Sonic MyDVD troubles

[landrumdh]

This software is a total PIA.

It doesn't come with all the required decoders so I had to go get my old DVD writing software that had them an install it to get the decoders in place (fresh build of XP).

Now my problem is after 4hrs of 'transcoding' which is stupidly long amount of time for the shows I'm burning (I've edited many DVD's before) the program 'cancels' on me and crashes. I've tried different disks, firmware upgrades, driver reinstalls . . .

I was looking forward to using it to archive off my season finales, but it's not working!

I sent in a support Ticket to Sonic so we'll see if they have any advice.

BTW it's a Sony DRU500a which is supported.

[RonnieT24]

This software is a total PIA.

It doesn't come with all the required decoders so I had to go get my old DVD writing software that had them an install it to get the decoders in place (fresh build of XP).

Now my problem is after 4hrs of 'transcoding' which is stupidly long amount of time for the shows I'm burning (I've edited many DVD's before) the program 'cancels' on me and crashes. I've tried different disks, firmware upgrades, driver reinstalls . . .

I was looking forward to using it to archive off my season finales, but it's not working!

I sent in a support Ticket to Sonic so we'll see if they have any advice.

BTW it's a Sony DRU500a which is supported.

Dude.. seriously.. get thee to the Nero Website post haste. 4 hours of transcoding for like and hour of video is criminal. I get a headache just thinking about it. I know there are some features missing from the demo version but it works upwards of 90% of the time. I don't know what the full release of Nero costs... but I know you can get it with some of the pretty cheap DVD burners out there. It'd almost be worth it to buy yourself a spare (cheap) burner just to get Nero. I think it sells for like 70 bucks off the website and can generally be had for 40-50 bucks at Fry's. Occasionally it goes on the $50 with $50 rebate sale effectively making it free.. That's the time to strike!

[ignipotentis]

Dude.. seriously.. get thee to the Nero Website post haste. 4 hours of transcoding for like and hour of video is criminal. I get a headache just thinking about it. I know there are some features missing from the demo version but it works upwards of 90% of the time. I don't know what the full release of Nero costs... but I know you can get it with some of the pretty cheap DVD burners out there. It'd almost be worth it to buy yourself a spare (cheap) burner just to get Nero. I think it sells for like 70 bucks off the website and can generally be had for 40-50 bucks at Fry's. Occasionally it goes on the $50 with $50 rebate sale effectively making it free.. That's the time to strike!

The problem is only Sonic is supported by Tivo To Go. If I could use Nero without manually transcoding the .tivo files, I would. Its not that I can't manually do that, its that manually doing so does not pass the wife test. She will not go though that hasle to make a copy of something she wants to keep.

I'll agree that the Sonic software sucks. The trascoding is horible, even with the source on best quality.

[Stormspace]

This software is a total PIA.

It doesn't come with all the required decoders so I had to go get my old DVD writing software that had them an install it to get the decoders in place (fresh build of XP).

Now my problem is after 4hrs of 'transcoding' which is stupidly long amount of time for the shows I'm burning (I've edited many DVD's before) the program 'cancels' on me and crashes. I've tried different disks, firmware upgrades, driver reinstalls . . .

I was looking forward to using it to archive off my season finales, but it's not working!

I sent in a support Ticket to Sonic so we'll see if they have any advice.

BTW it's a Sony DRU500a which is supported.

With my TDK DVD-everything drive I noticed Mysonic doesn't work on DVD-R media.

[landrumdh]

DVD+R this time. They were cheap :)

Anyways I'm trying to use MyDVD as I don't want to 'find' another way to burn these shows. What's really upsetting me is MyDVD x.x shipped with my burner (never bothered to use it).

I've got Nero, the high end package at that as I used it for a project last summer so I needed the extras.

