its better than VHS. You don't have the surround sound of course but you only get that with high-def shows anyway.


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## Mulderator

And you don't need to burn them to DVD--store the shows on your hard drive and get yourself a networked DVD player--you can then just watch the shows on your television directly from your hard drive--that's what I do.


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## rbrager

Mulder said:


> You don't need a firewire card because you can't play the high definition on regulard DVDs anyway. I just run S-Video and RCA cables from my High-Def box to my computer (I'm assuming yours has S-Video and RCA out connections). At that point, if you have a video card that has S-Video and RCA in, then you use that--if not, then you can purchase either a different video card or an external box like this one:
> 
> http://www.adstech.com/products/USBAV-191-EF/intro/USBAV_191_intro.asp?pid=USBAV-191-EF
> 
> which is essentially just an external video capture card. That one is $59 for the S-Video/RCA capture for $59--there is a more expensive one that allows firewire capture which I use with my camcorder.
> 
> But the output is excellent because you have a High Def clarity being send over S-Video, so its better than VHS. You don't have the surround sound of course but you only get that with high-def shows anyway.


I do indeed use firewire and use CAPDVHS to capture ".TS" files. Then I use HDTVtoMPG2 to convert to MPG then I can use myDVD or VIRTUALDUB to make DVDs or AVI filers.

I forgot about the A/V cables that came with the motorola. Actually I have recorded whatever the Motorola box send to the screen from an HD channel that was broadcasting with an open key.


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## Mulderator

rbrager said:


> I do indeed use firewire and use CAPDVHS to capture ".TS" files. Then I use HDTVtoMPG2 to convert to MPG then I can use myDVD or VIRTUALDUB to make DVDs or AVI filers.
> 
> I forgot about the A/V cables that came with the motorola. Actually I have recorded whatever the Motorola box send to the screen from an HD channel that was broadcasting with an open key.


No--You do NOT need firewire--you may be CHOOSING to do it that way but as you have found out, its a big pain in the butt to try to capture the HDTV signal and you end up with a much larger file then what you need because you end up converting it to MPEG2 anyway, so you go through an extra step. *I have that exact same box*--I capture in MPEG2 using the ADSTech box or I can also use my TV tuner card. So I have only the one step and its all ready to burn to DVD--no encoding. With your process you are doing two steps--first you capture the video as .ts and then you encode to MPEG2--what's the point of that?  I can see if you were trying to keep the HD signal, but you're not--you are converting it anyway and since MPEG2 is not high definition, you are gaining nothing. The picture quality is very good output through S-Video from the DVR recording.


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## blucaller

Mulder said:


> :
> 
> http://www.adstech.com/products/USBAV-191-EF/intro/USBAV_191_intro.asp?pid=USBAV-191-EF
> 
> which is essentially just an external video capture card. That one is $59 for the S-Video/RCA capture for $59--there is a more expensive one that allows firewire capture which I use with my camcorder.
> 
> But the output is excellent because you have a High Def clarity being send over S-Video, so its better than VHS. You don't have the surround sound of course but you only get that with high-def shows anyway.


I ended up getting VideoXpress and the capture is great. I have a problem recording content though. Recordings come out choppy (and not just the 5c encoded stuff). I tried turning everything off as the instructions suggested. Recordings with Windows Media Encoder are smooth for about 3 seconds.

Are your recordings/playbacks smooth? Do I just need more ram?-(currently 512mb)

Thanks,

Mark


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## rbrager

More RAM will help, but you might be reaching the limits of your processor as well. I do use fire wire by choice. That way I don't need to worry as much about RAM & processor problems. Playback is smooth and rather spectacular considering the HD source. Why don't you download "VLC" and try it as playback. 

The choppy playback suggests that the converter is dropping frames because it isn't fast enough to keep up.


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## blucaller

rbrager said:


> More RAM will help, but you might be reaching the limits of your processor as well. I do use fire wire by choice. That way I don't need to worry as much about RAM & processor problems. Playback is smooth and rather spectacular considering the HD source. Why don't you download "VLC" and try it as playback.
> 
> The choppy playback suggests that the converter is dropping frames because it isn't fast enough to keep up.


Yeah, I still got the firewire hooked up. Tested it on some HD Grammy Award content. Came out great! *It's just 5c stuff thats messing me up*. Pretty much half of last years Formula 1 races on my DVR. New season starts this week.

I will try "VLC" though.

Thanks,

Mark


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## Cannon Fodder

Here's a sideways question for someone. Which dvd disks are best to use to record video DVD's, +r or -r disks? I am interested in the ones that are best for playing in a regular DVD player. And what format?


