Sonic MyDVD crashes during transcoding

[spookcomix]

Well, I went and registered Sonic MyDVD. Unfortunately, now that I try to burn DVDs, it crashes during or right after the "transcoding" process.

I've been able to burn a DVD with MyDVD using a non-Tivo file.

Any suggestions? My PC has all the latest updates, as does MyDVD. I've tried Sonic's support web site...but that was over 2 weeks ago that I left a message for them and they *still* have not responded.

Any help is appreciated. Many thanks!

[PaulaBerge]

What version of TiVo Desktop are you using? I had this same problem and got this response from Sonic:

[David McPhail -- 07/06/05 02:36 PM]
Hi Paula ,

1)Uninstall Tivo Desktop 2.1 from Add/Remove Programs

2)Install Tivo Desktop 2.0 available from here:

http://www.tivo.com/desktop/TiVoDesktop2-0.exe

Let me know if it still gives you an error.

Regards

It worked, but I have to continually uninstall and reinstall 2.0 lately because something changed after the 7.2 upgrade.

[miekel]

I am having the same problem. I purchased MyDVD for the sole reason to be able to burn DVDs from Tivo. I get the "Windows has encountered an error" message and it crashes. I have done all of the following but it still crashes. I had an older version of DVDIt installed on my PC prior to installing MyDVD. I also had Tivo Desktop 2.1 installed initially. Here are the things that I have done so far:

1. Verified that issue only occurs when burning Tivo files
2. Upgraded from Tivo desktop 2.1 to 2.2
3. Uninstalled Tivo Desktop 2.2 and installed 2.0
4. Uninstalled MyDVD and reinstalled
5. Performed a clean Uninstall for my DVD and reinstalled
6. Performed a clean uninstall for all Sonic software and reinstalled MyDVD

I spent about 6-8 hours on this problem and will ask Sonic for a refund soon unless some smart person here can help me figure out the issue. I am running XP Pro on a high end laptop. Any ideas?

[corbishley]

That solution worked for me too. Hard to believe that after all this time Tivo and Sonic still don't have it together.

[dmkerwin14]

... by deleting tivo-to-go and all sonic apps, deleting all references to either from the registry, reinstalling sonic, then installing tivo 2.0. what an incredible hassle. sonic was completely unhelpful.

[ksladek]

I'm having the same problem, but it's somewhat reassuring to know I'm not alone. Get this though-- I called Sonic and they said that I needed Tivo desktop 2.0. I went looking for this on the tivo website w/o luck so I called Tivo and after a FULL HOUR on hold, was told that Sonic is definitely NOT Tivo compatible, and the customer support guy didn't even know it's written all over their website as the program to use. Nice that they can be compatible! Or helpful! So I found this... I uninstalled and reinstalled and NOTHING. The same crash right after the audio transcription. What a royal pain! In the morning I fully intend on calling Tivo, again, and giving them a piece of my mind. These machines are too much money to not work properly and not have good and competent tech support! I'll let you know what they say.

[azitnay]

You certainly don't need to use TD 2.0 with Sonic (2.2 works fine for me), but if you absolutely need 2.0 for some reason, you can still download it straight from TiVo:

http://www.tivo.com/desktop/TiVoDesktop2-0.exe

It's not linked to from anywhere to my knowledge, but the URL still works.

Drew

[nkuefler]

Same problem. Sonic says use 2.0 which I downloaded from this forum. TIVO says sorry but it is not their problem at all- wait for a patch. I will try the 2.0 and see what happens.

[ksladek]

I got Direct Show Dump for free (download online) which converts the Tivo files to MPEG which can then be used by any DVD burner. After trying since last Thursday, I got my DVD burnt! SO happy!

Oh, and Tivo says it's Sonic, Sonic says it's Tivo... just get the DSD software and call it a night.

[nkuefler]

No luck with 2.0. Exact same thing happened. Will check out Direct Show Dump and see if that works. Guess I am stuck with the Sonic software. Is it any good for other things?