[RonnieT24]

Well I guess if you are committed to Sonic then you must endure the slings and arrows of the poorly written crap that it is. Because using it literally gave me a headache I just can't be bothered. I was able to burn a few DVDs with it but the failure rate was 25-30% .... sometimes during the write to the actual disc which as you know costs you a perfectly good DVD.. I wouldn't have minded if it would blow up during transcode or something like that but when it kept making coasters for me I had to move on.

What's funny is that it never even occurred to me to use Nero I think until I had pulled all my hair out trying to use MyDVD. I have had and used Nero for CDs for years but never for DVD. I just assumed that Sonic was better because it came with two of the burners I bought as well as bundled on two of my laptops. I should have known better. It also came with two of the video capture devices I tried out. As did Ulead Movie Factory..

I don't know this because I don't have Tivo2go but I assume the long transcoding process must be a function of having to convert the .tivo format. That being the case, and the fact that transferring the .tivo file off the DVR takes more than one hour for a one hour show it just doesn't seem like a worthwhile endeavor to me. 1-2 hours to transfer, 3-4 hours to transcode and burn.. That's up to 6 hours to process one freakin hour of video. That's not even counting editing time. I just can't see doing that. All I do is watch my show while simultaneously capturing it to my hard drive via S-video into my USB capture device. That (obviously) takes one hour for each hour ... less if I choose to FF through the commercials. I can then edit out the commercials in less than 5 minutes.. then kick off a burn.. If i was only doing a one hour show It would transcode and burn in about 15 minutes. Since I don't want to waste disc space I put two shows on each disc. That doubles my record, edit and burn time.. but the end result is I get 2 hour long shows transferred off the Tivo, clipped and burned in less than 3 hours from start to finish. That's better than 4 times faster than what folks report working with Sonic and TTG. Again I am left to ask.. "Why would anyone do that?"

[morac]

I sent in a support Ticket to Sonic so we'll see if they have any advice.

BTW it's a Sony DRU500a which is supported.I have the same burner and I also get lock ups if I try to burn to DVD-R discs. Sonic will burn +R fine, but will lock up on -R. I opened a ticket and was told to upgrade to the latest pxhelper engine unfortunately the one that comes with MyDVD 6.1 is the latest engine. I wrote them to tell them that and they closed my support ticket. Sonic's support really sucks.

With my TDK DVD-everything drive I noticed Mysonic doesn't work on DVD-R media.
Well apparently it isn't just the Sony DRU500a. Maybe if enough of us call Sonic they'll fix MyDVD.

[ignipotentis]

I've been reading about using Nero. Suposadly, it will work even with version 2.1 of the Tivo Desktop. I'll give it a try next week (out of town). I'll post back on how it goes. I am by no means commited to Sonic, I just need a simple solution.

[rad1701]

I'm using MySonic (purchased version 6.1) and it's working ok so far. I burn to DVD-R media on my Pioneer 104 burner. It is a bit slow, but seems to work for me.

[rapope]

This software is a total PIA.

It doesn't come with all the required decoders so I had to go get my old DVD writing software that had them an install it to get the decoders in place (fresh build of XP).

Now my problem is after 4hrs of 'transcoding' which is stupidly long amount of time for the shows I'm burning (I've edited many DVD's before) the program 'cancels' on me and crashes. I've tried different disks, firmware upgrades, driver reinstalls . . .

I was looking forward to using it to archive off my season finales, but it's not working!

I sent in a support Ticket to Sonic so we'll see if they have any advice.

BTW it's a Sony DRU500a which is supported.

If you were getting exception 0xC0000090 errors, then I'm in the exact same situation. Did you ever get it resolved? I have just escalated my issue, and I'll see how it goes from there.


Thanks,

Rocky

[bilbomims]

I have the same error, 0xC0000090, which I can't resolve. the software used to work fine. Only changes were upgrade to 2.1 and windows automatically updates security software on my pc.

