Mac Users lack Tivo togo support

[macrob]

O.K. I'm done waiting

I'm ready to hack my tivo.
I've been doing a lot of research the past 2 days (I'm on vacation from work) and it seems that the series 2 are now hackable. The best hack for Mac users seems to be TivoTool (Thanks Fofer), and the more I read about it, the more I want it. My prob is that I'm a newbie when it comes to linux, and I'm not sure which tools I need to use.

Does anyone know of a step by step guide to do this?

I've found several, but they have directions like "copy vserver to your tivo" but I don't know how to copy to tivo.

If I can't find the answers I'll give it a go an my own, and If I hose my tivos then I guess I'll have to go by a replaytv instead.

[Fofer]

Save yourself the hassle. Buy a pre-hacked, larger hard drive instead:
http://www.dvrupgrade.com/dvr/stores/1/category.cfm?SID=1&Category_ID=3&learnmore=1

[macrob]

Thanks, but they don't offer anything for stand alone series 2 units. Their download software is what I planed to use though to hack. Thats why I need some linux giudance.

[javabird]

Thanks! I got it working and now I'm a happy camper! It needed my MAC address before the videos would show up.

I meant to say it needs the MAK.

One problem I've noticed is that it keeps "forgetting" the video setting... I need to reset the videos option periodically as the Videos tab disappears after a time. This seems weird, since other preference settings are not forgotten.

Anyone else had this problem or found a workaround?

[davezatz]

Looks like TTG encryption has been cracked. I assume someone needs to compile this on OS X and we're set. A front-end would be nice as well.

http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?t=329879
http://tivodecode.sourceforge.net/

[TydalForce]

I tried "that application of which we're not allowed to speak" this morning real quick before leaving for work. I had no audio. I presume because I have a DRT-800, and the DVD based models use a different audio codec than the non-DVD units. Either that or I screwed up.

[Lon]

WOOT! works for me! :D

[Lon]

some comments:

if you have the XCode and/or Gnu compilers installed -- simply type make in the source directory.

for converted files:

VLC (I am currently using 0.8.6-test2a) works great

mplayer works fine

Quicktime Player doesn't work for me (even though I have Apple's MPEG2 codec installed) video stalls, but audio is fine

Quality is what you would expect from an analog-to-digital original file.

[davezatz]

(even though I have Apple's MPEG2 codec installed)

There are various flavors of MPEG-2 and Apple doesn't support them all...

I'll have to muck around when I get home tonight.

[unixb0y]

some comments:

if you have the XCode and/or Gnu compilers installed -- simply type make in the source directory.

for converted files:

VLC (I am currently using 0.8.6-test2a) works great

mplayer works fine

Quicktime Player doesn't work for me (even though I have Apple's MPEG2 codec installed) video stalls, but audio is fine

Quality is what you would expect from an analog-to-digital original file.

How long does it take to "convert" a show?

[TydalForce]

Define "convert"

If you mean to shove it through this new utility, its really fast -- I did a 500meg (15minute) program in like 2 minutes.

If you mean "run through some application to make it another video format",... longer. lol

[davezatz]

if you have the XCode and/or Gnu compilers installed -- simply type make in the source directory.

I'm a part time Mac user (don't hate me)... where would I find suitable free compiler for 10.3.9? :)

[Lon]

I'm a part time Mac user (don't hate me)... where would I find suitable free compiler for 10.3.9? :)

If you cannot find your XCode disk that came with 10.3 you can find binaries for gcc at a number of sites

http://www.google.com/search?q=gcc+binaries+mac+os+x

Or if you already have fink installed - that would likely be the easiest path.

[TheSlyBear]

I'm a part time Mac user (don't hate me)... where would I find suitable free compiler for 10.3.9? :)

Everything needed is installed as part of the Apple Dev Tools. It should be on your Panther installation DVD.

[Unix_Beard]

Fantastic.

How long does it take to "convert" a show?

I did a 30 minute show in seconds (like 30-40). I was using a 2.16GHz Core Duo iMac.

[davezatz]

Awesome - thanks!! I actually have two install/restore DVDs and it's on neither, but I have an Installation folder on the HD which had it waiting for me. I'll be back shortly with questions on how to *use* it. ;)

[Lon]

no timing stats to offer -- but I converted 9 hours (almost 23 GB of data) then used iSquint to make mp4 files (latter step took quite awhile, but was only a few clicks in effort) :D

[davezatz]

Did the iSquint MP4 work on an iPod? My video iPod is no more, I only have a red Nano these days.

Xcode install and 'make' were too easy. Going to covert in a second. Assume it all works, I'll put together a little guide for folks - if a part-time Mac guy like me can do it this easily, everyone should be ale to handle it.

[davezatz]

OK dumb question... once I make tivocode, where does it live? If I'm in Terminal viewing the Desktop dir, what path might I use? Thanks and sorry for being so thick. :)

[Lon]

Did the iSquint MP4 work on an iPod? My video iPod is no more, I only have a red Nano these days.
yes -- works fine on my 5th Gen iPod :)

Xcode install and 'make' were too easy. Going to covert in a second. Assume it all works, I'll put together a little guide for folks - if a part-time Mac guy like me can do it this easily, everyone should be ale to handle it.
( must refrain from making windows v mac comment... :D )

[Lon]

OK dumb question... once I make tivocode, where does it live? If I'm in Terminal viewing the Desktop dir, what path might I use? Thanks and sorry for being so thick. :)
in terminal type "echo $path"

you can put it in one of the listed directories -- preferably /usr/local/bin if you have it in your path

[gonzotek]

in terminal type "echo $path"

you can put it in one of the listed directories -- preferably /usr/local/bin if you have it in your path
I think he meant "Where does the compiler put the binary?"

[davezatz]

It puts it in the folder with the source - duh! ;)

So yeah I found it... but I'm doing something wrong, user error I'm sure:
tivodecode-0.1.2/objects.dir/tivodecode -m XXXXXXXXXX distraction.tivo -o distraction.mpg

This brings up the list of tivodecode flags/options... what did I goof?

[Lon]

I think he meant "Where does the compiler put the binary?"
my bad

the README file (in tivodecode directory) tells you the binary is in objects.dir -- and gives examples of its use

[Lon]

It puts it in the folder with the source - duh! ;)

So yeah I found it... but I'm doing something wrong, user error I'm sure:
tivodecode-0.1.2/objects.dir/tivodecode -m XXXXXXXXXX distraction.tivo -o distraction.mpg

This brings up the list of tivodecode flags/options... what did I goof?

looks like your options are out of order -- the program is strict in its order: file to be converted should be the last thing on the line

[davezatz]

looks like your options are out of order -- the program is strict in its order: file to be converted should be the last thing on the line

Sweet - that did it!

No audio for me via VLC or mplayer. File came from a Humax DVD burning TiVo and like I mentioned I'm running 10.3.9. Who else has no audio and what TiVo and Mac software do you have?

[TydalForce]

Sweet - that did it!

No audio for me via VLC or mplayer. File came from a Humax DVD burning TiVo and like I mentioned I'm running 10.3.9. Who else has no audio and what TiVo and Mac software do you have?

Dave I think you confirmed my suspicion

I have a Humax DVD model and had the same thing; no audio
Mac OS X 10.4.8
Tried VLC and MplayerX

[gonzotek]

Have/Can either of you take(n) an output file to the Windows GSpot (http://www.headbands.com/gspot/) program?

[davezatz]

I'm working with the developer now and testing a patch. He says the audio is handled differently as Tydal suspected. Stay tuned!

EDIT: Patch works! I assume he'll bundle this or add it as an optional download shortly. Kick ass!

EDIT 2: Version 0.1.3 is out now and corrects the missing audio prob related to DVD units.

[TydalForce]

sweet -- nice job!

Now that i've given my Series2 to my parents and switched to a Series3 which has no web server...

[Unix_Beard]

My first Tivo to iPod conversion (on the Mac) and it was pretty painless. :up:

[SnakeEyes]

Someone want to give an idiots guide? I've never compiled sourcecode before.

[nightstrm]

sweet -- nice job!

Now that i've given my Series2 to my parents and switched to a Series3 which has no web server...
Yeah, is there any way to get this to work with a Series3 unit?

[FrooBrar]

I'm glad everyone is liking my program so much. I wrote the thing 'cause I wanted to convert TiVo files on my Linux box without a windows vm. I made it portable because I like portable software, little did I know that it would have a nice, large audience among Mac fans :)

Has anyone tried it on >4GB files on the Mac yet? I am not sure if I got large file support correct for the Mac, as I don't own one.

[Lon]

I'm glad everyone is liking my program so much. I wrote the thing 'cause I wanted to convert TiVo files on my Linux box without a windows vm. I made it portable because I like portable software, little did I know that it would have a nice, large audience among Mac fans :)

Has anyone tried it on >4GB files on the Mac yet? I am not sure if I got large file support correct for the Mac, as I don't own one.
Thank you!! We are very grateful!

as to the file size -- no problem. I just tested your latest version on a 7.65 GB file (done in under 4 minutes on a dual G5 (2GHz)

[SnakeEyes]

Anyone want to offer a compiled binary?

[FrooBrar]

Anyone want to offer a compiled binary?

The SourceForge compile farm offers a "[PPC - G5] MacOS X 10.2 SERVER Edition" box. I know next to nothing about Macs and portability of binaries, but I could compile it there and stuff the binary, README, and COPYING into a .tar.gz or .zip or something like I did the Windows binary. Does anyone know if I built it on the above mentioned box, if that would be a good binary for general Mac users?

[icurnvs]

You'll probably want to find something for Intel Macs too. The PPC-G5 refers to older Macs using IBM PowerPC G5 chips. Apple has moved over to Intel processors in the last year. I may be wrong in this suggestion, so anyone can feel free to correct me.

[Lon]

The SourceForge compile farm offers a "[PPC - G5] MacOS X 10.2 SERVER Edition" box. I know next to nothing about Macs and portability of binaries, but I could compile it there and stuff the binary, README, and COPYING into a .tar.gz or .zip or something like I did the Windows binary. Does anyone know if I built it on the above mentioned box, if that would be a good binary for general Mac users?

That should work for PPC users -- Ideal would be an option for universal binaries

[FrooBrar]

I added the PPC binary to the project download page. I know nothing about Ideal, but I did not find anything on the box with 'locate ideal' so I'm guessing that's not there.

[Lon]

I added the PPC binary to the project download page. I know nothing about Ideal, but I did not find anything on the box with 'locate ideal' so I'm guessing that's not there.
not blaming you!

I just now finished looking over the compile farm docs -- I am surprised that they don't have an intel mac yet.

edit: if they had 10.4.x tools, you should be able to configure for universal binary -- but doesn't look like they do

[Stewie]

Wow, finally... nice find and of course karma to the developers. It compiled fine on my 10.3 PB G4 and on our 10.4 G5 iMac. Conversion was also snappy... currently watching an archived Mythbusters, woot!
:cool:

[rworne]

Looks like TTG encryption has been cracked.

Yup. Could not have happened to a nicer company.

I tried this supposed XXXX to XXXX XXXX from my TiVo to my XXXX and it worked great.

Did TiVo do something to the USB drivers in this latest release? I'm getting shockingly good transfer rates compared to a few months ago.

Quicktime hates the XXXX, but Mplayer likes it. Things are going to get hopping again for Mac users.

[SnakeEyes]

Any other Mac users having their videos opened up in VLC in the wrong aspect ratio? I get a vertically stretched image.

[Lon]

Any other Mac users having their videos opened up in VLC in the wrong aspect ratio? I get a vertically stretched image.
You can change the viewing aspect ratio in VLC -- look under the Video menu.

[davezatz]

v1 of my tutorial/faq is up:
http://www.zatznotfunny.com/2006-12/tivotogo-on-your-mac/

Let me know what I got wrong or what might be useful to the world. (Keeping in mind someone will package this nicely in the next few days.)

[EwanG]

Actually there is ONE worry. I happen to own a PSP (long story), and Sony is famous for releasing firmware updates that newer games require, and that also break any of the homebrew applications released to that date.

How hard do we think it really is for Tivo to send out a service update that changes the encryption scheme for any new captures?

