[mythtv-users] My Windoze way to make DVDs from PVR-250 recordings, plus a small wish

[M.K. Smith]

Greetings to all from a very happy Mything person.

Here's my method; it's by no means a comprehensive HOWTO
but maybe it'll be of some use.  I should note that I couldn't have
made my Mythbox without Jarod Wilson's HOWTO and I'm
too chicken to upgrade it to 0.17 because it's working well
now, barring a commercial skip issue (doesn't autoskip after the
first batch), and has a *very* high WAF.  Though I may just
backup the whole drive and give it a go in my copious free time.

Mythbox:
Shuttle SN41G2 SFF, Athlon 2200+, 512 megs RAM
Hauppauge PVR-250
Output via onboard nVidia nForce S-Video to TV
Fedora FC2 w/Myth 0.16, per Jarod Wilson's excellent HOWTO
Philips/Magnavox universal remote via lirc  (controls a home theater
amplifier, DVD player, TV and cable box in addition)
Wireless keyboard w/integrated trackball gathering dust
(what little required maintenance done via SSH)

Main WIndows PC:
Sony DRU-710A  (I chose this because it does double-layer
burning, plus the software bundle includes Nero Recode)
Athlon 1800+, 1280 megs RAM

Software:
Nero Burning ROM version 6, Sony OEM version
NeroVision Express upgraded to version 3.1 via ahead.de
VideoReDo

The .nuv files the Hauppauge encodes are *already* MPEG2
so I don't have to do too much to them.  I found VideoReDo after
trying & discarding various freeware solutions; VideoReDo was
so effective and easy to use that I anted up the $50 U.S.

The Mythbox is set up to share its store folder via Samba,
so what I do is find the listing in MythWeb for the recording I want,
right-click to copy the filename, then paste that into the Open
File dialog of VideoReDo, trimming the HTTP path info.
(I had to enter the UNC path to the Mythbox store the first time,
but VideoReDo remembers it now.)  This opens the .nuv file
over the LAN right into VideoReDo.

That program makes it VERY easy to select segments to keep
by choosing start & end points then saving the editpoints to a list.
When I am done, I do a "save as" of the edited file to a local drive
with an .mpg extension.  Takes about 3-4 minutes to save a 30-minute
show and the raw .nuv never leaves the Mythbox.

I then turn to Nerovision Express ... I am able to drag & drop the
.mpg files edited with VideoReDo directly into it.  Nerovision
also makes it VERY easy to create fancy menus with backgrounds,
music, etc. which are savable as templates.

I always output to the Nero Image Recorder.  When I have everything
the way I want it, I go away for about three hours while Nerovision 
chews on the videos, then come back later and burn my DVDs from 
the .nrg images created by the Image Recorder.  The Sony does a 
two-hour DVD in about eight minutes, and the final quality is 
absolutely indistinguishable from the original recordings.

This procedure may be a trifle involved, but once the templates in
Nero are created it's quite painless and works a treat.
(And no command line, I'm afraid; sorry, Linux diehards!)

I've also assigned the .nuv file extension to the very excellent
guliverkli Media Player Classic, so I can play .nuvs directly
over the network on my Windows box.

If you've read this far, then perhaps you'll read my small wish:
that movies have their own separate subheading in the Myth
recordings list, or at least a toggleable option for same.  It'd be
nice to see all the movies grouped instead of having them
scattered amongst the series listings.