If you were getting exception 0xC0000090 errors, then I'm in the exact same situation. Rocky

[saramj]

Well I guess if you are committed to Sonic then you must endure the slings and arrows of the poorly written crap that it is. Because using it literally gave me a headache I just can't be bothered. I was able to burn a few DVDs with it but the failure rate was 25-30% .... sometimes during the write to the actual disc which as you know costs you a perfectly good DVD.. I wouldn't have minded if it would blow up during transcode or something like that but when it kept making coasters for me I had to move on.

What's funny is that it never even occurred to me to use Nero I think until I had pulled all my hair out trying to use MyDVD. I have had and used Nero for CDs for years but never for DVD. I just assumed that Sonic was better because it came with two of the burners I bought as well as bundled on two of my laptops. I should have known better. It also came with two of the video capture devices I tried out. As did Ulead Movie Factory..

I don't know this because I don't have Tivo2go but I assume the long transcoding process must be a function of having to convert the .tivo format. That being the case, and the fact that transferring the .tivo file off the DVR takes more than one hour for a one hour show it just doesn't seem like a worthwhile endeavor to me. 1-2 hours to transfer, 3-4 hours to transcode and burn.. That's up to 6 hours to process one freakin hour of video. That's not even counting editing time. I just can't see doing that. All I do is watch my show while simultaneously capturing it to my hard drive via S-video into my USB capture device. That (obviously) takes one hour for each hour ... less if I choose to FF through the commercials. I can then edit out the commercials in less than 5 minutes.. then kick off a burn.. If i was only doing a one hour show It would transcode and burn in about 15 minutes. Since I don't want to waste disc space I put two shows on each disc. That doubles my record, edit and burn time.. but the end result is I get 2 hour long shows transferred off the Tivo, clipped and burned in less than 3 hours from start to finish. That's better than 4 times faster than what folks report working with Sonic and TTG. Again I am left to ask.. "Why would anyone do that?"
I have been using Sonic for a while and seem to be getting used to it. It will burn DVD-R for me. I agree it takes for ever to burn a disk with a one hour program. I also own Nero (the latest version). I actually purchased the full version when I bought my burner but never used it because of all the horror stories and have been exclusively using Sonics full purchased version
If Nero will burn faster (in simple terms) how can I get Nero to burn a .tivo DVD-R?????? I have heard of and read many posts of people who have had success as well as many failures because of the file.

[rapope]

I have the same error, 0xC0000090, which I can't resolve. the software used to work fine. Only changes were upgrade to 2.1 and windows automatically updates security software on my pc.

I called Sonic and they escalated my problem, which is the same as yours.

It turns out the fix is to back off to v2.0x on Tivo Desktop.


Rocky

[bilbomims]

Mine works now. Had to revert back to desktop 2.0 after completely ridding my system of 2.1, and reinstalling sonic.



I'll drop you a line when this issue is updated.


Rocky

[High Speed Dubb]

I “solved” a similar problem by telling MyDVD to make a disk image instead of creating a DVD. DVD Decrypter (a freeware program which whose presence on the internet was somewhat reduced recently due to a threatened lawsuit) has worked fine for writing the image file to a DVD.

[Meester]

Why does MyDVD suck so bad. What are the specific issues? I've been using it 11 days so far and have had a few problems. Mind you I've only authored and edited about 8 or 9 shows. One thing that I did find out is that the Tivo Desktop Software (version 2.1) caused me some grief when updating it. It kept crashing when I tried to edit tivo files or add chapter points. Easy fix though...I reinstalled version 2.0 and it works. The Desktop software must be installing a filter or a codec of some sort.

I've also noticed that at first the transcoding was taking forever 5 - 6 hours for a frigging 1 hr program.....well turns out I was using a unsupported mpeg-2 decoder. I found out which ones MyDVD uses and raised the merrit level on them and also uninstalled the Moonlight ones that were install. Not sure how I got that one, might have been from a divX package or Pinnacle software). Takes about 1 1/2 to do a 1 hour show now and thought that was kind of odd. So I did some research on what Transcoding does. Basically its taking every frame and re rendering it to NTSC 720*480 DVD compliant standards. Now that is a beast of a process and to do it in an 1 1/2 is pretty efficient by my book! Does Nero or other burning apps actually truly transode the files to DVD compliant specifications?

