New Orb Add-On: TiVoAnywhere

[aircrewguy]

from engadget's website

Orb Networks opened up their API a few days ago, they must have figured out that loosening up and letting developers (and the rest of us) create third-party plug-ins for their placeshifting app is an easy way to add value and make their product even more attractive to customers (Sony, are you listening?). Anyway, one of the best we’ve seen yet is a TiVoToGo add-on called TiVoAnywhere that’ll let you remotely access shows recorded on your TiVo (as well as schedule recordings) from any Orb-compatible device (which used to include just PCs and smartphones that had Windows Media Player, but they’ve recently expanded compatibility to add support for RealPlayer and a few other players).


http://mywebpage.netscape.com/tivoanywhere/

[Todd]

I just saw this too. Sounds cool. Has anyone used Orb before? Also, does it automatically convert TiVo recordings in TiVoToGo to lower bandwidth for sending over the Internet? I'm a little confused over how this works.

[tivoforum]

does it automatically convert TiVo recordings in TiVoToGo to lower bandwidth for sending over the Internet?
http://www.orb.com/what_is_orb/orb_benefits/
Automatic bandwidth detection
When you connect from a mobile device or remote PC, Orb detects your connection speed and the upstream bandwidth available from your home PC. Orb streams content at the highest quality available to you, providing the best possible experience the device and bandwidth can support.

[Justin Thyme]

The head scratcher to me is the programming the tivo remotely part. I suppose he could support the remote scheduling by transmitting the information to TivoCentral on Tivo.com. That would be a little frail- everytime the Tivo UI changed, it could break (kind of like the Ebay bidding programs that are always reving due to ebay formatting changes).

As far as transfering out of .Tivo format- that is straightforward to program. I don't know how sanctioned it is, but hey- more power to him. I hope he doesn't get hit with any legal problems with it.

[VinceA]

From the reading I did yesterday you can only program remotely if you've got TiVoWeb installed. So, no remote programming for those that haven't hacked their TiVos.

[Justin Thyme]

Thanks Vince. It sure would be nice if Tivo would provide this kind of direct programability- I'd really like it if it had the minimal functionality of conflict warnings and knowing my channels. Tivo.com TivoCentral doesn't do that (yet)- sure it would be nasty to store so many details about the state on each person's Tivo, but if tivo allowed you do download this info to your PDA or laptop or PC then that would work. If they are concerned about security, they could encrypt it.

[ZeoTiVo]

Thanks Vince. It sure would be nice if Tivo would provide this kind of direct programability- I'd really like it if it had the minimal functionality of conflict warnings and knowing my channels. Tivo.com TivoCentral doesn't do that (yet)- sure it would be nasty to store so many details about the state on each person's Tivo, but if tivo allowed you do download this info to your PDA or laptop or PC then that would work. If they are concerned about security, they could encrypt it.

or just eventually add it in to the web interface they have unofficially started on the TiVo itself and not make online scheduling into a nasty stateful app.

[HDTiVo]

or just eventually add it in to the web interface they have unofficially started on the TiVo itself and not make online scheduling into a nasty stateful app.
That's the right approach.

[markandjenn]

Tivo.com TivoCentral doesn't do that (yet)- sure it would be nasty to store so many details about the state on each person's Tivo...

They probably wouldn't even need to store it, couldn't they just query your TiVo when you access TiVo Central?

[azitnay]

Querying a TiVo isn't quite that simple -- most people have their TiVos on internal IP blocks such as 192.168.x.x, and thus TiVo cannot make a direct connection to them. Instead, TCO must rely on your TiVo contacting home base several times an hour to check for remote scheduling requests (at least, that's how it currently works).

Drew

[Justin Thyme]

Well, they can do it however they like as far as I'm concerned, but if they store all that user identifiable data on the server side, then there will be a lot of issues with folks concerned about privacy.

[tivoforum]

Do you know if the latest firmware 7.2 works with the Orb add-on?

[jpdst22]

Well I have 7.2 (not a beta user just one of the lucky random people chosen) and I haven't been able to stream shows from my tivo with orb. When I try, it'll either timeout or I'll get an "invalid media" message from windows media player. Then when I look at the pc running the orb server I see a pop up window accessing for a password to play the file (like you normally get when you try to play a show that was downloaded to your pc from the tivo). Now since I didn't install orb and tivo add-on until after I already had 7.2 I'm not sure if I'm just not doing something right or if it's related to 7.2. Can someone that doesn't have 7.2 tell me if it's normally to get these pop ups? Does anybody else have any ideas?

thanks...

[tivoforum]

I think you just need to install TiVo Desktop 2.1 on your home PC. That version doesn't ask for the MAK everytime you access a tivo file, but you configure it once and for all.
http://tivo.com/4.9.4.1.asp

[jpdst22]

Well like I said I wasn't sure what was the problem, but it looks like the 2.1 desktop fixed my problem. I just updated that and now it's working so yeah it does still work with 7.2.