[Stone1717]

Hi All,

I'm having the same problem, so I tried to instal TiVo Desktop 2.0 (from the link above). However, on install, I'm getting a TiVoBeacon error...and the install is aborting. Anyone have an idea on what this error is all about? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated...thanks!!!

[woolybugger]

I am in the same boat and have tried everything mentioned here as well as what Sonic FINALLY told me to do....

There are a few thing that can cause this issue but we would like you to address the burn function at this point-
PX engine updates for MYDVD and DVDit -Burners
Also try going into My Computer, Control Panel, System, Hardware tab, Device manager, DVD/CD-ROM Drives, then select your burner and uninstall it by right clicking on it. Once uninstalled, just restart.

Upgrade took / lost drives away
Fortunately, we have a patch for this.

1) Download the patch
http://patches.sonic.com/UM/pxhpinst.exe

2) Double click the .exe

3) Reboot the computer.

Your drives should appear back. If not, I’d like you to go into the registry by going to Start, Run, then type regedit. Once in there, go to Edit then Find.

1) Search the Registry for "lowerfilters" (you will most likely find multiple instances)goto the find option and type in “lowerfilters” .

2) Every time one comes up, look for the value of "PXHelp20" under the Data column next to the name. Remove it (right click and delete the key)

3) After cleaning all instances, reboot and the OS should detect the devices appropriately

This should resolve your issue. If it does not, try looking for more lowerfilters with these values. But be careful, do not delete any values that you’re not sure about, as this could damage up your system. After finishing up in the registry, restart and see if it made a change. If not, run the PX Engine from below and try again.

Update PX Engine:
http://patches.sonic.com/PX/pxengine1_08_34a.exe




But I still get the stupid Windows error. I am so aggravated right now I could scream. Does anyone have any other ideas?

[PatC]

I am in the same boat and have tried everything mentioned here as well as what Sonic FINALLY told me to do....

There are a few thing that can cause this issue but we would like you to address the burn function at this point-
PX engine updates for MYDVD and DVDit -Burners
Also try going into My Computer, Control Panel, System, Hardware tab, Device manager, DVD/CD-ROM Drives, then select your burner and uninstall it by right clicking on it. Once uninstalled, just restart.

Upgrade took / lost drives away
Fortunately, we have a patch for this.

1) Download the patch


2) Double click the .exe

3) Reboot the computer.

Your drives should appear back. If not, I’d like you to go into the registry by going to Start, Run, then type regedit. Once in there, go to Edit then Find.

1) Search the Registry for "lowerfilters" (you will most likely find multiple instances)goto the find option and type in “lowerfilters” .

2) Every time one comes up, look for the value of "PXHelp20" under the Data column next to the name. Remove it (right click and delete the key)

3) After cleaning all instances, reboot and the OS should detect the devices appropriately

This should resolve your issue. If it does not, try looking for more lowerfilters with these values. But be careful, do not delete any values that you’re not sure about, as this could damage up your system. After finishing up in the registry, restart and see if it made a change. If not, run the PX Engine from below and try again.

Update PX Engine:




But I still get the stupid Windows error. I am so aggravated right now I could scream. Does anyone have any other ideas?

I have the same problems. TiVo Tech says call Sonic, Sonic says uninstall MyDVD and Desktop 2.2 and reinstall both Sonic and Desktop 2.0 as posted above. Anyone get Desktop 2.2 to work with Sonic? Thanks, Pat

[azitnay]

MyDVD has worked fine for me with every TD 2.x release (not that that's very helpful to you, aside from confirming that it does indeed work for some of us).

Drew

[naybag]

Any real ideas or fixes for this problem. I am definitely encountering the same "MyDVD" crashes. I also can't edit any of the Tivo videos.

[morac]

Other than Sonic's official solution which is reverted back to TiVo Desktop 2.0 there are no official fixes.

When I emailed Sonic in August they told me that they would release MyDVD 6.2 within a month which would fix the problem. Since it's been around 3 months and they seem to be promoting their other products over MyDVD I don't think this is going to happen.

I have the same issues and came up with a work around which I posted (http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?t=257199) a few months back.

