HDTV TS Files

Anyone know who to view HD Freeview .TS files (recorded onto USB from TV)? I used to be able to view SD .ts files recorded in the same way, but every piece of software I've tried to far doesn't seem to even remotely work with HD .ts files

Have you tried VLC as well?

The only way I've been able to view .ts files in HD is to record them directly to my PC's hard drive using a USB tuner.

I believe all UK Freeview sets with recording functionality stop you from watching HD recordings on any other device, although it may be worth trying to convert the file using Handbrake.

I can't remember the last time I found a video file that VLC wouldn't at least attempt to play.

(It even did a bit of some UHD H265 HEVC which was recorded directly off satellite - though only a frame or two, as my CPU wasn't quite up to it.)

VLC doesn't even try to play it unfortunately.

Yeah, they'll be encrypted. Isn't it a requirement of Freeview branding?

I think this August DVB-T2 receiver than isn't Freeview endorsed or branded with a USB port that 'may' record channels that can be transferred to other devices?

https://www.amazon.co.uk/d/Home-Cinema-TV-Video/August-DVB400-Freeview-Receiver-Recording/B00BPAZGCG/ref=sr_1_10?ie=UTF8&qid=1500070837&sr=8-10&keywords=august+dvb-t

I might be wrong about the branding thing. The USB stick I bought a few years ago has "Freeview" on the box (mind you, not the proper logo) but records to unencrypted .ts files. Maybe it's just something TVs tend to do. Some use their own drive formatting so you can't even view the disk contents on a PC.

In any case, I think the encryption is only on the HD channels currently? Yet PC USB tuners don't have the same issue.

Any Freeview HD branded device that records to external media will add mandated DTCP (I believe - not sure if other encryption is allowed) encryption to HD recordings, to make sure they can only be played on the device that recorded them. (In fact I believe it has to do the same for internal storage too - so you can't remove the hard drive and play them/copy them)

The Freeview HD broadcasts themselves aren't encrypted (the Freeview HD EPG data is compressed using proprietary Huffman tables though) - but Freeview HD licensed devices must add encryption to recordings.

These two measures were introduced to allow Freeview HD NOT to be encrypted for broadcast (they were deemed - good enough for rights holders)

If you have a non-Freeview HD licensed recorder, or use a PC with a DVB-T2 tuner, this is a non-issue - the recordings are clean, unencrypted, and play in VLC, MPC-HC and most other players. (,TS is the most common recording format - as it is basically the MPEG2 transport stream that is being recorded with PIDs carrying AAC audio, H264 video etc. NB MPEG2 TS doesn't mean the video is MPEG2...)

(I believe the same rules also apply to Freesat HD devices)

http://www.dtcp.com/documents/dtcp/notice-of-dtcp-encoding-rules-for-uk-hd-dtt.pdf

They do. I managed to extract an HD recording file from my Humax Freesat box, and ftp'd it to a friend with an identical box, but the file wouldn't play for him.

20 years ago I could have lent him a VHS tape of the programme he missed. That's progress !

You could probably still play the recording out over composite to VHS and send it to him - unless they still put Macrovision in...