I've used all kinds of burning software in the past such as nero, roxio, ulead, veritias you name it...ive probably used it. Each and everyone of them had thier own issues and quirks but nothing that a little troubleshooting or tweaking couldn't handle.

err.....i thinks me should have read the posts.....doh
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dell Dimension 8400
Intel® Pentium® 4 Processor 640 w/HT Technology (3.20GHz, 800FSB)
1GB Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 533MHz
256MB PCI Express™ x16 (DVI/VGA/TV-out) nVidia GeForce 6800
20 inch Ultrasharp™ 2001FP Digital Flat Panel
80GB Serial ATA Hard Drive (7200RPM)
100GB USB External Hard Drive (7200rpm)
16X DVD-ROM Drive
Pioneer DVR-109BK
Microsoft® Windows® XP Media Center 2005 Edition

[RonnieT24]

Almost all the DVD creation packages create DVD compliant files at minimum. They may have different ADDITIONAL capabilities.. to write VCD format, to write ISO images, MPEG I and II and so on but the minimum requirement is the VIDEO_TS file structure which is the default expected by DVD players from the word go. But your original question was why MyDVD sucks. Here are my reasons:

1) Transcode times: MyDVD takes a minimum of 3 times as long as Nero to transcode the exact same input file on my system. THREE TIMES.. More than an hour and 20 minutes for one ~43 minute episode of my show. Nero transcodes the same edited file in 20-25 minutes.

2) Edit time: Nero's user interface also facilitates MUCH faster editing. I can edit the commercials out of the same one hour show in under 5 minutes using Nero, and it takes 20-25 minutes using MyDVD.

3) Failure rate: MyDVD failed about 1 out of every 3 burns for me. Nero fails less than one in 30 burns. Yes a tenfold improvement in reliability.

So in summary.. Nero has a better UI, is more reliable, and does its work faster.. Other than that.. there's really no difference..

[Bigg]

I found it is a hell of a lot easier to just use an SA burner. It has commercials, but oh well. I transfer TTG for my mac sometimes, but even that is a pain having to decrypt with files with graphedit.

[rapope]

Almost all the DVD creation packages create DVD compliant files at minimum. They may have different ADDITIONAL capabilities.. to write VCD format, to write ISO images, MPEG I and II and so on but the minimum requirement is the VIDEO_TS file structure which is the default expected by DVD players from the word go. But your original question was why MyDVD sucks. Here are my reasons:

1) Transcode times: MyDVD takes a minimum of 3 times as long as Nero to transcode the exact same input file on my system. THREE TIMES.. More than an hour and 20 minutes for one ~43 minute episode of my show. Nero transcodes the same edited file in 20-25 minutes.

2) Edit time: Nero's user interface also facilitates MUCH faster editing. I can edit the commercials out of the same one hour show in under 5 minutes using Nero, and it takes 20-25 minutes using MyDVD.

3) Failure rate: MyDVD failed about 1 out of every 3 burns for me. Nero fails less than one in 30 burns. Yes a tenfold improvement in reliability.

So in summary.. Nero has a better UI, is more reliable, and does its work faster.. Other than that.. there's really no difference..

I find that it doesn't take any appreciable amount longer to edit commercials out using MyDVD. I deal with 30 minute shows and I usually get this done in about 5 minutes per episode.

My problem with MyDVD is that I cannot process .TIVO files -- I get 0xC0000090 errors. I circumvented the problem by using alternate means. But I'd like to get this working under MyDVD.

Someone else here had the same error. He simply uninstalled TiVo Desktop 2.1, installed TiVo Desktop 2.0, uninstalled MyDVD, and did a clean install of MyDVD. It worked for him. I should try his method.