On the other hand, my personal belief (worth exactly as much as you paid for it), is that now that CableLabs has refused Microsoft's request to have Vista support what is essentially the TivoToGo functionality (you can't play it except to an XBox 360), that you can expect CableLabs to be equally "fair" to Tivo.

If that's the case, then I suspect that TTG support is going to become a minimal priority in future releases, and will probably stop working at some future date that isn't that far off.

FWIW...

[davezatz]

How hard do we think it really is for Tivo to send out a service update that changes the encryption scheme for any new captures?

I think most of the brains behind TiVoToGo and HME security was Arthur Van Hoff who is no longer with the company. Surely they have contingency plans and surely there are other folks capable of changing the mechanism, but in reality I wonder how big a deal this will be and if TiVo will bother. As far as time frame, remember it took several months before the slowdown issues were resolved so I think we've got some time to enjoy this either way and if they do eventually lock it down, maybe they'll have an official Mac TiVoToGo solution ready at that time. :)

[TydalForce]

I hope this doesn't kill any TTG for Series3

If TiVo does finally eventually come out with TTG:mac on their own, I'd probably use that over this new trick -- unless, of course, it kept crashing my computer and other unpleasentries

[shelbel]

maybe they'll have an official Mac TiVoToGo solution ready at that time
That gives us 3-4 years :D

Many thanks to everyone who's worked on the solution.

[Fofer]

Looks like TTG encryption has been cracked.

Serves TiVo right. :rolleyes:

Looking forward to seeing even more polished (GUI?) apps come out soon.

[TheSlyBear]

FrooBrar, seriously, do you have a PayPal account to accept donations? I'd like to reward your efforts on our behalf.

[TheSlyBear]

To those more conversant on the video formats:

If we use something like VisualHub or ffmpegX to convert the MPEG2 file to DV (so that the video can be imported into iLife programs), what's the chance of quality drop? Would another output format be more suitable?

[TydalForce]

There's always a quality drop when you convert from one format to another. I'm not sure what would be a good choice though

[Dennis Wilkinson]

There's always a quality drop when you convert from one format to another. I'm not sure what would be a good choice though

When iMovie HD works with HDV (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HDV), it uses the Apple Intermediate Codec. A QuickTime movie encoded with that codec type might be a good first thing to try.

[javabird]

v1 of my tutorial/faq is up:
http://www.zatznotfunny.com/2006-12/tivotogo-on-your-mac/

Let me know what I got wrong or what might be useful to the world. (Keeping in mind someone will package this nicely in the next few days.)

Can you add instructions for burning to DVD?

[Savafan1]

This works great, it's much better to just download the video files from my network, instead of using the slingplayer when I'm traveling. I just need to work on converting to a smaller file, since my upload speed sucks.

[SnakeEyes]

You can change the viewing aspect ratio in VLC -- look under the Video menu.

Yeah I see that now. I've used VLC for a long time now and never noticed those where there. But it isn't just me right? The videos do open up in odd ARs?

[Savafan1]

Yeah I see that now. I've used VLC for a long time now and never noticed those where there. But it isn't just me right? The videos do open up in odd ARs?


I had the same thing happen. The screen was stretched vertically. I was just happy that it would play.

[davezatz]

Can you add instructions for burning to DVD?

You can't burn to DVD using Apple's tool until you convert away from MPEG-2. I put some converter suggestions in there, but I'm more of a Windows guy. Does anyone have any other recommendations? Alternately, you could use a third-party tool (which I don't know of) to make DVDs from the MPEG-2. Does anyone know if Popcorn/Toast can handle these files?

[foureyedave19]

Wow, what a breakthrough! I was quite excited to put this to the test, but after downloading a show to test, setting up the program and running it through successfully, I found the output file to only be 20 minutes of the 2 hour file! I tried again with the same result, again after redownloding and "make"ing, again today with a different file this time 5 minutes of the 20 minute file, again with the PPC Binaries! I've tried VLC and MPlayer and I can't figure it out. What am I missing? Am I the only one? Help please!

[Fofer]

You can't burn to DVD using Apple's tool until you convert away from MPEG-2. I put some converter suggestions in there, but I'm more of a Windows guy. Does anyone have any other recommendations? Alternately, you could use a third-party tool (which I don't know of) to make DVDs from the MPEG-2. Does anyone know if Popcorn/Toast can handle these files?


Sizzle used to be able to do so (or at least promised it would)
http://mac.softpedia.com/get/Video/Sizzle-b.shtml

But I think development has stopped; haven't seen an update in forever and the website is 404.

[FrooBrar]

Wow, what a breakthrough! I was quite excited to put this to the test, but after downloading a show to test, setting up the program and running it through successfully, I found the output file to only be 20 minutes of the 2 hour file! I tried again with the same result, again after redownloding and "make"ing, again today with a different file this time 5 minutes of the 20 minute file, again with the PPC Binaries! I've tried VLC and MPlayer and I can't figure it out. What am I missing? Am I the only one? Help please!

What do the relative sizes of the .TiVo file to the .mpg file look like? The .TiVo file should be just slightly larger than the .mpg (by about a couple KB). If the .TiVo file is significantly larger, something funny is going on. If the size is around 4G, you may be running into large file issues. But 20 minutes sounds like way less than 4G, so...

[foureyedave19]

What do the relative sizes of the .TiVo file to the .mpg file look like? The .TiVo file should be just slightly larger than the .mpg (by about a couple KB). If the .TiVo file is significantly larger, something funny is going on. If the size is around 4G, you may be running into large file issues. But 20 minutes sounds like way less than 4G, so...

They are the relatively the same, for the 2 hour show (actually it may have been 1,5 hours not that that matters) the size was a little over 2gb and the output was the same, give or take a few kb, like you said. So I don't think it is a large file issue. Any other ideas FrooBar? I really appreciate the effort you put into this thing, I want to full enjoy it.

[FrooBrar]

They are the relatively the same, for the 2 hour show (actually it may have been 1,5 hours not that that matters) the size was a little over 2gb and the output was the same, give or take a few kb, like you said. So I don't think it is a large file issue. Any other ideas FrooBar? I really appreciate the effort you put into this thing, I want to full enjoy it.

I don't really have any other ideas. If the files are about the same size, then all the content should have been written to the MPEG. What program did you use to play it? I know with mplayer at least, if there are bad MPEG packets it will complain to stderr, so maybe try playing it from a terminal and look at the output for complaints.

[pdxkevin]

v1 of my tutorial/faq is up:
http://www.zatznotfunny.com/2006-12/tivotogo-on-your-mac/

Let me know what I got wrong or what might be useful to the world. (Keeping in mind someone will package this nicely in the next few days.)

I'd like to shake your hand. A thousand Thank yous!

This is very much appreciated.

[TheSlyBear]

Does anyone know if Popcorn/Toast can handle these files?

Yes. Toast Titanium handles the files without a hitch.

[mpauley]

I have a Mactel version to post if its ok with FrooBrar

[Fofer]

I have a Mactel version to post if its ok with FrooBrar

Yay! Please. And thanks.

[davezatz]

Yes. Toast Titanium handles the files without a hitch.

Awesome, I'll put this up somewhere tomorrow.

[Lon]

For those looking for non-toast ways to make a dvd: you can use ffmpegX to prepare files that can be used to author a dvd with Apple's Disk Utility app.

tutorial is here: http://www.ffmpegx.com/dvd_sub.html

It includes a discussion of subtitles but you can skip those parts.

[Fofer]

Yes. Toast Titanium handles the files without a hitch.

When you say "without a hitch," please clarify. Does it need to re-encode the files before burning, or does it accept the MPEG-2 format as-is, and burn it to a playable DVD?

I guess you could tell by the time it takes to burn...

[Dennis Wilkinson]

When you say "without a hitch," please clarify. Does it need to re-encode the files before burning, or does it accept the MPEG-2 format as-is, and burn it to a playable DVD?

I guess you could tell by the time it takes to burn...

That might depend on the file. TiVo MPEG from a non-DVD TiVo could be in the wrong format to burn to a "proper" DVD, either because it has the wrong resolution or because of GOP length issues.

[FrooBrar]

I have a Mactel version to post if its ok with FrooBrar

It's fine with me, but you don't need my permission, it is a BSD open source license, you can pretty much do what you want with it.

I put in a request with the sourceforge people to install a version of development tools on their PPC Mac compile farm host that support cross-compiling and universal binaries. I will see how that goes.

[FrooBrar]

I have seen that someone has put together an "Automator workflow" and intel binary to ease using the software. Sorry for my lack of Mac know-how and inability to test this or even really understand what this means. Is it some sort of GUI, or what?

http://www.geocities.com/kyoutekia/

[TydalForce]

Automator is essentially an easy to work with "macro" system
Basically, if you repeat the same several steps over and over again, Automator helps automate that process
http://www.apple.com/macosx/features/automator/ if you're curious

[mojoe2013]

I am sorry everyone. I have honestly ready all the posts, read the "how to guide" over on Zatz, but still can't figure out how to compile the Tivo Decode files.

I installed XCode, but need a dummy how-to on how to compile the files once in XCode.

I know I need to do it through Terminal, but is that through XCode?

I hope I am not the only one having this problem and hopefully someone will be really nice and throw something together for the rest of us.

Thank you!!!!!!!

[TydalForce]

open Terminal
navigate to the folder you've expanded to
type:
make

A folder called objects.dir will be created. navigate to that folder
run the tivodecode commands as dedscribed elsewhere

note: to change directories, use the cd command
cd /Users/yourusername/Desktop/tivodecode-0.1.3/

or something like that; depending on where you extract things.

[mojoe2013]

so i open terminal, then drag the "tivodecode-0.1.3" folder into the window to create the path.

then i hit "return" and get the message that it is a directory.

then i type "make" (with no quotes)

i get the message "*** No targets specified and no makefile found. Stop."

what am i doing wrong? again, i am sorry everyone, but really appreciate the help! i can't wait to play with this!

[TydalForce]

is there a file called "makefile" in your tivodecode-0.1.3 folder?

It might be worth... . trash that folder, and re-extract it from the tar.gz file you downloaded

I wonder if there's a particular component of XCode Tools that you need to make sure you've installed.

Hey, what version of OS X? And are you on PPC or Intel?

[TheSlyBear]

When you say "without a hitch," please clarify. Does it need to re-encode the files before burning, or does it accept the MPEG-2 format as-is, and burn it to a playable DVD?

I guess you could tell by the time it takes to burn...

It accepts the files dropped onto it with no problem. I think it may have done some re-encoding when writing the disk image or burning.

But I only tried it on a small file as a proof of concept. Tomorrow, I may have a chance to try a larger test.

[Unix_Beard]

I am sorry everyone. I have honestly ready all the posts, read the "how to guide" over on Zatz, but still can't figure out how to compile the Tivo Decode files.

I installed XCode, but need a dummy how-to on how to compile the files once in XCode.

I know I need to do it through Terminal, but is that through XCode?

I hope I am not the only one having this problem and hopefully someone will be really nice and throw something together for the rest of us.

Thank you!!!!!!!

Where is the 'tivodecode-0.1.3' folder? If its on the Desktop, do this in Terminal (don't drag anything. just type):

1. Open Terminal. It should say something similar to:

Last login: Sat Nov 25 18:24:41 on ttyp1
Welcome to Darwin!
mojoe2013:~ mojoe2013 $

2. Change to the tivo-decoder directory of source code. Type:

cd Desktop/tivodecode-0.1.3

3. For kicks, type:

pwd

It should say /Users/mojoe2013/Desktop/tivodecode-0.1.3 where 'mojoe2013' is the name of your username on your Mac. If it says that, then go to step 4

4. Type:

make

It should do a bunch of stuff and finally stop, returning to the prompt. If it doesn't, then xcode probably isn't installed.

5. After the successful make, you can run it. A new folder will be inside the tivodecode-0.1.3 folder called objects.dir. You only need to know this because thats where the newly created file called 'tivodecode' is and thats why you run it by typing:

./objects.dir/tivodecode --verbose --mak 99999999 --out /Users/mojoe2013/Desktop/JonStewart.mpg /Users/mojoe2013/Desktop/JonStewart.tivo

Where 99999999 is your MAK. The above command will take the JonStewart.tivo file on the Desktop and make the DRM-free JonStewart.mpg and place it on the Desktop.

