A few months ago I downloaded the trial version of VideoRedo to edit
out commercials in my DVR-MS collection. I was extremely pleased with
it's ability to very easily edit out commercials in DVR-MS and MPEG
files (They now have a beta version out that allows you to save in
DVR-MS format). I was so pleased I bought the software, which is rare
for me as I'm frugal when buying software (I'm still using Office 97!).


Anyways, after editing out commercials in my DVR-MS collection I was
getting a error when playing them on my MCX (Xbox Extender). After
contacting VideoRedo support, they looked into my problem, but couldn't
resolve it, SO THEY WENT OUT BOUGHT AN XBOX AND EXTENDER TO REPLICATE
IT AND FIND A SOLUTION.

I have no connections with this company but I'm just a happy camper as
I've never seen a software firm go to this extreme to help a plain jane
customer like myself - all I did was purchase one copy of it. I figure
I can at least give these guys a good word and say VideoRedo rocks!

Two sides to every story,... VideoReDo ain't so hot.

I tried their trial version as well. I have an HP m7250n Media Center,
a few months old, and wanted to edit .dvr-ms just like you did. It
worked on a few files, but most of the time it crashed and gave me an
error message telling me to a "Quickstream fix" which would then lead
me to an XP crash, and I'd have to reboot. I eventually uninstalled
it, and the computer still acted funny. I had to do a system restore
to get back to normal.

They did seem to have a nice attitude in the e-mail messages I had with
them, but after a week or two, they stopped answering my e-mails.

So, for those of you that have VideoRedo and are happy with it, more
power to you. Just hope that you don't have any problems with it,
because they will bail on you after a few e-mails.

I wish it woulda worked. It's a good thing they have a trial version,
eh?

Dick Smith wrote:

On 3 Mar 2006 16:13:07 -0800, "Dick Smith" <smith_bp101@hotmail.com> wrote:

I have always found their support people (who are the developers) are really
great. They have an excellent support forum at
http://www.videoredo.net/msgBoard/index.php

--
Nigel Barker
Live from the sunny Cote d'Azur

If their support people were all that great, I'd have bought their
product.

When the product worked, it was lovely. I really wanted it to work,
because when it did, it was just what I needed.

What annoyed me was how they bailed after a few e-mail messages and
left me with a trial version of their software that wasted a LOT of my
time trying to get it to work.

What would YOU do in the same situation? Would you keep trying to get
them to answer you and to solve their product's problem? Or would you
get fed up and just go somewhere else?

On 4 Mar 2006 11:57:54 -0800, "Mel" <mricflo@dr.com> wrote:

There is nowhere else. Having tried various MPEG editors I can assure you that
VideoReDo is far & away the best product available. Also their support is great
& I am astonished that you didn't get your problems resolved. Exchanging emails
is not the best way of getting support in any case. It is far better to post in
their support forum http://www.videoredo.net/msgBoard/index.php

--
Nigel Barker
Live from the sunny Cote d'Azur

Your astonishment astonishes me.

I thought VideoReDo was marvy as well,... until it kept crashing, and
then eventually crashed XP,... and then eventually required a system
restore to get my computer back.

If they had a solution for me right now, even after all this hassle, I
would use VideoRedo because it is so nice when it WORKS.

If they offer support through e-mail, then they should actually
support. If they don't like to use e-mail, they should say so and
refer those folks annoyed with their products to their forum. I don't
remember them ever mentioning their e-mail support was secondary to
their forum support.

So, assuming they bail when their customers have problems, and their
forum doesn't have the answer, what would you do?


Nigel Barker wrote:

On 5 Mar 2006 04:56:52 -0800, "Mel" <mricflo@dr.com> wrote:

I would post in their forum in public & then the problem wouldn't get missed.

--
Nigel Barker
Live from the sunny Cote d'Azur

Once you had done that a few times with no results, would you then
finally give up?

That's what I did.

Aha!

Another happy customer,....


Lew wrote:

Mel wrote:
Well I am a happy customer and yes I bought it:

I use it convert dvrms files to regular mpg2's
I use it to edit out commercials.
I use it to convert *ts files to regular mpg2
I use it to join *ts-file segments
I use it to set the 16:9 aspect-ratio flag in the file header (needed when
recording "WideScreen"-movies through s-video/4:3)

I had problems with some of my HDTV *ts-files, they asked for a sample and
fixed it in about a week.
So yes, I'm happy.

Wow!! You must be one of the lucky few.

I sure wish it would have worked like that for me. I never got that
far because first the application would crash, then the computer would
crash, then I had to do a system restore to "un-stupid" the computer.

I'd still like to hear from them sometime with two explanations:
1. Why VideoReDo sucked so bad on my stock HP Media Center computer
2. Why they stopped answering my plea some help

Maybe they'll come out with an updated version that will work on HP
computers.

Maybe they'll have a management shake up in their Help department.

Interesting...I've never had a problem with it at all. Wonder what's up with
your HP...is anyone successfully running VideoReDo on an HP MCE?

Dana Cline - MCE MVP

"Lew" <lwsrndn@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:1141875208.401656.34010@j52g2000cwj.googlegro ups.com...

I have an HP MCE and it runs fine.