Regards,

Rocky

[lukepickard]

I was told by a sonic guy to revert to old 2.0 version of tivo2go the only problem is I don't know where I can get the older version. I called tivo and they can't tell me where to get it either... any ideas guys? can someone send me the .exe?

if so please do...

my email is rpickard (at) comcast (dot) net

thanks

[rapope]

I was told by a sonic guy to revert to old 2.0 version of tivo2go the only problem is I don't know where I can get the older version. I called tivo and they can't tell me where to get it either... any ideas guys? can someone send me the .exe?

if so please do...

my email is rpickard (at) comcast (dot) net

thanks

Hi,

I managed to find the file. I found it by doing a Google search. It is roughly 10MB. Does your email server allow attachments this large?


RP

[landrumdh]

I got a response from them with suggestions, but I haven't had time to try it yet as I was cramming to get ready for vegas and last weekend I was recouperating, we'll see if I get to it this week or not.

[rcarltontivo]

I also had problem with MyDVD 6.1 just canceling prior to burning a DVD. I uninstalled TIVO 2.5 and then installed TIVO 2.0. Everything works fine. I've burned about 10 movies using Ridata and TDK -R's.

[webjunkie]

I have Tivo Desktop 2.0 and MyDVD 6.1 and cannot get DVDs to burn they always come out choppy... and I am not sure what to do to fix it... I have a Sony DVD burner.

I have also tried Nero which sometimes works but it isnt a regular thing...

Any ideas?

[RonnieT24]

I find that it doesn't take any appreciable amount longer to edit commercials out using MyDVD. I deal with 30 minute shows and I usually get this done in about 5 minutes per episode.

My problem with MyDVD is that I cannot process .TIVO files -- I get 0xC0000090 errors. I circumvented the problem by using alternate means. But I'd like to get this working under MyDVD.

Someone else here had the same error. He simply uninstalled TiVo Desktop 2.1, installed TiVo Desktop 2.0, uninstalled MyDVD, and did a clean install of MyDVD. It worked for him. I should try his method.


Regards,

Rocky

With all due respect if it takes you 5 minutes to edit a 30 minute show you're already saying that your edit time takes at least double what my time is with Nero. As I've stated before 5 minutes is what it takes me to edit an hour show in casual, no worries mode. When I am focused and trying to get it done quickly, like say I try to do an edit and burn in the morning before I go to work I can do it in between 2-3 minutes. Even at 5 minutes per episode after you've done 4 or 5 episodes and are ready to burn them to a disc you would have spent 20-25 minutes editing. I will he done editing and have moved on to creating my fancy menus and be 5-10 minutes into burning by then. Still if anyone cat MyDVD to work for them and is happy with it more power to them. I have neither the time nor the patience (not to mention no hair left to pull out) for it. Especially when Nero has been virtually flawless for me.

[corbishley]

Does anyone know where I can get the Desktop 2.0 version? That seems to be the key to get the MyDVD to work. Thanks!

[corbishley]

I used google and found a site that had 2.0. Now MyDVD works fine, if slowly.

[morac]

I don't think people should have to revert to TiVo Desktop 2.0 to get MyDVD to work. Sonic MyDVD says it works with TiVo. TiVo's latest desktop is 2.1 so MyDVD should work with 2.1. If it doesn't than Sonic should fix their software to make it work. Telling people to go back to 2.0 (which doesn't allow syncing with portable players via WMP 10) is a cop-out.

[greg_burns]

Does anyone know where I can get the Desktop 2.0 version? That seems to be the key to get the MyDVD to work. Thanks!

