MCEBuddy

Great product - I'm looking forward to using it fully!

 My problem is similar to a previous recent post: my files are converted but do not play beyond the first 15 seconds or so.

 Any help would be greatly appreciated

 That doesn't sound like a bad conversion but more of a DRM issue, some cable companies send video signals to certain premium and movie channels, I'd check that to be sure.

PS: You CAN filter out the signals before it reaches Media Center by adding a filter such as in the link below to the -SVideo or component/composite video connection. This is how I record premium and movie channels and never had a problem.

Link:

You're right - the affected recordings are HBO, Showtime, etc.

 It's such a shame that the space-hogging Microsoft format causes such workarounds at additional cost.  It may be time to look at SageTV where at least I can record in a better compressed format.

 Many thanks for your help

You will have similar results with SageTV BeyondTV or anything else. The signals are being broadcast via your tv provider, they can have different effects but generally break the video file upon attempting to convert. I hate to say it but it's not always Microsoft's fault.