TSReader/TSReader Lite Version 2.4 README
Updated November 12, 2004

What's Here

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Cards with demultiplexers

TSReader was designed around hardware interfaces that send all packets from the transport stream. Some cards, such as those using the B2C2 control chip, cannot send the entire transport stream over to the PC but instead only allow a certain number of PIDs from the mux active at any one time. TSReader does support these cards but with a few restrictions:

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 parameters on the command-line are parameters specific to the source currently selected by TSReader. So for example:

TSReader -x nbc.xml 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

Summary

Switch Parameters Function
-1 none Force TSReader to run in Uniprocessor mode on a multiprocessor machine.
-a   Record All single file
-A   Record All split files
-c   TSReader control enable
-C receiver-type serial-port Receiver serial control enable
-d   Disable stream parsing
-D   Force DVB mode
-H   HTML export
-i   Force single TSReader instance
-l   Force low-res mode
-m   Load manual channels
-M   Launch TSReader minimized
-p   Force Program Stream format for command-line recordings
-r   Record Program single file
-R   Record Program split files
-s   Specify source name
-S    Source device number
-t   Select audio track for automatic recording
-v Auto stream to VLC
-V   Auto stream to VLC time limited
-x   Automatic XML export
-X   Automatic XMLTV export

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. If you want to output to a D-VHS deck, specify the filename as "D-VHS"
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 Recording Audio Track Selection

If the program being recorded contains multiple audio tracks, the -t switch is used to select between them:

-t audio-track

track The number of the audio track to record. To find this value launch TSReader in non-automatic mode, select the appropriate program and use the Record/Record Program menu. The audio tracks shown on the Record Program dialog use the same order as this switch - for example, -t 2 would select the second audio stream listed.

This switch has no effect unless the -r or -R switches are also used.

Automatic Transport Stream Recording

The -r and -R switches record a single program - the -a and -A switches are used to record the entire transport stream:

-a service file length
-A splitsize service file length

splitsize Only used with the -A 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 -a is used, a single file is generated. When -A 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 transport stream from NBC on AMC4 from a satellite card and the second example records channel 10 for 30 minutes, splitting the recording into 120 MB 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 -a 10 c:\mpeg\nbc.mpg 1800 3860 H 26670 5150 0
TSReader -A 120 10 c:\mpeg\nbc.mpg 1800

Note that the service number still needs to be specified although the entire mux is received. This is done so that any installed plugins can correctly set themselves up for the recording. If you don't use plugins for the recording session, simply set the service number to zero.

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.

Automatic XMLTV Export

This option behaves just like the -x option but exports in XMLTV format for use with the myHPTC program.

-X filename

filename The name of the file to write EPG data in XMLTV format

Automatic HTML Export

This option behaves just like the -x option but exports in HTML format.

-H filename

filename The name of the file to write decoded tables in HTML format

Automatic Manual Channel Load

The -m switch tells TSReader to load a manual channel file before starting processing. This switch is useful with the -r option when you want to record from a mux that doesn't carry proper MPEG-2 tables.

-m filename

filename The name of the TMC file created by TSReader to load

Resetting the TSReader Source

The -s switch resets the source TSReader will use for the session. This is useful to add to all automatic functions to ensure TSReader is using the source you expect. For example if you switch to the File source to look at an existing transport stream, you'll need to reset back to your hardware interface for recording new streams

-s source-filename

source-filename The name of the source DLL to switch to.

For example:

TSReader -s TSReader_Twinhan1030.dll -r 10 c:\mpeg\nbc.mpg 1800 3860 H 26670 5150 0

Specifying the source device number

Dektec and TechnoTrend drivers support multiple cards in the same system. The -S option is used to specify which of these TSReader will use. By default, the first card (card zero) will be used.

-S card number

card number The card number. First card is card 0, second card 1 and so on

For example:

TSReader -s TSReader_TTBudgetS.dll -S 1 3860 H 26670 5150 0

Disabling thumbnails and stream parsing

The -d switch disables thumbnails and stream parsing for the current TSReader session. Useful if you want thumbnails enabled when using TSReader interactively but want all processing overhead turned off when TSReader is performing automatic recording.