[foureyedave19]

so i open terminal, then drag the "tivodecode-0.1.3" folder into the window to create the path.

then i hit "return" and get the message that it is a directory.

then i type "make" (with no quotes)

i get the message "*** No targets specified and no makefile found. Stop."

what am i doing wrong? again, i am sorry everyone, but really appreciate the help! i can't wait to play with this!

It sounds like you are missing the "cd " before the directory drag

cd /Users/User_Name_Here/Desktop/tivodecode-0.1.3/

[Unix_Beard]

so i open terminal, then drag the "tivodecode-0.1.3" folder into the window to create the path.

then i hit "return" and get the message that it is a directory.

then i type "make" (with no quotes)

i get the message "*** No targets specified and no makefile found. Stop."

what am i doing wrong? again, i am sorry everyone, but really appreciate the help! i can't wait to play with this!

Dragging the folder just inserts the path of the folder. Its not telling Terminal to do anything. Hitting enter and getting the "just a directory" message is Terminal saying "yeah, so....its just a directory." What you want to do is type "cd " (no quotes) and then drag in the folder and hit enter. Terminal will then "change into" that tivo directory. Then you can do the make and blah blah...

[Lon]

so i open terminal, then drag the "tivodecode-0.1.3" folder into the window to create the path.

type "cd " (that is a space following the cd) before you drag the folder to the terminal window

[mojoe2013]

well, i made some progress. see below:


aurora:~ My_User_Name$ cd Desktop/tivodecode-0.1.3
aurora:~/Desktop/tivodecode-0.1.3 hallaux$ make
mkdir -p objects.dir
gcc -Wall -O3 -D_FILE_OFFSET_BITS=64 -c -o objects.dir/hexlib.o hexlib.c
gcc -Wall -O3 -D_FILE_OFFSET_BITS=64 -c -o objects.dir/TuringFast.o TuringFast.c
gcc -Wall -O3 -D_FILE_OFFSET_BITS=64 -c -o objects.dir/sha1.o sha1.c
gcc -Wall -O3 -D_FILE_OFFSET_BITS=64 -c -o objects.dir/tivo-parse.o tivo-parse.c
gcc -Wall -O3 -D_FILE_OFFSET_BITS=64 -c -o objects.dir/happyfile.o happyfile.c
gcc -Wall -O3 -D_FILE_OFFSET_BITS=64 -c -o objects.dir/turing_stream.o turing_stream.c
gcc -Wall -O3 -D_FILE_OFFSET_BITS=64 -c -o objects.dir/tivodecode.o tivodecode.c
gcc -Wall -O3 -D_FILE_OFFSET_BITS=64 -c -o objects.dir/getopt.o getopt.c
gcc -Wall -O3 -D_FILE_OFFSET_BITS=64 -c -o objects.dir/getopt_long.o getopt_long.c
gcc -o objects.dir/tivodecode objects.dir/hexlib.o objects.dir/TuringFast.o objects.dir/sha1.o objects.dir/tivo-parse.o objects.dir/happyfile.o objects.dir/turing_stream.o objects.dir/tivodecode.o objects.dir/getopt.o objects.dir/getopt_long.o
ld: can't locate file for: -lcrt1.o
make: *** [objects.dir/tivodecode] Error 1
aurora:~/Desktop/tivodecode-0.1.3 My_User_Name$


my concern is with the second to last line that says "Error 1"

i then tried: ./objects.dir/tivodecode --verbose --mak 99999999 --out /Users/MY_USER_NAME/Desktop/JonStewart.mpg /Users/MY_USER_NAME/Desktop/JonStewart.tivo

and get the error: No such file or directory

i went into the actual object.dir folder and the file that is supposed to read "tivodecode" ends in ".o" along with the rest of the files in that folder.

am i the only one having these problems?

i tried trashing everything and starting over from the very begining. had the same results listed above.

i tried erasing the ".o" at the end of all the files in the object.dir folder and get "Permission Denied"

thoughts?

[FrooBrar]

well, i made some progress. see below:
ld: can't locate file for: -lcrt1.o


This is an interesting error. It looks like the development tools are not completely installed, or not correctly installed. As I have said before, I am not a Mac user, so I don't know why this would happen or what to do to fix it, but this is a linker error trying to link against the startup stubs for libc. AFAIK, this should not happen. Any Mac guru out there know how gcc can end up installed on a box and not know where to find a critical libc development file?


i tried erasing the ".o" at the end of all the files in the object.dir folder and get "Permission Denied"


That's not going to work, the program needs to be linked.

If you are using PPC, there is a binary on the sourceforge site now. If you are using Intel, someone on this forum has said that they have a binary, or you could try grabbing the one from here (http://www.geocities.com/kyoutekia/) if you don't mind it being 0.1.2, which does not support dvd-burning TiVos.

[cwoody222]

This is all very cool. Serves TiVo right.

Too bad (well, not really) I have a Series3 now.

[chiefted]

FrooBar,

Even though I am using a PPC iMac (G4, 2g ram, 250 hd, 10.4.8), I downloaded the uncompiled version.

Installed the Xcode tools.

Made the file.

Downloaded using the tivo built in web server/site, downloaded (which was the longest part), ran tivodecode using the instruction posted at zatsnotfunny site.

TOUCHDOWN! :D

Video ran perfectly in VLC. I did try to open it in democracy but I think with democracy it runs into the same problem as Quicktime where the audio and video aren't on the same time line so all you get is audio but no video (just what appears to be a screen shot). I haven't tried burning it to a DVD using either Toast or Disco yet, will try that tonight.

Oh couple side notes, what I did since I am using the program Path Finder on my mac is that I can open a Terminal window that will path (cd) right to the appropriate directory. I can then cut and paste the command right to terminal, including the MAK, type in the file name I want with the .mpg tag, and then drag drop the Tivo file. Also since this is a command, I found that it doesn't like spaces in the name of the file. I had to rename the original file to get it to work right.

[chiefted]

mojoe2013

well, i made some progress. see below:


aurora:~ My_User_Name$ cd Desktop/tivodecode-0.1.3
aurora:~/Desktop/tivodecode-0.1.3 hallaux$ make
mkdir -p objects.dir


I compiled the program myself but I didn't have to make the directory objects.dir

When I compiled I am pretty sure it did that on its own or...the more I think about that, the objects.dir directory was already there before running make.

Did you have to create the directory or am I just suffering from lack of coffee this morning.

[jeremybhunter@gm]

Can somebody give idot-proof how-to-install galleon (if that's the best option for pulling off of a Tivo Series2 box onto a Mac). I am totally lost here... on step one.

[mrsimon]

I too am having troubles installing Galleon for Mac OS X. Is there a thread that discusses the Mac and Galleon in detail?

Thanks,
mr.simon

[Quevar]

Download the file here:
http://prdownloads.sourceforge.net/galleon/galleon-unix-2.3.0.zip?download

Instructions are here:
http://galleon.tv/content/view/92/51/

Basically, unzip the file and go into the directory galleon/bin and type "chmod a+x *.sh", then "./run.sh" to run the server and "./gui.sh" to setup the server. I just set it up, but I'm not at home, so I don't know if it can actually connect and do anything yet. Make sure to check your firewall and make sure the ports are open.

[cwoody222]

Isn't there still a Mac Bundle for the current version of Galleon? That greatly eased the install and start-up of Galleon each time on the Mac.

It basically, after a one-time setup, gave you a Galleon dock icon to click to start Galleon every time.

Search for "galleon mac bundle" either here or google.

I know there were issues every time Galleon updated, though... not sure if the bundles kept up.

[timg]

This is what I've been using with Galleon (although I haven't updated to 2.3.0).
Works great and makes it double-clickable.

http://www.macupdate.com/info.php/id/19643

[cwoody222]

This is what I've been using with Galleon (although I haven't updated to 2.3.0).
Works great and makes it double-clickable.

http://www.macupdate.com/info.php/id/19643

Yep, that's what I was thinking of.

I think there was a way to change something rather easily to get it to work with updated versions of Galleon. I think I did that back in the 1.6 / 1.8 days instead of waiting for an downloading the bundle all over.

[Quevar]

Just ran across this and thought people might find this useful:
http://www.macgeekery.com/hacks/software/video/how_to_view_tivo_recordings_on_your_mac_or_ipod

This is a pretty cool automated way to get video off a TiVo and onto your iPod or into iTunes.

[Rosincrans]

For those who would rather use a widget to download the Tivo files.

http://www.dashboardwidgets.com/showcase/details.php?wid=281

[july1962]

I followed these directions, but when I type "make" I get this:

"-bash: make: command not found"

What am I doing wrong? :(


Where is the 'tivodecode-0.1.3' folder? If its on the Desktop, do this in Terminal (don't drag anything. just type):

1. Open Terminal. It should say something similar to:

Last login: Sat Nov 25 18:24:41 on ttyp1
Welcome to Darwin!
mojoe2013:~ mojoe2013 $

2. Change to the tivo-decoder directory of source code. Type:

cd Desktop/tivodecode-0.1.3

3. For kicks, type:

pwd

It should say /Users/mojoe2013/Desktop/tivodecode-0.1.3 where 'mojoe2013' is the name of your username on your Mac. If it says that, then go to step 4

4. Type:

make

It should do a bunch of stuff and finally stop, returning to the prompt. If it doesn't, then xcode probably isn't installed.

5. After the successful make, you can run it. A new folder will be inside the tivodecode-0.1.3 folder called objects.dir. You only need to know this because thats where the newly created file called 'tivodecode' is and thats why you run it by typing:

./objects.dir/tivodecode --verbose --mak 99999999 --out /Users/mojoe2013/Desktop/JonStewart.mpg /Users/mojoe2013/Desktop/JonStewart.tivo

Where 99999999 is your MAK. The above command will take the JonStewart.tivo file on the Desktop and make the DRM-free JonStewart.mpg and place it on the Desktop.

[timg]

More than likely you don't have the Developer Tools installed.

[foureyedave19]

I don't really have any other ideas. If the files are about the same size, then all the content should have been written to the MPEG. What program did you use to play it? I know with mplayer at least, if there are bad MPEG packets it will complain to stderr, so maybe try playing it from a terminal and look at the output for complaints.

Wow, Apperantly I had a bad install of mplayer, becasue upon a fresh install the file worked fine. Something is just up with my copy of VLC, it cuts out major chunks of the show. It isn't the first 5 minutes, it is serval cutscenes of the 30 minute show that timed out to about 5 minutes.

[mrsimon]

Thanks for all the help guys! Galleon is now working *mostly* like a charm, and since this has started there's now an AppleScript available at versiontracker to do the .tivo conversion for you!

-mr.simon

[davezatz]

there's now an AppleScript available at versiontracker to do the .tivo conversion for you

Has anyone tried it? I haven't yet. One of my readers said it crapped out on him.

[mrsimon]

Just tried it. Fast and friendly.

I think you have to "run" it once to enter your MAK. From there it's a droplet, just drag-and-drop your .tivo files onto the script. no need to launch anything.

mr.simon

[abobrow]

This whole development is so awesome, and it makes me wonder: Doesn't this basically mean that Tivo could have their own version of TTG Mac up and running in a matter of days? I mean, it's open source. What's left for Tivo to do other than wrap it up in a nice preference pane? For that matter, why didn't they do this? I'm not saying it was easy, but Tivo gave us the impression that it was impossible.

[cwoody222]

Because they don't care.

[davezatz]

Doesn't this basically mean that Tivo could have their own version of TTG Mac up and running in a matter of days? I mean, it's open source. What's left for Tivo to do other than wrap it up in a nice preference pane? For that matter, why didn't they do this? I'm not saying it was easy, but Tivo gave us the impression that it was impossible.

It's very easy. They knew the encryption and decryption pieces and if it can be encrypted on Linux (TiVo) it can be decrypted on *nix (Mac). The delay is that TiVo wants to keep the files encrypted when not in use, so they have to build some sort of blackbox to keep it locked down. Also they've probably had many debates on what to use as a player and/or to convert the files since standard Apple software will not handle these MPEG-2s. I'm not as pessimistic as Woody, but I do think this functionality is lower priority than some other initiatives (like selling ads).

