When can we expect Tivo Desktop Vista support?

[zoma4]

Is there any timeline for a version of Tivo Desktop that is supported in Windows Vista? There are various hacks posted that kind of work, or sometimes work to get things running in Vista, but it's been months in preview and months since Vista's public release. Is there any indication that TiVo has a version forthcoming for Vista, and if so, is there an APPROXIMATE timeline for the release of either a beta version or official version?

[cowboys2002]

It has barely been 3 months since Vista's PUBLIC release.

I good chunk of PC's still don't have VISTA.

Heck, the one PC I have that can run VISTA will get upgraded RAM and Video Cards this weekend. I have a copy of Vista, and I will probable still wait a little while longer.

My work laptop is fully capable, but until my IT department tests all my critical apps, I can't (well shouldn't) install my own Vista Business on it.

That said, have you asked TivoPony or some of the others about this?

If you look at it from a business standpoint, MOST of the users are running Windows XP Home/MCE or Mac OS. Until more users have Vista, Tivo is no rush to support it.

[delvxe]

I want to add my voice to the chorus of Tivo users who are frustrated by Tivo's lack of support for vista.

I have vista on my laptop and desktop and cannot get tivo desktop to work on either of them. One was a fresh install and the other was an upgrade. I have spent a fair amount of time trying to work around the problem without success.

Tivo, please step up to the plate so your loyal customers don't become disgruntled customers.

Terry

[Dan203]

I have it on pretty good authority that they are working on it. Although I have no official timeline, I can't imagine it'll take much work to get it going on Vista.

Dan

[Stu_Bee]

If you look at it from a business standpoint, MOST of the users are running Windows XP Home/MCE or Mac OS. Until more users have Vista, Tivo is no rush to support it.

Keep in mind most new pc's come pre-installed with Vista....so I would think this would be a high priority for Tivo.
With the lengthy beta testing that Microsoft does before going gold with a new OS, I'm always surprised (well..not really) when a company takes so long to release a compatability update for their product.

[Dan203]

Unfortunately a lot of the security stuff in Vista changed at the last minute, so a lot of companies were caught off guard with incompatibilities. I'm not sure if that happened to TiVo or not, but it's possible.

Dan

[aenima99x]

I've had TiVo Desktop and Galleon running on Vista for a couple months now with no problems. Just run it in XP SP2 compatibility mode.

[chm84s]

Just got a new dell laptop with vista. You're saying that I can't put the tivo desktop on it for tivo to go?

[ocntscha]

Just got a new dell laptop with vista. You're saying that I can't put the tivo desktop on it for tivo to go?By popular demand Dell is offering Windows XP again, (http://hardware.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=07/04/19/202251) maybe its not to late to get your Vista swapped for XP.

[zeke009]

I ran the 2.3a install as an admin as someone recommended here and it installed perfectly on WinVista Business.

Full fledged support would be nice though.

[Austin Bike]

Because I bitched on the apple thread I have to jump in here lest I be a hypocrite.

Vista has a pretty small install base now. If you are a sw publisher and you have the opportunity to make 94% of the people happy by bringing out an XP version, then you do that. Why should 94% of the people wait for the other 5% on mac or the other 1% on vista? If they always waited until they had every version lined up you'd all be complaining about how long each verison takes to come out.

It's a volume thing.

I have vista on both notebooks and still have XPMC on the server so I am fine. As others have posted up, there are ways to make it work.

[rdrrepair]

Ok, here's what happened with me.

A neighbor of mine came over 2 weeks ago and was admiring my 6 Networked TiVos - he asked me if I would be willing to help him. Well, we all know that helping someone out means you're doing it for them. :p

I told him to get a TiVo Branded wireless adapter and the Linksys wireless router. I showed up to his house and he had all requested items. I go to TiVo and downloaded 2.4. I had to download it from the administration Screen name.

I right clicked and went to properties - went to compatability and check off to have it run in XP compatability configuration mode - applied changes and then set it up. I had no problems networking his 2 DVR's doing it this way.

To be honest - I didn't know that he had Vista until I showed up at his house today - When I started to download the TiVo Desktop I was expecting the worse based on what everyone here has been saying. I had to start my conversation with "Oh, you've got Vista. I might have a problem" I am happy to report 0 problems.

[chm84s]

from your adm screename or is that from tivo

[TomP]

Sure would not run in the compatiablity mode as admin. for me. Keeps asking for Xp-Sp2. Desktop 2.3a installed and worked fine, but not 2.4.
TomP :down:

[BJ411]

Ok, here's what happened with me.

A neighbor of mine came over 2 weeks ago and was admiring my 6 Networked TiVos - he asked me if I would be willing to help him. Well, we all know that helping someone out means you're doing it for them. :p

I told him to get a TiVo Branded wireless adapter and the Linksys wireless router. I showed up to his house and he had all requested items. I go to TiVo and downloaded 2.4. I had to download it from the administration Screen name.

I right clicked and went to properties - went to compatability and check off to have it run in XP compatability configuration mode - applied changes and then set it up. I had no problems networking his 2 DVR's doing it this way.

To be honest - I didn't know that he had Vista until I showed up at his house today - When I started to download the TiVo Desktop I was expecting the worse based on what everyone here has been saying. I had to start my conversation with "Oh, you've got Vista. I might have a problem" I am happy to report 0 problems.


you "right clicked" what? it won't even allow me to download it on vista home premium.. and as for admin.. well i'm the only user thus admin... i'll look and see if i have nother priority user 'admin; on this new aggrevating vista machine.. but i'd sure like a clarification of what it is you right clicked... i mean at the beginning of the download of the free version, 2.4 it stops me and says, "sorry xp is needed...."..

[rdrrepair]

you "right clicked" what? it won't even allow me to download it on vista home premium.. It's not at my house. I would have to get back over to my neighbors house. I've been out most of today.