That's good to know...what model do you have, and which DVD decoder
software?

Dana Cline - MCE MVP

"Dick Smith" <smith_bp101@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:1141926065.823309.66180@z34g2000cwc.googlegro ups.com...

Works fine here on my HP 873n.

Dana Cline - MVP wrote:

Works fine on my new HP m7250n MCE once or twice,... then Videoredo
crashes,.. then XP crashes,... Then I have to reboot.

After several incidents like this, the computer needed a system restore
to Pre-VideoReDo to work properly.

If any of you can give me any suggestions as to how to make the thing
work,.. I'd love it.

I'd love it for me, because I'd get to use the software I wanted. I'd
love it for me some more when I got to explain to the VideoReDo help
department how to fix their software.

Is your HP a "stock" machine? Meaning, have you added much stuff to it? Does
it crash with any other applications?

Dana Cline - MCE MVP

<rob48ster@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:1141954013.036606.274310@j52g2000cwj.googlegr oups.com...

Yes,.. it is stock. An HP m7250n I bought in Jan 06. I have added a
few things to it. MSOffice, Roboform, etc. I have also installed and
unistalled several programs in my quest to get Recorded TV to a DVD+RW.
(crunchie, shrink it, dvr edit, etc.) Nothing works very well so far.


What I have been using is the Sonic package that came with it,
MyDVDPlus. I use a Sima box between the cable box and the m7250n to
scrape off the anti-copy protection, then Sonic to edit the TV show,
and burn the DVD+RW. It works, but it takes hours to burn a 1 hr show,
and I don't like the editing as much as I did the VideoReDo when it
worked those few times.

Using MCE's "Create a DVD" function works sometimes but there is so
little control over what you can do. Your only option is to try what
you want, and then get a yes or no answer from MCE,... usually "no."
It won't let you see what is on a DVD, and you always have to erase the
disc before you record to it.

My crummy little Cyberhome DVD recorder ($78 at WalMart) lets you
choose all kinds of qualities (what we used to call speeds), let's you
see what is on the disc, and if what you want to do will fit. It gives
you all kinds options that MCE doesn't have.

I don't have any ethical problems with scraping off the anti-copy
protection, because all I am doing is timeshifting. I make no copies
for anyone else, and I rarely keep anything I record after I watch it.
All I really care about doing is recording something on the m7250n,
burning it on to a DVD+RW, and watching it downstairs on the big TV.

I wonder if I could use MyDVDPlus to convert the .dvr-ms files to an
..mpeg or something, move it to a shared folder, plug the big TV into
the notebook on the wireless network, and have the notebook play the
file using Windows Media Player or Quicktime or Real Player or
something like that. Then I wouldn't have to burn a DVD at all -- just
watch the file (on the notebook with the big TV) while it is sitting in
the shared folder on the m7250n.

Why wouldn't this work?

Maybe this should be in another thread.

Replies inline below...

"Lew" <lwsrndn@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:1142001685.814022.291180@z34g2000cwc.googlegr oups.com...
MCE laptop, I wonder if there may be a different root cause. My current
thought would be either heat or memory... Heat is somewhat easy to figure
out - download SpeedFan and run it, and it will tell you the temperatures of
your CPU and hard drive(s). Maybe a fan has gone out or the machine just
wasn't well designed in the first place. Otherwise look for a memory
diagnostic that can run from a CD or floppy...there may even be one in the
discs HP sold you with that machine. You might also see if HP could exchange
that machine with an identical model on the off chance that might fix it.

I also have a standalone DVD recorder with a FacetVideo device that removes
copy protection from VHS tapes - it's primary purpose is to let me transfer
my kids (hundreds of) videotapes to DVD. Much easier than Media Center.

Actually that might work. If you have Crunchie, you also have DVRMSToolbox -
it can extract the mpeg file from within a dvr-ms file (assuming the dvr-ms
file doesn't have some corruption somewhere in it). The latest version can
also remove commercials or convert to a WMV file. You can play the WMV file
on your laptop, but you'll still need a DVD decoder to play mpeg (well,
probably, it seems to depend on a number of things I haven't yet figured
out). You could also load Orb (www.orb.com) on your Media Center box, then
stream video (either live or recorded) from your MCE box to your laptop.

I've managed so far to 1) watch live TV at work, using my Media Center at
home as the source (did that for the shuttle launch, with Orb), 2) shrink a
dvr-ms file from 3Gb to a 1.5Gb DivX AVI file and burn that to CD (with
Crunchie, burned with MCE), and convert DivX, WMV, dvr-ms and mpeg files to
run on my pocket PC (a 1-hour show takes up about 125Mb on my SD card). So I
know it can be done...

Dana Cline - MCE MVP

On 10 Mar 2006 06:41:25 -0800, "Lew" <lwsrndn@hotmail.com> wrote:

If all you are doing is timeshifting then the notebook assuming it is running an
up to date version of XP will play the dvr-ms files in WMP without any
conversion provided none are marked as protected content.

Your situation is what MCE Extenders were designed. The best quality is to use
the built-in MCX functionality of an Xbox 360.

--
Nigel Barker
Live from the sunny Cote d'Azur