[Fofer]

This whole development is so awesome, and it makes me wonder: Doesn't this basically mean that Tivo could have their own version of TTG Mac up and running in a matter of days? I mean, it's open source. What's left for Tivo to do other than wrap it up in a nice preference pane? For that matter, why didn't they do this? I'm not saying it was easy, but Tivo gave us the impression that it was impossible.

No, no, no. TiVo (technically) could have "developed" this a long time ago; after all they hold the "keys" to the decryption in the first place. I'm sure one of the big things holding Mac development up, IMHO, was the intricacies of creating the "DRM wrapper" to keep the content and copyright protected. That proved more difficult that TiVo had hoped (the Windows app uses Microsoft DRM, not available on the Mac platform.)

It wasn't about the tech aspects of extraction, or playback... it was about encryption and DRM responsibility.

That said, TiVo had other priorities (to quote cwoody222, "They don't care.") And as always, the chips fell where they may, and users took matters into their own hands.

Good for us.

[Fofer]

since standard Apple software will not handle these MPEG-2s.

I know I've asked this before and I still don't understand the answer. When you say "standard Apple software" are you referring to the fact that the QuickTime MPEG-2 plug in is an add-on? Again, the only reason I ask is, when I extract video (from a hacked DirecTiVo and TiVoTool, natch), I can play the video back perfectly (and I mean, perfectly, no glitches, no A/V sync issues at all,) all in QuickTime Player. Of course I have Apple MPEG-2 plug-in installed. Still, that's a small price to pay ($20?) for the functionality.

Sorry to belabor this question, but I still don't grok it completely. Please, if you will, break it down for me like I'm a 5-year-old. :o

[Puppy76]

They don't care.

This is proof of what I said before, that they could have created their own app (out of open source pieces mostly even) that decrypted the stream and fed it to an integrated player. It wouldn't have given full functionality, but it would have let you watch shows on your Mac, which would be good enough for lots of people, and certainly better than nothing.

But yeah, they don't care. It's too hard :D

[cwoody222]

They don't care.



Hey - that's my line :)

[Fofer]

This is proof of what I said before, that they could have created their own app (out of open source pieces mostly even) that decrypted the stream and fed it to an integrated player. It wouldn't have given full functionality, but it would have let you watch shows on your Mac, which would be good enough for lots of people, and certainly better than nothing.

What about the DRM, restricting the playback to customers' authorized computers? Remember, Windows TTG uses DRM from Microsoft in the PC media player (which isn't available on the Mac platform.) This doesn't "prove" that TiVo could have created their own app; it simply shows that users got frustrated with the delay enough to work out a way around the encryption. We have no responsibility to add DRM, we just want to watch the video on our Macs, after all.

[Dennis Wilkinson]

I know I've asked this before and I still don't understand the answer. When you say "standard Apple software" are you referring to the fact that the QuickTime MPEG-2 plug in is an add-on? Again, the only reason I ask is, when I extract video (from a hacked DirecTiVo and TiVoTool, natch), I can play the video back perfectly (and I mean, perfectly, no glitches, no A/V sync issues at all,) all in QuickTime Player. Of course I have Apple MPEG-2 plug-in installed. Still, that's a small price to pay ($20?) for the functionality.

Sorry to belabor this question, but I still don't grok it completely. Please, if you will, break it down for me like I'm a 5-year-old. :o

While you're right that this was "about encryption and DRM responsibility" what they have on Windows isn't Windows DRM (as tivodecode itself demonstrates). It's that they packaged it as a DirectShow filter (the equivalent on the Mac would actually be one or more QuickTime components.) Windows Media DRM doesn't enter into it.

As far as "why does TiVoTool work?" - Apple's MPEG-2 components support some MPEG stream types but not others. Since TiVoTool has to convert the tystreams into something, it just converts into one of the stream types the components support, presumably (I've never peeked at the output of TiVoTool.) Even the stream types that Apple supports have some issues, although a lot of people who make MPEG tools for the Mac understand them and can avoid them.

People haven't been able to play MPEG-2 decrypted using tivodecode using Apple's MPEG-2 plug ins (because the encrypted stream type isn't supported by Apple's components), but even that isn't the root of the issue. Because TiVo wanted to write a QuickTime component that just did the decryption, they'd need to get themselves injected between things being read from disk and Apple's MPEG-2 codecs, which aren't documented as part of the QuickTime API.

Apple's MPEG-2 components include a movie importer component (which takes the file on disk, says "hey, this is MPEG", and builds a QuickTime movie in memory using their MPEG-2 codecs (which handle decompression of the data) and, IIRC, a media handler component specific to MPEG-2 (this is the thing closest to the "getting stuff off disk" part, although it's likely a shim around the real component accessing the disk.). All Apple-provided, but undocumented, components, with explicit knowledge of one another. Combine that with the stream type that's been encrypted apparently being a type that Apple's components don't grok, and they'd certainly need some help from Apple to get things done in a supportable manner.

They might be able to do it without Apple by writing their own importer component and their own media handler components (or, by skipping Apple's MPEG-2 components entirely and writing their own, which I'd note took Apple themselves quite a long time.) Not an insignificant amount of work, and it's certainly not something that very many Mac developers would have experience doing (most Mac developers who work with QuickTime don't do it from "underneath" like this, unless they write codecs or support video grabbing/video output hardware.)

OK, so maybe you'll grok that if you're a really technical five year old. ;)

[davezatz]

Wow I was going to respond to the Windows non-DRM and the MPEG-2 thing, but Dennis did it much better than I could of. Thanks! :)

[abobrow]

TiVo (technically) could have "developed" this a long time ago; after all they hold the "keys" to the decryption in the first place. I'm sure one of the big things holding Mac development up, IMHO, was the intricacies of creating the "DRM wrapper" to keep the content and copyright protected. That proved more difficult that TiVo had hoped (the Windows app uses Microsoft DRM, not available on the Mac platform.)

Yes, good point.

Although, just thinking out loud. The Windows DRM wasn't strong, just annoying enough to thwart grandma. It was a matter of weeks before they figured out the DirecShow Dump solution. So isn't there some similar weak DRM already available for Quicktime? Heck, now Fairplay has been reverse engineered, so they could use that.

Ah, just read the big post about MPEG2, so I see what they're saying. Tivo would have to bundle VLC, which I suppose they don't want to do.

[Fofer]

OK, so maybe you'll grok that if you're a really technical five year old. ;)

:D Thanks, that'll do just fine. :up:

[mojoe2013]

i finally got it! thank you everyone!

what i did was went in and uninstalled XCode. i was had actually installed an older version of XCode from a couple of OS's ago. this time i used the one that came with tiger (duh!)

but everything works now!

please note that i am watching The Simpsons on my mac in the back of our companies shuttle as we drive by the Tivo headquarters. it is very satisfying.

[peternelson]

I've got TivoDecode working on OSX (PPC) - and I'm able to play the MPEG files in VLC (although VLC thinks the files are much shorter than they really are, which causes crashes if I 'scrub' through the file). I've also testing burning them to a DVD with Toast7 (which seems to work well).

Any suggestions on how to edit the MPEG files from TioDecode? I see MPEG editors available that require the QuickTime MPEG playback component - so I'm guessing that won't work with these MPEG files?

[Rosincrans]

I've got TivoDecode working on OSX (PPC) - and I'm able to play the MPEG files in VLC (although VLC thinks the files are much shorter than they really are, which causes crashes if I 'scrub' through the file). I've also testing burning them to a DVD with Toast7 (which seems to work well).

Any suggestions on how to edit the MPEG files from TioDecode? I see MPEG editors available that require the QuickTime MPEG playback component - so I'm guessing that won't work with these MPEG files?You can use ffmpegx to convert the file to a more managable format. I don't think there's any noticeable quality loss.

[e30mpower]

I've got TivoDecode working on OSX (PPC) - and I'm able to play the MPEG files in VLC (although VLC thinks the files are much shorter than they really are, which causes crashes if I 'scrub' through the file). I've also testing burning them to a DVD with Toast7 (which seems to work well).

Any suggestions on how to edit the MPEG files from TioDecode? I see MPEG editors available that require the QuickTime MPEG playback component - so I'm guessing that won't work with these MPEG files?
Back in the old days when I had to use Virtual PC and DirectShow Dump to get an MPEG file from TiVo, I couldn't edit it in QuickTime even though I had QuickTime Pro and the MPEG2 Extension. It just wouldn't read it. I even broke out an old Power Mac G3 and Final Cut Pro (version 1) to try to edit out commercials but couldn't get it to work. So if you find a relatively simple way to edit (by simple I mean "Mac simple," i.e., drag and drop a selection to the trash), let me know.

[swingline]

... I've also testing burning them to a DVD with Toast7 (which seems to work well).

I've tried burning with Toast 6 and I'm getting audio sync issue (about 1 sec out, consistently from beg. to end.) The mpeg that came out of tivodecoder plays fine, in sync. Anyone seeing this with Toast?

Also it took Toast almost 15 hours to encode the mpeg. I'm on a 17" PB 1.67 w/ 2GB Ram. Is that a normal amount of time?

[Fofer]

Back in the old days when I had to use Virtual PC and DirectShow Dump to get an MPEG file from TiVo, I couldn't edit it in QuickTime even though I had QuickTime Pro and the MPEG2 Extension. It just wouldn't read it. I even broke out an old Power Mac G3 and Final Cut Pro (version 1) to try to edit out commercials but couldn't get it to work. So if you find a relatively simple way to edit (by simple I mean "Mac simple," i.e., drag and drop a selection to the trash), let me know.

Edit MPEG files using QuickTime Player Pro: http://www.macosxhints.com/article.php?story=20040213203637547


MPEG Streamclip: http://www.squared5.com/

[Fofer]

Also it took Toast almost 15 hours to encode the mpeg.

:eek:

I was afraid of that.

[johnnylundy]

I can confirm all the above.

- the .mpeg-2 files produced by the tivodecode binary won't play in QT Player, EVEN if you purchase the Apple MPEG-2 component.

- the MPEG-2 output of tivodecode WILL play in VLC, and you can use VLC's command-line to convert them to .mp4.

- you can pass the MPEG-2 file through iSquint (which is really an ffmpeg front-end) to make .mp4 files which WILL play on QT Player.

- I whipped up a GUI in Cocoa (AppleScript Studio) which will use tivodecode to process the .tivo files if anybody wants it.

- now I need to find out why my new USB 2.0 wireless adapter for my Series 2 (540) TiVo is giving me less than a third of the transfer speed of the USB 1.1 adapter I replaced (USB 2=150 KB/sec; USB 1.1= 360 KB/sec).

Cheers and Happy Holidays to all

Johnny

[davezatz]

Also it took Toast almost 15 hours to encode the mpeg. I'm on a 17" PB 1.67 w/ 2GB Ram. Is that a normal amount of time?

I haven't tried it yet, but these times are often dependent on what your incoming and outgoing quality and resolutions are. I would imagine it could be done MUCH faster. Can anyone confirm?

[Fofer]

I whipped up a GUI in Cocoa (AppleScript Studio) which will use tivodecode to process the .tivo files if anybody wants it.

Yes please. :)

[TheSlyBear]

I haven't tried it yet, but these times are often dependent on what your incoming and outgoing quality and resolutions are. I would imagine it could be done MUCH faster. Can anyone confirm?

Hmm, I used Toast Titanium 7 on a 2GHZ MacBook Pro (with 2G ram) to create a DVD-R of a 20-minute decoded clip and it took less than an hour. I haven't had time to play with it since but will try to set aside some time this evening.

[chiefted]

Edit MPEG files using QuickTime Player Pro: http://www.macosxhints.com/article.php?story=20040213203637547


MPEG Streamclip: http://www.squared5.com/

Tried this last night and for some reason MPEG Streamclip won't let me edit them.

I get the static video (like a screen shot) but I do get audio.

Do I have to convert it first?

[Fofer]

I don't know, to tell you the truth, I haven't tried this workflow yet. But I was aware of the program's "promise" and figured I'd suggest it to the collective discussion. :)

[johnnylundy]

Yes please. :)


http://homepage.mac.com/johnnylundy/

It's at the bottom of the list titled "TiVo File Decoder".

Enter your MAK and hit Tab to make it accept it.

