There are several situations in which you may find yourself needing to do a simple conversion of the audio contained inside an MKV file only to find out it’s not so simple after all. Despite the fact that the MKV format is a simple container for holding a video and audio files (as well as subtitles, chapters and other media) there aren’t too many options for working with the pieces contained within them. Demuxing (extracting) the parts contained in the MKV file and then working with them individually can be a somewhat daunting process for beginners and requires multiple pieces of software. Lucky, if you’re only in need of a simple program for working with the audio tracks contained inside Popcorn Audio Converter may have the solution you’re looking for.

To get started you’ll need to download the latest version of the Popcorn Audio Converter from the forums at Network Media Tank. Once installed launch the program and you will be prompted to allow for downloading a set of conversion utilities to assist in the conversion of the audio formats compatible with MKV. This simple method for obtaining the proper conversion tools is a handy addition to the program ensuring you’ve got all the proper software to accomplish the conversion without having to hunt down and download the packages manually.

Once the download has been completed you’ll notice that the once red boxes for inputting the locations of the tools, in the upper left hand corner of the program, have been filled in and are now white. If you should download a later version of any of the utilities used by Popcorn Audio Convertor you will need to use these input boxes to point the program to your preferred program location.

This should take care of the initial setup process of the program and you should now be all set to start your conversion. To begin, select the original MKV file you’d like to operate on in the Source File input box, which will be red until a file has been selected. Next determine the target file, this is the where you assign the name of the final converted file.

When you selected your input file you may have noticed that the text area below the file input area filled up with details on the original file. Use these details as a reference as to what is currently contained inside the MKV file. Next select the audio type from the tabbed options in the upper right hand area of the program that you’d like to convert. Choose the format of the original audio type currently contained in the file.

Under the tab for each audio format you’ll find numerous options for the conversion of that audio type. For example, under DTS you’ll be able to convert all the DTS tracks in this MKV file to AC3 Dolby Digital format. You can also adjust the bitrate or remove the DTS tracks from the MKV entirely. The other format options contain similar conversion possibilities though each original media type will have different format options available for the conversion.

Once the options have been set, simply press the Run button under the file input area to begin the process. A new dialog area will appear showing the conversion process as the file is demuxed, converted and finally re-muxed into a new file. The process is relatively quick, taking only a few minutes to convert a single audio track from a full length movie.

That’s all there is to it! A simple program that does it’s task very well and quite efficiently. The options may be somewhat limited but for the specific purpose of converting formats that are incompatible with your software or hardware the program performs very well. A perfect example of a program designed for a single specific purpose without the frills making it simple to use for beginners and advanced users alike.

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Audio Conversion using Popcorn Audio Converter

Despite Windows 7 Media Center’s inclusion of a native movie library no function to actually rip the DVDs to the library was included. Certainly an attempt to avoid this legal grey area of copying purchased media to a secondary source, this also leaves out an important feature from the Media Center platform. This of course leaves an area open for third party developers to come up with a solution, however, up until this point very few options were available such as My Movies’ Media Center plugin. Fortunately, eMpTy3000 of The Green Button forums has taken up the initiative to create another option for Media Center users though not quite as developed as the My Movies option.

To get started with Auto Rip n Compress we’ll need to download a few programs. First, we’ll need to get a copy of DVDFab which includes the command line interface such as the latest version. Once installed you’ll need to run the program once to select the Free edition of the program as well. Also required is a copy of the latest version of the Handbrake CLI available from the Handbrake site as a separate download. Finally, install the Auto Rip n Convert program  check the TGB thread for the latest version.

After installing the program we need to setup the options. The main options dialog will appear once setup completes allowing you to set the basic options and define the locations of the programs we’ve downloaded as well as the DVD drive.

Be certain that the locations are correct as well as setting the final location to an area available to the Windows 7 Media Center Movie Library. On this screen there is also an option available to rip just the main movie or the entire disk. The Compress Settings allows you to establish the Handbrake CLI settings to be used by Auto Rip n Convert. Be certain to set the correct location of the Handbrake CLI, the file type extension to be used as well as the preset and subtitles options on this window. If you’d prefer to not compress the disk and leave the Video_TS as it is simply change the Compress option to No.

Once all the settings have been established correctly most Media Center users will want to create a start menu strip entry for the program as well to enable launching the program from inside Media Center. Unfortunately the program doesn’t offer this option and we’ll need to use Media Center Studio to do that at the moment. Also, the program doesn’t include a Media Center interface for naming the titles and instead minimizes Media Center to require manual title entry which will certainly be a turn-off to many Media Center users.

For those unfamiliar with Media Center Studio check out our previous articles on using the program as well as creating custom start menu strips. In order to add Auto Rip n Convert to a strip we’ll need to take the extra step of creating an entry point for the program inside Media Center Studio. From the Start Menu options pages press the Application creation button on the top actions strip to create a new entry. Then enter the location of the Auto Rip n Compress program and give the entry point a title then save the changes.

Now we can return to the main Start Menu tab and drag the new entry point from the listing to any strip we’d like to have it listed in. Once again save the changes and you can now close the program and launch Windows 7 Media Center.

As mentioned earlier the current version of Auto Rip n Convert doesn’t include a method for setting the DVD title from inside Media Center and will minimize the program to request the title entry. This is a serious downside and hopefully something that will be addressed in the future as there are many people who would prefer a complete Media Center experience.