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## rbrager

Get a small supply of each record something on each type ansd try them out. Truthfully, I got some DVD-Rswhen I first started doing DVDs. I tried them out on my DVD players. Everything was great, so that is what I use. Not very scientific.


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## blucaller

rbrager said:


> The choppy playback suggests that the converter is dropping frames because it isn't fast enough to keep up.


Selling VideoXpress on ebay.
I'm going to try the Canopus ADVC110.

Thanks,

Mark


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## kaaos

Cannon Fodder said:


> Here's a sideways question for someone. Which dvd disks are best to use to record video DVD's, +r or -r disks? I am interested in the ones that are best for playing in a regular DVD player. And what format?


www.videohelp.com has a list of dvd players that use + or - or both check for your player there


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## Joatm0n

Thinking about getting a DCT3412 and want to be able to copy shows already recorded on the DVR to PC.

From what I have read, you have to capture what you are watching correct? or
Has anyone been able to play what is recorded and then capture?

Has anyone tried removing the HDD from the DVR and hooking it up to the PC?

Or, tried hooking up a camcorder to the DVR and capture that way?

Very new to this and just want to be clear.


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## rbrager

There are three way to capture what you have recorded. (1) RF output to a TV capture device. (2) Video/Audio capture via the multi media cables, and (3) transport video stream capture via the fire-wire port. In every case you can only capture what is going to the TV, there is no way to do a file transfer. This thread has all the information you need.


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## dvr_woes

Hey rbrager ... by converter not keeping up do you mean my pc doe not have necessary resources (e.g. RAM, CPU)?

I have a PIV 2.6gHz and 1 gig ram and most of my conversions are a little choppy


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## rbrager

dvr_woes said:


> Hey rbrager ... by converter not keeping up do you mean my pc doe not have necessary resources (e.g. RAM, CPU)?
> 
> I have a PIV 2.6gHz and 1 gig ram and most of my conversions are a little choppy


That is approximately what I use with no problems. What software are you using?


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## dvr_woes

rbrager said:


> That is approximately what I use with no problems. What software are you using?


I am using ConvertXtoDVD and HDTV2DVD. HDTV2DVD seems a little better


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## Mulderator

blucaller said:


> I ended up getting VideoXpress and the capture is great. I have a problem recording content though. Recordings come out choppy (and not just the 5c encoded stuff). I tried turning everything off as the instructions suggested. Recordings with Windows Media Encoder are smooth for about 3 seconds.
> 
> Are your recordings/playbacks smooth? Do I just need more ram?-(currently 512mb)
> 
> Thanks,
> 
> Mark





rbrager said:


> More RAM will help, but you might be reaching the limits of your processor as well. I do use fire wire by choice. That way I don't need to worry as much about RAM & processor problems. Playback is smooth and rather spectacular considering the HD source. Why don't you download "VLC" and try it as playback.
> 
> The choppy playback suggests that the converter is dropping frames because it isn't fast enough to keep up.


Are the recordings "choppy" only on your computer or on a DVD player as well (i.e., after burning to a DVD?). The RAM and processor speed are irrelevant to the capture using and external capture device like VideoXpress--all you are really doing is transfering digital data to the hard drive either over USB or firewire. However, the playback can be affected by processor speed and RAM or other issues on your computer. What you should do if you haven't already is capture some video, burn it to a DVD and then see if it plays fine on a DVD player--if it does--you know the problem is with the computer's playback--it it doesn't then there is some problem possibly with the capture device. You could also copy the file from you hard drive to a DVD (i.e., in MPEG or AVI) or CD (assuming its smaller than 700 MB) and then put it on another computer and see if that computer has the same playback problems. If not--take your VideoExpress and capture using another computer and see if you get the same problemm, then you know is the VideoExpress that's the problem. Its just a process of elimination.


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## Mulderator

rbrager said:


> The choppy playback suggests that the converter is dropping frames because it isn't fast enough to keep up.





blucaller said:


> Selling VideoXpress on ebay.
> I'm going to try the Canopus ADVC110.
> 
> Thanks,
> 
> Mark


Read my last post--I wouldn't sell it until I isolated the problem--if its the computer, then buying another external converter is a waste. Choppy playback does NOT suggest the converter isn't fast enough--if its a problem with the converter, its more likely a defect than its speed. But that VideoExpress is a good product for the money--you have to spend A LOT more money to get a noticebably better MPEG encoder. In my experience choppy playback is a problem with your computer, not the encoder.