I have to go by memory. While downloading I was prompted about possible compatibility issue, not sure of the exact wording - I saved it to the desktop and then opened it up from desktop and it installed - I went to the desktop icon and went to properties when prompted about how I wanted it to run I checked off Windows XP compatability. I had other options but went with XP.

It has been running for about a day now... I'm going on the assumption that no news is good news. We will see.

I had around 5+ prompts about allowing the TiVo Beacon and other TiVo related items to run.

The download told me about the dangers of downloading this file and about it not being Vista compatible. Was it Vista or was it TiVo? I don't know.

When I left, everything seemed stable. I have been reading about others running TiVo Desktop on Vista in Windows XP compatability mode too. I can't tell you what version of Vista he has... It said Vista on the sticker and when starting up.

I had to restart his computer about 3 times and download the desktop twice - I don't know why, but the first download stopped and I had to restart another download.

A few extra steps were involved, but it didn't take too long - it did install - it does run - The program is running in Windows XP compatibility mode - other then that I have to go over and borrow his computer to look up the info - if this doesn't help you I'll try to get more info.

Keep in mind that this computer is in another persons house - I just can't go over there and borrow a "cup of computer" several times. He'll start to think that I owe him... :rolleyes: when it is he who owes me. :D

Was it dumb luck? Might be... it was running when I left him. I am by no means a computer geek. I was happy to get out of his house with it running. Based on the horror stories I've read I thought it wouldn't work at all. When he showed me his computer and it said Vista I told him that it would be a problem.

Before yesterday, I have never played with Vista. As far as I'm concerned, I'll wait for Vista to get better and more products to become available before I would pull the trigger.

[qnetter]

It has barely been 3 months since Vista's PUBLIC release.


Yes, and competent ISVs are ready on or about day one. It had been in beta for a year.

[BJ411]

[QUOTE=rdrrepair]It's not at my house. I would have to get back over to my neighbors house. I've been out most of today.
QUOTE]


thanks for feedback... so far i found an old link to download 2.3a from major geeks site.. i can load it, i can see my 2 tivos and programs.. but i can find no way to make my music/pic library work..

on the old pc when tivo2go is opened i can click "server" in the top left of the panel and open that.. on the new laptop with vista you cannot click the server tab.. it gives u an error..

if i right click the icon in the taskbar i can open properties and the only thing that looks dif (from the old pc where it all works fine), is that the area that says "beacon".. well in the old pc it shows the path of the beacon etc.. but in the new one where it doesn't work.. beacon says "not avail" and the tab to locate it is faded out..

i went into msconfig and made sure beacon is started.. i even refreshed/restarded beacon..it has zero affect on the program functions..

i'm only adding these details so hopefully the geeks will figure out a fix for this..

i am sooo upset and losing my mind trying to setup all this.. i have the paid version of tivo2go on the old pc.. the free version and paid version always worked fine on there.. but on the new vista machine.. i can't dowload the 2.4 (on tivos site) and the 2.3a i found elsewhere, downloads and opens.. but i can't use the music.

very upsetting cuz the music i played thru tivo into my stereo all the time and this is a huge feature loss for me..

losing my mind here!!!

hate vista !! I mean i really hate it!!!!

[BJ411]

just to update, i removed the program, redownloaded to desktop, right clicked and on compatibility it was UNCHECKED, so i checked the box and chose "compatible with win xp serv pk 2"..

i then close that, then click the application and not long after it starts to run and setup, it stops and says an error occured, it needs xp serv pk 2 to run.. (it said the same thing even before when i didn't change those compatibiity settings).

i've tried this numerous times, i've tried rebooting before and after.. i've tried everything..

[rdrrepair]

i've tried rebooting before and after.. i've tried everything..Go to the firewall settings - add a program

for me it was... 4 programs...

C:\Program Files\TiVo\Desktop\TiVoServer.exe

C:\Program Files\TiVo\Desktop\TiVoDesktop.exe

C:\Program Files\Common Files\TiVo Shared\Beacon\TiVoBeacon.exe

C:\Program Files\Common Files\TiVo Shared\Transfer\TiVoTransfer.exe

Open the following ports...

7289, 7290, 7291, 7292, 7293, 7294, 7295, 7296, 7297

Name them by the port number as followed...

TiVo HME Host: Port 7289
TiVo HME Host: Port 7290
TiVo HME Host: Port 7291
TiVo HME Host: Port 7292
TiVo HME Host: Port etc...

Anything?

[Jabo4]

2.4 will NOT install on Vista, 2.3 works fairly well, just a bad server button. It's very functional though and does everything it's suppose to. 2.4, however will not install no matter what you do because the installer will not run on a vista machine, so stop trying. The poster that got it working must be mistaken on versions. Trust me. Unless he someone got a version of 2.4 without the installer check, it is simply impossible to run on Vista at the moment, this was done on purpose. I'm not trying to say anything bad but it is just impossible, when the beta hit it was cracked on numerous times with methods described here with no lucky by any vista users. So this is the ONLY reported version of 2.4 apparently working on Vista, which I don't believe either @_@ simply because it makes no logical sense. So I wouldn't worry yourself with trying to re-do the steps a bunch, reinstall 2.3 and transfer away.

[rdrrepair]

2.4 will NOT install on Vista, 2.3 works fairly well, just a bad server button... The poster that got it working must be mistaken on versions.

Trust me. Unless he someone got a version of 2.4 without the installer check, it is simply impossible to run on Vista at the moment, this was done on purpose.I do know that the neighbors Vista computer had 2.3a in it before I got there. He had been trying to get 2.3a to work and was striking out.

I am pretty sure that I downloaded 2.4 - when I downloaded, it said that I had to stop the TiVo Service (earlier version) from running so it could install - I right clicked on the TiVo man in the corner with the clock and clicked "Pause Server" after this it un-installed 2.3a and downloaded 2.4

Could that be it? Might the big mystery be the fact that we wrote over 2.3a? Did the owner of the computer and his son screw with so many settings that by the time I came along it installed. I don't have an answer for you. Here I am posting at midnight because I just got home an hour or so ago.