From there the program will send the relevant options to DVDFab and Handbrake to automate the ripping and conversion process. The launching of these various windows may also interfere with the display of Windows 7 Media Center but this isn’t necessarily something that the author will be able to rectify. Also, DVDFab presents a number of additional options that will need to be answered before processing the first disk. Be certain to select the Do Not Ask Again option on each of these windows so as to not be prompted each time. That’s all there is to it! Auto Rip n Convert is certainly a decent new project and we’re sure the future will bring some updates that will improve the user experience though as always we’d love to see the project go open source.

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Auto Rip n Compress adds DVD Ripping to Media Center (Almost)

One major advantage to be had when using a Windows 7 Media Center over your standard cable DVR is the ability to scan and remove commercials from Recorded TV shows. Programs such as Lifextender, which can be setup to use either comskip or Showanalyzer, can arrange for new shows to be scanned and the commercials removed without having to process each file by hand. Unfortunately, Lifextender doesn’t work with the new WTV format so first we’ll need to convert the files using a program such as WTVWatcher.

To get started you’ll need to download and install both WTVWatcher and Lifextender or, if you prefer, we’ve also got a guide on using DVRMSToolbox with Lifextender. Once you’ve got both programs installed you’ll need to setup WTVWatcher to monitor the Recorded TV location. Use the preferences to set the location of your Recorded TV folder, typically C:UsersPublicRecorded TV. WTVWatcher will begin to go to work converting the WTV recordings into DVR-MS files that are readable by Lifextender.

WTVWatcher uses the built-in conversion program provided by Microsoft to convert each WTV file into a DVR-MS file. For even more information on WTVWatcher check out our previous review of this handy little tool right here. Once the files have been converted we can setup Lifextender to automatically scan for and cut commercials from these files. Next, open Lifextender and choose Options by right-clicking the icon in the system tray.

Under the general settings be sure to set the TV Recording path to the same directory as the one you set previously inside WTVWatcher. Also, unless you plan to run the process by hand enable the Automated Library Scanning so that Lifextender will automatically find your new shows for processing. To test your settings you can start a manual processing of the files by right-clicking the Lifextender system tray icon and selecting Scan Media Center Library.

Lifextender’s processing dialog will appear as the program scans each recorded show for commercials. This can take quite a bit of time depending on the length of the show and the complexity of commercial scanning process.

After processing each file will be added to the “blacklist” inside Lifextender’s options. This allows you to check the progress of Lifextender’s processing of files as well as preventing the program from scanning the same program each time the library is scanned for new content. You can find the blacklist under the Options –> Advanced tab. Here you can also add individual files to be excluded from processing, though if you have a certain show or channel you’d like to permanently exclude from processing there is an included Rules feature to allow for easier management.

Unfortunately, there has been some issues reported with Lifextender not accepting the converted files from WTVWatcher and the Lifextender program is no longer in active development. If you experience the same issue your only option may be to use the DVRMSToolbox method in this guide using an alternative program for converting the WTV files to DVR-MS. Also, be sure to drop a line in the comments below with as much detail as you can provide including which version of Windows 7 you’re using, Lifextender log info and anything else noteworthy. Perhaps we can sort out the issue with more information.

For most people, however, this method should provide a simple solution to easy commercial removal from Windows 7 Media Center recordings. Hopefully the future will bring us an alternative to Lifextender and more active development (and hopefully more open source projects as well!).

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Using WTVWatcher and Lifextender to Cut Commercials from Recorded Shows

As many former Vista Media Center users know, Windows 7 brought a new format to the Media Center in the form of the .WTV file. This new format is the new standard for recorded TV in Windows 7 Media Center, meaning all recorded TV will now be saved as WTV instead of the former standard DVR-MS. Unfortunately, this also means that programs with a long history of use by Media Center enthusiasts may no longer work with this new format. Luckily, however, Microsoft has been gracious enough to include a utility to convert WTV to DVR-MS through the right-click menu interface but doing all that conversion by hand can be tedious. That’s where WTVWatcher can take some work off your hands.

Sure there are other programs that have done this for a while now such as DVRMSToolbox but for the novice those solutions can be difficult to impossible to setup. For those looking for a simple solution to automatically convert WTV files to DVR-MS, it doesn’t get much simpler than WTVWatcher. To get started visit the WTVWatcher download site which will take you through the user agreement and required software and allow you to download the setup file.

Once installed, WTVWatcher operates as a system tray application with a small notification window to display progress. Upon running the program for the first time the display window will present you the option to set the folder to monitor for new WTV files, just press the button and select the location of your Recorded TV folder.

WTVWatcher also provides a handful of options by selecting the wrench icon at the top of the display window. In the preferences dialog you can set the time to wait before files are processed after completion, icon and display options and whether or not the progress window should be displayed.

Showing the progress window seemed to require the restart of the program, although not mentioned, but once restarted we were able to monitor the progress of the conversions. Taking around 3 minutes on average to convert an hour long HD file with the progress displayed as a simple Windows dialog.

The display window also displays a simple list of actions taken by the program notifying you of the beginning and end of conversions and the current folder being monitored. It’s safe to say that once the program has been setup most users will be setting it to simply minimize to the tray and run in the background however. It’s also important to note that once your files have been converted the original WTV file will be deleted, which is likely the preferred behavior in most cases but there is no option to disable the behavior.

Aside from that small caveat, WTVWatcher performed flawlessly as expected. The program uses the built-in conversion tool to do the conversion from WTV to DVR-MS and simply takes the task of manually selecting and converting each file by hand saving you time. It doesn’t get much more utilitarian than this, WTVWatcher does what it was designed to do well and without any fuss or muss. For those looking to continue using Lifextender in Windows 7 this handy little tool is a godsend.

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WTVWatcher Automates WTV to DVRMS Conversion