That said I can't see how TiVo can still advertise for Sonic's MyDVD software (http://www.tivo.com/4.9.19.asp) as the official method for burning TiVo shows to DVD when it doesn't even work for most people with the latest TiVo Desktop software.

[morac]

Update PX Engine:
http://patches.sonic.com/PX/pxengine1_08_34a.exe

This is an upgrade for MyDVD 5.x. It was released on August 5, 2004. This pxengine is actually older (1.8.34.500) than the drivers that come with MyDVD 6.1 so I would highly advise against installing it. Especially since MyDVD 6.1 doesn't use the pxengine.

Basically I've come to learn that Sonic's support has no clue about anything. Considering most of the support emails I send them either never get answered or take months to get a response (which is usually wrong) I've just given up on ever getting support from them.

[woolybugger]

did the MyDVD 6.2 update ever come out? and does it make any difference?

[morac]

No it didn't. And I have no idea when or even if it will come out.

From what the support guy said it looked like you'd have to specifically request it through support (yeah right) or buy it.

I've pretty much given up on Sonic at this point since it's pretty obvious they teamed up with TiVo just to get more people to buy their MyDVD software. They don't seem to care if it works or not. The sad part is TiVo seems to not care either. If they did, they'd offer more choices than just Sonic.

[woolybugger]

ugh, oh well. what a PITA this has been! :mad:

[buslick]

I have the same problems with MyDVD crashing as outlined above. It also is very slow and takes 100% of my CPU. I used the Direct Show program mentioned above and then used Nero Burning ROM that came with my DVD recorder to burn the DVD. It worked great and I was able to do other things while the burn was in progress. It also was faster than MyDVD was since the crash always happened at the end of a 3 hour transcode. It only took 2 hours from start to finish for a show that was 1:55 in length. Tivo made a major mistake with choosing Sonic/MyDVD as their partner. They should dump them and go with a better program.

[PatC]

I did the Sonic recomended unistall and reinstall of MyDVD and TiVo Desktop 2.2 and reinstalled Desktop 2.0. Seemed to get farther, but now all the shows saved to my HD in Desktop 2.2 get this error message.

"You are not authorized to play this recording. It was transferred using a different media access key than the one in your Windows account. For help, see the application used to transfer the TiVo recording from your TiVo DVR."

What a mess!! Any solutions to this on-going problem? Anybody from TiVo listening? Thanks, Pat

[rick790]

SO upsetting......to read all of this..and see that so many others are having the same problems I am having... I have had nothing but good things to say about Tivo for years..I am a major fan. But I see that they continue to advertise the trash software from Sonic. There appears to be no effort on either party to correct the issue.

Tivo...Listen to what is being said. Partner with someone else, or put the pressure on Sonic to correct the issue.

Sonic, if you are developing a patch or an upgrade to fix My DVD, then tell us... Otherwise, I want my money back!

Man, I feel used....

[PatC]

I finally got MyDVD to again burn a DVD last night! :) This is what worked for me. Most of all the parts of this solution are posted in the forums under various threads. I THANK the posters!

My fix was to follow Sonic's solution, with some modifications, mostly installing the latest Desktop version 2.2 (File version 2.0.20.4920) from TiVo FIRST and THEN MyDVD. The steps I followed are as follows. USE AT YOUR OWN RISK!

1. Using Add/Remove Programs, uninstall Tivo Desktop and all Sonic software products (including Roxio). Also uninstall any/all other CD or DVD burning programs you might find listed. (I skipped this one, I like Nero for everything else. I did delete the Nero DLA program.) Also delete RealPlayer and BeyondTV if you find them. (Don't have or use either.)

2. Delete the following folders if they still exist:

C:\Program Files\Tivo
C:\Program Files\Sonic
C:\Program Files\Common Files\Tivo Shared
C:\Program Files\Common Files\Sonic Shared
(If you install programs on another drive other than C: also check that drive for any of these folders and delete them too!)