I really don't think I installed 2.3a again. Stranger things have been known to happen - So I guess I can't rule it out until I can get my hands on his computer again. It might be this weekend with all the late hours I've been keeping lately.

[rdrrepair]

I'm not trying to say anything bad but it is just impossible, Nah, I'm good. :)
when the beta hit it was cracked on numerous times with methods described here with no lucky by any vista users. The idea here is to get to the bottom of something. I understand. I don't mind trying to explain something - I just wish I had a better grasp of what happened.
So this is the ONLY reported version of 2.4 apparently working on Vista, which I don't believe either @_@ simply because it makes no logical sense.Keep in mind - I didn't think I was going to set up on Vista - I fell into it. The fact that it worked when I left made me feel good and I wanted to share. If anyone is loosing sleep over this then go to 2.3a - It seems to work by "Most All Accounts" so stick with it.

[greg_burns]

and as for admin.. well i'm the only user thus admin... i'll look and see if i have nother priority user 'admin; on this new aggrevating vista machine..

http://west-wind.com/weblog/posts/4678.aspx
Anyway, the issue is that even if you are logged in as Administrator, you're not getting Adminstrator rights. There's a way to turn this feature off by the way:



Run gpEdit.msc (from the Run box – Windows – R in case you can't find it – I couldn't)

Go to: Computer Configuration | Windows Settings | Security Settings | Local Policies | Security Options

User Account Control: Run all users including Administrators as standard users - Disable

User Account Control: Behavior of the elevation prompt - No Prompt

Log Off and log back on once you've set that


Not saying this allows TD 2.4 to install (haven't tried myself, nor had luck with 2.4 on Vista. :rolleyes: ) Just pointing out that admin ain't admin anymore.

Edit: just tried making these security changes. Still couldn't get 2.4 installed.

[Gai-jin]

It has barely been 3 months since Vista's PUBLIC release.
Vista was RTM and available for sale in November. Developers had access well before that. If they waited until after it hit retail shelves in January, that's poor planning on TiVo's part.

If you look at it from a business standpoint, MOST of the users are running Windows XP Home/MCE or Mac OS. Until more users have Vista, Tivo is no rush to support it.

Except that the people who are out there running vista already are likely the early adopters, the same people who are likely to use the more advanced features of tivo.

[chm84s]

I have it on pretty good authority that they are working on it. Although I have no official timeline, I can't imagine it'll take much work to get it going on Vista.

Dan
sounds like you know something. in the meantime, how do you work around it. what are some of the solutions

[chm84s]

Is there any timeline for a version of Tivo Desktop that is supported in Windows Vista? There are various hacks posted that kind of work, or sometimes work to get things running in Vista, but it's been months in preview and months since Vista's public release. Is there any indication that TiVo has a version forthcoming for Vista, and if so, is there an APPROXIMATE timeline for the release of either a beta version or official version?
what are some of the ones that work for vista

[zoma4]

I don't get it. I PM'd the TiVo folks on this forum, I have posted a desperate plea, and they continue to ignore those of us who have lost many of our favorite TiVo features because we use Windows Vista.

Not having the software ready is one thing, not even dignifying the concerns with a response is another entirely. Why would TiVo insult their customer base in such a way?

[Tempest]

I agree, just saw 2.4 was officially released with NO Vista support still. I can understand not having it available right at release of Vista but still this is getting very long in the tooth. At least give us a idea when it will be released. 2.3a is spotty but I have got it to transfer so they can't be that horribly far off.

[chm84s]

I agree, just saw 2.4 was officially released with NO Vista support still. I can understand not having it available right at release of Vista but still this is getting very long in the tooth. At least give us a idea when it will be released. 2.3a is spotty but I have got it to transfer so they can't be that horribly far off.

how?

[Tempest]

2.3a does install under vista without issue. I have transferred a few files off it but it is hit and miss starting the services when I boot the computer.

[haymoose]

I have had version 2.3a running flawlessly, for months now on two vista 64 Ultimate machines. There is no issue to report on my side. I use all the features from sharing photos, music to all three tivos in my home to transferring and acrchiving many of my favorite programs including many on to DVD. Video transfers both directions and we are quite satisfied with its ability to convert to iPod & PSP formats as well.

I tried to upgrade to version 2.4 just now, it seems puzzling to me that the installer reports my OS as unsupported, but 2.3a runs fine. I have had the same issue with Realplayer. I simply went back to the RPgold v10 and it runs great too.

But I digress, perhaps you should be asking "Where can I get a copy of version 2.3a for my M$ Vista system? I hear tell that it'll work on this here Vista platform..."

[Maverickster]

No offense and I know I'm preaching to the choir here, but as a long-time TiVo user, this is unadulterated BS. I should not have to downgrade to get quasi-compatibility with Vista (transfer works fine in 2.3a, but I'm a paid "plus" user and cannot get my computer to show up on Music, Photos, & More). It's friggin' May for crying out loud! RTM's were out in the end of '06 and we all know when the retail version was launched. This must be some kind of joke.

Seriously, they owe "us" some kind of legitimate explanation for this. If it weren't for the fact that I'm on my 2nd GIGANTIC HDD (thank you, Weaknees) and have significant sunk costs here (oh, and the fact that my wife would probably shoot me), I'd dump my TiVo in favor of my cable provider's alternative just out of principal.

I don't ordinarily rant/flame, but this is absolutely inexcusable behavior from the corporation behind the box we all love. I can't imagine how mad I'd be if I were paying a monthly subscription (at $15/mo. or whatever ridiculous number it's at these days) instead of sneaking in at the end before they clipped the lifetimes.

AAAAARRRRGGGGHHH!!!!

/Rant.

Thanks for listening.