-d (no additional parameters)

Automatic playback via VLC

The -v and -V switches force TSReader to automatically start playing a selected stream through VLC.

-v service VLC-configuration
-V service VLC-configuration seconds

service The MPEG service number from the Program Association Table
VLC-configuration The VLC configuration number. This parameter is in the range 1-16 and represents a VLC configuration in TSReader. Typically 1 will be used for live playback.
seconds The number of seconds to run VLC. TSReader will automatically shutdown after this time. Used with the -V switch.

For example this command will play NASA-TV from Dish Network at 119 west:

TSReader -v 213 1 12297 L 20000 11250 0

Starting TSReader Minimized

The -M switch causes TSReader to startup minimized. Useful when performing an automatic recording or playback via VLC and you don't want the TSReader window showing up. Additionally if TSReader's option to hide when minimized is set TSReader's window will be hidden with an icon placed on the taskbar notification area.

-M (no additional parameters)

Controlling TSReader Instances

The -i switch forces TSReader to close any other instance of TSReader already running.

-i (no additional parameters)

Forcing DVB Mode

Some muxes contain both ATSC and DVB tables - the ATSC tables might be used with a remultiplexer to feed a digital TV transmitter for example. Using the -D switch forces TSReader into DVB mode (by ignoring ATSC PSIP on PID 0x1ffb) should you wish to look at the DVB tables. There's no option needed for ATSC mode - the rate of the ATSC PSIP is high enough to ensure ATSC mode on these mixed muxes.

-D (no additional parameters)

Source Parameters

DVB-S/DSS satellite cards

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

freq The frequency to tune in MHz (for example 11.700 GHz would be 11700)
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 Turns the 22 KHz 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-C cable cards

TSReader {TSReader-options} {freq sr QAM inversion bandwidth}

freq frequency to tune in 10ths of MHz (i.e. 5000 = 500.0 MHz 5005 = 500.5 MHz)
sr The symbol rate to use
QAM The QAM mode to use: 0=QAM-16 1=QAM-32 2=QAM-64 3=QAM-128 4=QAM-256
inversion inverted spectrum (0 or 1)
bandwidth bandwidth of signal (0 = 6, 1 = 7, 2 = 8 MHz)

DVB-T terrestrial cards

TSReader {TSReader-options} {freq inversion bandwidth}

freq frequency to tune in 10ths of MHz (i.e. 5000 = 500.0 MHz 5005 = 500.5 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

ATSC terrestrial cards

TSReader {TSReader-options} {freq}

freq frequency to tune in 10ths of MHz (i.e. 5000 = 500.0 MHz 5005 = 500.5 MHz)

Full-mode satellite card (DVB-S/Turbo/DCII)

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

freq The frequency to tune in MHz (for example 11.700 GHz would be 11700)
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 Turns the 22KHz tone on with a value of 1. Useful to switch between signals with an external switch.
mode Modulation mode to select. 0 = DVB QPSK, 1 = Turbo QPSK, 2 = Turbo 8PSK, 3 = Turbo 16QAM, 4 = DCII combo QPSK, 5 = DCII split QPSK I, 6 = DCII split QPSK Q, 7 = DCII OQPSK
fec FEC selection - varies depending on mode. See table below for details.
DiSEqC Optional. Sends DiSEqC command to select LNB input on a DiSEqC switch. Valid values are 1-4.

FEC Rate Table

Mode Rate Value
DVB QPSK 1/2 0
  2/3 1
  3/4 2
  5/6 3
  7/8 4
  Auto 5
Turbo QPSK 1/4 0
  1/2 1
  3/4 2
Turbo 8PSK 2/3 0
  3/4 I 1
  3/4 II 2
  5/6 3
  8/9 4
Turbo 16QAM 3/4 0
DCII modes 5/11 0
  1/2 1
  3/5 2
  2/3 3
  3/4 4
  4/5 5
  5/6 6
  7/8  7
  Auto 8

File version (File and File-loop sources)

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/Dektec ASI/SPI sources

TSReader {TSReader-options}

There are no parameters for these cards - 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.