[jdesai]

I have had pretty good luck at getting this working from a pda/smartphone - including ability to ask the tivo to record a show (could have done it thru Tivo website and smartphone), ask Orb/TivoAnywhere to transfer show to home pc and then ask Orb to play the recording. Only thing is that Orb software running on my desktop does not seem to be very stable. The Orb software keeps locking up my home PC in a way that network interface becomes unusable until I reboot. I have a Series 2 Tivo branded Tivo, running XP at home and using a friend's smartphone (no support for my Treo yet :-( )

[2farrell]

Well I have 7.2 (not a beta user just one of the lucky random people chosen) and I haven't been able to stream shows from my tivo with orb. When I try, it'll either timeout or I'll get an "invalid media" message from windows media player. Then when I look at the pc running the orb server I see a pop up window accessing for a password to play the file (like you normally get when you try to play a show that was downloaded to your pc from the tivo). Now since I didn't install orb and tivo add-on until after I already had 7.2 I'm not sure if I'm just not doing something right or if it's related to 7.2. Can someone that doesn't have 7.2 tell me if it's normally to get these pop ups? Does anybody else have any ideas?

thanks...
I've got 2.2 installed and getting the same message. Did you wait until the transfer finished or were you able to watch while the file was being transfered from the TIVO to the Server?

[pharaohmd]

OK so maybe I am missing something but where do I download the addon to Orb?

[jdesai]

OK so maybe I am missing something but where do I download the addon to Orb?

Are you asking 'from where to download?'

If so, it is in the first post of this thread:

http://mywebpage.netscape.com/tivoanywhere/

If you are asking 'to where to download...'.

You download TivoAnywehre.exe from above location on the PC that is running your Orb software (and presumably running TivoDesktop and HME apps such as Galleon) and run it - it will then install itself as a Orb Add-on. After this, you have to login to my.orb.com and choose the Add-on tab and configure the TivoAnywhere add-on. Hope this helps.

[tivoforum]

There's a new version available.
http://www.tivoanywhere.com

[raven27]

Thanks guys I really like this forum. :up:

[jpdst22]

I've got 2.2 installed and getting the same message. Did you wait until the transfer finished or were you able to watch while the file was being transfered from the TIVO to the Server?

No, I didn't have to wait for the whole show to be transfered. Although the problem I'm running into now is that I only seem to be able to watch a max of 5 minutes of the show and then it stops. For some reason the whole show doesn't seem to be transfered to my pc to stream it. I haven't tried the new version of tivoanywhere so that's what I'm going to try next. Has anyone had this problem?

[bluetex]

jpdst22: the problem you describe is a known issue with Orb + TivoAnywhere. There's a new version of both as of this past weekend.

Issue has been resolved as best I can tell.

[jpdst22]

Well I just downloaded the new version and I've been playing with it and it seems to have fixed my problem with the whole show being transferred to my pc and also it seems to be a lot more stable. Although I have noticed that the streaming does work, but the transfer from my tivo to my pc isn't fast enough to transfer a file and immediately start watching it. However if I play a file I already transferred it works great. This is freaking awesome!

[jpdst22]

Are you talking about Orb's TiVo Anywhere (http://www.tivoanywhere.com/) or Tivo's TivoDesktop 2.2? :confused:

I see that I can download shows using Orb if they have already been transfered to my home pc. Is there a way to download directly from my Tivo (using Orb) and not stream? I cannot seem to stream a show for more than a couple minutes without it dying on me.

Well I'm actually talking about both. I have had a similar problem with streaming, but it's more like 5 minutes or so before it dies on me. I think the problem is that the show's not being transferred from my tivo to my pc fast enough to handle streaming it live. I think if I start the transfer and wait a little while before starting to watch it it'll work. Also you could just start the transfer and then log out and then login at a later time that show will be there for you to watch. Make sense?

[greg_burns]

Well I'm actually talking about both. I have had a similar problem with streaming, but it's more like 5 minutes or so before it dies on me. I think the problem is that the show's not being transferred from my tivo to my pc fast enough to handle streaming it live. I think if I start the transfer and wait a little while before starting to watch it it'll work. Also you could just start the transfer and then log out and then login at a later time that show will be there for you to watch. Make sense?

Sorry that I deleted my post, but I am beginning to see how this works. :)

I thought it was simply streaming the video to me. I did not realize it was actually copying the file to My Tivo Recordings folder on my home pc. Yes, this is making sense now. Thanks.

Everything seems OK on my Windows XP machine. I just tried running it on my Windows MCE machine and I'm having problems. I get an error that tells me to go here:

http://support.orb.com/support/solution.jsp?sol=144

I installed Dscaler5 per the recommendation, but not sure why I had to since I have a working MPEG2 codec. :confused: Still messing around with this new problem. :rolleyes:

[jhwpbm]

This is great - I travel four days / week and now I can watch "my" shows (from my own TiVo) over my broadband connection at my hotel. Performance is good and picture quality is excellent. Too cool.

[Todd]

Anyone have issues with the video playback? When I play it on a remote computer, the bottom third of the screen is green, and the top part is filled with 3 copies of the video and a bunch of lines going across it. Bizarre. Have any ideas what the deal with that is?

[ashu]

Try changing your video encoders in the advanced settings. Either in the app or online - I forget where.