--Mav

[smaegley]

My name is Steve...and....I'm an early adopter. I know I shouldn't do it but I can't help myself. If I had a nickel for every time I heard;
• "Don't upgrade, you'll regret it."
• "Can't you just be happy with the last Tivo you bought?"
• "You watch 24 but you don't know what day it's on?"

So here I sit, Windows Vista Ultimate humming away in all of its shiny-ness, running TD 2.3a very poorly and I see, "oh...2.4 has been released. I MUST HAVE IT." I download it (man I love the internet), I run the installer.

"2.3a is already installed and must be uninstalled first." (makes sense...I guess) Sure, every other windows installer out there does an in-place upgrade, but heck Tivo developers are Linux developers right? This ain't no rpm. They might have just been working from the Win 98 ME SDK installer manual.

"You must reboot before you can install 2.4" Um...right...win 98 ME! <boot>
I restart the installer and get the dreaded message as previously mentioned in this thread. No problem, Compatibility Mode. ( That Microsoft...they think if everything) Heck, that's what I had to do to get 2.3a server and desktop to run. Surely it will work on a lowly installer? Nah!

Now…If only I had saved that installation file for 2.3a.

Oh well, I’ve got to get upgraded to Feisty Fawn. That should eat up the rest of the night. Who has time for TV?
(I know I’m not alone on this one)

[jmart99]

Running Vista since day 1 ... experimented with Tivo2go all versions & compatibility options (except 2.4, which won't even forcibly install). Yes, 2.3 works, partially. Main problem (beyond the already mentioned "service not found", etc) ... when playing mp3 music via wireless, songs will pause for several seconds every minute or so ... sometimes get all the way through one but never two in a row. Same setup on my WinXP backup machine has no pause problem. Tweaking Vista services, firewall, etc makes no difference ... nothing left to try ... hoping for a (fully) Vista compatible version soon.

[Ozz1113]

Can someone post a link to 2.3a? I checked majorgeeks.com and they just link to Tivo.com which is no longer hosts it.
Thanks

[ocntscha]

http://rs37.rapidshare.com/files/31512736/TiVoDesktop2.3a.exe

[Ozz1113]

Thanks a lot.

[cowboys2002]

Because I bitched on the apple thread I have to jump in here lest I be a hypocrite.

Vista has a pretty small install base now. If you are a sw publisher and you have the opportunity to make 94% of the people happy by bringing out an XP version, then you do that. Why should 94% of the people wait for the other 5% on mac or the other 1% on vista? If they always waited until they had every version lined up you'd all be complaining about how long each verison takes to come out.

It's a volume thing.

I have vista on both notebooks and still have XPMC on the server so I am fine. As others have posted up, there are ways to make it work.


This is what I meant in my previous post. :D

While Vista is the latest and greatest, many haven't moved over to it yet.
I have no official numbers or guesses to offer.
But I know my work laptop is "capable" but I will not dare install it as 3-4 must use programs are not compatible "yet".

[jctoland]

Does anyone know where I can get the Vista 2.3a software again. I tried to install 2.4 and it uninstalled 2.3a and now I dont have it at all on my Vista machine.

Jim Toland

[jctoland]

Sorry Found it. Jim Toland

[oakknoll]

I moved Tivo to go from a XP SP2 system to a Vista Business system using PCMover. After that, it did not work, until today, when I open Program Files/Tivo/Desktop and changed all of the Tivo applications to work in XP SP2 Compatibility mode.

I just tested it by transferring a program and starting it and all works fine

If you do not know how to do that, just Google XP SP2 Compatibility Mode and you will find instructions.

[Globular]

Yeah TiVo! WTF? Where is Vista support? I have a shiny new computer with a big hard drive and a fast processor that I want to do all my video work on and I'm forced to use my old laptop to make shows available to my TiVo. This is ridiculous!!!

Come on Guys. You can do better.

[ocntscha]

I have a shiny new computer with a big hard drive and a fast processorYou left out the part about an operating system with a smaller user base than Mac OS or Linux. I've seen so so Mac support and zero Linux support.

[Globular]

You left out the part about an operating system with a smaller user base than Mac OS or Linux. I've seen so so Mac support and zero Linux support.

Maybe so, but clearly it's not going to stay that way for long. The other two OSs won't (unfortunately) change their market share anytime soon, if ever, but Vista is shipping with almost every new PC and laptop and will quickly rise in market share (at the expense of XP only).

I, a Linux user at work, wish it weren't so, but dems da facts.

-Matt

[sc0tt_ta]

Hey all, I have tried a few things regarding this.

1) Installed Vista as Dual boot (keep XP for Tivo and other non-Vista applications). I realized this isn't optimal since I have had great success with Vista and am very happy with the upgrade.
2) Installed Microsoft Virtual PC 2007 (Free!). Once setup, you install the XP CD and install it onto the VM. I then installed Tivo to that to experiment. Basically, this allows me to run Vista and XP (in a window) at the same time so that my Tivo shows are automatically uploaded to my PC. I don't have to boot XP just to have TivoToGo to get my shows. My wive collect a weekly show then burn a set of shows to a DVD via Roxio.

Problem with the 2nd option is that Roxio needs TivoToGo to recognize .tivo files (I think). I haven't found a workaround for this, yet. I haven't actually tried to install TivoToGo to Vista (but it sounds like it doesn't work).

Hope something here helps you who can't wait.

Regards.

[atalbert]

I finally gave up on trying to install Tivo Desktop (2.3a) to my daughter's new computer with Vista Home Basic. Downloaded Galleon which I have been using on my XP Pro machine and it worked fine - once I remembered that the media access key wasn't the same as the MAC address of the TIVO ;-) - (o.k so I'm getting old and senile!). It doesn't require the TIVO beacon to be installed.

Galleon has always been a better program than TIVO desktop. You can find it at galleon.tv

I, too, am disappointed in TIVO's support on this issue. I've been a TIVO user since the model 1 and really do believe that the Vista compatability issue should be a priority for them. With all the competition TIVO is getting from other DVR's one would think that they would be more attentive to this issue.

