[Wylug-help] Topfield PVR Recordings

[Shaun Laughey]

2008/6/15 Smylers <Smylers at stripey.com>:

> Using Guppy[*1] I've transferred to my Ubuntu laptop some Freeview
> recordings made on a Topfield PVR.  VLC generally plays both TV and
> radio recordings fine.
>
> I'd like to convert some radio recordings to MP3 files, so I can listen
> to them on an MP3 player.  Any suggestions on how to do this?
>
> The files have .rec extensions.  The file command just describes them as
> "data".  The first few bytes of each file (both video and audio) are the
> text "TFrcP", then character 0x10 and 3 null bytes:
>
>   5446 7263 5010 0000 00
>
> Anybody know what that is, or have ideas for how to find out?  Obviously
> VLC has worked out what it is; is there anywhere among its myriad
> options, menus, and windows where it will divulge that?
>
> Or is there a way of capturing VLC's output, and saving that in MP3
> format?
>
> Actually, VLC won't quite play all of them.  So far I've found at least
> one video file which VLC declines to play, with the input error "no
> suitable access module".  It plays just like any other file on the PVR
> itself (and I've transferred it multiple times, so it doesn't seem like
> corruption in transit).  If I find out which 'access module' VLC has
> detected for for the files it will deign to play, is there a way of
> specifically instructing it to use that for the others?
>
> I also tried Totem; it doesn't recognize any of the files ("Could not
> determine type of stream").  I haven't tried any other software for the
> simple reason that I don't know if it -- this seemingly simple task is
> my first foray into doing anything with video on a computer, so I'm
> already well out of my depth here!
>
> Thanks in advance.
>
> Smylers
>
> [*1]  http://guppy.nongnu.org/


Hi

try running mplayer as below:

mplayer -identify -frames 0 -vc null -vo null -ao null "filename"


It has proven useful for me when looking at avi files that were really Real
Player files.

Regards,
Shaun.
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