No need for MyDVD, Nero works fine.

[DZRhino]

Don't waste $50 on Sonic MyDVD (which is a piece of poop), NeroVision Express 3 works fine. So far I have made a VCD and a DVD from a 1/2 hour show that I transferred over via TivoToGo.

Transcoding takes the same time it would take with a non-protected DVD. Takes about an hour for each 1/2 hour. When you start to transcode, it asks you for your password and then proceeds just like it would with anything else.

You can use NVE3 to assemble your favorite programs onto a single disk, etc..

I am only using the CODECs that came with Nero. I assume that it is using the Tivo supplied filters that get installed with Tivo Desktop.

I use the entire Nero 6 Ultra Edition with all plugins (which I own). I would recommend getting the packaged version which you can find on a discount. That way you get all the plugins for free.

This experience tells me that some of the freeware DVD burning programs will probably work as well as some other competitors to Sonic.

[Darren1966]

I was going to post this today also. I finally got tivotogo last night and I transferred a show to my computer and my Nero express 2 made a vcd (video CD) without any problems. I haven't tried to make a DVD yet but I don't foresee any problems there since making a vcd was so easy.

[rlcarr]

I wish I had the same luck you guys have :(.

Nero Vision Express has only worked for one of my .tivo files. Even though it asks for the password.

[TivoPip]

This experience tells me that some of the freeware DVD burning programs will probably work as well as some other competitors to Sonic.

As long as the freeware DVD burnning program is directshow aware, then its possible.

[dmlove51]

As long as the freeware DVD burnning program is directshow aware, then its possible.

I asked yesterday, but no one answered - what does this mean, and how can you tell if the program is "aware"?

[m750]

1 google:

DirectShow

DirectShow (formerly ActiveMovie) is a multimedia architecture developed by Microsoft. It is part of Windows 98, Windows 2000, Windows XP and Internet Explorer, and available separately for free download from Microsoft (as part of DirectX).

DirectShow divides the processing of multimedia tasks such as video playback into a set of steps known as filters. Filters have a number of input and output pins which connect them together. The generic design of the connection mechanism means that filters can be connected in many different ways to achieve different tasks, and developers can add their own effects or other filters at any stage in the graph. DirectShow filter graphs are widely used in video playback (in which the filters will provide steps such as file parsing, video and audio de-multiplexing, decompressing and rendering) as well as being used for video and audio recording and editing. Interactive tasks such as DVD navigation are also successfully based on DirectShow.

To get started on developing a DirectShow filter, try the filter wizard for Visual Studio from John McAleely. This is way of creating a Visual C++ project for a DirectShow filter. It will create the code for a filter with no pins. This can then be modified by you to add pin and other code to create a useful filter.

[toots]

I think the quickest way you'll know is if/when you tell it the .tivo file you want to burn, the filter pops up a window asking you for the playback password.

[dmlove51]

The answer is wayyyyyyyy beyond what I wanted to know. I still don't know how you know whether a program is "DirectShow aware "?

[m750]

and the answer to that is... trial and error. ;). Sorry...
AO

[tfratzke]

I tried NVE2 the first time and got black screen, but my audio was fine. Then i tried NVE3 and just imported the .tivo file, burned the DVD and it worked fine. The only thing i did notice was the video playback quality on my TV was terrible. Audio was perfect. Maybe i did something wrong, like not changing the quallity (not sure if that's an option in NVE3). So then i tried Sonic, burned the same .tivo file, left the burn setting on "Fit to DVD", and the results looked great on my TV and my original TiVo recording was only Medium Quality. While Sonic is easy to use, it does seem slower than NVE3, but then again i was much happier with the results. I am not giving up on NVE3, and will defintely try it again. I just need to figure out how to change the quality of the burned DVD.

Tony

[morac]

Originally posted by dmlove51
The answer is wayyyyyyyy beyond what I wanted to know. I still don't know how you know whether a program is "DirectShow aware "?
Pretty much any windows program made in the last few years should be DirectShow aware (If you have an old Win95 program most likely it is not "DS aware").

A good way to tell if a program uses DirectShow is if the program is capable of burning multiple file formats (DivX, MPG4, WMV, AVI, etc) to DVD and not just one specific file format.

[toots]

Yeah, on NVE, I generally choose the DVD output profile, and crank the quality up a bit. I think the default quality would downsample to 350x480

[DZRhino]

I kept having problems getting out to a DVD format with NeroVision Express 3. It would blow up sometimes during transcode.

After a little trial and error I found the way:

1) Go to NVE3
2) Select 'Make Movie'
3) Browse for Media to My Tivo Recordings
4) Under 'file type' select "All Files *.*"
5) Pick your Tivo recording that you want to burn
6) Edit the file to using the sissors to the length and parts you want.
7) Select 'EXPORT MOVIE' and then select DVD format.
8) Export it, don't forget to name the file so you'll know what it is. It takes a minute for every minute of video time to export.
9) You now have a regular MPG movie file ready to edit, merge, etc. with other MPG files.
9) Back to Make Movie in NVE3 and select the exported file(s) and make a movie just like you would from any normal DVD format file.
10) Burn and enjoy!!!

Exporting it seems to clear any problems in transcoding etc.

Just burnt 3 different DVDs and they all work great!

Also did a SVCD and a MiniDVD to CD just to see if I could.

Let me know if you have any input or suggestions.

Additional info: I had some problems getting Nero through the longer shows, so I sent them a support question with the complete log. Their answer was: "Please deactivate the "burn at once" mode before bruning so the process will be finished succesfully.
Additional please bring your Nero up to date.
You can download the latest Nero 6 update from :
http://www.nero.com/en/nero-up.php"

[dmk1974]

Originally posted by DZRhino
I kept having problems getting out to a DVD format with NeroVision Express 3. It would blow up sometimes during transcode.

After a little trial and error I found the way:

1) Go to NVE3
2) Select 'Make Movie'
3) Browse for Media to My Tivo Recordings
4) Under 'file type' select "All Files *.*"
5) Pick your Tivo recording that you want to burn
6) Edit the file to using the sissors to the length and parts you want.
7) Select 'EXPORT MOVIE' and then select DVD format.
8) Export it, don't forget to name the file so you'll know what it is. It takes a minute for every minute of video time to export.
9) You now have a regular MPG movie file ready to edit, merge, etc. with other MPG files.
9) Back to Make Movie in NVE3 and select the exported file(s) and make a movie just like you would from any normal DVD format file.
10) Burn and enjoy!!!

Exporting it seems to clear any problems in transcoding etc.

Just burnt 3 different DVDs and they all work great!

Also did a SVCD and a MiniDVD to CD just to see if I could.

Let me know if you have any input or suggestions.

Thanks DZRhino...this works great!

Do you have to make the movie first or can your just make a video DVD in NVE3? I haven't tried yet since you have to transfer the whole show and it will take a while.

[DZRhino]

Originally posted by dmk1974
Thanks DZRhino...this works great!

Do you have to make the movie first or can your just make a video DVD in NVE3? I haven't tried yet since you have to transfer the whole show and it will take a while.

You use the NVE3 movie maker to set up the export. I recommend trimming the video if you can as that cuts the time. You may not want to spend the time cutting the ads etc. out. I just made sure it began with the show and ended with the show. After export, I used NVE3 to open the exported file, edit and then make the DVD in Movie Maker. I would think you could also use anything that would edit standard MPG2 files. Good question . . . I think I will try Adobe Premier and Pinnacel 9 to see if they can handle the exported file. When I tried the Tivo file originally they couldn't.

[BillShannon]

I tried using NVE3 and I can't get it to work. I import the .tvio file into NVE
and it asks for my password, but when I try to edit it or play it in NVE, all
I get is a black screen with audio noise. It appears that it's not decrypting
it properly. Curiously enough, in the My Media Files section, it correctly
shows a frame from the video next to the imported .tivo file.

What could I be doing wrong?

[dobbie1]

I am not having any luck with NVE3 either. It doesn't even ask for my password. I will give the above instructions a try, but I think it may be a hit and miss situation. Some work some don't.

[DZRhino]

For those of you trying to use NERO and having problems:

What version of Nero and of NVE3 do you have? Version of DirectX? Version of the OS? Use the Nero Infotool (under Tools) to check your software loaded and the versions.

I am using MS XP Pro SP2. My NVE3 is the latest: 3.0.1.27 and I have downloaded all the available plugins. DirectX is 9.0c.

Video Codecs on my system:
------------
Cinepak Codec by Radius : 1.10.0.11
Intel Indeo(R) Video R3.2
Intel Indeo(R) Video R3.2
Microsoft RLE : 5.1.2600.2180 (xpsp_sp2_rtm.040803-2158)
Microsoft Video 1 : 5.1.2600.0 (xpclient.010817-1148)
Microsoft H.263 Video Codec : 5.1.2600.2180
Microsoft H.261 Video Codec : 5.1.2600.2180
Indeo® video 5.10 : R.5.10.15.2.55
Microsoft YUV : 5.3.2600.2180 (xpsp_sp2_rtm.040803-2158)
Microsoft YUV : 5.3.2600.2180 (xpsp_sp2_rtm.040803-2158)
Microsoft YUV : 5.3.2600.2180 (xpsp_sp2_rtm.040803-2158)
Intel IYUV codec : 5.1.2600.2180 (xpsp_sp2_rtm.040803-2158)
Toshiba YUV Codec : 5.1.2600.0 (XPClient.010817-1148)
PICVideo MJPEG Codec : 2.10.0.25
PCLEPIM1 32-bit Compressor : 2.00
Intel 4|2|0 Video V2.50 : 5.1.2600.2180
Intel Indeo® Video 4.5 : 4.51.16.03

[dobbie1]

I am running xp/w sp2, directx 9.c and latest release of all Nero 6 components. I will have to check on the codecs tonight when I get home. I am able to play back the video file properly with Windows Media Player 10, it ask for the password and TMPGEnc ask for the password. Not sure what the problem is with Nero but will compare my codecs with the ones you have listed.

[BillShannon]

I have XP Home, SP2, DirectX 9.0c, NVE 3.0.1.14, which I downloaded just a
few days ago. I guess I should download again and see if I get a newer
version (3.0.1.27 or better)?

I have these codecs:

Video Codecs
------------
Cinepak Codec by Radius : 1.10.0.11
Intel 4|2|0 Video V2.50 : 5.1.2600.2180
Intel Indeo(R) Video R3.2
Intel Indeo(R) Video R3.2
Intel IYUV codec : 5.1.2600.2180 (xpsp_sp2_rtm.040803-2158)
Microsoft RLE : 5.1.2600.2180 (xpsp_sp2_rtm.040803-2158)
Microsoft Video 1 : 5.1.2600.0 (xpclient.010817-1148)
Microsoft YUV : 5.3.2600.2180 (xpsp_sp2_rtm.040803-2158)
Microsoft YUV : 5.3.2600.2180 (xpsp_sp2_rtm.040803-2158)
Toshiba YUV Codec : 5.1.2600.0 (XPClient.010817-1148)
Microsoft YUV : 5.3.2600.2180 (xpsp_sp2_rtm.040803-2158)
Microsoft H.263 Video Codec : 5.1.2600.2180
Microsoft H.261 Video Codec : 5.1.2600.2180
Intel Indeo® Video 4.5 : 4.51.16.03
Indeo® video 5.10 : R.5.10.15.2.55
DivX® 5.2.1 Codec : 5.2.1.1328

[BillShannon]

I just upgraded to NVE 3.0.1.27, still doesn't work.
Also, it's no longer asking for my password when importing
.tivo files.

The only codecs I'm missing from DZRhino's working configuration are:
PICVideo MJPEG Codec : 2.10.0.25
PCLEPIM1 32-bit Compressor : 2.00
Any idea where they're from or if they're important?

[cbordman]

I have NVE2. It plays back fine in the preview mode. But exporting an MPG produces a black screen.

[CashTiVo]

Originally posted by BillShannon


I have these codecs:

Video Codecs
------------
Cinepak Codec by Radius : 1.10.0.11
Intel 4|2|0 Video V2.50 : 5.1.2600.2180
Intel Indeo(R) Video R3.2
Intel Indeo(R) Video R3.2
Intel IYUV codec : 5.1.2600.2180 (xpsp_sp2_rtm.040803-2158)
Microsoft RLE : 5.1.2600.2180 (xpsp_sp2_rtm.040803-2158)
Microsoft Video 1 : 5.1.2600.0 (xpclient.010817-1148)
Microsoft YUV : 5.3.2600.2180 (xpsp_sp2_rtm.040803-2158)
Microsoft YUV : 5.3.2600.2180 (xpsp_sp2_rtm.040803-2158)
Toshiba YUV Codec : 5.1.2600.0 (XPClient.010817-1148)
Microsoft YUV : 5.3.2600.2180 (xpsp_sp2_rtm.040803-2158)
Microsoft H.263 Video Codec : 5.1.2600.2180
Microsoft H.261 Video Codec : 5.1.2600.2180
Intel Indeo® Video 4.5 : 4.51.16.03
Indeo® video 5.10 : R.5.10.15.2.55
DivX® 5.2.1 Codec : 5.2.1.1328

What MS tool did you use to show your CODEC versions? I can only find them in Device Manager.

Also when I use Nero mine tivo files are semi good on the top half and black on the bottom half. Also there is blocks of green mixed every now and then.

:confused:

[Rob W]

Originally posted by cbordman
I have NVE2. It plays back fine in the preview mode. But exporting an MPG produces a black screen.

Similar results with NVE2. Preview mode has the audio and video by then when I export to mpg I get the audio but the video just shows a still image all the way through.

I have been playing around with a 2 hour movie so the procees has been slow.

I am going to tape 2 minutes of any show on tivo, send to my computer and then play around with that tiny file.

My first run with the trial of Sonic crashed about 3 hours into the transcoding. This is why I am playing around with Nero now (and a much smaller file size).

[BillShannon]

Originally posted by CashTiVo
What MS tool did you use to show your CODEC versions? I can only find them in Device Manager.


I didn't use a MS tool, I used the InfoTool that comes with Nero.

[CashTiVo]

Originally posted by BillShannon
I didn't use a MS tool, I used the InfoTool that comes with Nero.

That was it, I was missing the Ligo codecs! Nero now works, thanks.

[toots]

Ligo codec?

[ukcolonelcolin]

Originally posted by CashTiVo
That was it, I was missing the Ligo codecs! Nero now works, thanks.

Where did you find this codec? My nero does not work with the tivo files either.

[CashTiVo]

Originally posted by ukcolonelcolin
Where did you find this codec? My nero does not work with the tivo files either.

No gaurantee that this will fix your problem but it did fix mine.

http://www.ligos.com/estore.htm

[mike_flood]

Thanks for this info.
I'll try Nero. I have never used it to burn DVD's but it sounds promising.

I have the Trial of MyDVD and it works fine. But if I can do the job with something I already have it makes sense to do so.

If I'd get my $100 rebate I might consider spending more money on TiVo stuff.

[toots]

Well, $15 later, and it still doesn't work for that one .tivo file.

Others, I assume, still work, but not this one.

[Gai-jin]

FWIW, I was not able to use nero at all, but the Indeo codec mentioned above has solved the problem.

Thanks!

[toots]

Yeah, seems to work with all except for one program I've downloaded from my TiVo.

[FF Steve]

I am using NVE3 and it works fantastic. I even have custom animations for the DVD's main menu background and for each chapter button. I will say, however, that I have performed a couple preprocessing steps on my TiVo files before I use NVE...including removing commercials.

[Drenhead]

I was testing this out also with NVE 3. It looks to me like it will work with things that have been recorded since the 7.1 upgrade, but not with things before the software upgrade. Can anyone confirm this?

[Gai-jin]

Now all we need is a theme for the menus for NVE3 that looks like the tivo 'now playing' list... Anyone here good at artistic stuff like that?

:)

Gai-jin

[CashTiVo]

The codecs fixed my problem I thought, they actually fixed some of the problems with NVE3 but not all. I still have some shows that are still messed up but not that many.

[tfratzke]

Originally posted by Drenhead
I was testing this out also with NVE 3. It looks to me like it will work with things that have been recorded since the 7.1 upgrade, but not with things before the software upgrade. Can anyone confirm this?

I burned a DVD with a show that was prior to 7.1. Worked just fine.

Tony

[Dr_Zoidberg]

Originally posted by DZRhino
Don't waste $50 on Sonic MyDVD (which is a piece of poop), NeroVision Express 3 works fine. So far I have made a VCD and a DVD from a 1/2 hour show that I transferred over via TivoToGo.


Argh. Apparently the Nero version I have is the OEM Suite, and only had NeroVision Express 2 SE. I downloaded the updates to bring me to the latest and greatest versions, but I still ended up with NeroVision Express 3 SE. Turns out that the SE refers to a special version that does "not support SVCD or DVD-Video".

So, I guess I have to pay an additional $50 to upgrade it. Oh well!