Tony Talbert

[eelton]

I found instructions for installing TiVo Desktop 2.4 on Vista:

http://www.pvrblog.com/pvr/2007/05/how_to_run_tivo.html


The installation worked for me and the server runs, but it says the TiVo beacon is not available (even though it's running as a service).

[csowley]

Unfortunately I can't fully explain why, but after a lot of frustration I have successfully installed Desktop 2.3 with Vista Home Premium. Initially I was unable to do this, but because of a hassle installing another program (Dragon 9.5), I did a clean reinstall of Vista (at first I installed Vista using XP upgrade mode). After that, .tivo files would not run properly in Windows Media Player (initial frame appeared, but froze), but then I removed my version of PowerDVD (which would not run under Vista either), and after that Tivo Desktop began working flawlessly (conflict with the codecs??). I don't mess with music files, so cannot comment on that. Using a Dell Latitude D520 with 2GB memory. I only offer this post to indicate that there is evidently no absolute reason why 2.3 cannot be used with Vista. Recommend people keep trying and not ditch Vista.

[ewilts]

I found instructions for installing TiVo Desktop 2.4 on Vista:

http://www.pvrblog.com/pvr/2007/05/how_to_run_tivo.html


The installation worked for me and the server runs, but it says the TiVo beacon is not available (even though it's running as a service).
I followed the instructions and the install worked, but the TiVo is not even installed as a service. What else did you have to do to get the service installed?

I've tried adding my Vista desktop manually as a server in my TiVo but it sees nothing there and I'd really like to display my HD photos and play my mp3s again...

Thanks,
.../Ed

[eelton]

I followed the instructions and the install worked, but the TiVo is not even installed as a service. What else did you have to do to get the service installed?
I don't recall doing anything else, except that I installed the unbox on demand application at the same time.

I just looked at my computer, and TiVo Desktop is running, but not listed as a service. TiVoBeacon2 is listed as a running service under the task manager. However, when I go into the server properties of TiVo Desktop, it says the TiVo Beacon service is not available.

[Yarrokon]

This seems to be taking Tivo longer then it should. 99% of my applications used in XP, work perfectly in Vista. I have two that do not work with Vista Ultimate 64bit, and Tivo Desktop being one of them, the other is a freeware application that hasnt seen an update in almost two years.

Please spend the 5 minutes needed to allow your application to install under x86 on a 64bit machine please.

[kkasten]

[QUOTE=rdrrepair]It's not at my house. I would have to get back over to my neighbors house. I've been out most of today.
QUOTE]


thanks for feedback... so far i found an old link to download 2.3a from major geeks site.. i can load it, i can see my 2 tivos and programs.. but i can find no way to make my music/pic library work..

on the old pc when tivo2go is opened i can click "server" in the top left of the panel and open that.. on the new laptop with vista you cannot click the server tab.. it gives u an error..

if i right click the icon in the taskbar i can open properties and the only thing that looks dif (from the old pc where it all works fine), is that the area that says "beacon".. well in the old pc it shows the path of the beacon etc.. but in the new one where it doesn't work.. beacon says "not avail" and the tab to locate it is faded out..

i went into msconfig and made sure beacon is started.. i even refreshed/restarded beacon..it has zero affect on the program functions..

i'm only adding these details so hopefully the geeks will figure out a fix for this..

i am sooo upset and losing my mind trying to setup all this.. i have the paid version of tivo2go on the old pc.. the free version and paid version always worked fine on there.. but on the new vista machine.. i can't dowload the 2.4 (on tivos site) and the 2.3a i found elsewhere, downloads and opens.. but i can't use the music.

very upsetting cuz the music i played thru tivo into my stereo all the time and this is a huge feature loss for me..

losing my mind here!!!

hate vista !! I mean i really hate it!!!!

[kkasten]

[QUOTE=rdrrepair]It's not at my house. I would have to get back over to my neighbors house. I've been out most of today.
QUOTE]


thanks for feedback... so far i found an old link to download 2.3a from major geeks site.. i can load it, i can see my 2 tivos and programs.. but i can find no way to make my music/pic library work..

on the old pc when tivo2go is opened i can click "server" in the top left of the panel and open that.. on the new laptop with vista you cannot click the server tab.. it gives u an error..

if i right click the icon in the taskbar i can open properties and the only thing that looks dif (from the old pc where it all works fine), is that the area that says "beacon".. well in the old pc it shows the path of the beacon etc.. but in the new one where it doesn't work.. beacon says "not avail" and the tab to locate it is faded out..

i went into msconfig and made sure beacon is started.. i even refreshed/restarded beacon..it has zero affect on the program functions..

i'm only adding these details so hopefully the geeks will figure out a fix for this..

i am sooo upset and losing my mind trying to setup all this.. i have the paid version of tivo2go on the old pc.. the free version and paid version always worked fine on there.. but on the new vista machine.. i can't dowload the 2.4 (on tivos site) and the 2.3a i found elsewhere, downloads and opens.. but i can't use the music.

very upsetting cuz the music i played thru tivo into my stereo all the time and this is a huge feature loss for me..

losing my mind here!!!

hate vista !! I mean i really hate it!!!!
Please post the location of the 2.3a file since I need to reload it to my Vista PC

[dylanemcgregor]

I don't recall doing anything else, except that I installed the unbox on demand application at the same time.

I just looked at my computer, and TiVo Desktop is running, but not listed as a service. TiVoBeacon2 is listed as a running service under the task manager. However, when I go into the server properties of TiVo Desktop, it says the TiVo Beacon service is not available.

A friend is having the same problem. Any luck figuring this out?

Thanks,
Dylan

[wyreless]

I found instructions for installing TiVo Desktop 2.4 on Vista:




The installation worked for me and the server runs, but it says the TiVo beacon is not available (even though it's running as a service).