Then click the "Open TiVo File" button and navigate to where the .tivo file is and select it.

Then click "Convert To MPEG-2".

It will name the output file the same as the input, with ".mpeg" added to the end.

Cancelling will delete the (incomplete) output file.

LET ME KNOW OF ANY BUGS. I tested it but it has not had a lot of workout.

This does not install any files except one Preference file containing the MAK so you do not have to keep re-entering it. That file is

~/Library/Preferences/com.jlsoftware.tivoFileDecoder.plist

and can be deleted at any time.

To "uninstall", just drag the application to the Trash.

[HIHZia]

Don't know if anyone's seen this yet.

http://thebenesch.com/tdm/

It's suppposed to be an all in one transfer decode gui.

I'm going to try it at home tonight but if anyone gets to it sooner I'd like to hear about it.

[Fofer]

http://homepage.mac.com/johnnylundy/

It's at the bottom of the list titled "TiVo File Decoder".


Thanks for sharing this, johnnylundy!

[peternelson]

I've tried burning with Toast 6 and I'm getting audio sync issue (about 1 sec out, consistently from beg. to end.) The mpeg that came out of tivodecoder plays fine, in sync. Anyone seeing this with Toast?

Also it took Toast almost 15 hours to encode the mpeg. I'm on a 17" PB 1.67 w/ 2GB Ram. Is that a normal amount of time?


I've made two DVDs so far with Toast7 on a 1GHz eMac G4 with 768 meg RAM. Nothing took close to 15 hours. The first DVD contained about an hour (2 half-hour shows recorded at medium quality - each file about 600meg), and I had Toast7 set to encode at it's highest quality. The MPEG files were re-encoded, but it didn't take too long - although I walked away from the computer for a while, so I don't know exactly how long it took. An hour, maybe? I realized my mistake when I ended up with a DVD that was just under 2.5 gig, which is about twice the size of the source files!. That disc played fine in my home DVD player.

I made a second DVD last night with Toast7 set to "never encode". I had about 3 hours of shows (6 half-hour shows recorded at medium quality - each file about 600meg). The process was much faster. It went right to multiplexing, and it took well under an hour to make a disc image. (maybe 30 minutes? I wasn't timing it...) I haven't burned that disc image to a DVD to see if it plays in my DVD player yet - but I was able to mount the disc image in my eMac and play it with the "DVD Player" application.

[superdlux]

Don't know if anyone's seen this yet.

http://thebenesch.com/tdm/

It's suppposed to be an all in one transfer decode gui.

I'm going to try it at home tonight but if anyone gets to it sooner I'd like to hear about it.


I'm trying it now– it looks great!

[jdbastin]

Don't know if anyone's seen this yet.

It's suppposed to be an all in one transfer decode gui.

I'm going to try it at home tonight but if anyone gets to it sooner I'd like to hear about it.

It works perfectly on my Intel Mac. Very well done.


BTW, to any Linux users out there, I was able to stream video off of the Tivo perfectly using the mplayer pipe command that was posted previously. I am running Fedora 5 on that machine.

[HIHZia]

I'm trying it now– it looks great!

What machine are you using?

I'm on a 1.2 Ghz G4 10.3.9

[superdlux]

G4 933 10.4.7, 1.5g Ram

[HIHZia]

Not having any luck. I'm getting this Applescript error. Can anyone translate?

curl: option --digest is unknown
curl: try 'curl --help' for more information (2

[timg]

That message means that your version of curl doesn't support that command line option. You need to update curl to a newer version.

Are you running 10.3.9?

[jblake]

http://homepage.mac.com/johnnylundy/

It's at the bottom of the list titled "TiVo File Decoder".

Enter your MAK and hit Tab to make it accept it.

Then click the "Open TiVo File" button and navigate to where the .tivo file is and select it.

Then click "Convert To MPEG-2".

It will name the output file the same as the input, with ".mpeg" added to the end.

Cancelling will delete the (incomplete) output file.

LET ME KNOW OF ANY BUGS. I tested it but it has not had a lot of workout.

This does not install any files except one Preference file containing the MAK so you do not have to keep re-entering it. That file is

~/Library/Preferences/com.jlsoftware.tivoFileDecoder.plist

and can be deleted at any time.

To "uninstall", just drag the application to the Trash.

That's awesome. Any chance that you will release the source?

[HIHZia]

That message means that your version of curl doesn't support that command line option. You need to update curl to a newer version.

Are you running 10.3.9?

Yes. How do I update curl? What is curl?

[timg]

curl is the program that actually downloads the video from your Tivo.

I know the curl version in 10.4.8 works, so you could upgrade to 10.4 ...

If you didn't want to do that, you could try this:

http://www.versiontracker.com/dyn/moreinfo/macosx/13445

[Rangers4me]

I'm trying to use Tivo Decode Manager on 10.4.8, but I get the following errors:

line 1: unexpected EOF while looking for matching '
line 4: syntax error: unexpected end of file (2)

This occurs both when I manually put in the IP of the TiVo or choose My TiVo from the drop downlist.

[westside_guy]

Be sure to upgrade to the latest version 1.1.2 of TivoDecode Manager - it was just posted this afternoon.

This is GREAT!!

[javabird]

I've been trying this and so far it works great (Powerbook G4 with 10.4.8). Thanks!
I noticed I have to manually quit after each file is converted. It would be nice to either have it quit automatically, or have the option to decode another file (the choice is grayed out after decoding 1 file).


http://homepage.mac.com/johnnylundy/

It's at the bottom of the list titled "TiVo File Decoder".

Enter your MAK and hit Tab to make it accept it.

Then click the "Open TiVo File" button and navigate to where the .tivo file is and select it.

Then click "Convert To MPEG-2".

It will name the output file the same as the input, with ".mpeg" added to the end.

Cancelling will delete the (incomplete) output file.

LET ME KNOW OF ANY BUGS. I tested it but it has not had a lot of workout.

This does not install any files except one Preference file containing the MAK so you do not have to keep re-entering it. That file is

~/Library/Preferences/com.jlsoftware.tivoFileDecoder.plist

and can be deleted at any time.

To "uninstall", just drag the application to the Trash.

[schalliol]

TiVo Decode Manager seems to work great. Does anyone know if there's an easy way to take the MPEG files generated by the program and send them straight to DVD w/o having to recode them?

[Fofer]

TiVo Decode Manager seems to work great. Does anyone know if there's an easy way to take the MPEG files generated by the program and send them straight to DVD w/o having to recode them?

peternelson posted above about using Toast 7 to burn, and having set the option to "never encode:"

I made a second DVD last night with Toast7 set to "never encode". I had about 3 hours of shows (6 half-hour shows recorded at medium quality - each file about 600meg). The process was much faster. It went right to multiplexing, and it took well under an hour to make a disc image. (maybe 30 minutes? I wasn't timing it...) I haven't burned that disc image to a DVD to see if it plays in my DVD player yet - but I was able to mount the disc image in my eMac and play it with the "DVD Player" application.

So I'm curious to hear how a burned disk that way works in a standalone DVD player.

However, I'm pretty sure these extracted files have a different resolution, from the standard DVD spec. So the re-encoding process actually brings them within compatibility for more DVD Players. I guess the point I am trying to make is, not all DVD Players would be happy with a disk created by MPEG's not completely compatible. What works on one player might not work on another.

I think the re-encoding mitigates that risk?

[schalliol]

DVD Players play MPEG-2, so I wouldn't think there should be a problem. However, I do have difficulties playing some MPEG-2 files (like these) through QuickTime.

[Fofer]

DVD Players play MPEG-2, so I wouldn't think there should be a problem.

All MPEG-2 files are not created equal, though. TiVo Series 2 records in a 480 x 480 resolution. Many DVD players choke on that, preferring the more standard 720×480, I believe.

Some DVD creator apps simply won't accept the files. And those that do, and burn without re-encoding, will create disks that may not play in all players.

More discussion here:
http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?p=3707076&&#post3707076
And lots more available by Googling.

I even saw a link to a hack tip that shows how to change the resolution that TiVo records with, for better compliance:
http://www.tuhs.org/twiki/bin/view/Videoextract/DVDArchivingwithLinux2

I guess my point is, simply burning without re-encoding might not produce the desired effect for you. It may be speedier, but at what cost?

If all you want is compatibility with your own player, then maybe it's not a big deal. Check first, and if it works, burn away!

But I'd personally hate to create a bunch of archived DVD's filled with recordings and find out later on that they didn't work in other DVD Players down the road.

[peternelson]

peternelson posted above about using Toast 7 to burn, and having set the option to "never encode:"


So I'm curious to hear how a burned disk that way works in a standalone DVD player.

However, I'm pretty sure these extracted files have a different resolution, from the standard DVD spec. So the re-encoding process actually brings them within compatibility for more DVD Players. I guess the point I am trying to make is, not all DVD Players would be happy with a disk created by MPEG's not completely compatible. What works on one player might not work on another.

I think the re-encoding mitigates that risk?


I finally burned that Toast7 disc image of non-re-encoded MPEGs to a DVD and tried it in my Sony DVD player. It plays, but I noticed that the audio is slightly out of sync right from the beginning of each show. I think the audio is about 1/2 second earlier than the video. Looking back at the DVD I made earlier with re-encoding, I noticed that it's also slightly out of sync by about the same amount. These files were converted to MPEGs with TivoDecoder v0.1.2 - and I've got a Series 2 TiVo (540 series). I noticed that v0.1.4 is out now - mabye I'll try re-decoding these files?

All the files I decoded/burned are medium TiVo quality, which have a resolution of 352x480. Both DVDs I burned (re-encoded and non-re-encoded) ended up with the same 352x480 resolution on the DVD. (in other words, re-encoding with Toast7 apparently didn't change the resolution). From reading posts on this forum, that resolution is known as "half D1" (half DVD resolution) and is supported by some DVD players. High/best quality TiVo recordings have 480x480 resolution, and that is not supported by many DVD players.

So it looks like Toast7 isn't the answer! What's next?

[westside_guy]

DVD Players play MPEG-2, so I wouldn't think there should be a problem. However, I do have difficulties playing some MPEG-2 files (like these) through QuickTime.

Quicktime doesn't handle the MPEG2 muxed format, even if you've purchased the extra MPEG2 codec from Apple; so you either have to play the files with VLC or MPlayer, or else use something like ffmpegX to split the audio and video tracks.

Edit: I noticed after the fact that someone else already mentioned using ffmpegX. It's not the most user-friendly app in the world, but it works. I've found I have to manually set it to use 480x360 resolution for the video, otherwise when it auto-detects it messes up the aspect ratio in the target .mov (or whatever format you choose).

[nightstrm]

I've seen rumors around that we may be seeing something "official" at Macworld in January. I'm not holding my breath (especially since I have a S3 Tivo), but here's hoping.

[Dennis Wilkinson]

DVD Players play MPEG-2, so I wouldn't think there should be a problem.

The DVD spec doesn't call for players to support arbitrary MPEG-2 formats, though. In fact, there are pretty strict numbers for resolution, bit rate, maximum length of a group of pictures, and so on (the Wikipedia entry (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DVD-Video) covers this pretty well). The formats that TiVos record in are not all formats covered by the DVD spec.

Some DVD players will handle more formats than are covered by the spec, but none are required to, so you're taking your chances if you don't reencode and don't know what the real specs of the MPEG-2 you're working with are.

[Fofer]

The DVD spec doesn't call for players to support arbitrary MPEG-2 formats, though. In fact, there are pretty strict numbers for resolution, bit rate, maximum length of a group of pictures, and so on (the Wikipedia entry (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DVD-Video) covers this pretty well). The formats that TiVos record in are not all formats covered by the DVD spec.

Some DVD players will handle more formats than are covered by the spec, but none are required to, so you're taking your chances if you don't reencode and don't know what the real specs of the MPEG-2 you're working with are.

Yeah, Dennis stated it better (and more succinctly) than I could above.

I also have read that certain TiVo's (like, the ones that have DVD Recorders built in, or the ones called DirecTiVos) record in different resolutions better suited for that particular purpose and platform.

IE: the ones with integrated DVD Recorders, would of course, record with the appropriate "DVD spec" resolution, so the disks it outputs are compatible with most DVD players.