[BillShannon]

Originally posted by CashTiVo
That was it, I was missing the Ligo codecs! Nero now works, thanks.
How do the Ligos codecs show up in the InfoTool?
I have lots of Indeo codecs, as you can see from my
earlier post. Do I just need a newer version?
Did you already have all these older Indeo codecs
as well?

[BillShannon]

Originally posted by toots
Well, $15 later, and it still doesn't work for that one .tivo file.

Others, I assume, still work, but not this one.
So the Ligos codecs made everything else work for you?
I guess it's time to spend $15 and find out for myself.
I'd love to have a definitive answer from (e.g.)
the Nero people about what should work and
what shouldn't.

Any idea what's different about the one .tivo file
that doesn't work?

[BillShannon]

Originally posted by Drenhead
I was testing this out also with NVE 3. It looks to me like it will work with things that have been recorded since the 7.1 upgrade, but not with things before the software upgrade. Can anyone confirm this?

For me, it doesn't matter when it was recorded. Neither new nor old
recordings work. But then I haven't bought any new codecs yet. :(

Wouldn't it be nice if the codecs that came with Nero would work?

[gadgetLarry]

I had purchased Nero, and tried many combinations of CODECs and could not make a DVD. It would get as far as preparing to write and it would fail with a non-descript error message.

I purchased the Sonic Deluxe package and was able to create a DVD with many programs, with the commercials stripped, chapters, animated icons, etc. and it worked without any problems. Maybe the Nero problem was an incompatible CODEC, but I could never get it to work.

[Thaed]

Bill, try the free codecs (http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?postid=2566895#post2566895) first.

[tfratzke]

I know i said before that it worked fine for me, but i have since tried to record some other programs, and now none of those work with NVE3. I even already had the Ligos codecs. I don't get what going on! Frustrating!

[mike_flood]

I used Nero and it works great.

Using a Pentium 4 with Win XP home. Burning to a HP300N DVD drive.
Process is not fast but quality is great. Using the Nero Codec I got not dropped frames or audio stutter as I had with other software.

The MyDVD stuff works for me but if I can save $50 I will.

[Thaed]

I cannot convert to mpeg using Nero, so I can't get files that I can convert to divx for my Archos. I'm sure someone will write something at some point to do this. I suppose I could burn to dvd and then convert the dvd to mpg if I were desperate enough. :)

[Windohpain]

Hi-I've been following this thread for several days and My scenario may not specifically match all of yours but there are some similarities so I thought I'd toss my solution into the hopper for your consideration.
I have WinXP SP2 and use WMP9 this is a fairly fresh (XP) load so I didn't have a DVD player (Intervideo/Cyberlink) loaded yet when I got the 7.1 notice. But I was anxious to try TTG so I set off and DLed the Sonic trial (but didn't install) and copied a movie from my tivo I'd been wanting to archive for quite some time. Now I'm a Nero fan and not sure I wanted to use Sonic so I poked around until I found this thread.
I started the point that Default WMP9 would play .tivo with good vid and sound but Nero apps garbled the crap outta the Vid and sound, also no FF or Rev.
I was intrigued when several people reported success using the Ligos Indeo XP Video codec but I didn't want to pay $15, being cheep and having the whole of the Internet at my fingertips I felt sure there was a free way...and there was.
The "Cole2k.Media.-.Codec.Pack.V5.52.Advanced.exe" contains the Ligos Indeo XP Video 5.2 codec-among many others, (Google cole2k)-those that reported using it said that they used the standard pack but I got the Advanced pack because...it was right there.
Now the other thing I found was that any .tivo files I transferred prior to loading Cole2k suffered the particular anomalies of the installed codecs, i.e. I'll have to re-transfer all .tivo files by TTG under the proper codec.
Lets all resist the urge to start a rant about transfer times.
The good news is I can now FF and Reverse with the slider bar in WMP9 and I successfully edited and saved an episode of the Simpsons in NeroVision Express 3.

Hope this is a help to some of you

Happy Trails

[Windohpain]

Oh, and if anyone is curious here's my list of

Video Codecs
------------
Cinepak Codec by Radius : 1.10.0.11
Intel 4|2|0 Video V2.50 : 5.1.2600.2180
Intel Indeo(R) Video R3.2
Intel IYUV codec : 5.1.2600.2180 (xpsp_sp2_rtm.040803-2158)
Microsoft RLE : 5.1.2600.2180 (xpsp_sp2_rtm.040803-2158)
Microsoft Video 1 : 5.1.2600.0 (xpclient.010817-1148)
Microsoft YUV : 5.3.2600.2180 (xpsp_sp2_rtm.040803-2158)
Microsoft YUV : 5.3.2600.2180 (xpsp_sp2_rtm.040803-2158)
Intel Indeo® Video Raw R1.2
Microsoft YUV : 5.3.2600.2180 (xpsp_sp2_rtm.040803-2158)
Microsoft H.263 Video Codec : 5.1.2600.2180
Microsoft H.261 Video Codec : 5.1.2600.2180
DivX® 5.2.1 Codec : 5.2.1.1338
Microsoft MPEG-4 Video Codec V1 : 4.1.00.3920
Microsoft MPEG-4 Video Codec V2 : 4.1.00.3920
Ligos Indeo® XP Video 5.2 : 5.2.15.58
DivX Pro 5.0.5 Codec : 5.0.5.830
DivX ;-) MPEG-4 Low-Motion : 4.divx.3920
DivX ;-) MPEG-4 Fast-Motion : 4.DivX.3917
XviD MPEG-4 Codec : n/a
3ivx D4 4.5.1 Video Codec : 4, 5, 1, 30
ffdshow Video Codec : 1, 0, 0, 1
Microsoft Windows Media Video 9 : 9.0.1.0369
Microsoft MPEG-4 Video Codec V3 : 4.1.00.3920
VP60® Simple Profile : 6,2,0,10
VP61® Advanced Profile : 6,2,0,10
VP62® Heightened Sharpness Profile : 6,2,0,10
Huffyuv v2.2.0 : 2.2.0

[CashTiVo]

Originally posted by BillShannon
How do the Ligos codecs show up in the InfoTool?
I have lots of Indeo codecs, as you can see from my
earlier post. Do I just need a newer version?
Did you already have all these older Indeo codecs
as well?

Here is my first codec listing:
Video Codecs
------------
Cinepak Codec by Radius : 1.10.0.11
Intel 4|2|0 Video V2.50 : 5.1.2600.2180
Intel Indeo(R) Video R3.2
Intel Indeo(R) Video R3.2
Intel IYUV codec : 5.1.2600.2180 (xpsp_sp2_rtm.040803-2158)
Microsoft RLE : 5.1.2600.2180 (xpsp_sp2_rtm.040803-2158)
Microsoft Video 1 : 5.1.2600.0 (xpclient.010817-1148)
Microsoft YUV : 5.3.2600.2180 (xpsp_sp2_rtm.040803-2158)
Microsoft YUV : 5.3.2600.2180 (xpsp_sp2_rtm.040803-2158)
Toshiba YUV Codec : 5.1.2600.0 (XPClient.010817-1148)
Microsoft YUV : 5.3.2600.2180 (xpsp_sp2_rtm.040803-2158)
Microsoft H.263 Video Codec : 5.1.2600.2180
Microsoft H.261 Video Codec : 5.1.2600.2180
DivX® 5.2.1 Codec : 5.2.1.1338
AVI Wrapper Video Client Codec : 1, 4, 0, 0
Microsoft Windows Media Video 9 : 9.0.1.0369

Here is my listing after I added the codecs:
Video Codecs
------------
Cinepak Codec by Radius : 1.10.0.11
Intel 4|2|0 Video V2.50 : 5.1.2600.2180
Ligos Indeo® Video 3.2 : 3.24.15.04
Ligos Indeo® Video 3.2 : 3.24.15.04
Intel IYUV codec : 5.1.2600.2180 (xpsp_sp2_rtm.040803-2158)
Microsoft RLE : 5.1.2600.2180 (xpsp_sp2_rtm.040803-2158)
Microsoft Video 1 : 5.1.2600.0 (xpclient.010817-1148)
Microsoft YUV : 5.3.2600.2180 (xpsp_sp2_rtm.040803-2158)
Microsoft YUV : 5.3.2600.2180 (xpsp_sp2_rtm.040803-2158)
Ligos Indeo® Video Raw R1.2
Microsoft YUV : 5.3.2600.2180 (xpsp_sp2_rtm.040803-2158)
Microsoft H.263 Video Codec : 5.1.2600.2180
Microsoft H.261 Video Codec : 5.1.2600.2180
DivX® 5.2.1 Codec : 5.2.1.1338
AVI Wrapper Video Client Codec : 1, 4, 0, 0
Microsoft Windows Media Video 9 : 9.0.1.0369
Ligos Indeo® XP Video 5.2 : 5.2.15.58
Ligos Indeo® Video 4.5 : 4.51.16.03

Now keep in mind that this fixed part of my problem, not all of them.

[CashTiVo]

Originally posted by Windohpain
I'll have to re-transfer all .tivo files by TTG under the proper codec.
Lets all resist the urge to start a rant about transfer times.Happy Trails

Now you brought up something I hadn't thought about. I thought TTG was just an overinflated FTP program, I never thought that TTG would apply filters during the transfer!

[toots]

Interesting.

After installing the Ligo codecs, I tool your advice and re-downloaded the "bad" program. Now it works.

Or, appears to - I mean, I haven't actually tried burning it yet, but it looks good in the preview pane.

[netposer]

I'm amazed this thread hasn't been deleted yet.

[toots]

I don't think we're talking about any off-limit topics. We're talking about burning DVDs, complete with having to type the password to open the .tivo file.

In any case, after burning a few coasters with that bad show, now, I try playing the first few seconds in the little preview window in NeroVision. If it doesn't play ok, then I go no farther. Otherwise, I can tell it to go ahead and master/burn. I only had enough time to test the preview window before leaving for work this morning. Burning the DVD will happen after work.

Is that ok?

[john123]

Hmm, this still doesn't explain everything. As I explained in another thread (thanks for your answer there Windohpain), I had one dvd burned sucessfully (apart from audio drifting out of sync by the end), but other .tivo files had the corruption.

Some background :

- All (but one that I just did) of my .tivo files were transferred before I loaded the cole2k codec pack,
- About 30% of them load OK into NVE
- All of the play OK in WMP
- All of them load OK in Sonic MyDVD (though calling anything in MyDVD OK is stretching things...)
- There is no correlation between when the video was recorded (i.e. before or after I got 7.1) and its success
- A program I just transferred (first since installing the codec pack) just brought up the analysing window, and loaded properly (two previous copies had failed). I'd try transferring them all again, except for the fact most are no longer on my TiVo - I thought it safe to delete them once they were on my PC, and played ok...

Some files bring up an 'Analysing Video' popup that takes a min or so to go through the video, not all do. I suspect the ones that don't have already done this, and the analysis results have been cached.

I found what appears to be the cache directory (c:\documents and settings\<user>\application data\ahead\nerovision\NVFACache) - clearing this out does cause the analysis to happen again, but this doesn't solve the problem.

I had a look at the log files for a successful file, and a failure (the NeroVisionLog.txt file a directory above the cache dir).

At first they start out the same, calling the same three filters in sequence twice (TiVo DirectShow Source, Nero Splitter, Nero Video Decoder), but then the bad one goes on to use a different filter (GCAsyncSrc - no hits for that in google!) instead of the TiVo DirectShow one, which I guess implies that it can't find the video sync info (?) which sort of explains the mess I see when trying to preview it.

That sound reasonable?

[netposer]

Originally posted by toots
I don't think we're talking about any off-limit topics. We're talking about burning DVDs, complete with having to type the password to open the .tivo file

I agree with you but doesn't matter on this board. I've seen dozens of topics about Nero get locked then deleted.

By encoding using Nero you are circumventing the DRM according to the moderators.

So you better save this thread to your local disk if you want to keep it.

[toots]

But there was that other thread where TiVoSomebody gave tacit approval to using NVE or its ilk, as long as we're just talking about burning DVDs, and not otherwise just transcoding to circumvent DRM.

[netposer]

Originally posted by toots
But there was that other thread where TiVoSomebody gave tacit approval to using NVE or its ilk, as long as we're just talking about burning DVDs, and not otherwise just transcoding to circumvent DRM.

That's what I said over a week ago. Starting on Jan. 3 I saw dozens of threads about burning DVD's before Sonic released 6.1 and they all got locked/deleted about a week later.

They even deleted a link to an msnbc.com article about TTG because the writer said he used something other than Sonic to re-encode his TiVo recordings.

[CashTiVo]

I find it funny that there is a thread within this thread discussing why this thread is allowed to go on. :-)

[john123]

Originally posted by CashTiVo
I find it funny that there is a thread within this thread discussing why this thread is allowed to go on. :-)

Gah, now you're starting a thread within the thread within the thread - where will this end? Stack overflow?

[netposer]

Originally posted by john123
Gah, now you're starting a thread within the thread within the thread - where will this end? Stack overflow?

ROFL :p

[Windohpain]

Humm-I gotta suggest if you want to talk about circumventing the DRM that you start a new thread. I thought we were discussing how to make use of a an application we already owned for the purpose of avoiding having to purchase a duplicate (dubious?) function app.
Really-ixnay on the RMDay ircumventcay please.

Odd news on the codec front though, I did re-transfer a Simpsons episode and was able to trim commercials and such then played it through with very few problems, couple of hick-ups and maybe some minor sound lag but not to the extent that you were reporting John123, sorry no further ideas there-Although I am using Sound Blaster Audigy2 ZS Platinum, rather than the motherboard sound chip, which can offload some of the audio processing. But issues like sound lag are difficult to nail down, could be the codec, or settings in the editing/burning app, even hardware, not to mention Windoze. Have you ever made a DVD where the sound didn't drift? And is it drifting on the standalone DVD(after burning) or on your computer(as a file) or both?

I thought I had the Video garbling solved until I re-transferred a 2hr movie only to have the same problem. I hadn't cleared that cache that you found and will give it try as soon as I finish with the xfer-again-grrr

Well I had to cook dinner for my sick wife and in the mean time the latest transfer finished and I've got clear video in NVE3 edit window. I fast forwarded about 3/4 of the way and can see some audio lag but not like what you describe john. I've got to clip a bit off the front and then I'll burn it and let you know if the sound goes goofy for me too. Thanks for letting us all know about that cache, I think that solved one of my problems. Sorry to hear that you deleted you source material on the tivo, I don't trust any new technology to be free of bugs-the biggest bug being myself-user error.

Tivocash- I'm sure from reading around that the tivo and TTG are Co-Decing that is reversed Decoding and coding. I know I can move several hundred gigabytes around my network in the time TTG takes to move a 2.9GB movie.

[Windohpain]

quote:Originally posted by john123
Gah, now you're starting a thread within the thread within the thread - where will this end? Stack overflow?

Oh that's good, a little buffer overrun action and we could own this BBS

[tfratzke]

I installed the Advanced Codecs Pack, deleted and retransfered the same couple of shows that didn't work in NVE3 before, and now they work just fine!

[toots]

Fine, 'cept they're taking a whole lot longer to burn (in the encoding phase, that is).

[CashTiVo]

Originally posted by tfratzke
I installed the Advanced Codecs Pack, deleted and retransfered the same couple of shows that didn't work in NVE3 before, and now they work just fine!

Could you tell me what the date and version date of this file is?
C:\Program Files\Ahead\NeroVision\GCFilter.ax

I found that the listing in my Nero logs for "GCAsyncSrc" has a GUID and in the registery that GUID points to the above mentioned file. This only shows up an the garbled shows.

[tfratzke]

Originally posted by CashTiVo
Could you tell me what the date and version date of this file is?
C:\Program Files\Ahead\NeroVision\GCFilter.ax


Version 3.0.1.27
Date? It says January 17, 2005 wheni just look at it in Explorer.
Under the version tab it says copyright 2001-2002

Also, bad news, I am still having some shows that don't work even after the codec install. I have now resorted using the "method that can't be discussed here" to convert the the file to a normal .MPG and then importing it into NVE3. All I want to do is have the option to use Nero!!!

[miadlor]

I've used nothing but Nero....with only one failure to date.
The only difference: I have 2 boxes......at that time only one received the update.
I wanted to transfer some shows that were on the box that wasn't updated yet. So, I transfered the show in question to the box that had the update, then transfered it to the computer. That show was a garbled mess.
When the other box received the update I transfered the same show directly to the computer.......no problems.
I'm not sure that the update had anything to do with it, rather the transfer from box to box might further the compression some way.........I don't know.
Can anyone duplicate this? Are the shows that sometimes fail "virgin" material?(originally recorded on the same box)

[toots]

I've transfered shows from my Pioneer DVD burner to a Series 2, then from there to the PC via TTG, and burned that show using Nero without any problem.

Not exactly the same, I know, and not an experiment I'm likely to reproduce (since it would have been a lot faster/easier to burn it directly from the Pioneer in the first place), but that much did work.

