TSReader Version 2.0 README
Updated November 26, 2003

What's Here

Changes between versions
Command-line parameters

Changes between versions

Version 2.2, build 17:

Version 2.2, build 16 (private beta - not released):

Version 2.2, build 15 (private beta - not released):

Version 2.1, build 14:

Version 2.0, build 13:

Version 2.0, build 12:

Version 1.1, build 11 (private beta - not released):

Version 1.1, build 10 (private beta - not released):

Version 1.0, build 9:

Version 1.0, build 8:

Version 1.0, build 7:

Version 1.0, build 6:

Version 1.0, build 5:

Version 1.0, build 4:

Version 1.0, build 3:

Version 1.0, build 2:

Version 1.0, build 1:

Beta Version Build 7:

Beta Version Build 6:

Beta Version Build 5:

Beta Version Build 4:

Beta Version Build 3:

Command-Line Parameters

Note: This section applies only to the registered version of TSReader - command-line interface is not supported by TSReader Lite.

TSReader can be run from the command-line prompt or from programs such as the Windows Scheduler. Typically with sources like satellite cards, TSReader will provide a dialog to allow you to setup the parameters associated with the TSReader session. By supplying these parameters on the command-line, you can make TSReader run automatically.

TSReader has two sets of parameters. The first are parameters for TSReader itself. These are options like automatic recording. Following these parmeters on the command-line are parameters specific to the source currently selected by TSReader. So for example:

TSReader -x nbc.txt 3860 H 26670 5150 0

The text in blue is a TSReader parameter and the green is specific to the selected source - in this case, parameters for a satellite card.

Parameters surrounded with { } characters are optional. The parameters are:

TSReader parameters

Automatic Recording

TSReader supports automatic recording from the command-line. When used with the Windows Scheduler, this allows for unattended recording.

To use this function, add the following to the start of the command-line:

-r service file length
-R splitsize service file length

splitsize Only used with the -R option. Specifies the size in MB of each file to be recorded. Once files recorded by TSReader get larger than this size, a new file will be generated.
service The MPEG service number from the Program Association Table
file The name of the file to record
length The number of seconds to record

When -r is used, a single file is generated. When -R is used, the file split mechanism is used to ensure files don't get bigger than the specified size.

As an example, this records half an hour of programming from NBC Central on AMC4 from a satellite card and the second example records channel 10 for 30 minutes, splitting the recording into 120MB files. Since there are no parameters, one must assume that the source doesn't need any parameters - the Linear Systems ASI source is an example.

TSReader -r 10 c:\mpeg\nbc.mpg 1800 3860 H 26670 5150 0
TSReader -R 120 10 c:\mpeg\nbc.mpg 1800

Automatic Table Decoding

TSReader can automatically decode DVB tables and then export the data to a XML file that can be parsed by external programs. Since the MPEG and DVB systems doesn't have any flags to indicate "you've got all the data", TSReader will process tables and determine when it's got all the data it needs, write the file and then quit. Obviously this means that the time spent running will vary depending on the rate at which tables are sent in the mux. This code sample shows how to enumerate processes on Windows 2000 and greater to see if TSReader is still doing it's stuff.

To use this function, add the following to the start of the command-line:

-x filename

filename The name of the file to write tables to

As an example, this will decode tables for NBC on AMC4 to "nbc.xml" and then exit:

TSReader -x nbc.txt 3860 H 26670 5150 0

For documentation on the exported files, please follow this link.

Source Parameters

DVB-S satellite cards (Twinhan, Twinhan2 and TechnoTrend Budget PCI sources)

TSReader {TSReader-options} {freq pol sr lnbf 22khz {DiSEqC}}

freq The frequency to tune.
pol The polarity to set. This actually controls the voltage on the coax so if you're using a big dish, you'll need to set the polarity manually.
sr The symbol rate to use.
lnbf The frequency of the local oscillator in the LNB. For C-Band, this is 5150, for the FSS Ku-Band, it's 10750 and for the DBS band 11250.
22khz On the Twinhan card turns the 22KHz tone on with a value of 1. Useful to switch between signals with an external switch.
DiSEqC Optional. Sends DiSEqC command to select LNB input on a DiSEqC switch. Valid values are 1-4.

DVB-T terrestrial cards (TechnoTrend Budget PCI sources)

TSReader {TSReader-options} {freq inversion bandwidth}

freq The frequency to tune in MHz
inversion Spectrum inversion. Set to 0 or 1 as appropriate for your area
bandwidth Bandwidth of the COFDM transmission. 0 = 6 MHz 1 = 7 MHz 2 = 8 MHz

File version (File source)

TSReader {TSReader-options} {file}

file Optional. The name of the file containing the transport stream. If not provided, TSReader will prompt

The input transport stream file can contain either 188 or 204 byte transport stream packets. If TSReader generates a single program stream or PID recording is used, TSReader will always write 188 byte packets.

Linear Systems DVB/ATSC Master source

TSReader {TSReader-options}

There are no parameters for this card - the first card in the system is always used. The card receives in "Auto 204/188" mode where 204 byte packets sent to TSReader get stripped of their Reed-Solomon code resulting in 188 byte streams recorded by TSReader.

Support

If you need support or have comments, please email me at [email protected]. You also may want to visit our TSReader Support Page.