Believe it or not you can still download from Tivo's site....

www.tivo.com/desktop/TivoDesktop2-0.exe

BTW, buy.com has a pretty good deal on Nero. ;) $19 after rebate

buy.com (http://www.buy.com/retail/product.asp?sku=20361395&adid=17070&dcaid=17070)

[wtb]

My impression with MyDVD is that it responds faster at the beginning and end of the video (maybe faster at the end?) but can be exceedingly slow in the middle. For a multi hour video, this is painful. I have to wait about 10 to 20 seconds after moving a frame ahead before the video updates. Also, I've found no way to do anything with the audio (like to use for the menu sound) or save an image for the menu picture like I can on the Mac.

[RonnieT24]

My impression with MyDVD is that it responds faster at the beginning and end of the video (maybe faster at the end?) but can be exceedingly slow in the middle. For a multi hour video, this is painful. I have to wait about 10 to 20 seconds after moving a frame ahead before the video updates. Also, I've found no way to do anything with the audio (like to use for the menu sound) or save an image for the menu picture like I can on the Mac.

The only use I've found for MyDVD in the past 3-4 months is in getting around hiccups in my video files. There are files that I've found, 2 to be exact, that Nero simply could not transcode no matter what I tried. In both cases I was able to edit those files using MyDVD, burn the result onto disk as a DVD folder, then use Nero to operate on the resultant .VOB files. This works like a charm. My guess is that there is some weird bit pattern that shows up occasionally in the MPEG files that gives Nero trouble. Since I've only seen it twice in the over 200 shows I've edited I consider it a non-issue. It is however the ONLY reason I've ever seen for keeping MyDVD even on my computer. And did I mention that it took more than 4 hours to transcode the (1 hour of video) file? The same file that Nero would normally transcode in 15-20 minutes. There is no way I could do that on a regular basis. One out of every hundred files or so I can live with.. any more than that and I'd be developing high blood pressure.

[landrumdh]

Hey, Just wanted to say I'm sorry but I've given up on the fight on this horrible piece of junk software.

It was faster / easier / simpler for me just to buy a Lite-on standalone DVDR and use the 'send to VCR' function of Tivo to offload the shows that I needed.

Thanks for those with all of the suggestions.

[morac]

And did I mention that it took more than 4 hours to transcode the (1 hour of video) file? The same file that Nero would normally transcode in 15-20 minutes.
I'm sure the reason Nero is so much faster than MyDVD is because it transcodes to a regular mp2 on import while MyDVD tries to read the TiVo file on the fly instead of transcoding up front. I don't know if Sonic chose to do this or TiVo made them do so, but it is why it takes so long to edit TiVo files in MyDVD. Also MyDVD isn't completely compatible with the TiVo directx filter (especially the one in desktop 2.1) so it has the annoying tendency to crash when editing TiVo files. Put these facts together with Sonic's lousy tech support and you have a software program that advertises working with TiVo files, but does so poorly.

If I use MyDVD to edit a regular mp2 file it works well and is very fast (on par with Nero).

[RonnieT24]

I'm sure the reason Nero is so much faster than MyDVD is because it transcodes to a regular mp2 on import while MyDVD tries to read the TiVo file on the fly instead of transcoding up front. I don't know if Sonic chose to do this or TiVo made them do so, but it is why it takes so long to edit TiVo files in MyDVD. Also MyDVD isn't completely compatible with the TiVo directx filter (especially the one in desktop 2.1) so it has the annoying tendency to crash when editing TiVo files. Put these facts together with Sonic's lousy tech support and you have a software program that advertises working with TiVo files, but does so poorly.

If I use MyDVD to edit a regular mp2 file it works well and is very fast (on par with Nero).

You must have a better version than what I do. I don't mess with .tivo files at all. As I've mentioned in the past, I have a DirecTiVo which doesn't support TiVo2Go and barring some monumental improvement in transfer times I won't be upgrading to a Tivo2Go capable Tivo any time soon.