Mine played WMV files flawlessly on remote PCs, and RealMedia on my Cell Phone.

[henriksonj]

So you have to install tivo anywhere on your home pc? and also on the pc you want to access your tivo recordings with?
I was thinking I just installed tivo anywhere on the pc i wanted to use to remotely view the recordings on..

thanks!

[ashu]

The remote PC only needs a Web Browser and Media PLayer - your home PC becomes the streaming server that sends images/video/sound files across, depending on the interlink and respective bandwidths of the home and remote PC.

My cable connection allows for 512kbps (capped) upstream - just adequate for full-screen PC monitor video remotely.

[Bsteenson]

I can't say enough about the Orb service. With it I can access every video, audio and photo file on my computer, plus everything that is stored on one of my TiVos (I suppose I could set up multiple Orb accounts to get the other TiVos as well). With a tuner card in my home computer, I can watch any channel from my home cable system over the Internet, anywhere in the world. I can schedule TiVo recordings, as well as Orb recordings for when I run out of TiVo tuners.

And best of all, it's completely free. I'd sure like to know Orb's business model. Maybe it's simply to get us hooked (I am already) then start charging a monthly fee.

Orb combined with TiVo, a multi-media computer and a home network means total access. The picture quality isn't perfect. It depends on your upload speed at home and your download speed where you're viewing from. Broadband at both ends is essential. I'd hate to watch the steaming video on anything larger than a laptop, but for that it's perfectly acceptible.

BS

[ashu]

plus everything that is stored on one of my TiVos (I suppose I could set up multiple Orb accounts to get the other TiVos as well).

The ORB forums have a discussion about this. Involves copying/renaming some dll's, duplicating some files and some entries in an ini file. I can no longer find it.

Multiple ORB accounts wouldn't work as I doubt you can run multiple ORB servers on your home PC. One ORB account (and running server/services) per PC (if you have more 'n 1) should work, though ;)

[tivoaustin]

Hi,

I have the latest version of TivoAnywhere installed, and I'm running a Tivo Series2.

On my local (private) home network, I'm successfully able to use Tivo Desktop and TivoToGo to publish photos and music and transfer video.

I'm now on my work laptop and *not* connected to my private home network.

I've installed Tivo Desktop on my work laptop in addition to TivoAnywhere.

The problem I'm having is TivoAnywhere (and Tivo Desktop) on my work laptop can not find my Tivo!

I've opened ports 2190 and 8080-8089 on my router and pointed them to my Tivo's IP address on my internal network (192.168.x.x).

What else do I need to do?

Thanks!

[ashu]

The Orb server runs on your PC - IIRC you have to open those ports externally, right? Or, waidaminit - that isn't on your home router firewall - instead you have to allow Orb (the PC application) permission (in your PC firewall) to use a plethora of parts and run a bunch of listening servers.

I VNCed home when I set mine up, and lost count of the number of popups I saw from ZoneAlarm to allow new EXEs (all Orb-related) access - the WMV encoder, the RealEncoder, the 3GPEncoder etc. Etc. Etc. Etc.

[stevejoe]

I've installed Tivo Desktop on my work laptop in addition to TivoAnywhere.

The problem I'm having is TivoAnywhere (and Tivo Desktop) on my work laptop can not find my Tivo!

I've opened ports 2190 and 8080-8089 on my router and pointed them to my Tivo's IP address on my internal network (192.168.x.x).

What else do I need to do?

Thanks!

TivoAnywhere doesn't get installed on your laptop. It gets installed on the same machine that has your Orb client installed. Also, since you have an Orb client that talks to the Orb server, you don't need to open any ports for Orb and TivoAnywhere to work.

[amessina]

I have the latest version of Orb and TivoAnywhere installed on my home PC. When I log into m Orb account on my laptop at work, I see my now playing list with no problem. The issue I am having is when I try to play a program that is already on my computer, my laptop processes the asf file, but my windows media player does not open.

Any ideas on how I can fix this?

[davevt98]

I have the latest version of Orb and TivoAnywhere installed on my home PC. When I log into m Orb account on my laptop at work, I see my now playing list with no problem. The issue I am having is when I try to play a program that is already on my computer, my laptop processes the asf file, but my windows media player does not open.

Any ideas on how I can fix this?

I am having the same problems. Please help. Thanks

[headroll]

From the reading I did yesterday you can only program remotely if you've got TiVoWeb installed. So, no remote programming for those that haven't hacked their TiVos.

Not true ...

It actually interfaces with TCO to schedule recordings, no TiVoWeb needed.

The only catch (currently) is that if you have multiple TiVos, the request will always be made to the 'FIRST' TiVo on your TCO list.

-Roll

[erd211]

I set up my Orb / TiVo Anywhere account to run through my laptop, but realized it made a lot more sense to use my desktop as my "home PC" so that I could stream to both my laptop and PDA. I'm having trouble getting my PC to communicate with my TiVo, however; do I have to somehow disassociate my laptop from my TiVo before running Orb through my desktop?

Thanks!

[erd211]

Just hadn't used my desktop in so long that I realized I needed to install some Windows XP updates for it to function properly.

This program rocks!