[nexto]

I was using NVE2 just fine, I made 2 DVD's for my daughter, they played and looked great but I didn't like that the text for the buttons was so small so I tried to upgrade to NVE3.

Now when I try to edit the movies, they are all scrambled at the top of the frame and the audio is garbled and "chirps". I sent a support email to Nero 2 days ago, and haven't heard anything yet.

Anyone have a solution for this? If I reinstall NVE 2 will it work again? I'm afraid of screwing my computer up any more than it already is.

Thanks in advance.

[toots]

That's exactly what happened to me.

I had NVE2, started up a burn, and midway through the transcode, my system crashed for some reason. When I rebooted, I decided to upgrade to NVE3. After I'd done so, I was no longer able to process the file that I was (successfully) working on before the upgrade.

On my laptop, I went on to download/install the Ligos codecs, then re-download the errant show from the TiVo and was able to burn a good copy. It's just that the transcode phase took FIVE HOURS (for a one hour show). Well, at least I have some R/W media now...

I haven't installed the new codecs on the desktop because like you, I'm afraid of screwing things up worse than they already are. I've tried re-downloading from the TiVo on the desktop, but it urps on the one show every time. I'd try the newer/different codecs, but even though the desktop is faster than the laptop, I still think it'd be a big slowdown.

Then again, I can just start it and leave it to run overnight. The desktop's NVE3 install has worked for every other show I've thrown at it but this one, which is exactly as you describe.

I'm probably not going to do much of anything more, since so far I've only found one "bad" show, and I have managed to (finally!) get it on DVD.

To be honest, though, this whole experience has been so harrowing that I'm about to break down and buy MyDVD just so I'll have someone supported to complain at if/when things don't work.

[nexto]

This problem happens to all shows for me.

I use one PC and download them to a shared folder, then edit them on another PC with NVE. It was all working great until I decided to "upgrade" to NVE3.

[tfratzke]

Originally posted by toots
To be honest, though, this whole experience has been so harrowing that I'm about to break down and buy MyDVD just so I'll have someone supported to complain at if/when things don't work.

I hear ya on that one. Other than doing the .tivo to .mpg conversion that literally takes less than 5 minutes for an hour long show, which then NVE3 works EVERYTIME, I think MyDVD might be the best route at this point. I have not noticed any quality loss when doing the conversion either.

For those of you who have had no trouble with NVE3, more power to you and be thankful. I've litterally gotten to the point where i'll either convert it or use Sonic instead.

[CashTiVo]

Originally posted by tfratzke
Version 3.0.1.27
Date? It says January 17, 2005 wheni just look at it in Explorer.
Under the version tab it says copyright 2001-2002


Mine is dated 12/1/2004 with a version level of 3.0.1.14, I know that it may not fix the problem but I would like to update this file and the other Nero files. Any ideas which file on Nero's site has the version that your filter is? I downloaded an update 2 days ago plus I installed the Cole2k files and this is my last shot before wiping one of my computers and starting from scratch.

[miadlor]

Open up NERO and click on "NERO" at the top..........it will open the update page.

[davezatz]

For what it's worth, I just emailed sales@nero.com suggesting they add support for TTG, as I'd rather continue using their product. I'm not interested in spending time troubleshooting which codecs are installed and at what times, not to mention Sonic is an inferior piece of software. Please just make it work simply and routinely.

I have managed to use secret forbidden classified hush hush methods of extracting mpegs, but that is somewhat inefficient to setup though the processing is quick. For the person wanting to transfer shows to an Archos device (or a Win PDA in my case) for true 'To Go' functionality you may want to do some Google research.

Like others I'm surprised, though grateful I guess, that the moderators have allowed this thread to continue despite their previous actions and Tivo's financial arrangement with Sonic.

[toots]

I've also tried the secret forbidden classified hush hush method (SFCHHM), and interestingly, the resulting file choked NVE just as badly as the original .tivo. Just a point of interest though because the SFCHHM being a pain in the butt aside, I really am trying to stay within the spirit of the DMCA here.

I'm thinkin' this is an issue with NVE or Nero's codec or something that Nero installs. I'm hopin' Nero fixes it some day.

[digitalscott]

I just burned my first DVD on 7.1a using NVE 3.0.1.27 and it worked great I must say. I burned 4 1-hour long episodes of Battlestar Galactica. I edited out commercials with no problem. The transcoding and burning took less than 2 hours for the whole thing. The first two episodes were actually a 2-hour set that I just cut in half and added twice.

I tried MyDVD first and it was just clumsy and slow. I did have a problem during the burn process at first. Upgraded NVE to the version above and no problem the second time.

I have a 2.4GHz with 512MB ram. I also have the LIGOS codecs installed.

[MJedi]

So what's the verdict on using Nero instead of Sonic? Personally, I'd rather use Nero since I have an older version, and now looks like a good time to upgrade. However, if it's going to be a pain then I'd rather give in and use Sonic.

Also, will any version of the new MyDVD support DVD burning of TiVo shows? There are 3 versions: Studio 6, Studio Deluxe 6, and Studio Deluxe Suite 6.

Thanks.

[tfratzke]

Originally posted by digitalscott
I burned 4 1-hour long episodes of Battlestar Galactica. I edited out commercials with no problem. The transcoding and burning took less than 2 hours for the whole thing.
.

Wow, that seems incredibly fast!

[toots]

What's the verdict?

Don't know. Haven't tried MyDVD.

But, I do use the Nero AC3 encoder in Nero to cut the size of the files (PCM requiring a lot more bits), and I am sort of annoyed at how the resultant recording has continual audio track resets or whatever it's doing to make my receiver re-sync.

[tfratzke]

Originally posted by MJedi
So what's the verdict on using Nero instead of Sonic? Personally, I'd rather use Nero since I have an older version, and now looks like a good time to upgrade. However, if it's going to be a pain then I'd rather give in and use Sonic.

Also, will any version of the new MyDVD support DVD burning of TiVo shows? There are 3 versions: Studio 6, Studio Deluxe 6, and Studio Deluxe Suite 6.
Thanks.

Yes, but they need to be version 6.1, not 6.0.

I personally don't see a huge difference when it comes to editing with either program. They both slow down the further you get into the show. It does seem however that Nero can do the transcoding a bit faster than Sonic. ON that note, i have noticed that DVD's created with Sonic, looked better than ones created with Nero.
I am currently testing TyTools which is a free program that creates .VOB files that you can then use Nero to burn to DVD. This free little program is amazingly fast when doing its transcoding/converting. I will give my thoughts on that once i get some results.

[digitalscott]

I would say its the size of the file....plus its the quality of the file as well. I record in basic or medium, mainly because this requires the least transcoding into DVD format.

I am not watching it on a plasma screen or HDTV, so the quality doesn't have to be great. It looks good to me, which is the important factor.

[jtflea]

I am having issues with NVE3. Like others I am having issues with some files being undecoded if you will. What is crazy is they are the same show that tivo records back to back. One will decode and the other one won't. It is on both xpSP2 and server 2003. Here are the codecs on server 2003.

Video Codecs
------------
Intel IYUV codec : 5.2.3790.0 (srv03_rtm.030324-2048)
Microsoft RLE : 5.2.3790.0 (srv03_rtm.030324-2048)
Microsoft Video 1 : 5.2.3790.0 (srv03_rtm.030324-2048)
Microsoft YUV : 5.3.0000000.900 built by: DIRECTX
Microsoft YUV : 5.3.0000000.900 built by: DIRECTX
Intel Indeo® Video Raw R1.2
Microsoft YUV : 5.3.0000000.900 built by: DIRECTX
Microsoft H.263 Video Codec : 4.4.4000
Microsoft H.261 Video Codec : 4.4.4000
DivX Pro(tm) 5.1.1 Codec : 5.1.1.1031
XviD MPEG-4 Codec : n/a
DivX ;-) MPEG-4 Low-Motion : 4.divx.3927
DivX ;-) MPEG-4 Fast-Motion : 4.divx.3917
3ivx D4 4.5.1 Pro Video Codec : 4, 5, 1, 30
Huffyuv v2.2.0 : 2.2.0
Ligos Indeo® XP Video 5.2 : 5.2.15.58
Microsoft Windows Media Video 9 : 9.0.1.0369
Intel I.263 Video Driver 2.55.012 : V2.55.012
Intel Indeo(R) Video R3.2
Intel Indeo(R) Video R3.2
Intel Indeo® Video 4.5 : 4.51.16.03
VP60® Simple Profile : 6,2,0,10
VP61® Advanced Profile : 6,2,0,10
VP62® Heightened Sharpness Profile : 6,2,0,10
VP31® Compressor : 3, 2, 5, 0
Microsoft MPEG-4 Video Codec V1 : 4.1.00.3927
Microsoft MPEG-4 Video Codec V2 : 4.1.00.3927
Microsoft MPEG-4 Video Codec V3 : 4.1.00.3927

Audio Codecs
------------
Microsoft IMA ADPCM CODEC : 4.00.0.0
Microsoft ADPCM CODEC : 4.00.0.0
Microsoft CCITT G.711 A-Law and u-Law CODEC : 4.00.0.0
Microsoft GSM 6.10 Audio CODEC : 4.00.0.0
DSP Group TrueSpeech(TM) Software CODEC : 1.00.0.0
Microsoft G.723.1 CODEC : 1.02.0.1
Windows Media Audio : 4.02.0.0
Sipro Lab Telecom ACELP.net audio codec : 3.02.0.0
Fraunhofer IIS MPEG Layer-3 Codec (advanced) : 1.09.1.49
LAME MP3 Codec v0.9.0 - 3.96 (stable) : 4.00.0.0
DivX WMA Audio Compressor : 4.02.0.0
Intel Music Coder : 1.02.0.7
AC-3 ACM Decompressor : 0.07.0.0
Indeo® Audio Software : 2.05.0.54
Microsoft PCM Converter : 5.00.0.0

[jusewah]

I have NVE2 and it doesn't work!

It won't open the XXX.TIVO file, even after entering the password.

Any suggestions?

[digitalscott]

Originally posted by jusewah
I have NVE2 and it doesn't work!

It won't open the XXX.TIVO file, even after entering the password.

Any suggestions?

upgrade

[dmlove51]

Upgrade to what? More people have reported problems using NVE3 than NVE2.

[jtflea]

how do you change the default decoder so I can try others that are installed?

[digitalscott]

Originally posted by dmlove51
Upgrade to what? More people have reported problems using NVE3 than NVE2.

I have had no problems using NVE3. So I would upgrade to that. From what I am reading, everyone seems to be having different issues. You won't know what problems or successes you will have until you try. Some people it works, some it doesn't. But that seems to be with every combination.

[afdmb41]

i still cant get this to work. i've followed the instructions that were given and when i try to watch the show i get this messed up audio and half the picture is black, the rest of it is sort of like watching a scratched dvd with the skips. anyone know what i'm doing wrong?

[BillShannon]

I asked Nero support for help. Here's what they said:

-----
Please note that there are general driverconflict between Nero and Burn-Software

from other manufacturers. I would therefore recommend to uninstall this Software

and run the drivers clean tool.

Download cleanpack.zip from ftp://ftp9.nero.com/attach/cleanpack.zip
Extract the zipped files onto your hard disk using WinZip or WinRar.
You should now have two files: Driver-CleanTool.exe and RegistryChecker.exe.
First, run Driver-CleanTool.exe by double-clicking it.
Driver-CleanTool will deactivate drivers that caused problems in Nero in the past.
Confirm the deactivation of the drivers displayed in order to prevent known driver

conflicts from reoccurring in the future.
These drivers also exist, with values, in the registry in Windows NT, 2000 and XP.
In order to ensure that these are also deactivated you will need to run the

RegistryChecker file.

The Registry Checker will run very quickly. It is likely that you won't see any

action after double clicking the file.
Note: Running the Registry Checker is not necessary for Windows ME, 98SE, 98 or 95.
-----

The DriverCleanTool wanted to remove:

CDRAL.DLL
CDRALW2K.SYS
Service: CDR4_XP
Service: CDRALW2K

After removing those, running the Registry Checker, and rebooting, Nero
still didn't work with the files I had previously transferred, even after
clearing out the Nero cache.

I then transferred the same file that I had previously transferred,
and this time it worked fine!

Before starting all this I created a system restore point. I now restored
the system back to that restore point, hopefully undoing everything the
Nero tools did. When I had rebooted after running the Nero tools, I got
complaints from DirectCD, so I wanted to get back to a state where DirectCD
wouldn't complain, and I wanted to see if the changes Nero made actually
made any difference.

I then loaded the file that worked previously and it still worked! (Files
that failed previously still failed.) I transferred another file and it
worked as well!

So, it seems that something that the Nero tools did have fixed my problem.
My suspicion is that it's the Registry Checker that does it. Note that
nowhere in here did I have to load any additional codecs!

I'd be interested in hearing whether this fixes the problem for anyone else.

[BillShannon]

No, I was wrong. It's still not working right. I transferred 10 shows
and 6 of them work but 4 of them do not work. Time for more experiments.

[rainmkr]

anyone have audio drifting? the audio seems a bit outta sync after exporting through NVE3.

[tfratzke]

I have had no problems with NVE 2.1. Tons of problems with NVE3. Shows that didn't work with Ver. 3 work fine with Ver 2.1 even without retransferring them from the TiVo.

[toots]

So, I took a program that NVE3 wouldn't deal with. I did that thing that cannot be named to it. NVE3 still wouldn't deal with it. I then ran it through VideoReDo's "Quick Stream Fix" function. NVE3 could deal with the result of that.

I've done this with two different programs that NVE3 didn't like. Both were happy with the results of VideoReDo's QuickStreamFix. What does that do? Beats me.

This is what the help file for VideoReDo says:

This dialog is used to re-multiplex an MPEG2 program stream. It will copy the input file to the output file through the VideoReDo/QuickEdit stream processing routines. This means that all the time stamps in the output file, such as PTS and GOP headers, will be re-calculated. In addition, all the processing parameters as specified on the Advanced Stream Dialog will be honored as well. On other words the output file will be MPEG2 compliant file.

[BillShannon]

Originally posted by BillShannon
No, I was wrong. It's still not working right. I transferred 10 shows
and 6 of them work but 4 of them do not work. Time for more experiments.
Something very weird is going on here...

I went back and ran the Nero tools again and got rid of the "bad" drivers.

Then I loaded some of the videos that don't work. No luck.
I transferred those same videos again. Some worked, some
didn't. I transferred the ones that still didn't work again.
As they were transferring, I loaded them into Nero. In every
case, that made it work properly. In the end I was able to get
all of the videos loaded into Nero in a form that I could edit them.

There's got to be a bug somewhere that prevents this from
working reliably.

Now I'm writing a DVD. Let's see if that works...

[Windohpain]

Originally posted by BillShannon
As they were transferring, I loaded them into Nero.

How do you do that?
I'm also enjoying only intermittent success opening transfered files in nero.
Sometimes it seems this process takes so long I forget what I wanted to do by the time it's ready to do it...sigh

[PharmerGuy]

I can burn single layer discs without a problem but most of the movies I am backing up are over 4.7GB. When I try and burn a DL DVD+R it gets to the end (6 hours later) and then says "Could not write to disc" error. It also gives me a warning before I burn the disc stating "final product may be unstable."

I am using a Sony DUR 710A Dual Layer DVD burner. Verbaitim DL DVD+R Disc. I have all the most recent Nero 6 Suite updates across the board, SP2, and Dirext X 9c. Suggestions?!

[PharmerGuy]

Originally posted by rainmkr
anyone have audio drifting? the audio seems a bit outta sync after exporting through NVE3.

I had that problem with one of the DVD's I burned but then I re-did it and it worked fine. The video was behind the audio by 3-4 seconds in the original copy.

[BillShannon]

Originally posted by Windohpain
How do you do that? [load it into Nero while it's transferring]


I start the transfer then go into Nero and click the add file button.
I browse to the My TiVo Recordings directory and select the file
that's in the process of being transferred. It will appear to be only
a few minutes long. I then wait until the transfer is done and then
either save the Nero project and reload it, or go into the Edit Movie
screen and back so that Nero notices that the file has changed.
Then I go into Edit Movie for the file that has finished transferring
and adjust the end point of the clip all the way out to the end
of the movie.

[toots]

interesting.

I'm gwanna hafta try that.

Thanks.

[BillShannon]

At first I thought the Driver-CleanTool and RegistryChecker
solved my problem, but then I ran into more videos that
would not load properly into NeroVision Express. Now I
believe those tools made no difference. Here's what I've
done:

I created a System Restore point before doing anything.
I then ran the Driver-CleanTool. It wanted to remove:

CDRAL.DLL
CDRALW2K.SYS
Service: CDR4_XP
Service: CDRALW2K

I left all items checked and selected "Clean". I then
ran the RegistryChecker, which reported no problems. Then
I rebooted.

Files that wouldn't load into Nero before doing all this
still wouldn't load.