I have observed the transcoding differential on captured MPEG2 files caught with my Adaptec USB capture device. MyDVD takes AT LEAST 3X longer (last time it was 8X) to transcode the exact same input data that Nero does. And the import process is not any shorter than what I observe with Nero either. I am running MyDVD 6.1 .. which version do you have? Are there patches/updates available for it. Since I hate using it so much I haven't bothered to keep it up to date after seeing the miserable performance with the initial download. Like I said the one thing it comes in handy for is it seems to be a bit more robust in its handling of files that Nero sometimes balks on. For that reason alone I keep it around for that one file in a hundred that Nero just can't seem to parse.

[gooru7945008]

HELP PLEASE!!!!
when I try to install sonic mydvd 6 it comes up with an error message right after I click on next after i enter in my serial number and click complete install and it says "Incorrect Command Line Parameters" does anyone know how to fix this I have tried everthing...I called eariler today and talked to Sonic they transfured me to windows who transfured me to hp??? don't ask me why!!! i just want my $70 program I just bought to work....THANKS for any help! -Bmac

[RonnieT24]

HELP PLEASE!!!!
when I try to install sonic mydvd 6 it comes up with an error message right after I click on next after i enter in my serial number and click complete install and it says "Incorrect Command Line Parameters" does anyone know how to fix this I have tried everthing...I called eariler today and talked to Sonic they transfured me to windows who transfured me to hp??? don't ask me why!!! i just want my $70 program I just bought to work....THANKS for any help! -Bmac

I generally don't like to encourage anyone to put themselves through the pain of using MyDVD regularly but if you already spent money on it you kinda need it to work. The error you're seeing sounds like a hole in the installation script. How do you enter the serial number? Do you separate it with spaces or some other character? It may be that the input program doesn't like the separation character you're using. Make sure you are typing it exactly as it asks for it in the README file.


Ronnie T .

[tnewp]

Almost all the DVD creation packages create DVD compliant files at minimum. They may have different ADDITIONAL capabilities.. to write VCD format, to write ISO images, MPEG I and II and so on but the minimum requirement is the VIDEO_TS file structure which is the default expected by DVD players from the word go. But your original question was why MyDVD sucks. Here are my reasons:

1) Transcode times: MyDVD takes a minimum of 3 times as long as Nero to transcode the exact same input file on my system. THREE TIMES.. More than an hour and 20 minutes for one ~43 minute episode of my show. Nero transcodes the same edited file in 20-25 minutes.

2) Edit time: Nero's user interface also facilitates MUCH faster editing. I can edit the commercials out of the same one hour show in under 5 minutes using Nero, and it takes 20-25 minutes using MyDVD.

3) Failure rate: MyDVD failed about 1 out of every 3 burns for me. Nero fails less than one in 30 burns. Yes a tenfold improvement in reliability.

So in summary.. Nero has a better UI, is more reliable, and does its work faster.. Other than that.. there's really no difference..


Ok, so what's the verdict? Can you use NERO or not w/ tivo 2.1? If so, how??

[RonnieT24]

Ok, so what's the verdict? Can you use NERO or not w/ tivo 2.1? If so, how??

I believe it is MyDVD that has an issue with Tivo 2.1. I don't think Nero cares. Nero will work with either so long as you follow "the method." So far as I know "the method" is not exactly a no-brainer.. however it's not brain surgery either. If you're somewhat of a techie I think you can make it happen. I have a theory that there is some unrecovered packet loss in wireless transfers which Nero sometimes can't negotiate around whereas MyDVD seems to be able to. Not sure what gives there but I've had two instances over the past 6 months where I could not process a file using Nero but could with MyDVD. It only occured to me a couple of days ago that in both cases I had attempt to transfer the files over my wireless G network. I suspect that had I used the wired link (which I normally do) I might not have even had those two failures to talk about.

[Bigg]

Hey, Just wanted to say I'm sorry but I've given up on the fight on this horrible piece of junk software.

It was faster / easier / simpler for me just to buy a Lite-on standalone DVDR and use the 'send to VCR' function of Tivo to offload the shows that I needed.