I also just came here from that pvr Blog. First off both links for Orca that were on there were down. Then as I have read farther down there is this Beacon issue. I did a Google search for 2.3a and here I am. I am going to download that, use it until the Real Deal VISTA compatible version comes out. VISTA has enough issues that I dont need to be hacking things on it to get it to work. Honestly folks VISTA has its Ups, and it has some serious downs.

Thanks for the link to 2.3a!!

[bonoriffic]

To further point out how badly Tivo has taken care of this situation, look at installed users. There are 25 million Mac OS X users and 40 million Vista users as of today. Sure many of those users are business users and won't be installing Tivo desktop but the same could be said of Macs.

Microsoft has also announced that the Vista adoption rate is twice what it was for XP. The software has been available for developers in one form or another for over 2 years and has been available to the general public since November.

This is a two week effort that an intern could take care of, but Tivo has done nothing.

[ACraigL]

My 2 cents...

Clean install of Vista. I'm a Galleon user, so I tried installing that first. It installed without issue (using latest JRE), but would not start the beacon service, which was subsequently marked for deletion.

I tried TD 2.4, but that didn't work (obviously). I went back to TD 2.3a of which I fortunately still had a copy. As previously reported, 2.3a installed without any problems and the beacon service installed and ran as well. I'm not interested in actually *running* Tivo Desktop, but I needed the beacon service for Galleon.

Happy to say everything is running well for me at this time.

Andrew

[Maddogg]

I've had tiVo desktop running Vista for 4 months now with not much problems. The tivo beacon dosen't work whenever i'm wireless, but when i use a wired connection to my router averything works fine with no problems, including the tivo beacon.

[drbuzz44]

I've been working on trying to get Tivo Desktop working on my vista system. I noticed that only the "server" service was set up as a service, so I manually added, tivo notify, tivo beacon, and tivo transfer following the format used for "server" in the registry startup listing.

After doing that I looked for these things to be running, but they were not. I then did a bit of research and found out that windows defender classifies programs (as to whether they are "trusted" or not). All of the tivo items (on my system -- I'm not sure how this works exactly so I don't know if how they show on my system is the same for everyone or not) are "not yet classified" and so windows defender doesn't let them run automatically in the start up. I tried to run them by hand but that didn't work either -- I'm not sure why.

So I hope that what I've found will be the key that someone else needs to figure this out and help us all get the desktop up and running in vista.

[ewilts]

Ladies & Gentlemen, we have ignition! Beacon, Server, HD Photos, all with the 2.4 TiVo Desktop application!!!

To start with, I followed the instructions to get the installer to work in the first place using the Orca editor. That got the 2.4 files laid down, but since the Beacon wouldn't start, I was stuck, until today. I had also added the firewall rules that somebody else pointed out although I don't see that thread handy right now (allow ports 7289-7297, tivoserver.exe, tivobeacon.exe, and tivotransfer.exe).

Once you have the files down, do the following:

open up a shell AS ADMINISTRATOR:

cd \program files\common files\tivo\Beacon
tivobeacon /install /start
cd ..\transfer
tivotransfer /install /start
cd \program files\tivo\desktop
tivoserver /install /start

If any of the above say they're already installed, just run the command again with just the /start option. I did all this in a cygwin bash shell (as administrator) but I suspect it will work in a normal command prompt.

Now run the TiVo Desktop application as administrator and you're off to the races! Don't forget to set the server properties for HD photos if you have an HDTV display.

I have not yet figured out how to transfer video from the computer to the TiVo S3 - the desktop does not appear in the "Now Playing" like the instructions say it should.

.../Ed

[Tempest]

I guess what bothers me if this really works with 2.4 and it makes it functional that it has taken Tivo this much time with no official support or even a hint when it will be ready. Very disapointing..

[ewilts]

I guess what bothers me if this really works with 2.4 and it makes it functional that it has taken Tivo this much time with no official support or even a hint when it will be ready. Very disapointing..
What the various people have put together so far has been a hack to get it going. As a company, TiVo has to put together a supportable solution that works on all variants of Vista and doesn't force a user to run an application as an administrator just to enable HD Photo support.

This morning I was showing my wife the HD photos and noticed that my ability to play music had disappeared since last night. So perhaps I don't have it all figured it yet :-(

Yes, TiVo can get it going once they devote enough resources to it and now that we've hopefully demonstrated that it is doable, hopefully we'll get something sooner rather than later. For all we know, TiVo is planning a Vista-only release that allows for a lot more features than what 2.4 has and they didn't want to have too many releases out there at the same time.

I don't expect TiVo to give us a hint when it will be ready since that hint will instantly become a delivery date that people will hold them accountable for and scream bloody murder that "they missed the promised delivery date" if it moves. It's easier to say nothing and announce/deliver when it's ready.

.../Ed

[wewereright1054]

It has barely been 3 months since Vista's PUBLIC release.
Vista was released to buisnesses in November, the alpha and betas date back to 2003, so that excuse really doesn't hold water. Since Tivo is comepting with Windows Media Center, which kicks on Vista, you think they would have started working on this sometime ago.

I good chunk of PC's still don't have VISTA.

A lot more than you think, and its growing. A fix cannot possibly take more than a week with one dedicated engineer. Making things Vista compatable from XP is not terribly difficult, however if the code was hacked together then it might take two weeks. It is really only a matter of dll to com or something along that line. The problem is the people who set the priority of things to be done views it the same way cowboy2002 does. The argument that a lot of people are not on it is really not a valid one. The people more apt to try something new have already installed Vista and are most likely running a dual boot. These are the people that are trying to decide what the better direction is. I am locked in with Tivo, if I knew the features I bought it for were not Vista compatible, I wouldn't have bought one. I just wired my mom up with, guess... Vista's media center, because that works.