However, in some cases, if I delete the file and transfer it
from my TiVo again, using the TiVo Desktop, the new copy
of the same recording would load correctly.

If I got back to the saved System Restore point, everything that
worked after running the tools continues to work. Everything
that failed even after running the tools continues to fail.

I've now done this several times. In some cases, files that
don't load correctly, when transferred again, will load correctly.

In all cases, the file will play properly in Windows Media Player 10.

Note that the TiVo Desktop does something to the file each time it
transfers it such that the file is different every time. I believe
this is due to the Digital Rights Management applied to the file.

It seems to me that Nero might have a data-dependent bug that causes
it to fail on some versions of the same data.

Here's something else I stumbled on...

I transferred 9 files from my TiVo. As each file started transferring,
but before it had completed, I added it to a Nero project. When all
files were done, they had *all* been correctly added to the project.

If I now start another project and load all the same files, 3 of them
don't load properly.

Again, it seems like there's a data-dependent problem that Nero
isn't running into when it loads only the partial file, but that
causes problems when the full file is loaded.

I seem to have a reliable workaround - loading the file as it's
transferring. If it works for anyone else, let me know. I'm going
to report all of this to Nero Support.

[toots]

Yeah, I just tried the "load file while it's transfering" hack on a troublesome file, and it worked great.

Definitely plays like a Nero problem.

But whoever thought that up, thanks for the workaround.

[Windohpain]

As I was beginning to follow the "re-xfer .tivo files directly into nero" trick, I recalled wondering [while I was screwing around with codecs and xfers] last week if maybe the tivo desktop being open when adding the file to nero was a required combination, but spaced it out enduring one of the interminable “wait states”. I have tivo desktop/server/beacon set to NOT run when Windoze starts.
I now have a procedure that has "fixed" three .tivo shows that would repeatedly open garbled and one that I had already opened and burned!
---To clarify, no need to re-transfer, this is for .tivos that are already on your computer---.
As stated in previous posts: WinXP SP2, WMP 9, Cole2K codec pack for Ligos Indio 5.2, Nero 6.6.0.6, NVE 3.0.1.27, TTG 7.1a.

Regardless of weather[sp?] the .tivo opened clean previously, if you're faced with garbled playback in NVE3 try this.

Close NVE3, not necessary to remove the [garbled} project, don't save project when prompted.

It doesn't seem to matter if you do A or B first but do A and B before 3!!!

A. Delete the files in C:\Documents and Settings\<your user-name>\Application Data\Ahead\NeroVision\NVFACache\ (I assume you have already set explorer to show all files and folders [and such], system and hidden?).

B. Open tivo desktop.

3. Open NVE3, click Make Movie and Wallah!!! If you didn't remove your project you'll be prompted for your password and you can move on to the next time consuming step.
If you removed the project or are starting a new one click browse for media> "browse and add project" > don't forget to set "all file types"> enter password ... and marvel at how much faster it is to load a .tivo that won't turn out garbled!?!?

I’ll post again if this process begins to fail and will be happy to hear of your successes.

PS...Several people have inferred that they had trans-coding or file saving times of mere minutes? Is that possible? It seems every time I edit or save to DVD it takes a 1 hour movie ~1.5hrs. Am I doing something wrong/the hard way? I have a 3Ghz P4 with 1M of cache and a gig of ram, so it ain't for lack of muscle. At this rate I'm not sure I have enough life left to archive all my stuff, 'course if I run out I suppose the archival is moot...

Happy Trails!

[AnteL0pe]

Do you actually have to transfer the .tivo file directly to the computer you intend to edit it on? I transferred a 1gb show from my tivo to my Mac and then transferred the file to a WinXP machine. When I try to open the file on the WinXP machine I get the following error.

This recording is not a valid TiVo recording, or the correct media access key has not been set. For help, see the application you used to transfer the TiVo recording from your TiVo DVR."

I have checked to make sure that my MAK is set correctly. It is possible that the file became corrupted in one of the two transfers I guess. Anyone else seen this error?

Also, this is the first file I have worked with. I will try another tonight and see if I get the same result.

[Windohpain]

Originally posted by AnteL0pe
<snip> I transferred a 1gb show from my tivo to my Mac <snip> It is possible that the file because{became} corrupted in one of the two transfers I guess. <snip>

I'm pretty sure that the problem is having the Mac in the loop. As long as it's in the TTG/.tivo format it's not consumable on the Mac

[AnteL0pe]

Originally posted by Windohpain
I'm pretty sure that the problem is having the Mac in the loop. As long as it's in the TTG/.tivo format it's not consumable on the Mac
I was thinking the same thing, but I dont know why it would matter. I mean, the file was transfered to the mac and then off of it, I dont see how it could be the problem.

Thanks for the reply, i'm going to try a direct transfer from the tivo to the WinXP PC tonight.

[john123]

Originally posted by Windohpain
Regardless of weather[sp?] the .tivo opened clean previously, if you're faced with garbled playback in NVE3 try this.

Close NVE3, not necessary to remove the [garbled} project, don't save project when prompted.

It doesn't seem to matter if you do A or B first but do A and B before 3!!!

A. Delete the files in C:\Documents and Settings\<your user-name>\Application Data\Ahead\NeroVision\NVFACache\ (I assume you have already set explorer to show all files and folders [and such], system and hidden?).

B. Open tivo desktop.

3. Open NVE3, click Make Movie and Wallah!!! If you didn't remove your project you'll be prompted for your password and you can move on to the next time consuming step.
If you removed the project or are starting a new one click browse for media> "browse and add project" > don't forget to set "all file types"> enter password ... and marvel at how much faster it is to load a .tivo that won't turn out garbled!?!?


Just tried this on a garbled one, but I'm afraid it made no difference for me :-(

Even tried having the file open and playing in WMP, but no dice.

Anyone else egot this procedure to work for them?

[toots]

So far, I've only had the "add to NVE while the Desktop's still downloading it" technique work.

1) Start the transfer with Tivo Desktop
2) Immediately head into NVE3, add the file
3) Wait for the download to complete
4) At this point, the video was easily playable, but only the first couple minutes worth (however many had transfered by the end of step 2)
5) Exit and restart NVE3 without removing the program. Drag and drop from the projects window to the video timeline. I played a bunch from various points along the timeline - looked good.
6) Burn

[PPatla]

Blanking out that folder totally worked for me.

All the projects now work like a champ...

You basically have to bring EVERYTHING in, delete the folder.

Enter the password.

Go back into Express.. and POOF it works..

(Did you see the new POOF?)

[Windohpain]

It's hard to imagine we could be seeing such inconsistent results... It's as though this whole process isn't quite ready for prime time! ':eek:'

I did have a particularly stubborn file I was dealing with earlier, but after several garbled loads in NVE3 what finally worked was:

Not removing the file from the "my media files" window, close NVE3, don't save.
Close Tivo desktop then proceeded with with steps A, B, and 3.

Anything to be gained by going over our respective setups? There's got to be just some little thing that's preventing yours from acting like mine.
Other than long term testing, I feel I can get it to fail consistently and then correct it by doing A>B>3. Seven failed files seven successes, I think I've got a valid work-around...for me :D

I'll keep an eye on this thread in-case I can add anything to the discussion.

CAUTION: All rules are subject to change with out notice...you've been warned.

[BillShannon]

Originally posted by Windohpain

Regardless of weather[sp?] the .tivo opened clean previously, if you're faced with garbled playback in NVE3 try this.

Close NVE3, not necessary to remove the [garbled} project, don't save project when prompted.

It doesn't seem to matter if you do A or B first but do A and B before 3!!!

A. Delete the files in C:\Documents and Settings\<your user-name>\Application Data\Ahead\NeroVision\NVFACache\ (I assume you have already set explorer to show all files and folders [and such], system and hidden?).

B. Open tivo desktop.

3. Open NVE3, click Make Movie and Wallah!!! If you didn't remove your project you'll be prompted for your password and you can move on to the next time consuming step.
If you removed the project or are starting a new one click browse for media> "browse and add project" > don't forget to set "all file types"> enter password ... and marvel at how much faster it is to load a .tivo that won't turn out garbled!?!?

I tried this too. It didn't work for me.

[toots]

This really does seem like it's some "whatever happens to be laying around in a random bit of memory" bug in NVE.

Clearing the cache forces it to re-analyze the file. So does downloading a new copy. Seems like the common thread is finding new and exciting ways to tell NVE "You got it wrong; try again."

[BillShannon]

This really does seem like it's some "whatever happens to be laying around in a random bit of memory" bug in NVE.

Clearing the cache forces it to re-analyze the file. So does downloading a new copy. Seems like the common thread is finding new and exciting ways to tell NVE "You got it wrong; try again."
Exactly.

Hopefully everyone who is having this problem is reporting it to Nero, so they'll
understand it's not just me (or you) and will be more likely to look into this and
hopefully fix it. That's techsupport@nero.com.

[toots]

Yeah, I reported it.

Not that I've heard back from them.

[jpn2579]

First, since I bought & paid for Nero with my DVD burner, I thought I'd try it before buying Sonic MyDVD (expensive!!), and I have been reading and re-reading the forums while I waited and waited and waited for TTGO. (I signed up on Jan 6th(?), and it showed up Sat Feb 5.

I already have a DVD recorder that I use when TiVo is scheduled to record something, and a second program is on at the same time. And I use it to archive programs to watch on my other TV, where I have no TiVo.

I am very disappointed with the whole process, so far.
A 1 hour program took 1 hour & 3 minutes to transfer through a wired Ethernet connection to my PC.

Nero took 3+ hours to process the file.
My DVD burner would take 15 minutes or so to burn the file (which I haven't done yet, since it was really late last night when NVE finished with the conversion).

I'm not even sure right now where I stand in the DVD creation process.
I have an MPEG file of the show, but it's not in the usual type of style/format as the DVD files are set up (i.e. VOB files).

So, I may not be done with file conversions. Right now, the tally stands at about 4 1/2 hours to process & burn the file, IF the file is ready to burn to DVD now.

I can do a TiVo to DVD recorder burn in real-time + 5 minutes (programming & setup of the two units). The only disadvantage of this route is both units are busy for that time. TTGO leaves TiVo free to play **and** record more stuff. But using TTGO ties up my PC forever. (2.5 Ghz P4, with 768Mb RAM, tons of disk space.)

So, I am not sure I'll use TTGO if this is the best I can manage, speed-wise.
Couple of conclusions (tentative so far):
I love TiVo (no doubt at all on this).
TiVo blew it on TiVoToGo. The priority list & rollout was/is a disaster.
The file formatting/encoding is a nightmare.
Trying to force users to buy Sonic's product is just wrong.
Dropping a file in a weird format from the transfer is unfortunate, as it makes life difficult.
It's a good thing they're not charging extra for the service.
I won't be buying Sonic. I don't like what I hear on these forums about Sonic being unreliable. Plus it's too expensive.
I'm glad I didn't rush out and buy new versions of software or hardware to use this, because it's been a disappointment.

I appreciate all the help, effort and explanations everyone here has made in figuring this whole thing out. I'll keep fiddling with the product, and hopefully either Tivo or some really smart person will find a SIMPLER, QUICKER and LEGAL way to get the transferred files ready to burn.

I don't know why TiVo went this route, other than trying to prevent mass-lawsuits from the MPAA, TV studios & essentially everybody in the TV broadcast business. The Fair Use concepts & court rulings should entitle us to tape/record stuff for our own non-profit use. It should have been easier than this.

But for me, I'm going back to transferring TiVo recordings to my DVD recorder.

Jason
P.S. Anybody has a SIMPLER way that stays within the spirit of the DCMA, you can e-mail me at jpn2579@houston.rr.com

[tfratzke]

... and hopefully either Tivo or some really smart person will find a SIMPLER, QUICKER and LEGAL way to get the transferred files ready to burn.


I can help you on the Quicker & Simpler method. Quicker as in I can take a 1 hour long .TiVo file, edit out the commercials, and be burned to DVD in less than a half hour. Now, is my method legal? According to TiVo, probably not. But trust me, it's not that i do it this way so i can distribute/share my .TiVo files with everyone all over the internet. I do it this way because my time is valuable to me, and i want a great quality end result.

[dmlove51]

I can help you on the Quicker & Simpler method. Quicker as in I can take a 1 hour long .TiVo file, edit out the commercials, and be burned to DVD in less than a half hour. Now, is my method legal? According to TiVo, probably not. But trust me, it's not that i do it this way so i can distribute/share my .TiVo files with everyone all over the internet. I do it this way because my time is valuable to me, and i want a great quality end result.

Really - quicker AND simpler? I would love quicker, but everything I've read so far seems to require more computer knowledge than I have.

[AnteL0pe]

I can help you on the Quicker & Simpler method. Quicker as in I can take a 1 hour long .TiVo file, edit out the commercials, and be burned to DVD in less than a half hour. Now, is my method legal? According to TiVo, probably not. But trust me, it's not that i do it this way so i can distribute/share my .TiVo files with everyone all over the internet. I do it this way because my time is valuable to me, and i want a great quality end result.
Yes I would love to hear what you do to get this done. I use a probably not legal method to get mpeg files, but I still havent found a decent app to edit the video. Feel free to PM me.

[MJedi]

I downloaded a trial of NVE3. At first playback was garbled even during the preview. I don't know if I was doing it wrong by choosing "Make DVD" right away, instead of "Make Movie" first. So I followed the instructions here (erase cache, make movie, etc.) and that worked. One show burned to DVD and currently watching it. So far, so good. Another show played okay during the preview so I assume that will be good on DVD, too.

One step I found that you have to do is that the show you want to burn MUST BE listed in My Media Files. If it's garbled, then you follow the instructions already mentioned. You don't need to delete or remove the show from My Media Files. I guess this allows NVE3 to re-examine the file and make it useable. But the show HAS TO BE in My Media Files.

The only problem I have is how hard it is to work with the file. Editing and removing commercials was a pain. The load time to get to another point in the timeline was the most annoying. Is this how it's going to be? Will converting the .tivo file to .mpg or .avi first before editing be easier and quicker? I'm so used to Adobe Premiere with its smooth navigation and scrolling through the timeline.

Thanks

[davezatz]

Yeah, I reported it.
Not that I've heard back from them.
I also reported some .tivo/Tivo issues to both the Sales and Support units, but I got back a form reply that they can't support every capture card created, because it's time consuming, yada, yada.

Hopefully one of us will get through to someone with a brain and a little initiative who can pass the information along to the appropriate staff.

[tfratzke]

....everything I've read so far seems to require more computer knowledge than I have.

Nonsense...check your PM.

[toots]

I've found that if it previews ok, it'll burn ok.

And yeah, going straight to "Make DVD" will cut out at least one expensive transcode (as opposed to "make movie" then "make DVD.")

Does any of this take a long time? Not for me.

I fire up the download from the TiVo, and go do something else. (Make dinner, do the laundry, watch TV, listen to music). At some indeterminate point in time later, I'll come back, fire up NVE, spend a couple minutes setting all the parameters to create the DVD, hit the "Go" button.

By the time I'm ready for bed (or have gotten up in the morning), the DVD drive's sticking its tongue out at me, complete with a new DVD.

No time at all.

On the other hand, if I actually sat there at the 'pute while all that mess is going on, I'd go crazy in rather short order.

Occasionally, I'll edit out commercials (another 2-4 minutes), but as others have noted, NVE seems rather sluggish doing this.

[dmlove51]

Nonsense...check your PM.

Done. Thanks for the info.

[toots]

Nonsense...check your PM.

Gee, I wouldn't mind it if I got some PM.

[Windohpain]

I can help you on the Quicker & Simpler method. <snip>
I do it this way because my time is valuable to me.

If you could spare a little more of your time, I'd like to save a lot of mine too...

:p

[jpn2579]

I can help you on the Quicker & Simpler method. Quicker as in I can take a 1 hour long .TiVo file, edit out the commercials, and be burned to DVD in less than a half hour. Now, is my method legal? According to TiVo, probably not. But trust me, it's not that i do it this way so i can distribute/share my .TiVo files with everyone all over the internet. I do it this way because my time is valuable to me, and i want a great quality end result.


Okay, so how?

If you're referring to just editing out the commercials, well, that's not going to save much time on transcoding. 1 hour show has 16-18 mins of commercials, so that means about 42-44 mins of show. Okay, so that's 27% of the total.
Sure that's a reduction in data, but now I have to sit there and find al the commericals, and edit them out. Meanwhile...Windows crashes, and I look longingly back at my DVD Recorder....
It would seem that the modest time savings is easily eaten up by the time spent on editing commercials.

But maybe you refer to something else?

Jason
jpn2579@houston.rr.com

[davezatz]

Based on my experiences editing, transcoding, and burning just aren't worth the effort. Tivo To Go works best for watching content on a laptop. All the technical issues and limitations make it a pain for much else. GraphEdit will convert it lickity split in a few minutes, but you're still left editing and transcoding for DVD. If DVD media is your end goal, I'd have to say get a Humax Recordable DVD unit. It's relatively quick and easy, though you are stuck with commercials (unless you're recording HBO movies).

