Tech Tip Daily

If I had unlimited space on my Media Center computer, I would never stop recording.  Unfortunately, that’s not very feasible (yet).  While I do have quite a bit of storage space between all of my machines and devices, because of Microsoft’s DVR-MS copy protection, I’m only able to watch recorded shows on my Media Center.

Fortunately, there’s a piece of software that can remove this protection so that files can be freely moved (and played) on different machines, as well as the Media Center.  Before I go into detail, however, I am obligated to inform you that removing copy-protection is a violation of applicable law and is punishable by hefty fines and jail time.  These following instructions are for educational purposes only and should not be tried.  Also, I am in no way connected to the individual who has developed this piece of software; I found him after a simple Google search.  He deserves all credit (and punishment) for this application.

Now, legalities aside, here’s the dirt.  The software application is called DVRMSToolbox and it can take any dvrms file type and convert it to a wide variety of file formats, including mpeg, avi, and wmv.  It’s not the absolute easiest piece of software to use, but anyone with even a little bit of PC know how should have no problems figuring it out.

To transcode your Media Center recorded shows:

1. Go to the homepage here and download the latest installation package (at the time of this article, it’s 1.2.1.3).  After downloading, run the installation package and install the software.
2. You can open the software from the start menu under DVRMSToolbox.  The application you want is titled DVRMSToolboxGUI.
3. Here’s the slightly complicated part.  There happens to be no browse button for targeting files, so you’ll need to manually enter the path for the file you would like to convert.  By default, at least in my version, files are stored at C:\Recorded TV.  This is configurable in the settings and might be different based on your system.  For example, in the input file field, you would put “C:\Recorded TV\ShowXXXXX.dvrms”.
4. Before you put a target name for the file, in the “Profile” field, drop down the menu and select any one of the convert options (avi, mpeg, wmv, etc.).  This is personal preference, and a google search will explain the difference between each.
5. Now, place the file path in the output file field.  Example – C:\Converted TV\ShowXXXXX.avi (make sure to put the appropriate file extension for whatever conversion option you selected in step 4).
6. Hit Run and you should be good to go.

There are some other things you can do with the software, such as batch conversion and directory monitoring, but I’ll leave that to you to experiment with.

That’s all!  Thanks, and happy computing!