I also deleted the following folders if they still exist:
C:\Documents and Settings\<your-windows-username>\Local Settings\Application Data\Sonic, TiVo and TiVo Desktop folders
C:\Documents and Settings\<your-windows-username>\Application Data\Sonic, TiVo and TiVo Desktop folders

3. Using Run/Regedit, go into the Registry and delete the following entries in their entirety: (Back it UP First)

HKEY_LOCAL MACHINE\Software\Sonic
HKEY_LOCAL MACHINE\Software\Tivo
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Sonic
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Tivo

(I had also played around with the trial versions of the moonlight elcard codecs, demuxer and player and uninstalled them, deleted the folders and registry entries, which then left me with TiVo files that played with the wrong aspect ratios as WMP 10 was still looking for the Moonlight codecs. Strange. One of the toughest programs to get rid of!)

4. Reboot.
(You can try and skip this part if you want. I then deleted all temporary files, cleared IE cache, clear the recyle bin and rebooted. I then did a registry cleanup with Norton System Works and let if fix any problems, rebooted and then did a defrag on my C:\Windows and E:\Programs drives and reboot again.)

5. (I skipped this step as I was up to date) Identify, find, download and install the latest firmware upgrade for your DVD drive. To do this, first right-click on My Computer, select Properties, and look under You can also double-click My Computer, right-click on your DVD drive, and select properties, once you know the exact name of your drive update the firmware from the manufacture. This will help you find the latest upgrade for your drive. Get it, then apply it.

6. (Biggest part of my fix based on a post in the forums, I forget by who, but THANK YOU!) Download the latest TiVo Desktop version 2.2 from TiVo and install it FIRST! Check and make sure that is working properly, e.g. transfers, network, etc. Try and play a TiVo file and see if it works in WMP 10. You can check the codec it is using by clicking File>Properties. You can also download MS Video Decoder Checkup Utility by Googling deccheck. Note: The TiVo recommended codecs are mostly for transfers to an ipod, palm or other portable devices. I have a palm, but don't use it for video.

7. Do a CUSTOM install of MyDVD 6.1. DO NOT install the DLA software that comes with it, nor Sonic's version of Tivo Desktop (TivoToGo). Make sure you do not have any other packet-writing software installed. (DO Make sure that the Sonic CinePlayer IS installed. Reboot and run Sonic CinePlayer FIRST to register it's codecs! WMP 10 complained that the Sonic Codec was not registered!)

8. (I skipped this step this time, but did do it several other times, which didn't fix it!) There is a patch available for MyDVD 6.1. This patch is for their PX engine, which actually burns the CDs and DVDs. (Link deleted I'm too new to the Forums) Fill in your name and registered email address and a download code will be sent to your registered email address. Use this download code from Sonic to get the actual download, then apply it.

8. Reboot.

9. (I skipped this step, See Step 6 above. But, others report that installing Sonic MyDVD first and then downgrading and installing Desktop Version 2.0 worked for them. But, I hated to lose the BackToTivo feature in Desktop 2.2. And of course I am stubborn!) Download and install Tivo Desktop Version 2.0 from (Link deleted I'm too new to the Forums, but it is available.)
Reboot.

11. (None of these are on my machine, so I skipped this too.) Do a Control-Alt-Delete to get to the Windows Task Manager. Click on the Processes tab. If you find any of the following processes running, end them:

direcd.exe
dragtoce.exe
tfswctrl.exe
incd.exe
b'sclip.exe

(Sonic support said: "I think at least the first two of these come with Roxio, hence my recommendation to delete Roxio")

12. Fire up MyDVD, create a new project, import your .tivo movie file, SAVE THE PROJECT, then push the burn button.

I did and it works!!! Let's see it's 4:00 AM and I need to get up for work at 7:00 AM. But it does work!!! Please post back to this thread if this works for you or you have any questions.
Thanks for all the help from the folks in the forums, PatC

P.S. Interesting, I sent an email to On Your Side at PC World yesterday 1/5/06 asking about help getting a fix from TiVo or Sonic. (I'll post again with text of my email to PC World.) Anyway, I just got an email from Sonic (Roxio) as a followup to my PC World email asking me: "Would you be in the mood to test a newer version of MyDVD 6.2 and let us know the result with TiVo Desktop 2.2?"