[Sw0rdf1sh]

I'll agree with you to a point that might not possibly be worth the trouble to reproduce if you want to edit out the commericals.

However, I've found that GraphEdit (I'm a roxio user :( ), works pretty damn good for my backup purposes.

Tivo To Go will stay on the laptop for those long flights anyway...as you pointed out, that's what it's best use is for.

[tfratzke]

Okay, so how?

If you're referring to just editing out the commercials, well, that's not going to save much time on transcoding.

Your right..IF you continued to use NVE or MyDVD to do the transcoding. There are faster solutions and that is where the time is saved. Check your PM.

[trapperjohn]

Hi,
I also sent a message to Nero Sales and Support email addresse's. Support sent me a reply that I will get a response soon.... Email was sent this past Monday 2-7-05.
I am just hoping that if a large amount of people let them know they could add a fix to the next patch/update.

Bryan

[phej]

Your right..IF you continued to use NVE or MyDVD to do the transcoding. There are faster solutions and that is where the time is saved. Check your PM.

How can you transfer, edit out commercials, and have it burnt within an hour? I'm eager to learn more!

[toots]

The answer is that you can use alternate tools to burn the image to DVD without transcoding to a format that's specifically DVD compatible. It's just that many/most players will be able to play it anyway.

From all appearances, using either Sonic or NVE, the major time chunk spent (aside from downloading from the TiVo) is transcoding from whatever the TiVo records to a DVD compatible resolution and either LPCM or AC-3 audio. If you could take what's in a .tivo file, minus the DRM and wrap some menus around it, you could have a DVD that plays in most players rather quickly. It's just the "minus the DRM" that gets to be illegal, and any of the tools we've talked about so far (Sonic or NVE) insist on doing the rather expensive transcode to full compliance.

[tfratzke]

The answer is that you can use alternate tools to burn the image to DVD without transcoding to a format that's specifically DVD compatible. It's just that many/most (if not all) players will be able to play it anyway.

You nailed it! This is the key!

[ack_thbbft]

OK, so my question is, has anyone run into these problems with Sonic MyDVD? Forget about which package is considered "better." I know Nero generally has good reviews where TiVo isn't involved.

If Sonic MyDVD does NOT have these issues, I think we need to question why. Obviously, TiVo has a cross-marketing agreement with Sonic, otherwise they wouldn't push it on their website.

However, if they are actively making it so other burning software will not work (without the major workarounds and/or hacks we've been running into) as a way to get people to buy MyDVD, then I smell anti-trust.

I don't care how hard they may try to hide it under a proprietary ".tivo" extension, it does not change the fact that we are dealing with mpeg video. After all, Windows identifies the file as "Movie file (MPEG)", regardless of the extension, so that should be enough for any editing suite out there to work.

Not only that, MPEG is already patented and licensed, so how is it TiVo should get away with essentially re-licensing it under their .tivo extension, only compatible with MyDVD??

Of course, I could just be bitter and jumping to conclusions after waiting so long to get 7.1x only to have so many problems getting started with editing and archiving. I'll say this, though, I'm glad I waited to buy the full version of Nero. That doesn't mean I'm going to go with MyDVD, though if people aren't having the same problems, it may be worth it.

[toots]

I honestly think that NVE3 has a bug. After all, I haven't seen the problem with anything but NVE3. If I read the file into other applications, all is fine. I have even seen NVE3 choke on mpeg files, and not just .tivo files.

[rainmkr]

i'd rather just add chapters to skip past the commercials than edit them out :D

[nigebj]

I kept having problems getting out to a DVD format with NeroVision Express 3. It would blow up sometimes during transcode.

After a little trial and error I found the way:

<delete> Exporting it seems to clear any problems in transcoding etc.

Let me know if you have any input or suggestions.

Excellent - thanks. Couldn't get any transcoding to work for any of my recordings. Your method apears to work great. Interesting to see a very different collection of people in here hammering TivoToGo than the usual suspects on this board.

Nige ...

[rlcarr]

However, if they are actively making it so other burning software will not work (without the major workarounds and/or hacks we've been running into) as a way to get people to buy MyDVD, then I smell anti-trust.


Dream on. What MSFT did was only anti-trust because the court found them to be monopoly. If they had not been ruled a monopoly, all that tying/bundling stuff would have been perfectly legal. And TiVo is no monopoly.


I don't care how hard they may try to hide it under a proprietary ".tivo" extension, it does not change the fact that we are dealing with mpeg video. After all, Windows identifies the file as "Movie file (MPEG)", regardless of the extension, so that should be enough for any editing suite out there to work.

Not only that, MPEG is already patented and licensed, so how is it TiVo should get away with essentially re-licensing it under their .tivo extension, only compatible with MyDVD??


First, file extensions mean nothing. Second, Windows identifies .tivo as "Movie file (MPEG)" because the TiVo Desktop installer puts stuff in the registry to tell Windows to do that. Third, TiVo is perfectly within its rights to encrypt an MPEG file. That's not "re-licensing" the MPEG patent or format. TiVo has no obligation to make standard MPEG files, anyways. Their licensing of the MPEG patent allows them to have MPEG encoders/decoders in the TiVo box. It doesn't mean they have to use those encoders/decoders to product a "standard" MPEG file (and as I understand it, what's on the disks of at least Series 2 standalones isn't a "standard" MPEG file). Fourth, there's nothing special about MyDVD. Any program that (a) won't refuse to see a *.tivo file because it thinks that's not a valid extension and (b) is DirectShow compatible, can deal with .tivo files.

[davezatz]

However, if they are actively making it so other burning software will not work (without the major workarounds and/or hacks we've been running into) as a way to get people to buy MyDVD, then I smell anti-trust.
The reason we can't really discuss Dr. Divx, GraphEdit, etc extensively is because Tivo has a financial arrangement with Sonic (and the Tivo Community takes guidance from Tivo). Those programs use the same method as Sonic to get the file unlocked for editing and/or transcoding, so there is obviously nothing 'illegal' with that.

Technically, the difference may be the way they keep or don't keep the file open in memory. Hopefully within a few months Nero, Roxio, others will pay attention and tweak their apps for more consistent support.

[tfratzke]

I honestly think that NVE3 has a bug.

I would agree with this...especially since NVE2.1 always works for me, but i have had nothing but headaches with Ver. 3.

[AnteL0pe]

Ive been using tfratzke's method with limited success. Im still having an issue with the nondvdcompliant frame size of the videos, but i believe I can fix that with QT Pro. His method is quick, but I have yet to get a DVD that plays in my player (btw, my player plays VCD and SVCD just fine). The DVD's I have produced play flawlessly on my mac, but not on a Windows box..... go figure.....

[2farrell]

As I was beginning to follow the "re-xfer .tivo files directly into nero" trick, I recalled wondering [while I was screwing around with codecs and xfers] last week if maybe the tivo desktop being open when adding the file to nero was a required combination, but spaced it out enduring one of the interminable “wait states”. I have tivo desktop/server/beacon set to NOT run when Windoze starts.
I now have a procedure that has "fixed" three .tivo shows that would repeatedly open garbled and one that I had already opened and burned!
---To clarify, no need to re-transfer, this is for .tivos that are already on your computer---.
As stated in previous posts: WinXP SP2, WMP 9, Cole2K codec pack for Ligos Indio 5.2, Nero 6.6.0.6, NVE 3.0.1.27, TTG 7.1a.

Regardless of weather[sp?] the .tivo opened clean previously, if you're faced with garbled playback in NVE3 try this.

Close NVE3, not necessary to remove the [garbled} project, don't save project when prompted.

It doesn't seem to matter if you do A or B first but do A and B before 3!!!

A. Delete the files in C:\Documents and Settings\<your user-name>\Application Data\Ahead\NeroVision\NVFACache\ (I assume you have already set explorer to show all files and folders [and such], system and hidden?).

B. Open tivo desktop.

3. Open NVE3, click Make Movie and Wallah!!! If you didn't remove your project you'll be prompted for your password and you can move on to the next time consuming step.
If you removed the project or are starting a new one click browse for media> "browse and add project" > don't forget to set "all file types"> enter password ... and marvel at how much faster it is to load a .tivo that won't turn out garbled!?!?

I’ll post again if this process begins to fail and will be happy to hear of your successes.

PS...Several people have inferred that they had trans-coding or file saving times of mere minutes? Is that possible? It seems every time I edit or save to DVD it takes a 1 hour movie ~1.5hrs. Am I doing something wrong/the hard way? I have a 3Ghz P4 with 1M of cache and a gig of ram, so it ain't for lack of muscle. At this rate I'm not sure I have enough life left to archive all my stuff, 'course if I run out I suppose the archival is moot...

Happy Trails!
:up:
You're a genius.
I just tried this after pulling my hair out (not that there much left (-; ) for days.
Followed your instructions to the letter.
Funny thing is, some programs work without doing this and sometimes you have to do this. Weird.
Thanks.
Oh, in case anyone is interested, I export using NVE3 and the use Pinnacle Studio 9 to edit (I have a copy that I got with the Moviebox for Analog video editing). Works very well.

[tfratzke]

Ive been using tfratzke's method with limited success. His method is quick, but I have yet to get a DVD that plays in my player (btw, my player plays VCD and SVCD just fine). The DVD's I have produced play flawlessly on my mac, but not on a Windows box..... go figure.....

Amazing! I on the other hand have yet to find a DVD player that WON'T play the DVD's i create. Something seems odd here...especially the MAC vs Windows thing.
Poor quality media maybe??
How about this......once you have created the VOB files, can your PC's DVD player play the files off your hard drive? In PowerDVD (not sure what player you have) you can set the source to be a hard drive folder. You can play it from there, test all your menus, chapters, etc before you even burn it.

[Windohpain]

:up:
You're a genius.
I just tried this after pulling my hair out (not that there much left (-; ) for days.
Followed your instructions to the letter.
Funny thing is, some programs work without doing this and sometimes you have to do this. Weird.
Thanks.
Oh, in case anyone is interested, I export using NVE3 and the use Pinnacle Studio 9 to edit (I have a copy that I got with the Moviebox for Analog video editing). Works very well.

2farrell-Don't pull it all out, there will be many more times when you need to and what are you gonna do if you don't have any hair left to pull out :eek:

The credit goes to john123, he mentioned the cache back on page 3 of this thread. All I did was do it, then post my experience.

How do you like Pinnacle for editing? Compared to NVE3? I find NVE3 is a bit laggy when handling larger files, say >1G. I think my system has the muscle, just looking for editing software that will use it, and for which I don't have to obtain an advanced degree (Adobe) to operate.

There are better methods for other tasks but I haven't completed an initial success with them yet, but that's my fault.

To those that are bombarding Nero with complaints, don't expect much. Tivo wrote a [pseudo] proprietary format (of which the [perhaps] dubious quality is being discussed in several other threads) so other than for customer relations Nero can reasonably say 'our product operates adequately with formats written to the existing standards' and I think they'd be in the right.

[davezatz]

I was bouncing a few ideas around with another person here, and I'm wondering if the length of the show plays into this. Is the Tivo .dll (or the app) unloading the file from memory before the conversation completes? Does keeping the Tivo Desktop open keep the.tivo file unlocked/open to be read by these other apps? I've only converted 30 minute shows and it's worked with both DD and GE (can't remember if Tivo Desktop was open or not), but would a 60 minute show respond differently? (Can't test here at work.)

FYI I'm running 7.1. I don't imagine 7.1a changes the encoding in any way, but I figured I'd throw it out there.

[backdoc]

I've followed the instructions and it works fine but way too much trouble. I hope someone can come up with an automated method to get the tivo programs onto DvD.

Is there a way to export several files at once? It would be fine to tag 3-4 files to export and let it do the transcoding overnight.

Steve

[davezatz]

DD will allow you to convert as many files as you want as a sort of batch. However the complication is the Tivo software requires your Tivo Desktop password when each file is opened.

What we need to do is create a little script that will autofills and submit your desktop password whenever that dialog box appears.

[rainmkr]

after initial sync issues i was able to do a whole show with NVE3 after i copied the program to my PC again. looks good! :D

[davezatz]

Has anyone tried MPEG2AVI? It's an older free program I used to use for get stuff onto my PDA when I rode the subway. Haven't tested it yet with .tivo file as I totally forgot about it.

[john123]

The credit goes to john123, he mentioned the cache back on page 3 of this thread. All I did was do it, then post my experience.

Well, thanks for the kind words, but I also need to credit you for finishing the investigation!

I've finally managed to get one of my 'perpetually corrupted' files working (one of the one's I'd since deleted on the TiVo, so there was no chance to try re-transferring).

The final bits of the puzzle were to leave the file in the My Media section, and to go 'Make Movies' rather than 'Make DVD' - missing either of those out seemed to leave the corruption.

Appologies for not reponding sooner - only got it working yesterday, plus I somehow managed to mess up my account after the upgrade - only just got my posting privliges back (thanks Dave or whoever fixed it!)

[jmace57]

i still cant get this to work. i've followed the instructions that were given and when i try to watch the show i get this messed up audio and half the picture is black, the rest of it is sort of like watching a scratched dvd with the skips. anyone know what i'm doing wrong?

I know it's cold comfort, but you aren't alone. You have described ny symptoms exactly.

Jim

[MarcS]

I followed the directions for NVE3 as well, but when it said it would take 9:00 hours to encode a 1 hours show I aborted the process. That seems excessive even for a patient person like me!

[LordKronos]

I start the transfer then go into Nero and click the add file button.
I browse to the My TiVo Recordings directory and select the file
that's in the process of being transferred. It will appear to be only
a few minutes long. I then wait until the transfer is done and then
either save the Nero project and reload it, or go into the Edit Movie
screen and back so that Nero notices that the file has changed.
Then I go into Edit Movie for the file that has finished transferring
and adjust the end point of the clip all the way out to the end
of the movie.

Have you noticed if it has anything to do with the file size or movie length? So far I've only tried 2 tivo files. The first one was 1.3 GB (30 minutes) and I had no trouble with it at all. The second one was 5.0GB (2 hours), and nothing I could do could get it into NVE without the video ending up horribly corrupted. I tried clearing the cache and other tricks...none of it worked. I didn't feel like spending 3 hours downloading the movie from TiVo again, so I was thinking about your post. I figured maybe that when loading it into NVE while it is still download, the reason it works might be because the file is small when you import it initially. On import, NVE definitely treats long video differently. My 30 minute video got imported as 1 segment, but my 2 hour video got split into 5 segments.

Anyway, so here is what I did. File A.tivo is my 5GB file, and B.tivo is my 1.3 GB file. 1) started a project in NVE
2) imported B.tivo.
3) save the project and closed NVE
4) renamed B.tivo to C.tivo
5) renamed A.tivo to B.tivo
6) opened the saved project in NVE

Now, NVE knew that the project included the B.tivo file, and when it opened it, it analyzed the file once again, but this time it kept it in one piece instead of 5 segments. The video now works perfectly.

Next thing I'm going to try is just getting a small 10 second recording off of my TiVo. This will be a really small clip that I can just keep on my hard drive (only take up a MB or so of space). My prediction is that I will be able to import this file into NVE and then use the rename trick above to get any video to load. Not sure when I'll get around to trying this out, but I'll keep my fingers crossed when I do.

[LordKronos]

I was bouncing a few ideas around with another person here, and I'm wondering if the length of the show plays into this.

Exactly what I was thinking. Like I said in the post above, NVE imports the long movie by breaking it into segments, it doesn't do that with the short movies. My rename-the-file trick above seems to work. When you reopen after renaming, the long video has now been imported as 1 segment and it works perfectly.

[Tempest]

Not having much luch with NVE myself. I have transferred two 30 minute programs and then I recorded a short 2-3 minute spot just to do testing.

First time I download show, it transferred with no issue, played fine in WMP10, analyzed in NVE but audio made weird beepin noises and major video corruption.

Next tried to transfer the 2-3 minute program, played fine in WMP10, played fine after importing into NVE3. Didn't try to burn to DVD but everything looked good.

Sooo, thought I had it resolved. Tried another new full 30 minute program and same video/audio issues as first after importing into NVE

I am stumped. I have tried clearing NVECache directory, etc I am running Latest Nero and NVE version.

Anyone have any ideas? Donwloading Sonic trial now but since already purchases Nero last year really don't want to pony up the $$$ for this program too.

[chain777]

After 8 pages and over 150 posts, the OP needs to seriously consider renaming the thread title. ;)

[Tempest]

Indeed, on a side note I downloaded Sonic and it burned one of the episodes I transferred without issue. Appears to be NVE related at this point.

Really hoping to get it to work with Nero but very straightforward in Sonic 6.1 so might have to buy it.

[LordKronos]

Anyone have any ideas?

Did you try my suggestion from post # 154 above, about renaming the file?