[swingline]

I finally burned that Toast7 disc image of non-re-encoded MPEGs to a DVD and tried it in my Sony DVD player. It plays, but I noticed that the audio is slightly out of sync right from the beginning of each show. I think the audio is about 1/2 second earlier than the video. Looking back at the DVD I made earlier with re-encoding, I noticed that it's also slightly out of sync by about the same amount. These files were converted to MPEGs with TivoDecoder v0.1.2 - and I've got a Series 2 TiVo (540 series). I noticed that v0.1.4 is out now - mabye I'll try re-decoding these files?

All the files I decoded/burned are medium TiVo quality, which have a resolution of 352x480. Both DVDs I burned (re-encoded and non-re-encoded) ended up with the same 352x480 resolution on the DVD. (in other words, re-encoding with Toast7 apparently didn't change the resolution). From reading posts on this forum, that resolution is known as "half D1" (half DVD resolution) and is supported by some DVD players. High/best quality TiVo recordings have 480x480 resolution, and that is not supported by many DVD players.

So it looks like Toast7 isn't the answer! What's next?

I think TivoDecoder 0.1.4 solved my sync issues. The file looks and sounds great when I play it in VLC. I've also been doing some burning experiments. I have 2 DVD decks; one's a samsung burner that's very finicky and likes its discs to be very vanilla and the other's a stock VCR combo thing that has literally played everything I have ever put in it. When I burn with Toast 7, whether I re-encode or not, I can play it on the combo deck and it looks and sounds great, no sync issues. The finicky deck looks great but has no sound at all, whether I re-encode or not.

However when I go the ffmpegx route, choosing DVD as the output, I get a disc that plays, with audio in both machines. I've not yet done this with a file downloaded under 0.1.4, but this looks like the safest approach for now, which is a drag because Toasts 1-step encoding-burning is pretty neat.

[SnakeEyes]

I'm not the only one that has to choose the aspect ratio in VLC for videos pulled from my TiVo right?

[schalliol]

Maybe someone has covered this and I missed it, but some of the programs I download do in fact cut off (at least when played from VLC) about 8-10 minutes into them. The files do show a similar size to the files on the TiVo, so I don't think that it's missing. Does anyone know how to fix this?

[Lon]

Maybe someone has covered this and I missed it, but some of the programs I download do in fact cut off (at least when played from VLC) about 8-10 minutes into them. The files do show a similar size to the files on the TiVo, so I don't think that it's missing. Does anyone know how to fix this?
What version of VLC are you running? 0.8.6 was just released the other day and works fine for me.

[peternelson]

What version of VLC are you running? 0.8.6 was just released the other day and works fine for me.

I can confirm that the latest version of VLC for OSX (0.8.6, released sometime this weekend) fixed the problem I had where the total time of the MPEG was reported incorrectly. I had problems with the previous version of VLC (0.8.5) where it couldn't figure out the correct length of the video (it though a 30 minute video was about 4 minutes long) and would crash if I scrubbed the playhead to the end of the file.

[javabird]

http://homepage.mac.com/johnnylundy/

It's at the bottom of the list titled "TiVo File Decoder".

.

johnnylundy, is there any chance you could update this to include the newer version of Tivo File Decoder (0.1.4)?

(this script has been working consistently better for me than some of the others floating around. much thanks!)

[Farshooter]

Am I the only one still stuck just trying to get my files off my Tivo and on my Mac so I can try to decode them? Via Safari/Bonjour or NowPlaying 2.0 widget the downloading starts but stalls well before the whole file gets downloaded. Ideas? If this is the wrong place to ask please send me to the correct thread! Thanks.

[derekcbart]

Am I the only one still stuck just trying to get my files off my Tivo and on my Mac so I can try to decode them? Via Safari/Bonjour or NowPlaying 2.0 widget the downloading starts but stalls well before the whole file gets downloaded. Ideas? If this is the wrong place to ask please send me to the correct thread! Thanks.
When TiVo Decoder was released last week I used the NowPlaying widget to download the file and it worked fine. I've only done it the one time to test out the decoder because I am only using the Series 3 now.

[douglb1]

well i guess when my contract is up next month i am leaving tivo behind as well... i had no idea that leaving mac users out in the cold has been going on as long as it has. bhuy bhuy tivo.

[TheSlyBear]

well i guess when my contract is up next month i am leaving tivo behind as well... i had no idea that leaving mac users out in the cold has been going on as long as it has. bhuy bhuy tivo.

Seems pretty silly to throw the baby out with the bathwater now that the DRM has been cracked. But your choice...

[javabird]

Am I the only one still stuck just trying to get my files off my Tivo and on my Mac so I can try to decode them? Via Safari/Bonjour or NowPlaying 2.0 widget the downloading starts but stalls well before the whole file gets downloaded. Ideas? If this is the wrong place to ask please send me to the correct thread! Thanks.

I've had good results using both (OSX 10.4.8). But you might want to try out the latest version of Tivo Decode Manager, which will download and decode in one step:

http://thebenesch.com/tdm/

[javabird]

I'm not the only one that has to choose the aspect ratio in VLC for videos pulled from my TiVo right?

Same here. I prefer MPlayer which just works.

[buzzdata]

All,

I'm working on an alternative to tivo decode manager, a universal binary all-in-one solution for the mac. Development is progressing well in my spare time. Application has the following features:

- Support multiple tivo dvrs
- download, decode, and convert multiple files in single step
- optionally scale and convert for ipod
- automatically add to iTunes

Planning to release this as open source eventually - hope is to get it far enough along to make it useful before submitting it. I'm looking for a handful of beta testers for feedback. Send me a PM if interested.

[tonyf3]

I've had good results using both (OSX 10.4.8). But you might want to try out the latest version of Tivo Decode Manager, which will download and decode in one step:

http://thebenesch.com/tdm/

The latest version (1.5) won't connect to my TiVo.
The previous version worked fine until I cleaned up my desktop.
Now it processes the Shows but leaves me with a Zero K file.

Upgraded to 1.5 from 1.1.6. Tried going back to 1.1.6 but it won't connect now either.

By the way, great work Dave. Thanks for all the effort. Hoping for a patch or update soon.

[tonyf3]

Update: At Home TDM 1.5, appears to have my 2 TiVo's in it's drop down list and rememeberd the IP & MAK code. But nothing shows up in the Now Playing window. I was switching between TiVo's at work and at home. Same issue there.

It worked well for a day anyway. Kinda like dropping an ice cream cone on the ground just as someone hands it to you.

[homeinvader]

Am I the only one still stuck just trying to get my files off my Tivo and on my Mac so I can try to decode them? Via Safari/Bonjour or NowPlaying 2.0 widget the downloading starts but stalls well before the whole file gets downloaded. Ideas? If this is the wrong place to ask please send me to the correct thread! Thanks.

I'm pretty sure it's your wireless adapter, not the software.

I had the same trouble. it would start the download, then stall after a little bit. I was using a D-Link wireless adapter and read somewhere here that some wireless adapters do not have a stable enough connection for downloading large files. While being able to connect to Tivo service just fine, they cannot download large files reliably. I swapped it out for actual Tivo Wireless G adapter and it solved the trouble. All files download completely with no trouble whatsoever.

[Farshooter]

Seems you have it right. If I do a wired connection all is well. I'd been using my wireless connection and never had trouble until started asking it to do the big jobs! Guess I'll stay wired for the moment cuz I dont' want to send MacRude Tivo any more of my money at this point for a connector that will work.

Thanks!!! --Doug

[Fofer]

MacRude Tivo


LOL

:cool: :up:

[tonyf3]

So, TiVo Decode Manager 1.5 is now working. May have been a MAK Key issue. It seems to remember the Cue, IP, and MAK of the last TiVo connected to. I appear to have had the MAK from my Work TiVo with the IP for my Home TiVo. Trying my first download with 1.5 and decoding directly to Quicktime. It's a little slower, but cooking right along.

[briguymaine]

Does anyone else think it's funny that PCs have been stumbling around for a year with a flawed (granted you only hear about the problems in this forum) yet legit TTG, and now we mac users seem to have a fantastic (yet not so legit) solution that seems to have dropped in our laps.

I know about TivoTools but it's not a solution for me!

[TheSlyBear]

Well, yes, it's great! And I publicly applaud the author.

But I'm not sure I'd put it into the "fantastic" column until an easy, quick and loss-avoiding means to bring the video into the iApps is concocted.

I'm currently converting the MPEG to DV using ffmpegX, but I'd hardly call that easy or quick.

[TydalForce]

the only way we're gonna get loss-avoiding is to build a good mpeg2 codec into quicktime.....

I'm as big an Apple fan as anyone, but I'm a bit surprised they charge $20 (?) for a not-so-great mpeg2 codec as it is...

[davezatz]

Does anyone else think it's funny that PCs have been stumbling around for a year with a flawed (granted you only hear about the problems in this forum) yet legit TTG, and now we mac users seem to have a fantastic (yet not so legit) solution that seems to have dropped in our laps.

In case it's not clear, TiVo Decode works on Windows and Linux too. I've got it on my Mac *and* my PC. Not to mention the code is open source...

[hargreae]

I think TivoDecoder 0.1.4 solved my sync issues. The file looks and sounds great when I play it in VLC. I've also been doing some burning experiments.
Using Toast 7, I burned a DVD of a one-hour program that had been decoded using 0.1.2 and when the resulting DVD was played back, the audio was about 1-2 seconds ahead of the video, making it largely useless. I recently transferred off a different one-hour program, decoded using 0.1.4 and again burned using Toast 7. The result was better, but audio was still off by half-a-second or so.

I was pretty excited by tivodecode at first, so that I could finally burn my recorded programs to DVD (even without ad-cutting capabilities) but now it seems pointless. Any suggestions?

[javabird]

Using Toast 7, I burned a DVD of a one-hour program that had been decoded using 0.1.2 and when the resulting DVD was played back, the audio was about 1-2 seconds ahead of the video, making it largely useless. I recently transferred off a different one-hour program, decoded using 0.1.4 and again burned using Toast 7. The result was better, but audio was still off by half-a-second or so.

I was pretty excited by tivodecode at first, so that I could finally burn my recorded programs to DVD (even without ad-cutting capabilities) but now it seems pointless. Any suggestions?

I've been experimenting with version 1.5 of Tivo Decode Manager, which seems to be giving good results. I'm encoding with Toast 7.1.2 and creating an image file to test it (uisng Apple's DVD player), then use use Toast to burn the image file to DVD. I haven't noticed any sync issues. It does take a long time, so it's best to let it encode overnight.

(It would be way less work to just use a DVD recorder from the Tivo, but I can't afford one and I already have a superdrive on my laptop.)

[macuser25]

I be that there will be an official Mac TiVo Togo option coming this year at the MacWorld event they have in San Francisco.

[davezatz]

I be that there will be an official Mac TiVo Togo option coming this year at the MacWorld event they have in San Francisco.

MacWorld and CES are the same time this year. TiVo is most definitely attending CES, but they're not on the public MacWorld roster at this time...

Though I do believe there will be an 'official' Mac TiVoToGo in 2007. Not that we'll need it - I assume these other apps will continue to be polished. Unless TiVo licenses a codec on the Mac (as they did on the PC) for conversions to use video in iLife/QuickTime.

[nightstrm]

It would be one less hurdle for those of us with Series 3 boxes and a Mac... while I don't think they will announce anything at CES in reference to enabling TTG on the S3, at least we'd have an official Mac client.

[dwdavedw]

I tried out version 1.5 of Tivo Decode Manager, can't get it to see the TIVO. I typed in the TIVO's ip address and can get to now playing in safari, and have downloaded a file from the tivo that way, but can't convert it.
Also, bonjour doesn't see the TIVO either - can that be part of the problem? How to solve that? Bonjour browser sees the Tivo, but doesn't show up in Safari. MAC 10.4.8 and brand new
Tivo Dual Tuner.

[Scott Atkinson]

I am most impressed by Tivo Decode Mgr: installed it today and it immediately saw both Tivos in my office.

I was able to transfer files off both. Downloads went fast, and played back flawlessly on my eMac.

A question: as the developer notes, QT chokes on the MPEG 2 files TDM generates. In order to be able to edit a file, I did the following: converted it to a .mov file using ffmpegX, and then edited the result. (I used SimplemovieX for this test.)