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## dvr_woes

Mulder said:


> Read my last post--I wouldn't sell it until I isolated the problem--if its the computer, then buying another external converter is a waste. Choppy playback does NOT suggest the converter isn't fast enough--if its a problem with the converter, its more likely a defect than its speed. But that VideoExpress is a good product for the money--you have to spend A LOT more money to get a noticebably better MPEG encoder. In my experience choppy playback is a problem with your computer, not the encoder.


I'm not sure of we're talking about the same thing here but firewire to a ts file on my PC plays back fine ... smooth and full rich colors. Of course it's 10 gigs ... the problem is when we try to reduce 10 gigs to fit on a DVD ... then the playback is choppy. So... it HAS to be either the PC configuration (hardware of driver issues) or the encoder is not very good.


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## dvr_woes

Hey Mulder ... I got your reply by email but do not see it in this thread (?).

I suspected we were talking about 2 different things ... you were talking about an external converter and I was talking about having the file already in the PC.

I have a motorola 6412 and am pulling in the recordongs via firewire. Excellent playback in both ts and mpeg2 after I convert and crop with VideoRedo.

However, when I convert to DVD (either ConvertXtoDVD or HDTV2DVD) the result is choppy. I am working with a huge file (16gigs) so I decided to cut it in half and try to burn to DL dvd. However, both DVD makers still try to bring the file down to about 4 gigs and the result is choppy.

Any ideas?


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## rbrager

Just a thought. How much Free disk space is on the drive you are doing the ".TS" to ".MPG2" ? Most file type converter programs use hugh buffers to speed things up. So far I haven't had any problems. I use 1 G of RAM and the Disk drive has 100 Gigs.


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## blucaller

blucaller said:


> Selling VideoXpress on ebay.
> I'm going to try the Canopus ADVC110.
> 
> Thanks,
> 
> Mark


UPDATE: Today, I tested the Canopus ADVC110 and am satisfied with the results. It seemed to work effortlessly (capturing wmv, avi, and mpeg). DVD playback is great. Again, this was my alternative to capturing 5C encrypted signals that the firewire couldn't (SPEED CHANNEL).

Thanks to everyone for their time and their info,

Mark


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## Mulderator

dvr_woes said:


> Hey Mulder ... I got your reply by email but do not see it in this thread (?).
> 
> I suspected we were talking about 2 different things ... you were talking about an external converter and I was talking about having the file already in the PC.
> 
> I have a motorola 6412 and am pulling in the recordongs via firewire. Excellent playback in both ts and mpeg2 after I convert and crop with VideoRedo.
> 
> However, when I convert to DVD (either ConvertXtoDVD or HDTV2DVD) the result is choppy. I am working with a huge file (16gigs) so I decided to cut it in half and try to burn to DL dvd. However, both DVD makers still try to bring the file down to about 4 gigs and the result is choppy.
> 
> Any ideas?


Yes--as I said earlier, I don't know why you are transferring a high definition ts file when you are putting it on DVD--you are transfering a very large file for no reason. Why don't you do as I suggested and run an S-video and RCA audio out of your 6412 and encode that to your hard drive in MPEG-2. The file will be much smaller.


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## dvr_woes

Mulder said:


> Yes--as I said earlier, I don't know why you are transferring a high definition ts file when you are putting it on DVD--you are transfering a very large file for no reason. Why don't you do as I suggested and run an S-video and RCA audio out of your 6412 and encode that to your hard drive in MPEG-2. The file will be much smaller.


The idea is to get as high quality as possible. By putting the superbowl on 2 DL discs it will be essentially an HD quality recording. Or, alternatively, recording a movie at 8 gigs is very nearly HD quality.

Is that not possible? Does no application create smooth high quality recordings on DVD from an HD feed?


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## rpmazur

I've been reading through the previous posts. Either I really haven't seen what I am looking for or I haven't understood what's been posted;

I have no problem pulling off commercial programs that don't use the RC5 protection. Is there a way to work around the protection once it's in a TS format? I've tried to convert it using HDTVtoMPEG2, but I get an error that saws "No Channel Found". This is obviously due to the protection.

I have a couple of ideas I want to try, but if anyone else has a suggestion, hit me off line.


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## ~Candy~

Hi and welcome. Let me hit you online.

Please read the forum rules. We provide no assistance for illegal activities such as breaking copy protection.


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## rpmazur

My apologies.


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## kivi26

Can you please tell me where did you buy this from ? Motorola DVR DCT6412



bobbo27 said:


> *Hi peeps, great forum you got here....
> 
> I have just purchased a Motorola DVR DCT6412, and I want to copy the shows I watch on TV from the DVR to my computer, and then burn them to a DVD.I'm sure this can be done but how do i do it?
> thanks for your help...*


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