[tfratzke]

I followed the directions for NVE3 as well, but when it said it would take 9:00 hours to encode a 1 hours show I aborted the process. That seems excessive even for a patient person like me!


Check your PM...try that method.

[Windohpain]

For those of you wondering if size matters: I've successfully transferred, transcoded, edited and saved with NVE3 in various formats; 2min, 30min, 1hr, 2, and 2.5hr shows. The only issue I have is the response time in Nero with bigger files as you get further into it, curiously there is little or no lag editing a file striped with GE :confused:
Oh, and my tivo is set to record best quality, I'll do a rare high but never med. or basic

Davezatz-I DLed MPGtoAVI GUI v.20c but can't get it to load a .tivo file. I thought I had an older version but couldn't find it.

John123-Sorry I neglected to add that [make movie] step in the process, that was a major oversight :o . I've been doing that from the beginning, ala DZRino's post#13 on page 1. I wonder what other steps I don't realize I'm doing :confused: Other than that process that involves fire, chewing gum, and my wife's toenails, but I don't have to do that every time ;)

jmace57-I can't for the life of me find any post by someone named afdmb41 . It sure sounds like you've got codec problems, if you give more details you might get some help.

MarcS-Dude you've got something way outta whack. 1:1 ratio is about average 9:1 is whacked, like, time to upgrade that 386SX to DX ;) . I'd guess you've got issues other than NVE3. Background tasks? Spyware?

[davezatz]

The only issue I have is the response time in Nero with bigger files as you get further into it, curiously there is little or no lag editing a file striped with GE :confused:

Davezatz-I DLed MPGtoAVI GUI v.20c but can't get it to load a .tivo file. I thought I had an older version but couldn't find it.

Good work with the research man! :)

The lag in editing large .tivo files versus your freed .mpeg maybe have to do with the way the .tivo file is served/streamed from the Tivo sw...?

[MJedi]

Count me in as another satisfied "customer" of tfratzke's method. I can quickly edit a 1-hour show and create a DVD out of it, with no noticeable loss of quality, in just under 30 minutes. Compare that to Nero or Sonic's 1 to 1.5 hours in creating the DVD alone.

These companies need to get their act together. I can't believe their applications take so long to create a DVD. The application tfratzke suggests only takes 5-10 minutes to create the DVD. Oops. I may have said too much. ;)

[krandog]

OK I have been silently reading these posts sympathizing with everyone here. I have finally got NVE3 to work successfully the first time after using WindohPain’s technique of making sure that TTG was open before importing the .tivo file. Even worked on files that previously would not work before, with out having to download them again.

It irritates me that we are in an age were we have 3Mb download speeds in the home and can burn 4GB DVD’s in under 16 min., that it takes so friggen long to download a .tivo file from our tivo box (2:1 ratio) and then have to recode it (1:1 ratio) before burning it to disc.

I love my TiVo Box, however I agree that TiVo has done everyone a disservice by making promises and then falling short on the delivery. Worst of all is their partnering with Sonic. I’ll never figure that one out when there were better choices out there.

Ok, I will now get off my soapbox. I am ready to try tfratzke's method. So if he or anyone else that has gotten his method to work would PM me the steps, I would love to see for myself.

By the by, I would like to personally thank everyone out there who has contributed positively to this thread. I plan on trying my hand at using Roxio EMC7 to see if there are any workarounds there (as I received a copy with my burner). I will post if I have success.

[Drax]

Okay, I have been pulling my hair out over the past few weeks trying to determine the best(and fastest) way to archive my .tivo files.

I have been tirelessly reading this thread and finally the light went on.

I d/led and installed the Sonic trial...it worked at first but then started crashing on me whenever I went to set a chapter image. It also had many issues when editing, such as long memory lags etc.
I futzed around with my PC for endless hours trying to tweak it, clear cache, empty my pagefile when I logged off, clear out and reinstall codecs(I even bought the sonic codec as well as the WinDVD codec!) ...and on and on. Still, MyDVD kept crashing and on top of that, it took 5 hours to burn a DVD!
So me, not wanting to leave any stone unturned, even reformatted and reloaded windows XP Pro.
Still the issue persisted.

After reading the Nero posts, I figured that I would give that a try and I d/led a trial for NeroVision Express 3. I really thought I would run into issues as stated throughout this thread, but to my surprise, I didn't.

I Tivoed 3 hours of Pebble Beach on Friday and thought it would be good test for NVE3.

I opened the file in NVE3, edited out most of the commercials(not the easiest or cleanest way to do it...but it didn't crash on me), created a simple template and burned it using the single pass method. 2.5 hours start to finish! The quality was pretty good(I used the High Quality setting on my Tivo). I then repeated the burn using the 2 pass method and it only added a half an hour to the burn. It looked pretty good and, realistically, only slightly better..but definately better and pretty close to the Tivo quality.

To sum up, I have found my method (and I will not mind spending the 69 bucks later) and I only hope it keeps performing as well.
Thank you guys for your Nero info, and please keep it going, that Sonic trial almost ended my hopes and wasted about three nights of my time!

BTW, I am unable to open a .tivo file in Pinnacle Studio 9, and have tried a few things that we won't discuss here, but some of the codecs necessary really screwed up my SonicMyDVD install...perhaps Nero will not have the same problem.

Thanks again!

[toots]

I bought Nero for regular CD and DVD burning in general. NVE was a bonus.

I think that otherwise, Nero's such a good product that you won't mind the purchase price if you plan on burning anything in addition to TiVo DVDs.

[BillShannon]

Anyway, so here is what I did. File A.tivo is my 5GB file, and B.tivo is my 1.3 GB file.
1) started a project in NVE
2) imported B.tivo.
3) save the project and closed NVE
4) renamed B.tivo to C.tivo
5) renamed A.tivo to B.tivo
6) opened the saved project in NVE

Now, NVE knew that the project included the B.tivo file, and when it opened it, it analyzed the file once again, but this time it kept it in one piece instead of 5 segments. The video now works perfectly.

Cool!

I just tried this technique and it works for me too! It's great to know there's a way
to make any video work properly without transferring it again. It's also becoming
pretty clear that this is a Nero bug. Let's just hope we can convince them to fix it.

[tfratzke]

Count me in as another satisfied "customer" of tfratzke's method. I can quickly edit a 1-hour show and create a DVD out of it, with no noticeable loss of quality, in just under 30 minutes. Compare that to Nero or Sonic's 1 to 1.5 hours in creating the DVD alone.

These companies need to get their act together. I can't believe their applications take so long to create a DVD. The application tfratzke suggests only takes 5-10 minutes to create the DVD. Oops. I may have said too much. ;)

Nice! Glad it worked for you!

[bharris11]

Your right..IF you continued to use NVE or MyDVD to do the transcoding. There are faster solutions and that is where the time is saved. Check your PM.
Dear Tony,

Would you be able to help me save some time, as well?

Thanks in advance!

[rlcarr]

That method doesn't "create a DVD". It does <censored>. The result is an MPEG which while "in the clear" is NOT in a DVD-compliant resolution (because what the TiVo recorded in the first place isn't in a DVD-compliant resolution) and does not use a DVD-compliant audio encoding. So if you want a compliant DVD, you have to transcode, and that's what takes hours. Transcoding has nothing to do with decryption.

(Note -- I was under the impression that Basic and Medium are in DVD-compliant resolutions and to make them compliant only an audio transcoding is needed, which takes a while but should still be faster than a full transcode. But in another thread someone else claimed that none of the TiVo quality settings record at DVD-compliant resolutions).

[tfratzke]

So if you want a compliant DVD, you have to transcode, and that's what takes hours.


Wrong, you don't have to transcode to get it to work with a DVD. This is again where you save huge time with the process i use. Check your PM.

[davezatz]

DVD Lab is doing your conversion. Perhaps that portion of the process is quicker than Nero, but you need four pieces of software instead of 1 and a certain comfort level using these different tools. Not to mention DVD Lab doesn't appear to be free nixing one of the benefits.

[tfratzke]

...but you need four pieces of software instead of 1 and a certain comfort level using these different tools.

Sorry, but where the technology is currently at, we have no other option if you want to speed up the process. Can't have your cake and eat it too i guess.

[derekw]

what password does it ask for? the nero product key? or the tivo home media access key?

Don't waste $50 on Sonic MyDVD (which is a piece of poop), NeroVision Express 3 works fine. So far I have made a VCD and a DVD from a 1/2 hour show that I transferred over via TivoToGo.

Transcoding takes the same time it would take with a non-protected DVD. Takes about an hour for each 1/2 hour. When you start to transcode, it asks you for your password and then proceeds just like it would with anything else.

You can use NVE3 to assemble your favorite programs onto a single disk, etc..

I am only using the CODECs that came with Nero. I assume that it is using the Tivo supplied filters that get installed with Tivo Desktop.

I use the entire Nero 6 Ultra Edition with all plugins (which I own). I would recommend getting the packaged version which you can find on a discount. That way you get all the plugins for free.

This experience tells me that some of the freeware DVD burning programs will probably work as well as some other competitors to Sonic.

[rlcarr]

Wrong, you don't have to transcode to get it to work with a DVD. This is again where you save huge time with the process i use. Check your PM.

That depends on your player. It's true that many players these days handle non-compliant DVDs. And if you're ever only going to be playing your created DVDs on a player that does, mucho cool! But if you want to make officially to-spec DVDs, you can't avoid transcoding.

P.S. Thanks for the PM! Good to know about that.

[tfratzke]

That depends on your player. It's true that many players these days handle non-compliant DVDs. And if you're ever only going to be playing your created DVDs on a player that does, mucho cool! But if you want to make officially to-spec DVDs, you can't avoid transcoding.

You're proably right. All i know is that i have one Sony DVD player that is over 5 years old it plays any homemade DVD i throw at it. It will not however play any VCD i create even though it states right on it that it plays VCD's. Im guessing VCD's don't work because it can't read CDR's at all.

[mmascari]

You're proably right. All i know is that i have one Sony DVD player that is over 5 years old it plays any homemade DVD i throw at it. It will not however play any VCD i create even though it states right on it that it plays VCD's. Im guessing VCD's don't work because it can't read CDR's at all.

Try a CD-RW instead of a CD-R. That's what worked for my Sony and a VCD.

[sbrown23]

Tony -

I've seen several of the issues that have been discussed in the thread. Please PM me your method. Thanks.

[tfratzke]

Try a CD-RW instead of a CD-R. That's what worked for my Sony and a VCD.

Thanks! I will give it a shot!

[RW48]

I've found a couple methods that work, but are so slow as to be practically useless. I got Nero to work intermittantly after hours of fiddling, and also have used WIN AVI Video Converter (slooow). Not happy with either. I have used other (earlier) Sonic DVD software and vowed never to burden my system with their products again. So, Mr. Tony, I'd be very pleased to hear from you also....or anyone who has a workable solution to this mess, for that matter. Has anyone tried Adobe Premiere?
Thanks for any help anyone.
RW

[billmannor]

I've found a couple methods that work, but are so slow as to be practically useless. I got Nero to work intermittantly after hours of fiddling, and also have used WIN AVI Video Converter (slooow). Not happy with either. I have used other (earlier) Sonic DVD software and vowed never to burden my system with their products again. So, Mr. Tony, I'd be very pleased to hear from you also....or anyone who has a workable solution to this mess, for that matter. Has anyone tried Adobe Premiere?
Thanks for any help anyone.
RW

It's weird that Winavi is slow for you, takes 30 mins from a straight 1 hour long .tivo file to DVD folder for me. This is the fastest 1 program solution that I've found.

[RW48]

It's weird that Winavi is slow for you, takes 30 mins from a straight 1 hour long .tivo file to DVD folder for me. This is the fastest 1 program solution that I've found.
Well, maybe I'm not using it right. The actual Winavi process WAS quicker than Nero and Sonic, but when I tried to burn the file with Nero (NVE 3.something), it transcoded it again, taking about 1.5 hrs for a one hour program. This makes me wonder if I had transcoded it correctly with Winavi initially, or if there is a bug with Nero. Perhaps I should try it again and burn with another program. Would you mind posting the method and settings you used?
Thanks, RW

[bharris11]

After successfully burning 2 TiVo shows using the trial version of NVE3 with perfect success (and no workarounds required), last night I tried burning 2 other shows and received a transcoding error as soon as I began to burn them. In fact, one of the shows I tried to burn was one of the ones I originally burned successfully! I could not even export them to a file in DVD format without getting the error. I agree with one of the other posters earlier that TTG is probably best suited for watching on your laptop, and not actually burning, but I would like the option to do so for kids programs when I travel with the family and need some car entertainment. Because I am still using the trial version of NVE (which I otherwise like and had great success with Nero 5.5, which I own), my question is whether anyone here has used MyDVD, and if so whether you think it compares favorably with NVE for normal DVD authoring. If it is comparable, I think I may just get it and save myself these headaches with respect to burning TTG shows. Thanks for your help!

[Revolutionary]

Thanks! I will give it a shot!

ygpm

[toots]

Well, maybe I'm not using it right. The actual Winavi process WAS quicker than Nero and Sonic, but when I tried to burn the file with Nero (NVE 3.something), it transcoded it again, taking about 1.5 hrs for a one hour program. This makes me wonder if I had transcoded it correctly with Winavi initially, or if there is a bug with Nero. Perhaps I should try it again and burn with another program. Would you mind posting the method and settings you used?
Thanks, RW

Check the video settings in NVE. There's one called "smart encoding." If NVE thinks the thing's already DVD compliant, it skips the transcode and things go very quickly indeed.

Unfortunately, it never seems to think things out of a TiVo are DVD compliant, including those copied (two step) from a DVD burning TiVo. But, if you're doing an n-step process (make a movie, then burn), using the smart encoding will at least cut out one useless transcode step.

[gubment worker]

i have TTG a PC, and I bought this:

http://www.isellsurplus.com/product.asp?id=9067&c=30&s=161

...except mine was free ($8 for shipping) :cool:

anyways, i'm trying to make a vcd using one of the .tivo files. nero acts like it is going to re encode when i try to "add" the file to my project. at that point it gets into a loop of sorts with the same dialog, and in the end, the file is not coded nor is it added for backup.

by getting this OEM suite, am I missing some plug in or codec? if so what free app can i find to re encode my transferred files so that nero can create the vcd, dvd, or svcd?

i am going to try tytools tonight. any other thoughts?

[gvarela]

RW80 ...Has anyone tried Adobe Premiere?...
You have to use Tony's method to get it into Premiere. Took me a half-hour for an hour show to get the file prepped, edited and exported via Tony + Premiere.

[Tempest]

Anyway, so here is what I did. File A.tivo is my 5GB file, and B.tivo is my 1.3 GB file. 1) started a project in NVE
2) imported B.tivo.
3) save the project and closed NVE
4) renamed B.tivo to C.tivo
5) renamed A.tivo to B.tivo
6) opened the saved project in NVE

I'll get around to trying this out, but I'll keep my fingers crossed when I do.

This method does appear to be the fix. I recorded a short 1 minute program to use as a test. I imported, saved project and then renamed the file that always gets corrupted to the same name. It now plays in NVE.

My file was getting split into two pices even though only a 30 minute episode. Hopefully Nero can find a way to stop this because I really don't want to purchase Sonic.

[GOwithIT]

Hello,

I have spent the last few days reading all the threads on how to burn to DVD and I am confused as to what will really work. I am sure that sooner or later someone will figure out the best efficient way to get the .tivo files made into DVD consistantly so I guess I am going to wait to try to make any DVDs until its settled. In the meantime, I need to clean out my Tivo because its full.

I have two questions...

1) Will it be alright to go ahead and transfer the shows to my computer for future use?

2) Should I go ahead and edit commercials out or should I leave the file as is for now?

Thanks alot

GOwithIT

[uetzwurst]

Hi, My NVE does not recognize the Tivo Mpegs (other videos are fine). Anyone has an idea, why? Thanks Mike

[ki173]

I'm running into a problem with NVE2 that I cannot seem to get around, and so far everything that has worked for everyone else does not work for me.

Everything works great until the transcoding process. I can import the file, I get asked for my password, I can open it and edit out all of the commercials, and then I can preview it in the window with the remote. But as soon as I click the Burn button, the preview plane in the top right corner that shows the progress gets a garbled and freezes. It then takes about 10 minutes to transcode a 1/2 hour show and all I get is a video full of bad audio and frozen frames.

I used the trial of MyDVD and was able to make a few DVDs that worked good, but I like Nero and don't want to spend another $50. Anyone got any thing else that worked?

[greg_burns]

Hi, My NVE does not recognize the Tivo Mpegs (other videos are fine). Anyone has an idea, why? Thanks Mike

When you click Add Video Files, change "Files Of Type:" to All Files (*.*).

Greg

[Rocketslc]

Hello,
..............

I have two questions...

1) Will it be alright to go ahead and transfer the shows to my computer for future use?

2) Should I go ahead and edit commercials out or should I leave the file as is for now?