Sorry Tivo, but the people that do not see this as a priority, and have probably not even started looking at it are really hurting you in the long run. I have done enough retro fitting to know that one for almost a certainty. So here is my advice, hire an engineer at 70 bucks an hour for 40 hours, $2,800 just to be sure, probably only needs 8 hours. Fix what you should have done since RC1.




Heck, the one PC I have that can run VISTA will get upgraded RAM and Video Cards this weekend. I have a copy of Vista, and I will probable still wait a little while longer.

I still haven't had anyone install Vista on a computer and have it not meat the specs. I have been followign the specs for sometime now and you would be amazed on what Vista supports, but if you want all the cool features to look nice then update your box, however, if you plan to put Vista on it then there really is no point in needing something to handle things like the dreamscape, which isn't available on the Buisness edition.

My work laptop is fully capable, but until my IT department tests all my critical apps, I can't (well shouldn't) install my own Vista Business on it.

Your IT department is probably thinking, "we are not going to upgrade you until all the bugs are worked out." This is an outdated excuse that people that don't want to learn something right now use. Sorry, there is no reason for IT not to have there people on Vista, it is laziness pure and simple. Again, Vista is something that was just dropped on the market.


That said, have you asked TivoPony or some of the others about this?

If you look at it from a business standpoint, MOST of the users are running Windows XP Home/MCE or Mac OS. Until more users have Vista, Tivo is no rush to support it.

Saddly, this logic is the reason why once hot and groundbreaking products fizzle away. In the end, there is no excuse that it has taken this long. I would bet that they haven't even tried, ironically, since November, they could have rewritten the app several times over.

2002, you seem like a smart guy, but don't use old, outdated arguments. Don't feel bad I am sure the excutive in charge of Tivo desktop thinks the same way, that is why he is doomed to middle management, don't be like that my friend.
...

[ewilts]

This morning I was showing my wife the HD photos and noticed that my ability to play music had disappeared since last night. So perhaps I don't have it all figured it yet
And then it came back. And then I lost HD photos but still had regular photos. And then HD Photos came back.

Basically, it works most of the time, but there are definitely quirks to be worked out. And that could be why TiVo hasn't released a version supported on Vista...

.../Ed

[chuegen]

A bit of FUD for your day... perhaps MPAA/RIAA/SAG/etc. are pressuring TiVo to let TiVo-to-go die by the wayside as everyone upgrades?

[ljluck]

I think this is a great idea. I am just not sure how to run desktop in XP SP2 Compatibility mode. How do you do that, and what is Galleon.

[ACraigL]

Galleon is TivoDesktop on Steroids:
http://www.galleon.tv/

[eelton]

Once you have the files down, do the following:

open up a shell AS ADMINISTRATOR:

cd \program files\common files\tivo\Beacon
tivobeacon /install /start
cd ..\transfer
tivotransfer /install /start
cd \program files\tivo\desktop
tivoserver /install /start

If any of the above say they're already installed, just run the command again with just the /start option.


.../EdThis didn't work for me. In TiVo Desktop, it still says "The TiVo Beacon is not available."

[drbuzz44]

I'm having the same problem and it appears to me that windows defender has blocked the program because it doesn't know if it is safe or not. When you look through the blocked programs (there's a little icon at the right bottom in the notification area that shows what is being blocked) they are all there (beacon, server, etc). For some programs in the list it is possible to force them, but that option isn't available for these. It's frustrating. Right now I'm going to use a workaround of using TIVO DESKTOP on an xp machine to get files and then move them to my machine on the LAN.

Buzz

[ewilts]

This didn't work for me. In TiVo Desktop, it still says "The TiVo Beacon is not available."
Bring up a Task Manager window and look at the services. Do you see TivoBeacon2 listed?

Bring up a Computer Management window and look at all of your services. Do you see "TiVo Beacon" there? Is it set for automatic and currently started?

.../Ed

[eelton]

Bring up a Task Manager window and look at the services. Do you see TivoBeacon2 listed?

Bring up a Computer Management window and look at all of your services. Do you see "TiVo Beacon" there? Is it set for automatic and currently started?

.../EdYes, TiVoBeacon2 is listed as a running service in task manager, and as a started/automatic service in computer management, even though TiVo Desktop reports it as not available.

[drbuzz44]

OK, I followed Ewilts procedure and was careful to open the command window (the windows command window is the only interface I have for this sort of thing) as an administrator. I followed the steps and then went back to check that if I tried to install the services again, it said they were there.

However, when I try to start the tivo desktop I get the "Beacon service not running" message even though if I look at services, the beacon is there and the services page indicates that it is running. However none of the other services are there or running. I've repeated the steps, but still the Beacon is the only one running. Does anyone have any further suggestions?
Thanks very much for all of the help.

[drbuzz44]

A bit more data -- alas it's confusing. I uninstalled 2.4 checked that all of the directories and files and all entries in the registry were gone. I installed 2.3. It still didn't work. I then went through ewilt's procedure for this version. When I'm done with that, if I open the task manager, tivonotify, tivo server, and tivo transfer show as PROCESSES. Tivo Beacon shows as a service andit shows that it is running. However if I try to run the TIVO Desktop, I get the "Beacon service not running" error message and the desktop does not open. I'll appreciate any ideas anyone has. Thanks very much.

[ewilts]

Well now I'm stumped... I checked my Windows Defender settings and I did permit TiVo Beacon and TiVo Transfer, both on the 21st which is when I posted my "success" article.

My system has been shut down several times since (I power down every night) and it's still running fine.

Dunno what to suggest now...

.../Ed

[drbuzz44]

Just to be sure that it wasn't a firewall issue, I turned off the firewall (no huge risk as I'm on a lan where only known MACs are allowed to sign in) and tried again. That didn't make any difference, so that's not the problem. I'm stumped too. If you DO come up with anything, drop a note. Thanks.

Buzz

[wolflord11]

So if you have Vista, then you have to hack TivoToGo in order for it to work..........