Thanks for those with all of the suggestions.
I TOTALLY AGREE!! I am re-installing XP right now because of some graphics drivers, and I am not putting TiVo Desktop back on, as it makes a total mess, and I have to install a lot of "other" software to decrypt the files.

[jikan11]

Here is a warning, I know that Tivo partnered with Sonic MyDVD in the past and I'm not sure that partnership still exists. Here's why.

I purchased on 1/9/06 a copy of MyDVD 6.1 from the Sonic website, I paid
approx $59.99 after the various discounts they offerend. The only reason I purchased the software was to burn .tivo format files quickly and easily. I figured Tivo recommended them, why not use them?

I'll tell you why.

The software was downloaded and I installed it on my PC. Everytime I run the sofware it tells me my DMA is not enabled. So I went through my settings on my PC to check and my DMA was in fact turned ON! So that was the first issue.

The next issue was more severe, DMA is not that big of a deal to me. So I downloaded Tivo Desktop 2.2, the latest release and installed it and downloaded some shows from my Series2 tivo. I then ran MyDVD 6.1, edited the shows made the menu how I wanted and hit burn.

I waited.

and waited.

and waited some more.

About 2 hours later it had finished transcoding the audio and video, as soon as it finished it said "CANCELING", I then received an error code 0xc0000090. I thought perhaps this was a fluke, so I tried burning a different file. Same thing, error 0xc0000090.

I started wondering what was wrong so I tried to log into the Sonic website to get support. I registered my product previously and used my email and pasword to login. Well everytime I tried I got the following error.

"The version of your registered product is no longer supported. Self-help tools on this site are available for your use."

Apparently, even though I paid for the softare, the LATEST software and downloaded and installed it and entered my license key provided to me, they didn't support it. Isn't that funny?

Well, I finally googled and searched and found this tivo forum talking about Desktop 2.0 is required and My DVD doesn't support the latest version. I thought, ok, so I tried to download Tivo Desktop 2.0, Tivo doesn't offer it anymore, I searched teh web and only found version 1.3 and 2.2, no 2.0 was out there.

So, how can Sonic My DVD claim to support .tivo files when the tivo software it requires is NO LONGER OFFERED BY TIVO????

Anyways, I have read a lot about using nero instead and plan on getting a copy of that soon. In the meantime I'm fighting a losing battle at trying to get a refund from Sonic for selling me a product with outdated, non-supported funtionality. I advise everyone else to STAY AWAY FROM SONIC AND ROXIO SOFTWARE!! Can't even get support for the product I purchased from them 9 days ago.

Oh and Tivo, shame on you for being associated with Sonic MyDVD. If it worked with what was offered it would be great. But it doesn't work and yet you allow them to say that their software is compatible and burns the .tivo format. I really would love to see the Tivo name removed from MyDVD advertising, I'm out $60 because it was on it and because Tivo recommended it. Doubt Tivo will be sending me a refund for the software.

[crazywater]

Having the same problem here, I would love answer to this???

[greg_burns]

For the longest time you could download 2.0 using the unpublished url:

www.tivo.com/desktop/TivoDesktop2-0.exe

Looks like the finally took that down.

Personally, I would continue using 2.2 and just remove the DRM from the file (and possibly dump Sonic and start using Nero). ;)

http://www.zatznotfunny.com/ttg.htm#freempg

[crazywater]

For the longest time you could download 2.0 using the unpublished url:

www.tivo.com/desktop/TivoDesktop2-0.exe

Looks like the finally took that down.

Personally, I would continue using 2.2 and just remove the DRM from the file (and possibly dump Sonic and start using Nero). ;)

http://www.zatznotfunny.com/ttg.htm#freempg

I think I am going to do that, I have Nero as well and like it more than MyDVD. If converting to MPG and then burning with Nero takes half the time its worth it...

[greg_burns]

Check out VideoRedo. It will work natively with .tivo files and outputs an .mpg. If you are going to edit the video anyways, it cuts out the DSD step altogether. :up: