Advice on recording Tivo programs to DVD...

[schu777]

Hi Everyone,

I've been recording many New Yankee workshop programs and want to record those off to DVD instead of VCR. I purchased a Dazzle 90 USB bit and have had little success with Win XP and the program that came with it.

I've come up with a couple of possiblities that I could do:

1) Stick with WinXP and get Dazzle and program that came with it figured out.
2) Stick with WinXP, record to AVI, then use Linux software to burn to DVD from the AVI file.
3) Move to Linux, record with Dazzle and burn to DVD.
4) Get connected to Tivo box via Intranet and move the recorded programs to my computer and then burn them off.

Issues:
1) I'm able to record - but creating the DVD & burning it hasn't been successful. Gets expensive with each test...
2) Need to locate software that will burn to DVD and be able to use the AVI format.
3) Find software that will know about the Dazzle 90, record/edit and burn to DVD
4) Not for sure what issues I'd have - but would like to explore this one...

Anyone have success in getting things recorded off Tivo onto a Linux Fedora Core 5 box?

Thanks, Michael

[mr.unnatural]

There are several programs that will convert .avi files to a DVD format. AVI2DVD and DVDSanta are two that I've used in the past. If you're burning a lot of coasters then might I suggest you invest in some rewriteable DVDs until you find a process that works for you? Blank DVD-Rs are not all that expensive anymore so it shouldn't be costing you all that much unless you;re overpaying for your blank discs.

My recommendation would be to forget about methods 1 thru 3 and go with option 4. Unfortunately, this forum doen't allow discussions regarding that method. Try a google search for TyTools. The Zipper program discussed here will get you on the right track.

[phox_mulder]

Just get a standalone DVD recorder and put them on that just like you were with VHS.

You can get them for under $100 these days.


phox

[gastrof]

Umm...

Wouldn't TIVO TO GO be the way to set things up?

Wouldn't it be a "clean", digital transfer?

Sounds like the other options mentioned already would include an analog transfer off the TiVo.

I mean, I do use a stand alone DVD recorder for my "off TiVo saves" myself, and I'm totally happy with the setup, but I'm computer challenged anyway.

The OP sounds like he has some computer saavy...

Shouldn't TIVO TO GO be the recommended course?

[mr.unnatural]

Wouldn't TIVO TO GO be the way to set things up?

Wouldn't it be a "clean", digital transfer?
Not at all. Tivo To Go reencodes the output and does not give you a one-to-one digital transfer. Tivo had to do it this way to get around copyright issues and such. They basically had to degrade the output using TTG to keep the movie studios off their back. Any method using the analog output or TTG degrades the image. Of course, if you're copying from a standalone Tivo the image is already degraded anyway (extra D/A and A/D conversion processes in the signal path degrade the original signal). Direct digital extraction from a DirecTivo will give you an exact copy of the digital stream as it came off the satellite. You'll have to look elsewhere for discussions on how to do it.

[petew]

Not at all. Tivo To Go reencodes the output and does not give you a one-to-one digital transfer.

Not completely true. An SA Tivo records the video as MPEG and the audio as MP3 but saves them to disk as two seperate streams, at this point the video is already encrypted. Whe Tivo to go is used, Tivo does muliplex the video and audio streams into a standard MPEG file, but the contents are not changed in any way.

It' is true that Tivo chose resolutions and bit rates that were optimal for recording NTSC TV and did not adhere to the DVD standards So if you use the Tivo approved MyDVD to convert the .Tivo (an encrypted MPEG) into a DVD the transcoding process to convert the resolution to a DVD standard will degrade the quality but there are ways around this step.

[bonnie_raitt]

I'd forget trying to make DVDs with the recorded shows. It takes forever to convert them and as you have discovered it is not a trivial task. What I would do is invest in a DVD player that plays the native AVI or MPG file itself. You can buy such a player for $40 to $50 bucks, eg Philips DVD642.

This will save you 100s of hours of computer time and maybe a few grey hairs

[mr.unnatural]

Not completely true. An SA Tivo records the video as MPEG and the audio as MP3 but saves them to disk as two seperate streams, at this point the video is already encrypted. Whe Tivo to go is used, Tivo does muliplex the video and audio streams into a standard MPEG file, but the contents are not changed in any way.
I'd have to strongly disagree with you on this one. The video is recorded as mpeg2 and the audio is recorded as mpeg layer II (aka mp2) or AC3 (DTivos only), not MP3 as you suggest. They're also not recorded as separate streams but rather a single multiplexed mpeg2 file (I think you've got Tivos confused with VCRs). They use a format referred to as ty files, which are located in the mfs partitions of the drive. Ty files contain the raw video and audio. There are other formats coined as ty+ and tmf that contain program info along with the audio and video. These may not be the "official" names designated by Tivo, Inc., but they are the names given by the hacking community as they are the types of files that can be extracted using mfs_ftp.

SA Tivos and DTivos record audio and video differently. SA Tivos record the audio at 32kHz and the video at various resolutions based on the quality setting. You can set up the video resolution to be DVD compliant at 720X480 using TivoWebPlus by going into the mfs settings. DTivos record the audio at 48kHz and the video at a fixed resolution of 480X480. The audio is already DVD compliant for DTivos but has to be transcoded to 48kHz for standalone models. DTivo video is the same as SVCDs so it will play back on most late model DVD players that are compatible with SVCD playback. It does require some trickery to get some authoring tools to work with it but DVD-Lab will accept the 480X480 files as is.

I don't recall the exact details of the TivoToGo process but just suffice it to say that the files you get from TTG are NOT exactly what's recorded on the hard drive. Direct extraction using some of the methods I discussed WILL get you exactly what's recorded on the drive.

You might want to visit the hacker's forum at DDB to get the real skinny on the various extraction methods and what's happening because you certainly won't get any help on the subject here (it's against forum rules, you see). I've been extracting videos from Tivos and burning them to DVD long before TivoToGo was even part of Tivo's thought process (about six years and over 1000 DVDs later). After all, most of the features you see incorporated into the latest Tivos were developed by the hacking community long before they were introduced into the production models.

[mattack]

I'd say get a standalone DVD recorder *WITH* hard drive.. Then you can easily record the shows onto the recorder (unattended, though one by one), edit them (e.g. edit out commercials and/or slop at the beginning/end of recordings), and burn to DVD a bunch at a time.

That's what I do, though I also record things natively on the recorder.. a lot of the stuff is from my Tivos though.

[csufmark]

Hi. Could someone tell me if you can record a program from my TiVo unit to a stand alone recorder? Pretty basic question to many people but I just don't know the answer. If it is possible, do I need to look for certain specifications on the recorder to make sure it will do the job? I use DirecTv and TiVotogo is not an option at this point as far as I am being told and I wouldn't know how to go through the process anyway ( I have read some info on the process on this website and it seems confusing). I have a dvd burner on my computer but I am thinking a stand alone might be less trouble. Thanks for any help you can give me.

[cbordman]

I would hook the OUTPUTS on the TiVo to the INPUT of your DVD recorder. Then use the 'Save To Vcr' function on your TiVo.