Apparently the "Squeaky Wheel" does get the grease! I think I will become a "Beta Tester", but will need some time to burn some TV shows to DVD's for archives of my favorites. I will also let Sonic (Roxio) know about this "unsupported fix". Thanks, PatC

[PatC]

I should have checked my email more closely. I had also emailed the Editor of the TiVo Newsletter and that got the response from Sonic (Roxio), not my email to PC World. Ooops!! Here's the text of my email to the TiVo Newsletter Editor.

"Hi, I have TiVoToGo and purchased Sonic's MyDVD recommended by TiVo to
burn shows to DVD's. But when I upgraded to Desktop 2.2 from 2.0 MyDVD
crashes and won't burn a DVD. Sonic said to uninstall both, delete all
registry entries for both and reinstall MyDVD and Desktop 2.0. This still
doesn't work.

Sonic says its a TiVo problem and TiVo tech support says its a Sonic
problem. At this time, it's MY problem and many other TiVo and Sonic
MyDVD users as posted on the TiVo Community Forums.

Any idea when TiVo or Sonic will fix this problem?
Thanks, PatC"

Nice to see SOMEONE at TiVo and SONIC (Roxio) are listening!!! :)
Thanks, PatC

[morac]

8. (I skipped this step this time, but did do it several other times, which didn't fix it!) There is a patch available for MyDVD 6.1. This patch is for their PX engine, which actually burns the CDs and DVDs. (Link deleted I'm too new to the Forums) Fill in your name and registered email address and a download code will be sent to your registered email address. Use this download code from Sonic to get the actual download, then apply it.

Just a warning, but the PX engine patch that Sonic has made available is for MyDVD 5.x not myDVD 6.1. Applying it to myDVD 6.1 can cause problems if you have a newer DVD drive.

Also the vast majority of the steps you mention (like upgrading firmware) have nothing to do with the TiVo problem since most people can burn regular mp2 files without a problem. The problem occurs when MyDVD 6.1 tries to use TiVo's TiVoDirectShowFilter.dll file. My DVD 6.1 was designed to use the older version that comes with TiVo Desktop 2.0, it usually borks when using the newer version that comes with TiVo Desktop 2.2. This is why temporarily replacing the newer version with the 2.0 version before running MyDVD 6.1 allows people to burn without crashing. In fact that is my recommended workaround for this problem since it let's you use TiVo Desktop 2.2 and still run MyDVD when needed. Just make sure to put the new version back in place after running MyDVD.

[PatC]

Just a warning, but the PX engine patch that Sonic has made available is for MyDVD 5.x not myDVD 6.1. Applying it to myDVD 6.1 can cause problems if you have a newer DVD drive.

Morac, Thanks for the info. The PX engine patch for MyDVD 6.1 (never did work) and the firmware update was direct from Sonic support back in October 2005. It's always the other guys hardware/software fault. I did try your post about the Desktop 2.0 and 2.2 TiVoDirectShowFilter.dll swap workaround with no luck. Good to see someone from SNJ on the forums, I'm just outside of AC. Thanks for the help, PatC

[TiVoShanan]

Nice to see SOMEONE at TiVo and SONIC (Roxio) are listening!!! :)
Thanks, PatC

Hahah, Uh, YEH!

I get 100s of emails every time a newsletter goes out and simply CANNOT reply to every one. It's just impossible. Furthermore (and frankly), it's not my job--or the promise of the newsletter.

The newsletter is a newsletter, period.

But YES, I do read every single one that comes through... EVENTUALLY. And try to fwd. on the ones that I can.

All this, too, while I'm remote in Vegas, so thanks for appreciating the balance I must maintain as BOTH a sympathetic TiVo sub myself AND regular human being with only so many hours in a day.

[jallison86]

Wanted to reply to this thread because I too have been screwed by Sonic MyDVD not working and Sonic not caring. I went through the whole clean remove/reinstall nonsense to no avail. Sonic is crap.

I did find TV harmony, however, and it works like a charm. Turns your TiVO recordings into other formats that can be easily burned to DVD with whatever non-Sonic (that is to say, functional) software you like.

Apparently I'm not allowed to post URL's. But google tvharmony and you'll find it.

HTH

- Jeff