Thanks alot

GOwithIT

Personally what I did was transfer all the files from my TiVos to my pc. I then made a backups of the files before doing anything else. No sense taking chance ruining a once in a lifetime recording of Dan Rather admitting to a mistake.

[johda06]

Hi Bill,

I get exactly the same problem. If I use Windows Media PLayer the file plays fine with good audio and video. When I import to Nero Vision Express, it appears pixelated and the sound distorts cracks up etc.

Windows Media PLayer is using the Intervideo WinDVD mpeg decoder, Nero has it's own!
I'm using 6.06 or the latest version of vision express.

Let me know when you get a resolution to this!

[Kracko]

Hi Bill,

I get exactly the same problem. If I use Windows Media PLayer the file plays fine with good audio and video. When I import to Nero Vision Express, it appears pixelated and the sound distorts cracks up etc.

Windows Media PLayer is using the Intervideo WinDVD mpeg decoder, Nero has it's own!
I'm using 6.06 or the latest version of vision express.

Let me know when you get a resolution to this!

Johda, I'm having the same problem here. I just bought and isntalled Nero Ultra 6 yesterday. Everything seemed to work fine. Then I noticed that there was an update available. I downloaded and isntalled it (6.06) and I've been having the same problem you just described.

[filbay]

I kept having problems getting out to a DVD format with NeroVision Express 3. It would blow up sometimes during transcode.

After a little trial and error I found the way:

1) Go to NVE3
...[snip]...
10) Burn and enjoy!!!

Exporting it seems to clear any problems in transcoding etc.

Just burnt 3 different DVDs and they all work great!

Also did a SVCD and a MiniDVD to CD just to see if I could.

Let me know if you have any input or suggestions.

NVE3 works great. No need to buy MyDVD. Thanks.
I also didn't buy any codec. I have an old PowerDVD v4.0 installed which I got for free (bundled) with my Sony DVD burner (an old DRU500a). The included codec works fine.

[GOwithIT]

Rocketslc...thanks alot...I think thats what I am going to do.

Anyway, I figured I would try to go ahead and edit and make a DVD.

I have the Nero Ultra Edition 6.0 with the upgrade to 6.06. I followed the directions on this thread and opened up a Tivo file in NVE 3.0 and cut out all the commercials. Then I exported the file back to my hard drive. Next I brought that file back into NVE and added chapters and then I burned the file and made a DVD with no problem.

Of course, I had no idea what I was doing so it took a long long long time.

It took me about 5 hours to do a 1 hour show but at least it was successful.

One thing I did notice was that after I saved the exported file to my HD was that my default player Winamp opened the file and I got a black screen with only audio. When I changed the default to Nero Showtime it played fine. Just figured I would let people know because I have read that some people have had that issue.

Take care,

GOwithIT

[razorpit]

So far, I've only had the "add to NVE while the Desktop's still downloading it" technique work.

1) Start the transfer with Tivo Desktop
2) Immediately head into NVE3, add the file
3) Wait for the download to complete
4) At this point, the video was easily playable, but only the first couple minutes worth (however many had transfered by the end of step 2)
5) Exit and restart NVE3 without removing the program. Drag and drop from the projects window to the video timeline. I played a bunch from various points along the timeline - looked good.
6) Burn

By dumb luck I too stumble across this technique and so far this has worked flawlessly for me. I have had to go back and delete all transfers that were broght over before I discovered this process for myself, bummer. Well at least I didn't delete everything from TiVo before I had it all worked out. I hope Nero can figure out what the problem is because I love this software and don't even want to think about loading MyDVD on to "MyPC".

[DarkStar999]

As I was beginning to follow the "re-xfer .tivo files directly into nero" trick, I recalled wondering [while I was screwing around with codecs and xfers] last week if maybe the tivo desktop being open when adding the file to nero was a required combination, but spaced it out enduring one of the interminable “wait states”. I have tivo desktop/server/beacon set to NOT run when Windoze starts.
I now have a procedure that has "fixed" three .tivo shows that would repeatedly open garbled and one that I had already opened and burned!
---To clarify, no need to re-transfer, this is for .tivos that are already on your computer---.
As stated in previous posts: WinXP SP2, WMP 9, Cole2K codec pack for Ligos Indio 5.2, Nero 6.6.0.6, NVE 3.0.1.27, TTG 7.1a.

Regardless of weather[sp?] the .tivo opened clean previously, if you're faced with garbled playback in NVE3 try this.

Close NVE3, not necessary to remove the [garbled} project, don't save project when prompted.

It doesn't seem to matter if you do A or B first but do A and B before 3!!!

A. Delete the files in C:\Documents and Settings\<your user-name>\Application Data\Ahead\NeroVision\NVFACache\ (I assume you have already set explorer to show all files and folders [and such], system and hidden?).

B. Open tivo desktop.

3. Open NVE3, click Make Movie and Wallah!!! If you didn't remove your project you'll be prompted for your password and you can move on to the next time consuming step.
If you removed the project or are starting a new one click browse for media> "browse and add project" > don't forget to set "all file types"> enter password ... and marvel at how much faster it is to load a .tivo that won't turn out garbled!?!?

I’ll post again if this process begins to fail and will be happy to hear of your successes.

PS...Several people have inferred that they had trans-coding or file saving times of mere minutes? Is that possible? It seems every time I edit or save to DVD it takes a 1 hour movie ~1.5hrs. Am I doing something wrong/the hard way? I have a 3Ghz P4 with 1M of cache and a gig of ram, so it ain't for lack of muscle. At this rate I'm not sure I have enough life left to archive all my stuff, 'course if I run out I suppose the archival is moot...

Happy Trails!

This method worked great for my garbled files. Thanks Windohpain!!!!

It's weird, my 30min shows import fine into Nero. 1hr and longer get split into part and are garbled upon playback/edit in NVE3.

Windopain's method of A, B, then 3 restores the garbled/split shows to one part which is no longer garbled.

Thanks again.

[Windohpain]

Glad to hear it's working for you. I've had several .tivos fail to open clean on the first try but I found if I left the file in the project window, exited NVE3 [with out saving when prompted], delete the NVFAcache again, and then open NVE3, goto Make Movie again, it promped for the password and opened properly every time.

[Keebler]

Thanks Windohpain!
Clearing the cache fixed it!

[mr396]

I have Nero NVE3, checked out the codecs and all seem to be there. I can edit the movie in NVE3, remove the commercials, and it starts to burn fine. About 3/4 of the way through it gives me an error of "something about the DVD structure"and bombs out. Anyideas on this?

Can anyone with Nero NVE3 describe how they got NVE3 to work and burn a DVD?

[Windohpain]

I've had a couple of burns fail and suspect it's related to extreme amount of time involved in the transcode process and buffer underrun. So at the "set parameters for burning" window I always choose "write to hard disk folder" then when it's done (next day, next week, legacy to my great-grandchildren) I open Nero Express, Click DVD video files, click add, then highlight the VIDEO_TS folder that has movie I want to burn, click add, click finished, click next, click burn. Go read Bush's latest whity comment-and it's done.

[Denvers Dawgs]

i'd rather just add chapters to skip past the commercials than edit them out :D

How do you do this? set chapters and have a dvd player compliant disc?

[mr396]

In NVE3, do you choose export or do you follow along using the next button. When I exported in put it in MPG format on my hard disk. I tried to bring that in using Nero Express/Buring Rom under the Video_TS folder and it will not do it. Something about the file is too big. I know I must not be using the right settings or something. Any ideas on step-by-step to make this work with Nero?

[Windohpain]

MR396- I'm doing next right through the whole process working towards making a DVD. If you want to go MPG there are MUCH better programs for that process.

[mr396]

Windohpain - Thanks for the replay. I have downloaded the latest version of Nero from their web-site. Downloaded all the codecs listed in previous threads here. I have tried using the next (right) button through the whole process as well.

NV3 can seem to pull the video in. I can edit out the commercials, etc. When I go to burning it is when I have problems. It starts burning and every thing seems to be going well, then about 3/4 of the way trhough it fails. Something about DVD file structure could not write or something along those lines.

Any ideas?

[Regordragonfist]

I was ablel to recover several files that I had transferred to my PC, but had deleted off my TIVO, thanks to you guys and the help you've provided.

Cheers Mates

[DZRhino]

Go to http://avicodec.duby.info/

You can use his utility to analyize any media file to determine what codecs are required for it. Then you can select one of the free codec sites he lists to get the ones you need.

This will help you with any mulitmedia file that is giving you trouble, not just the .tivo ones.

[Windohpain]

MR396- Are you burning to HDD or DVD disk? Did you see my post #203?

DZRhino- Sweet utility, thanks. Does it analyze .tivo files for you? I just get an error code. Tried both versions, tried with and without tivo desktop open, when I tried renaming .tivo to .mpg (which of course won't play) it does show the codec that MWP9 says it's using but shows it as having a 0x0 resolution. Works great for .mpg and .avi though. What kinda action are you getting?

[DZRhino]

DZRhino- Sweet utility, thanks. Does it analyze .tivo files for you? I just get an error code. Tried both versions, tried with and without tivo desktop open, when I tried renaming .tivo to .mpg (which of course won't play) it does show the codec that MWP9 says it's using but shows it as having a 0x0 resolution. Works great for .mpg and .avi though. What kinda action are you getting?[/QUOTE]

First, in 'Microsoftspeak' 0x0 means it's working or that it terminated properly. If you use MS Scheduler, you will see this kind of message format.

I used it on Tivo files that I have moved to .mpg to assure that I did it correctly and that Tivo hasn't changed something new. According to the author, the next release should do analysis directly with .tivo files . . . not sure he understood exactly what they were though.

I am using a combo of Nero and GraphEdit to convert the .tivo file to a .mpg and to burn to disk.

[davedonohue]

This thread has been an enormous help, and I appreciate it.

I am using the most current versions of paid, full-version Nero, including NVE 3.

I am able to make DVDs of 30 min - 2 hr .tivo files via NVE 3 with no problem at all - so long as they were recorded on TiVo at Medium Quality. It analyzes them in a reasonable amount of time and transcodes them faster than the 1:1 ratio reported here. As an example, The Ring recorded from HBO on May 16, 2004 and taking up 1.6 GB makes a nice DVD.

However, anything at all recorded at Best Quality makes NVE 3 sad in the worst way. No matter what I do (and I've tried every method listed in this thread, including codec additions, Nero's conflict checker and registry cleaner, renaming A to B to C, starting editing during transfer, casting a chicken's entrails and consulting the Oracle at Delphi, etc.), NVE will start to analyze the file, then it simply blinks out of existence. No error message, no "Application XXX has encountered an error and needs to close", no nothing. It just goes away. The only time the analysis succeeded (the first time I tried it), the file previewed poorly in the manner described above in this thread; pixelated with screen half black and a gawdawful intermittent shriek as far as audio goes.

Interestingly, this is also the case with Best Quality .tivo files that have found themselves converted to mpeg via a method often referenced here, though not explicitly. *However*, these files make it through the analysis and then preview with the exact same messed up video and audio in NVE as well.

I don't have anything recorded at High or Basic Quality or I'd report that.

I am not sure if I'm asking for help or suggesting that maybe NVE's issues don't have as much to do with video length, time-wise, as they do with sheer file size.

Anyone seeing anything comparable? Like the rest of you, I'm hell-bent on archiving my movies without having to shell out $50 for cruddy MyDVD (especially since I already have a considerable Nero investment), I have no intention of sharing my movies with anyone, and I'm reasonably technically competent. At least I thought I was :)

[Windohpain]

DZRhino- Sorry for being unclear about the resolution I meant to say that the other .mpgs I analyzed (when I enabled that column) showed the display resolution ie 640x480, 480x480 ect... the renamed .tivo was listed as having 0x0 resolution. I'll be looking forward to the newer version, could be handy next time I screw up my codecs.
Ditto on the GraphEdit and Nero.

[rlcarr]

davedonohue: I'm somewhat not surprised. Medium is, if my memory serves correctly, either 352x240 or 352x480, both of which are DVD-compliant resolutions and therefore should need minimal if any video transcoding. Best is 480x480 which is non-compliant. Of course, as some people have remarked elsewhere, it is not rare to find players today that can play some non-compliant resolutions. Problem is many authoring tools will always transcode to a compliant resolution whether you want it to or not. I know some people have recommended DVD-Lab for just that reason -- it'll tell you that something is non-compliant, but if you want to keep it that way, it'll let you.

[tivoray]

Davedonohue,

I had the same problems. I uninstalled NVE3 and re-installed NVE2 and all the problems went away! I have recorded about 100 programs now onto multiple DVDs with no problems.

TivoRay

[davedonohue]

tivoray,

Where did you find a copy? I'm afraid that if I try to uninstall NVE 3 and install NVE 2 Nero will throw one of its famous "you're using a pirated copy" messages at me.


In the interim, I'm in the middle of using Tony's method. I'll report back.

[cswalsh]

I've been using Nero express 3 trial with success, using their built-in DVD authoring (Make DVD...) option. Selecting show "all files" when adding files, typing my password, and then following their steps to trim the in and out points and make menus with great results.

However, I've noticed that for me at least, Nero will only process "Best Quality" tivo files, anything else gets garbled -- displaying only the upper half screen of video, bottom half black -- the same output I was getting from TMGenc too. These files play back from Tivo desktop, but Nero gets confused, so I may have to break a personal vow to never use Sonic products again and give MyDVD a shot :(

[greg_burns]

I've been using Nero express 3 trial with success, using their built-in DVD authoring (Make DVD...) option. Selecting show "all files" when adding files, typing my password, and then following their steps to trim the in and out points and make menus with great results.

However, I've noticed that for me at least, Nero will only process "Best Quality" tivo files, anything else gets garbled -- displaying only the upper half screen of video, bottom half black -- the same output I was getting from TMGenc too. These files play back from Tivo desktop, but Nero gets confused, so I may have to break a personal vow to never use Sonic products again and give MyDVD a shot :(


It appears a lot of people are having the same problem with some files. I cannot figure out what is the common denominator. If I transfer a "bad" show a second time, NVE3 still doesn't like it. About half the shows I've transfered, Nero hates. Tried different quality settings, different lengths, transfering using TivoDesktop and transfering using the web page.

Anyways, one work around, as talked about in this thread, is to add the show to Nero before the transfer from your Tivo is complete.

Glad to know this isn't a codec problem. (or at least not a codec problem we can fix). Nero will use Nero's codecs I suppose.

Greg

[tfratzke]

tivoray,

Where did you find a copy? I'm afraid that if I try to uninstall NVE 3 and install NVE 2 Nero will throw one of its famous "you're using a pirated copy" messages at me.


In the interim, I'm in the middle of using Tony's method. I'll report back.

tivoray is right, I mentioned this a long time ago too. I have tried NVE2.1 and it works EVERY TIME, no problems. Now, where you you get a copy? Well, that's just it, if you didn't save the old setup file you will probably have to beg for it from someone.
I have uninstalled ver. 3 and reinstalled ver 2.1 with no problems in the past.

[toots]

Given the style of all the workarounds, I'm convinced that this is a bug in NVE.

I hope I'm not the only one reporting it to Nero. I mean yeah, sure, I got a blow-off "check your codecs" response, but if they see this problem a lot, they may eventually be inclined to check their own backyard.

[tivoray]

tivoray,

Where did you find a copy? I'm afraid that if I try to uninstall NVE 3 and install NVE 2 Nero will throw one of its famous "you're using a pirated copy" messages at me.


In the interim, I'm in the middle of using Tony's method. I'll report back.

I just happened to have retained a copy from Nero. The uninstall/re-install went flawlessly on both a Dell 4500 desktop and a Compaq laptop.

TivoRay

[tivoray]

Given the style of all the workarounds, I'm convinced that this is a bug in NVE.

I hope I'm not the only one reporting it to Nero. I mean yeah, sure, I got a blow-off "check your codecs" response, but if they see this problem a lot, they may eventually be inclined to check their own backyard.

I agree -- It is nothing to do with Codecs; NVE2.1 produces DVDs which are as good as the source material.

TivoRay

[mr396]

Windohpain -
Just to reiterate what you asked so you do not have search back.
Are you burning to HDD or DVD disk? Did you see my post #203?


Yes I tried that as well. When I "burned" it to HDD it saved it as a .mpg file. When I tried to add the .mpg file into the Video_ts folder using Nero burning RONM. Nero gave me an error message in that it can not add files greater than 1GB or something along those lines to a video DVD. Somehow I must have missed a setting to have the .mgp files be converted to VOB or something along those lines. Any suggestions, did I miss an option or setting or something?

[mr396]

This thread has been an enormous help, and I appreciate it.

I am using the most current versions of paid, full-version Nero, including NVE 3.

I am able to make DVDs of 30 min - 2 hr .tivo files via NVE 3 with no problem at all - so long as they were recorded on TiVo at Medium Quality. It analyzes them in a reasonable amount of time and transcodes them faster than the 1:1 ratio reported here. As an example, The Ring recorded from HBO on May 16, 2004 and taking up 1.6 GB makes a nice DVD.