It works, but it's a bit awkward. Anyone else got thoughts on a way to cut directly from the MPEG 2 file?

Scott A.

[jblake]

You can use VLC to play the files directly (most of the time you have to select the aspect ratio, though) or you can use VisualHub to convert them to a more friendly format. I bought vishub just for this purpose, along with converting videos back to Tivo format (it has a built in Tivo profile) so I can put my existing videos back using TTG

[Scott Atkinson]

You can use VLC to play the files directly (most of the time you have to select the aspect ratio, though) or you can use VisualHub to convert them to a more friendly format. I bought vishub just for this purpose, along with converting videos back to Tivo format (it has a built in Tivo profile) so I can put my existing videos back using TTG

What I was hoping for was an editor that would let me cut up the MPEG 2 files TDM produces, without having to convert to another format first.

I tried several small editors this afternoon, none of which worked.

Never heard of VH until you referenced it. Looks like a much cleaner interface than ffmpegX.

Questions:

Does the flash part let you adjust contrast and level?

Is there batch processing?

Best,

Scott A.

btw - I've been a vlc guy for about a year, but tried mplayer this afternoon and it "just worked" for viewing TDM files.

[jblake]

VH does let you add files in batch, not sure on the flash part. Another really awesome feature if you are doing batches is that VH is XGrid enabled, meaning if you have other macs on your network (or a multi-core or multi-processor mac) it will split up the jobs and farm them out to any available processor on the network.

VH isn't much more than a front-end for already existing command line tools, but its so easy to use and you can do stuff in batch, stich files together, etc.. its really worth it to not have to learn how to do everything by command line.

[dwdavedw]

I got tivo decode manager working - repaired permissions, and realized you shouldn't use the ach tee tee Pee ess : // in the ip field.
(spam manager wouldn't let me write this correctly)
Still can't get bonjour to see the tivo though, in safari, only get _ech tee tee pee in the bonjour bookmark (again with the spam blocker)
Tivo decode manager worked great, downloaded and converted a 1/2 hour show and opened it in mplayer - no problems. Is there a decent "tivo for mac" faq out there that describes all this stuff in detail? It took me about 2 solid days to track down all the info on how to download, upload, convert each way, etc. etc.

[hargreae]

TiVoToGo for Mac made Wired News' Vaporware '06 Awards:
http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,72350-2.html?tw=wn_story_page_next2

And it earned Lame List nomination of the year on The Lame Show podcast:
http://podcast.hawktaildesign.com/ (http://podcast.hawktaildesign.com/The%20Lame%20Show/The%20Lame%20Show.html)

[davezatz]

TiVoToGo for Mac made Wired News' Vaporware '06 Awards:
http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,72350-2.html?tw=wn_story_page_next2

#2? Must have been a slow year for vapor. ;)

Negative publicity beats no publicity, and Wired is educating folks that TTG currently exists for Windows (you'd be surprised how many people have no idea) and that a Mac application is in the works.

By the way, Duke Nuken at #1 is getting old. Does anyone really care?

[patatrox]

By the way, Duke Nuken at #1 is getting old. Does anyone really care?

Yes.

I check the official site at least once every few months in hopes that maybe, just maybe....

[loudgazelle]

TiVoToGo for Mac made Wired News' Vaporware '06 Awards:
http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,72350-2.html?tw=wn_story_page_next2

And it earned Lame List nomination of the year on The Lame Show podcast:
http://podcast.hawktaildesign.com/ (http://podcast.hawktaildesign.com/The%20Lame%20Show/The%20Lame%20Show.html)


It'd be way nicer if they hadn't even promised anything... then i wouldn't be anticipating it only to keep on getting disappointed.

stupid tivo

[eschasi]

Harrumph. You know, I'd actually forgotten that tivotogo was supposed to be out in mid-06. That it wasn't isn't a major sin; that's life in the software biz. What was a major sin is not keeping your users informed. Yeah, nobody likes to stand up and admit they're late. But keeping your users is the dark is the A#1 way to make the problems worse.

At this point, Tivo is in a race between how long my series 2 lasts (it's getting a bit flakey) and delivering on their Mac code. Given their new pricing structures and repeated inability to do deliver on capabilities that the free software community seems to be handling well, I see no reason to buy another. At the moment the fees are reasonable, but damned if I'll be shelling out for a new box without the software promised two years ago.

[dgdickerson]

I just got Tivodecode Manager and trying to set up. It asks for "Media Access Key" The Tivo settings shows a "MAC ID:" which I thought was it but it does not work. Network tests out. Anyone with ideas?

[cwoody222]

Your MAK (Media Access Key) can be found on your TiVo's System Info screens (or somewhere in there in Settings). I think it's 10 digits.

[Scott Atkinson]

Everybody knows TDM 2.0 is now out, right?

s.

[javabird]

Everybody knows TDM 2.0 is now out, right?

s.

What is TDM?

[derekcbart]

What is TDM?
TiVo Decode Manager

It is basically the unofficial TTG for Mac.

[davezatz]

Everybody knows TDM 2.0 is now out, right?

Looks slick. I'll need to kick the fiancee off her Mac this week to try the revised version. Sometime after MacWorld I should be getting my own portable... waiting to see if they're any updates or new models (12"? tablet?) and see if I can get work to foot the bill. :)

[javabird]

thanks. I'll give the new version a try.

[paulyras]

Ahhh... 2.0 is very nice. I like the auto formatting for iPod etc... (I hadn't played with this since before 1.5, so that might not be that new). I like the cleaned up interface too. Thanks very much.

Not to be greedy, but is there any possibility of DL'ing simultaneously from two different tivos in the house? It's pretty clear that the Tivo itself is the limiting factor on speed, so it would be nice to be able to hit up both at the same time. I really doubt it would choke my home network.

Thanks, and again, great work.

P

[Scott Atkinson]

I just started to play with 2.0, and I may be severely wrong, but at first blush I couldn't get QT to properly play the .mov file it generated, running on a modest 1 gig eMac.

s.

[TydalForce]

If you don't transcode the video, and just download it, quicktime won't be able to play it -- it has no MPEG2 codec

Try VLC - http://www.videolan.org/ It's free and it's spiffy cool and will be able to play the files you yoink from your TiVo

[virtual_bliss]

Just to clarify, I assume if I want to burn a recording to DVD I would use the mpeg2 version and not mpeg4? Will iDVD do the trick?

[TheSlyBear]

quicktime won't be able to play it -- it has no MPEG2 codec


Even if you get the MPEG2 codec for Quicktime, the TiVo MPEG2 is not compatible with it.

[TheSlyBear]

Just to clarify, I assume if I want to burn a recording to DVD I would use the mpeg2 version and not mpeg4? Will iDVD do the trick?

iDVD will not accept mpeg2. The mpeg2 file needs to be converted to something Quicktime compatible. And because the decoded mpeg2 is not Quicktime-compatible, you can't use Quicktime itself to perform the conversion.

You could use ffmpegX, but I've had better luck with ViaualHub (not free).

As far as what to convert the mpeg2 file into.... well, as we speak I'm playing around with that and will report my findings when I have some results.

Toast Titanium (not free) will create a DVD from the mpeg2, but its DVD authoring is far less capable than iDVD.

[virtual_bliss]

Thanks for the info bootedbear. What format would I need to convert the mpeg2 in to in order for iDVD to work, .mov? MPEG4 won't work?

[TheSlyBear]

P.S. The same goes for any Quicktime-based application such as iMovie or Final Cut.

I have yet to find an OS X application that can edit the mpeg2 file. All I need to do is to elide the commercials, but I've had to convert to DV or mpeg4 to do that, so I can bring the video into Final Cut or Quicktime Pro.

[Figaro]

Well this TiVoDecode guy is my new hero. To actually be able to pull stuff off the TiVo to my laptop is just awesome. Now being able to convert to usable QuickTime is even awesomer. I don't have good luck with VLC so I like to avoid it. If only there was a way to improve the speed of getting it through the ghetto USB connection. Damn lack of ethernet.

[TheSlyBear]

Thanks for the info bootedbear. What format would I need to convert the mpeg2 in to in order for iDVD to work, .mov? MPEG4 won't work?

I've tried DV (very long conversion, very large files) and am now trying mpeg4.

iDVD is busily encoding a disk image of 4 one-half hour episodes as we speak. I'll report back with any quality issues once the DVD is burned and popped into my player.

[Scott Atkinson]

If you don't transcode the video, and just download it, quicktime won't be able to play it -- it has no MPEG2 codec

Try VLC - http://www.videolan.org/ It's free and it's spiffy cool and will be able to play the files you yoink from your TiVo

Of course, but it appears TDM 2.0 is transcoding automatically. One of the mods to version 2.0 - unless I'm misreading or misunderstanding - is autoconversion to QT compatible mp4 files.

s.

[TheSlyBear]

OK, the mpeg4 files (converted from mpeg2 via VisualHub) encoded fine in iDVD. The video was slightly grainy, but subjectively no more so than when I converted to DV. And the original signal wasn't all that stellar to begin with.

Of course, but it appears TDM 2.0 is transcoding automatically. One of the mods to version 2.0 - unless I'm misreading or misunderstanding - is autoconversion to QT compatible mp4 files.


Interesting. If the conversion is of high enough quality, that'll remove one conversion step. Good stuff.

Unfortunately, I can't try it because after downloading TDM 2.0.1 the interface is mostly non-responsive. The list works, but none of the buttons respond to a click. Weird.

[TheSlyBear]

Update: a re-install of TDM 2.0.1 seemed to clear things up (weird).

I'm downloading an episode in mpeg4 as I type. Will run it through the paces and report tomorrow.

[virtual_bliss]

I tried iDVD with an mpeg4 version of The Office. It worked fine, however the audio in the mpeg4 file was not in sync with the video so the dialogue was off by a few seconds. This wasn't a result of iDVD because it was in file itself. I used the custom mpeg4 download (but didn't change any settings), not the mpeg4 for ipod.

[FrooBrar]

I tried iDVD with an mpeg4 version of The Office. It worked fine, however the audio in the mpeg4 file was not in sync with the video so the dialogue was off by a few seconds. This wasn't a result of iDVD because it was in file itself. I used the custom mpeg4 download (but didn't change any settings), not the mpeg4 for ipod.

This happens to me a lot also, on Linux and on Windows with various software. I have also heard it from several people. If anyone has a good tip for ffmpeg or some other open-source transcoder on how to convert it to something that does not have audio-sync issues, I would love to hear it...

[gonzotek]

This happens to me a lot also, on Linux and on Windows with various software. I have also heard it from several people. If anyone has a good tip for ffmpeg or some other open-source transcoder on how to convert it to something that does not have audio-sync issues, I would love to hear it...I've also occasionally had audio sync issues on windows with ffmpeg. Have you tried the -async 1 flag? I've successfully used it to convert a downloaded mpeg4/mp3 avi to a tivo-friendly mpeg2. Here's the what the docs have to say about async (they don't provide much insight, but anyway...):
http://ffmpeg.mplayerhq.hu/ffmpeg-doc.html'-async samples_per_second'
Audio sync method. "Stretches/squeezes" the audio stream to match the timestamps, the parameter is the maximum samples per second by which the audio is changed. -async 1 is a special case where only the start of the audio stream is corrected without any later correction.

[TheSlyBear]

It worked fine, however the audio in the mpeg4 file was not in sync with the video so the dialogue was off by a few seconds.

Hmm. I downloaded two episodes of some shows last night using TDM 2.0.1 with the mp4 custom setting (video: 1800 kpbs, audio: 128 kbps) and there is no sync issue in either of the mp4 files.

FWIW, hardware is a MacBook Pro 2GHz Duo w/2G ram, OS X 10.4.8.

[javabird]

I tried iDVD with an mpeg4 version of The Office. It worked fine, however the audio in the mpeg4 file was not in sync with the video so the dialogue was off by a few seconds. This wasn't a result of iDVD because it was in file itself. I used the custom mpeg4 download (but didn't change any settings), not the mpeg4 for ipod.

I had the same problem with an mpeg4 file I tested and imported into iMovie. Audio noticeably out of sync.

