No Need to Purchase TiVo to Go Plus

[elroyjetson]

It's nice that TiVo has made available the functionality to prepare TiVo shows for use on the Sony PSP and Apple iPod video. However, charging for the software is a bit lame. Fortunately, there is no need to pay $25 for this ability.

Go to http://www.pspvideo9.com and download PSP Video 9. It is a free application that will enable you to convert TV shows downloaded from TiVo using the free version of TiVo to Go. The converted shows can be seen on both PSP and iPod Video (I prefer the PSP because the screen is so much bigger).

Using PSP Video 9 adds an extra step but if paying $25 for functionality that should hav ebeen free annoys you, it's a great workaround.

[gonzotek]

It's nice that TiVo has made available the functionality to prepare TiVo shows for use on the Sony PSP and Apple iPod video. However, charging for the software is a bit lame. Fortunately, there is no need to pay $25 for this ability.

Go to http://www.pspvideo9.com and download PSP Video 9. It is a free application that will enable you to convert TV shows downloaded from TiVo using the free version of TiVo to Go. The converted shows can be seen on both PSP and iPod Video (I prefer the PSP because the screen is so much bigger).

Using PSP Video 9 adds an extra step but if paying $25 for functionality that should hav ebeen free annoys you, it's a great workaround.While it might be free, it's quasi-legal at best. The codecs involved(mpeg4 and avc/h.264) in transcoding from tivo format to psp/ipod formats must be licensed (http://mpegla.com/index1.cfm), and any software that purports to be giving it away freely is almost assuredly not doing that, since the cost to them would be enormous.

So, as long as that little detail doesn't bother a person, they should feel free to choose the solution that works best for them.

[davezatz]

The bigger problem with PSP Video 9 is that it often crashes or produces files with video/audio out of sync. One could go back to 3GP and try to tweak it for better performance, but I'd rather pay the $25 for the official and presumably better (surely better integrated) product if heading for iPod or PSP. For PDAs, I might choose another option or vary my selection depending what I'm doing.

[Dan203]

While it might be free, it's quasi-legal at best. The codecs involved(mpeg4 and avc/h.264) in transcoding from tivo format to psp/ipod formats must be licensed (http://mpegla.com/index1.cfm), and any software that purports to be giving it away freely is almost assuredly not doing that, since the cost to them would be enormous.

It's not "quasi-legal" it's completely illegal. They get away with it because it was written by foreigners and they host it on foreign servers. The MPEG-4 license is a runtime license, which means any company making software which encodes in that format is suppose to pay a flat fee per user. With free software like this there is no way to keep track of users, so there is no way they're paying the fee.

Dan

[greg_burns]

Damn forgeiners. :D

[gconnery]

I think its furinurs. You spelt it wrong.

[MikeMar]

If you don't purchase tivo to go plus. the terrorists have won!

[mhn2]

I have used pspvideo9 to convert DVD's to PSP (mp4) format without any audio sync problems. It is a great way to make my already purchased movies portable without having to buy another copy of it on UMD. :up:

[davezatz]

I have used pspvideo9 to convert DVD's to PSP (mp4) format without any audio sync problems.

Going from .tivo -> MP4 is the issue. There are ways to partially use PSPV9 successfully, but it's extra work.

[gonzotek]

It's not "quasi-legal" it's completely illegal.I did qualify it with 'at best'. :D

[KJW]

I can never get PSP Video9 to work -- the audio is always out of synch. $25 is a decent, fair price for this type of functionality.

[syounger64]

Does anyone know if this new feature will allow for closed captioning or subtitles to be tranferred to the PSP?