However, anything at all recorded at Best Quality makes NVE 3 sad in the worst way. No matter what I do (and I've tried every method listed in this thread, including codec additions, Nero's conflict checker and registry cleaner, renaming A to B to C, starting editing during transfer, casting a chicken's entrails and consulting the Oracle at Delphi, etc.), NVE will start to analyze the file, then it simply blinks out of existence. No error message, no "Application XXX has encountered an error and needs to close", no nothing. It just goes away. The only time the analysis succeeded (the first time I tried it), the file previewed poorly in the manner described above in this thread; pixelated with screen half black and a gawdawful intermittent shriek as far as audio goes.

Interestingly, this is also the case with Best Quality .tivo files that have found themselves converted to mpeg via a method often referenced here, though not explicitly. *However*, these files make it through the analysis and then preview with the exact same messed up video and audio in NVE as well.

I don't have anything recorded at High or Basic Quality or I'd report that.

I am not sure if I'm asking for help or suggesting that maybe NVE's issues don't have as much to do with video length, time-wise, as they do with sheer file size.

Anyone seeing anything comparable? Like the rest of you, I'm hell-bent on archiving my movies without having to shell out $50 for cruddy MyDVD (especially since I already have a considerable Nero investment), I have no intention of sharing my movies with anyone, and I'm reasonably technically competent. At least I thought I was :)
Yes i have seen the same thing. Have not figured out why or how to get around it yet.

[mr396]

Go to http://avicodec.duby.info/

You can use his utility to analyize any media file to determine what codecs are required for it. Then you can select one of the free codec sites he lists to get the ones you need.

This will help you with any mulitmedia file that is giving you trouble, not just the .tivo ones.
DZRhino - I ran this utility. It did give me an error message on the .tivo files, but also said the viedo codec was Elecard MPEG 2. What do you know about this?

[mr396]

I just noticed Nero posted a new update to the Burning ROM and NVE3 yesterday. Has anyone tested these latest updates out to see if this fixes any of the problems? I am downloading them now, but their servers must be a little busy as it is going really slow.

[greg_burns]

I just noticed Nero posted a new update to the Burning ROM and NVE3 yesterday. Has anyone tested these latest updates out to see if this fixes any of the problems? I am downloading them now, but their servers must be a little busy as it is going really slow.

Finally got it downloaded. Sorry to report that it didn't fix anything. :(

You can look for it on Shareaza "NVE-3.1.0.0.exe", maybe a faster download.

Greg

[TheTivoPenguin]

I just noticed Nero posted a new update to the Burning ROM and NVE3 yesterday. Has anyone tested these latest updates out to see if this fixes any of the problems? I am downloading them now, but their servers must be a little busy as it is going really slow.
From Nero's website - Release notes for NVE3:

Version Number: 3.1.0.0
(Changes from Package #2, Version 3.0.1.27 to 3.1.0.0)

Release Date: 02-21-2005

New Features
Added support for DVD-R Dual Layer media type*
* “BurnAtOnce” and DVD-R DL VR are not yet possible

Bugfixes
While exporting content to Nero Digital™, NVE wrongly asked to change the NTSC/PAL project settings
The MPEG4 file type description was showing the wrong information
Capturing from web cams to Nero Digital™ format was not working
The application terminated when capturing from DV source to the HDD (FAT32 file system only), after the output file exceeded the 4GB border
It was possible to save invalid settings for capture devices which caused a failure while initializing the capture device when it was used the next time
Capturing to HDD failed if the target path was not on the same HDD partition where the application was installed
Transcoding from a MPEG-2/PAL source to MPEG-2/NTSC target, created an unusable output file
When a DV-Type2 audio stream was cut in the "Make Movie" project, the application terminated with an error message
When playing back some MPEG-4 files (e.g. as preview), the application did not decode them properly
The text effect "TypeWriter" did not apply empty lines which were inserted by the user
For slideshow projects, an MP3 file inserted as background music was played too slow in the preview
The chapter auto-detection was always taking the wrong frame (one frame before the correct one)

[mr396]

I was checking Nero Info Tool out. ON the ASPI section it mentions that my System ASPI is corrupted, but the Nero ASPI is working OK. How do I fix the system ASPI on a Windows XP machine? Any suggestions?

[ronmojohny]

Hey people, I had lots of trouble with sonic and NVE3, so I tried DVDsanta (cost $29.95) it takes a .tivo and burns to a DVD or your HD in 1 or 2 clicks. I think I had to install the indeo codecs first (free-codecs dot com) for the screen to pop up asking for my password though)

RonMo

[distinctweb]

I've combined several of the advice here and come to a pretty solid and painless method of using Nero VisionExpress 3 to burn .tivo files to DVD. The main goal of this method is to avoid the garbled video and audio bug in NVE3. No file conversion is necessary and after completing steps 1 and 2 the steps start burning a .tivo file will take less than 30 seconds.

Initial Setup:
1. Take any .tivo file and rename it to something like "tivotoburn.tivo". If you don't already have a .tivo file, you can start the transfer of a Tivo recording and cancel it after a minute of transfer.

2. Open NVE3 and create a new DVD project. Add the file tivotoburn.tivo and save the project as "Burn-tivotoburn.tivo.nvc". (To save more time, you can also go to the Menu screen and customize it before saving the project.)


When you want to burn a new .tivo file to DVD:

1. Rename the .tivo file you want to burn to "tivotoburn.tivo"

2. Open the project "Burn-tivotoburn.tivo.nvc" (You can double click the project file to launch NVE)

3. Right click on the "tivotoburn" video object and select "edit".

4. Drag the End Position slider in the time line all the way to the right.

5. Click next until you get to the Burn Options screen. Select your burn options and you're done.

[lexsar]

Don't waste $50 on Sonic MyDVD (which is a piece of poop), NeroVision Express 3 works fine...


I had NeroVision Express 2 and was able to burn DVD's from TivoToGo just fine. I am burning 1 hour TV shows that were recorded on Tivo at High quality. I then updated to NeroVision Express 3 and then could not get a good DVD to burn. I then uninstalled NeroVision Express 3 and re-installed NeroVision Express 2 and I can burn DVD's from TivoToGo again. It does take about 1hr 40min to 1hr 50min to transcode and burn but I think that I'll stick with NeroVision Express 2.

Note: I did try and burn a VCD instead of a DVD without success. I guess I'll be burning DVD's!

[turbojimmy]

I just tried my first burn last night at about 8PM. As of this morning at 5AM it was still converting the .tivo to DVD format. Said it still had almost 7 hours to go. Something ain't right.

I'm using NVE2, which came with my burner. It does not appear as if there are any upgrade options for Express anymore. You can only buy the Nero 6.0 for $70 now. I've already paid $25 for the ability to read the .tivo files (for the codec kit). I still can't play them on the computer (causes the Nero application to lock up), but it does appear to be converting the file tho it's taking 20 hours. I can see it convert each frame. This is for a 1 hour file.

I like the idea of creating an actual DVD versus a VCD or other format, but I'm not sure what the problem is. Now it is an old machine with a 733 processor, but I have 1GB of RAM. It copies DVDs with no trouble. I can use my new laptop, but it doesn't have a DVD burner in it.

Do I need different software? Different machine? Both?

Any advice would be appreciated.

Jim

[greg_burns]

Now it is an old machine with a 733 processor, but I have 1GB of RAM. It copies DVDs with no trouble. I can use my new laptop, but it doesn't have a DVD burner in it.

Do I need different software? Different machine? Both?

Any advice would be appreciated.

Jim

Not saying a 733 can't do it. But transcoding requires a lot more horse power than simply "copying" a DVD.

I had some success with a 600 celeron. I am now running a AMD64 3200 and still having troubles. :(

Greg

[toots]

Different machine. But, yeah, it sounds like something else is/isn't going on.

I have an Athlon 2500+ (I know, not really 2500), and it takes about 2-3 hours to transcode one hour recorded at medium to Nero's "extended play" (240 minutes/disc, 720x480, AC-3 audio). It takes about an hour longer for my 1GHz laptop to do the same.

[turbojimmy]

It's a Pentium 733. I may try Nero on the laptop (1-year-old Pentium 4 ???Ghz) to see if it goes quicker. I did notice that AFTER I purchased the DVD-add-in that it said it would only work with Nero 6.0, which I don't have.

Jim

[ksatterwhite]

Like many out there, I have been waiting for the upgrade for MyDVD 6.0 to 6.1 and haven't yet received it. I am also discouraged by the posts. So, I'm trying to use Nero that came with my burner. It's Nero 6 Ultra. I originally had NVE 2 SE. And, I downloaded the update to NVE 3 SE. But, everytime I try to add a tivo file I get an error message "Unable to insert xxx.TiVo". I haven't purchased the DVD-Video Plugin. Could this be my problem? Or is there something else that I need to do to use a .tivo file?

Thanks,

Keith

[ack_thbbft]

I'm trying to burn my second DVD using NVE3. I'm using DVD+RW 4x media on a top-rated NEC 3520A multi-format DVD burner. The first project burned without much trouble.

This second project is not much different in terms of format, but when it tries to transcode, it almost immediately stops with an error and my DVD burner goes dead. The eject button doesn't even work until I restart Windows. This hasn't happened while doing anything else with the drive, so I'm pretty sure the drive is not defective.

Anyone else have a similar issue using Nero?

Edited to add:

I almost forgot to mention, the videos being burned are TiVo medium format 352x480 Half D1 4:3. Perhaps Nero has trouble with that resolution?

[TiVoJet]

I've combined several of the advice here and come to a pretty solid and painless method of using Nero VisionExpress 3 to burn .tivo files to DVD. The main goal of this method is to avoid the garbled video and audio bug in NVE3. No file conversion is necessary and after completing steps 1 and 2 the steps start burning a .tivo file will take less than 30 seconds.

Initial Setup:
1. Take any .tivo file and rename it to something like "tivotoburn.tivo". If you don't already have a .tivo file, you can start the transfer of a Tivo recording and cancel it after a minute of transfer.

2. Open NVE3 and create a new DVD project. Add the file tivotoburn.tivo and save the project as "Burn-tivotoburn.tivo.nvc". (To save more time, you can also go to the Menu screen and customize it before saving the project.)


When you want to burn a new .tivo file to DVD:

1. Rename the .tivo file you want to burn to "tivotoburn.tivo"

2. Open the project "Burn-tivotoburn.tivo.nvc" (You can double click the project file to launch NVE)

3. Right click on the "tivotoburn" video object and select "edit".

4. Drag the End Position slider in the time line all the way to the right.

5. Click next until you get to the Burn Options screen. Select your burn options and you're done.


distinct web, these are some excellent instructions and have been able to follow step by step with no problem. Everything happend just like you said but...when my file began to burn I had the same problem as when trying dzrhino's alternative instructions -- pixels (pixailation?)and audio go nuts. Suffice to say it is frustrating. I compared my codecs to dzrhino's and they were the same. Would it make a difference that I am using a demo/trial version of NeroE3?

Am going to stay at this until I get er done. Many thanks to those who steadfastly help others with their tivo/nero/sonic difficulties. But just don't believe it should be this difficult.

[turbojimmy]

Now this is really p*ssing me off.

I come home from work and Nero is still trying to burn a 1-hour program. It had been working on it for 24 hours and was about 25% through it. I abandoned Nero and my $25 investment in the codecs needed to view/burn .tivo files.

I dig through the documentation that came with the DVD burner and came up with a Sonic MyDVD Deluxe CD. Wow! The Tivo recommended software. I load it up and it doesn't work. CinePlayer won't play the .tivo files nor will it recognize the format to transcode the file to a DVD.

No problem. I like the look and feel of the Sonic interface much better so being faced with $70 for the Nero upgrade to 6.xx or $80 for the upgrade to Sonic MyDVD Studio Deluxe 6.0, I opted for the $80 Sonic upgrade.

Same problem. Can't play .tivo files nor can I transcode them.

I purchase the $15 "codec" recommended at http://www.tivo.com/codec.

Still can't transcode .tivo files (CinePlayer can't play them either). Windows Media Player starts to play them, I get a message that says the codecs aren't "activated" yet. Tries to "activate" them and XP gives me the program-has-encountered-an-error-message and shuts down.

So I'm over $100 in the hole, can't watch the files nor transfer them to DVD using the Tivo recommended software.

My PC is making me feel stupid. I'm going to bed.

Jim

[rlcarr]

$80 for the upgrade to Sonic MyDVD Studio Deluxe 6.0, I opted for the $80 Sonic upgrade.

You needed to read the TiVo literature more closely. It's the 6.1 of the Sonic stuff that supports burning .tivo files to DVD (though as I noted in another thread, 6.1 Cineplayer cannot play .tivo files -- how lame is that?)

[dmlove51]

or $80 for the upgrade to Sonic MyDVD Studio Deluxe 6.0, I opted for the $80 Sonic upgrade.

Call Sonic tomorrow. You need version 6.1, not version 6.0. 6.1 is the only version that is equipped to deal with .tivo files. Other people have gotten them to "fix it". This will solve your dvd burning problems, not sure about your playing tivo files problem.

[turbojimmy]

You needed to read the TiVo literature more closely. It's the 6.1 of the Sonic stuff that supports burning .tivo files to DVD (though as I noted in another thread, 6.1 Cineplayer cannot play .tivo files -- how lame is that?)

Like a fool, I ASSumed Sonic would have the most recent version of the software on their site for download. There was no option that I could see to buy 6.1. When you click the free trial link on the Tivo site it goes to a page that says the free trial is no longer available and provides a link to "tell me" when they become available.

I don't care if I can't play the .tivo files on my machine. It's my workhorse machine - I just want to burn DVDs with it. My laptop plays the .tivo files fine - didn't have to do anything. But it doesn't have a burner.....at this point I should've gotten a $150 DVD burner for the laptop rather than trying to get the desktop to work.

I guess I'll poke around the Sonic site some more - I'll definitely call them to get an 'upgrade' to my brand new software.

Thanks!

Jim

[tivarino]

It's a Pentium 733. I may try Nero on the laptop (1-year-old Pentium 4 ???Ghz) to see if it goes quicker. I did notice that AFTER I purchased the DVD-add-in that it said it would only work with Nero 6.0, which I don't have.

Jim

Hey! For those of you not trying NERO because you don't wanna shell out big bucks, see my thread "Get Nero Cheap"! Best buy has it for $30 bucks for a few more days... http://www.buy.com/retail/product.asp?sku=20361395&loc=101&spf=1&sp=1

[turbojimmy]

Here's the "resolution" to my problem from Sonic:

"You will be getting an update for your software in the next couple weeks that
will update you to MyDVD 6.1. You will be notified of the update via email that will explain how to get the update for Tivo support."

So I have to sit on my hands for "the next couple weeks".

I uninstalled the MyDVD 6.0 (still have the executable) and am downloading the 6.1 trial now.

Jim

[ack_thbbft]

The exporting before burning worked with my first DVD project, but I've discovered a problem with my second.

The first project was done by choosing "Make Movie" and adding multiple TiVo files into a single title, exporting, then adding chapters manually. It burned without much trouble.

When I realized that Nero automatically adds chapters for individual videos added to a single project, I started doing it that way, figuring it was easier than dealing with one big file. However, when trying to burn doing it this way, I got the transcode error immediately, which also caused my burner to die until rebooting.

So, now I am trying to export the videos separately, then add them back in from the exported versions instead of the edited TiVo ones. What I have discovered is that some TiVo files are coming up as interlaced and some are progressive. The progressive ones will export without any trouble. The interlaced ones, on the other hand, either cause an immediate error, or get about 28 seconds into it then stop (sometimes stop completely, sometimes just the video freezes and I get audio only).

Why does Nero choke on interlaced video files? Or, perhaps a better question is, why are some files progressive and some interlaced? Is TiVo recording them that way, or is Nero saving them in different ways for some odd reason? :confused:

This is just getting way too weird for me. I actually bought the full version of Nero 6 Ultra last night at CompUSA (along with two 250GB drives to store all my TiVo recordings), and now I'm wondering if it was a mistake (fortunately, I haven't even unwrapped it yet, as I'm still using the demo, so I can return it if needed). This thread should almost be titled "No need for MyDVD, Nero works... sometimes... if you're lucky." I understand that Nero is generally accepted as better than Sonic, but we are not your "general" Nero users. When it comes to burning our TiVo recordings, is all this trouble really worth it?

Of course, I prefer an answer to the technical issue I discovered before any comments about the Nero vs. Sonic issue. ;)

[wobly]

tfratzke, can you please PM me the info you have been distributing?

TIA :)

[Radix03]

tfratzke, can you please PM me the info you have been distributing?

Thanks

[jcramos]

How do I view all the codec I have install on my computer?

[tivarino]

How do I view all the codec I have install on my computer?

If you have NERO there is a built in tool, NERO INFO TOOL. There are also downloadable tools like GSpot Codec Information appliance.