[virtual_bliss]

Hmm. I downloaded two episodes of some shows last night using TDM 2.0.1 with the mp4 custom setting (video: 1800 kpbs, audio: 128 kbps) and there is no sync issue in either of the mp4 files.

FWIW, hardware is a MacBook Pro 2GHz Duo w/2G ram, OS X 10.4.8.

I downloaded a different show with TDM 2.0.1 (previous issue was with 2.0) and used same settings as you. This time, no audio out of sync issues. Maybe it was a problem with 2.0?

[Lon]

Just a quick link to an AppleInsider posting:

http://www.appleinsider.com/article.php?id=2357

for those too lazy to click through ... :)
Saturday, January 6, 2007
Macworld: Roxio issues Mac TiVo teaser; OWC ModBook

By Prince McLean
Published: 09:00 PM EST
Roxio, Axiotron and Other World Computer are among a handful of players in the Mac market that have released new product teasers ahead of next week's Macworld Expo in San Francisco, Calif.

Mac Ta-ta-ta-TeeVo?

Roxio, a division of Sonic Solutions popular for its Toast and Popcorn optical disc authoring software packages, is expected to deliver one of the most sought-after Mac software solutions during the conference.

The Novato, Calif.-based company this week distributed to affiliates a digital invitation to its booth at Macworld, promising a special gift. "We've got a special present for you," it said. "Come to booth #314 at Macworld Expo and see what we've got under wraps."

Roxio in the invitation also promises "show special prices, free gifts and raffle prizes. So what's in the software developer's secret sauce? What was that earlier? Did we say TiVo?

[Figaro]

Just a quick link to an AppleInsider posting:

http://www.appleinsider.com/article.php?id=2357

for those too lazy to click through ... :)


So if this is true, we will have to buy Toast in order to get something that the PC folks have for free?

[Fofer]

And, even if so, I say to TiVo: "Too little, too late."

(Thank you, TiVoDecodeManager. (http://thebenesch.com/tdm/))

[Figaro]

And, even if so, I say to TiVo: "Too little, too late."

(Thank you, TiVoDecodeManager. (http://thebenesch.com/tdm/))
I say that it is probably the last straw for me. Between their new prices and and now this? I might as well go with my cable companie's DVR and and ditch my single tuner series two. TiVo obviously does not want my business.

[nightstrm]

TiVo announcing Series 3 TTG functionality at CES AND a native Mac client at Macworld would be the perfect week for me.

Oh, and if Jobs releases the iPhone and iTV to the world. :D

[derekcbart]

TTG and MRV will not be in the initial release of 8.1 for the S3.

Here is another thread talking about this:
http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?p=4747806#post4747806

[Figaro]

TiVo announcing Series 3 TTG functionality at CES AND a native Mac client at Macworld would be the perfect week for me.

Oh, and if Jobs releases the iPhone and iTV to the world. :D
What if its a native Mac version that you have to pay for?

[Fofer]

What if its a native Mac version that you have to pay for?

What if that includes the DVD burning (which I assume it would, if the hints/rumors are true and that's what we're talking about.) Don't PC folks have to pay extra to be able to burn, too?

All of this is moot though, since Mac users got fed up waiting long ago. I suspect TiVoDecode Manager would be better than whatever TiVo/Roxio/whoever took 2.5 years to come out with, anyway.

[nightstrm]

What if its a native Mac version that you have to pay for?
That's a tough one... if the currently available options worked with the S3, I'd probably use it since I would not be concerned with burning capabilities (if that was the defining feature of the pay-for one).

[macuser25]

So if this is true, we will have to buy Toast in order to get something that the PC folks have for free?

PC users don't get it for free... all they get for free is the transfer to the PC... if they want to convert shows for iPod, they have to pay TiVo $30 for the Plus version of the TiVo Desktop... if they want burning they have to pay Roxio $70 for MyDVD.

Transfer is basically worthless by itself... the conversion and burning is what you want, and PC users have to pay for that too.

Plus, if it really is part of Toast... well... that's not too bad anyway... ask just about any Mac user and they'll tell you that Toast is one of the must-have apps you need.

If you get TiVo TOGO as part of Toast, and all the other Toast stuff... it's worth it IMO.

[Figaro]

PC users don't get it for free... all they get for free is the transfer to the PC... if they want to convert shows for iPod, they have to pay TiVo $30 for the Plus version of the TiVo Desktop... if they want burning they have to pay Roxio $70 for MyDVD.

Transfer is basically worthless by itself... the conversion and burning is what you want, and PC users have to pay for that too.

Plus, if it really is part of Toast... well... that's not too bad anyway... ask just about any Mac user and they'll tell you that Toast is one of the must-have apps you need.

If you get TiVo TOGO as part of Toast, and all the other Toast stuff... it's worth it IMO.


I only cared about the transfer ability. Burning has never been a big deal. I have been a Mac user and have been paid to use Macs for the past 10 years. During that time Toast has never been a must have. Granted that is just my experience, but I don't think I should have to pay someone else for something TiVo promised years ago.

[Dennis Wilkinson]

What if its a native Mac version that you have to pay for?

I've been expecting to have to pay somebody something for the Mac version from the get-go, since there are no licensed, usable MPEG-2 codecs installed on a Mac by default (the one supplied with the DVD Player app is usable only by that app and isn't a general QuickTime codec.) Either you'd pay Apple for the MPEG-2 QuickTime components or you'd pay TiVo to cover the cost of their licensing fee.

Technically, the same is true on the PC, but there your odds are a bit better, since all the DVD player apps over there use DirectShow MPEG 2 decoders available to all DirectShow apps, and most machines have DVD drives these days that bundle said player software. Of course, not all of the MPEG-2 decoders on the PC side will work correctly with TiVo Desktop/TTG, but that's a whole 'nother ball of wax.

[ryanozawa]

Gizmodo reported today, "It's Official: TiVo to Go for Mac Right Now (http://www.gizmodo.com/gadgets/announcements/its-official-tivo-to-go-for-mac-right-now-226204.php)." Except the link to Tivo.com goes nowhere. Maybe someone, somewhere, briefly jumped the gun on something that was supposed to be unveiled at Macworld? Hey, a guy can dream.

[Fofer]

Text says:

TiVo to Go is out for the Mac, but support comes by way of Roxio's Toast version 8. Yes, the DVD/CD burning software. So now you can burn your shows to DVD, convert shows to iPod/PSP format, and watch em on your Mac. First 5,000 customers to pick up a copy get a free remote.

[davezatz]

If you'd like more info and a few pics, you might want to stop by my site. I had a pretty good talk with both Roxio and TiVo last week and overall I think it's a nice solution.

http://www.zatznotfunny.com/2007-01/mac-tivotogo-is-here-by-roxio/

Software goes on sale TODAY.

[Fofer]

Eh. I'll wait until it works with Series 3. (It probably never will.)

Again: Too little, too late, TiVo.

[shelbel]

Well, it's certainly nice to have other options, particularly for those of you who have been having trouble burning dvds with the workarounds. But I just wanted to be able to watch shows in other rooms of the house that didn't have tv but did have a computer, and converting them to iPod format for my daughter to play on car trips just makes my day. I don't have any particular need to buy Toast; the apps I've got meet my needs right now.

Thank you again to everyone involved with developing the workaround apps! It can't be said enough.

[cwoody222]

Eh. I'll wait until it works with Series 3. (It probably never will.)

Again: Too little, too late, TiVo.

Ditto.

Nice try TiVo, but no go.

[Figaro]

Wow, they just don't have a clue how to maintain a good relationship with their customers.

"TiVo to Go is coming for the Mac. Yes it's still coming. It's here, you just have to buy a hundred dollar set of software to get it!"

[chiefted]

Well since I have a better, and FREE (as in speech and beer) will continue to use that. I may have to upgrade to Toast 8 at some point but its not a rush. Even if/when I do upgrade will continue to use TivoDecode manager that Dave Benesch has released. No DRM and easy to use.

Ya Tivo...to little to late :down: (I know someone will say that Mac users are never happy even though this is out). My own feelings are that this wouldn't have been announced now if it weren't for everyone that put in some much time and effort to what we have been using for a few months now and with the other reason (the project known as iTV) about to hit the streets they had to do something.

[thezippy]

More than too little too late, its an insult.

To have to pay $100 for this "feature" is ridiculous.

I've been a TIVO customer for a number of years now and have even had an article written about me, in the LA Times, and my love for TIVO.

But I'm done. It may seen, at a glance, like an over-reaction, but really this is the final straw in a product that's failing to keep up with the competition, has a bizarre and constantly changing price-structure, and has offered zero support to MAC users.

I'm not ready to go TIVO-free, but I'll be calling today and cancelling 1 of my 2 boxes... I can tivo on the bigger box and transfer files to the 2nd over my home network.

Cya, Tivo.

[Lon]

if you look at the screen shots:

http://blog.wired.com/wiredphotos13/2007/01/playing_a_stand.html

you will notice the "Elgato" player controller -- other screens look similar to Elgato's EyeTV app, too.

[SullyND]

I'm not ready to go TIVO-free, but I'll be calling today and cancelling 1 of my 2 boxes... I can tivo on the bigger box and transfer files to the 2nd over my home network.

Assuming both are Series 2 devices, good luck with that.

[TheSlyBear]

Hmmm, not to be negative, but I didn't see anything that would allow for removing commercials prior to burning.

[derekcbart]

Well, one of the main applications that I use on an almost daily basis is Toast, so I will be purchasing version 8 at some point anyways. The main thing I want TTG for is to burn/archive episodes to DVD so this will be easier, but with TiVoDecode Manager it really isn't necessary since that works perfectly fine with the current version of Toast.

[Puppy76]

I have very little interest in burning shows to DVD (I've only wanted to once, and couldn't get it to work on my PC). So the $100 Toast thing is lame...but on the other hand, the software looks really nice, and it looks like it's actually a much better solution than what you get on Windows.

[johnkzin]

My own feelings are that this wouldn't have been announced now if it weren't for [...] and with the other reason (the project known as iTV) about to hit the streets they had to do something.

I am not sure it's an effort to compete with iTV, as much as it's an effort to be compatible with iTV.

1) Toast 8 is going to let you automatically transfer shows from your Tivo to your Mac, and automatically add them to your iTunes library.

2) iTV plays video content out of your iTunes library.

Poof. Instant compatibility between Tivo and iTV. Though, yeah, it costs you $100.


I wonder if I can use this even if I don't have DVD burner... and if it'll work with a DirecTivo (series 2). If the answer to those is yes, then it's worth the $100. If the answer is "yes on lack of DVD burner, but you'll need a different Tivo" ... then maybe not as interesting.

I also wonder if it'll work with multiple Tivo units.

(and, I'm brand new to this community, so I have _no_ idea what the other work arounds give you ... )

[Robyn California]

More than too little too late, its an insult.

Too true, but you know about David's TiVoDecode Manager, right?

I find it an irony that we Mac users have to go "old school" and build the apps ourselves. You know, if Steve baby makes Leopard compatible with everything then maybe that will finally change the support tune.

You know what our reported US market share is? Apple was expected to sell 1.8 Million Macs over the holiday, past.

[Dr_Zoidberg]

I have very little interest in burning shows to DVD (I've only wanted to once, and couldn't get it to work on my PC). So the $100 Toast thing is lame...but on the other hand, the software looks really nice, and it looks like it's actually a much better solution than what you get on Windows.



I'm with you, I don't want DVD burning, and I have no need for yet another remote (My Harmony 880 is all I need, TYVM).

wow. Way to go, TiVo :down:

[derekcbart]

There are actually many other deals than the remote. Here is the Roxio MacWorld page:
http://www.roxio.com/enu/promotions/landing/macworld/default.html

I chose a non-TiVo bundle because some of the other software/accessories were more interesting to me.

And yes, I just said a few moments ago that I would be waiting, but when I saw the other deals I decided to order it today. I just have no will power, I guess.

[HIHZia]

Either way using Toast 8 or TDM 2.1 it looks like I'm out of luck until I upgrade OS X. Toast requires 10.4.8 and TDM requires at least 10.4. I'm pretty sure my old G4 won't handle 10.5 when it comes out so it may end up requiring a whole new system. That could be good or bad. :( :)