If it was such a simple fix as some have said here, then why have Tivo not updated it to work with Vista?

For a company like tivo, this is very disappointing.

[ACraigL]

I can't speak for anyone else's experience, but as I indicated earlier in the thread, I installed 2.3a without issue and it works well under Vista. I did not hack anything (though I was willing :))

Andrew

[wizzy]

I can't get past the transfer service not starting with 2.4 (never got 2.3a working, either). Set to run in xp compatibility mode, but still won't come up.

[drbuzz44]

I've been working on a lot of potential solutions to making tivo run. I reinstalled 2.3 (running the installer AS ADMINISTRATOR -- I'm not sure that's important, but that's how I did it this time and I don't want to uninstall it and try again). I also ran all of the commands that have been recommended to get the services running. That alone did not solve the problem. However if I run the program (tivo desktop) AS ADMINISTRATOR, then it runs and seems to work fine. I hope that this will work for some other people too. BTW I have my antivirus program running, windows defender running and windows firewall (with the recommended exceptions) also running.

[ewilts]

However if I run the program (tivo desktop) AS ADMINISTRATOR, then it runs and seems to work fine. I hope that this will work for some other people too.
This was part of my instructions :-). I'm glad to see that you got it going.

.../Ed

[drbuzz44]

Yes I know you did -- I mis-interpreted your comment to mean that the installs had to be done "as an adminstrator" and when i was re-reading what you'd said I thought that maybe you meant to RUN it as admin. The one thing I can't get going is the server. Even though it shows as there it's not "an installed service" to Vista and so I can't (for example) see images from my picture files on the TV via TIVO. I would like to get that working if you have any ideas.
Thanks for your help.

[ghankins]

Deleted the Tivo Shared file found in Program files\Common files, and uninstalled 2.2. Downloaded 2.3a, Right clicked on program icon where it was downloaded, set for XP compatability under Properties, right-clicked same icon and clicked Run as Administrator. Worked like a charm. Forget 2.4 for vista!! A piece of junk that will kill you in frustration

[MikeRadio]

How about a word from Tivo on OFFICIAL release of desktop for Vista???

Tens of thousands of Vista machines are being sold each day....


TivoPony or someone?!!

[rigger29]

Tivo destop sucks, I did get it working with vista but since i tried galleon it totally wipes tivo desktop out of the water and has all the same functions plus alot more addons with it

[Lenonn]

How about a word from Tivo on OFFICIAL release of desktop for Vista???

Tens of thousands of Vista machines are being sold each day....


TivoPony or someone?!!

I hate to be a pest about this myself, but one of our two home machines has Vista, and the other is going to use Vista sooner or later. I'd love to know Desktop for Vista is coming, especially since both machines have (or, had) Desktop Plus.

[riddick21]

Tivo destop sucks, I did get it working with vista but since i tried galleon it totally wipes tivo desktop out of the water and has all the same functions plus alot more addons with it

galleon is so ugly though.

[rigger29]

i could live with the cosmetics of the program. its all the features you get thats worth it. I rarely even open up galleon only to makes changes. everything is done on the tivo. damm it even has togo so i can transfer programs between tivo and computer from tivo.

[ewilts]

... i tried galleon it totally wipes tivo desktop out of the water and has all the same functions plus alot more addons with it
Until today's Alpha release of Galleon 2.4.0, it didn't have HD Photo support.

So saying that it "has all the same functions" is simply not true.

.../Ed

[rigger29]

Until today's Alpha release of Galleon 2.4.0, it didn't have HD Photo support.

So saying that it "has all the same functions" is simply not true.

.../Ed

Well true no HD Support but works are in progress to get this. as it goes now you will have HD Photo support way before they think about getting tivo desktop with vista support. HD support is the only drawback. but galleon has tvtogo, music,photos and alot more cool app that tivo desktop doesnt have. Also with the app tvtogo you can transfer shows from tivo. tivo desktop you have to do it from your computer. Now the one thing galleon could change is the galleon skins. i went back to tivo skins when using galleon because some of the colors are aweful. but galleon has the option to change it and not make you use it.

[riddick21]

i could live with the cosmetics of the program. its all the features you get thats worth it. I rarely even open up galleon only to makes changes. everything is done on the tivo. damm it even has togo so i can transfer programs between tivo and computer from tivo.

from the screenshots i think it looks pretty bad on the TiVo. I actually don't fully understand what galleon does. Isn't it just an alternative to streaming photos and music?

[rigger29]

from the screenshots i think it looks pretty bad on the TiVo. I actually don't fully understand what galleon does. Isn't it just an alternative to streaming photos and music?

theres an option to change it to tivo skins, because some of the colors are bad. it does photos,music, transfered videos between tivo and computer and has about 18 other cool applications with it such as email, rss feeds, togo, internet images, itunes, music organizer,traffic,weather,upcoming venue events,videocasting,podcasting and a couple more. all these applications are accessable from your tivo box. its an aleternative to tivo desktop which you only can do photo,music and togo functions.

[MikeRadio]

Until today's Alpha release of Galleon 2.4.0, it didn't have HD Photo support.

So saying that it "has all the same functions" is simply not true.

.../Ed


Does Galleo 2.4.0 Alpha fully support Vista? Is ther eanything special you have to do to make it work with ista like Run as Admin???

Also, can you run it without having Tivo Desktop on your computer.. does it come with the Beacon and all the things needed to work?

Thanks

Mike

[ACraigL]

Personally, even under XP, I could never get TiVoDesktop to properly serve all my music. I have a somewhat large mp3 collection (9000+ files) and TD ALWAYS crashed when I tried to simply shuffle-listen to my entire library.

Galleon has always worked in this respect and offers far more functionality.

I'm also happy to report Galleon works just as well using JRE 1.6.0_1. Better even, as this release seems to allow the Aero interface to work with it (the 1.5 flavors did not).

[Dajad]

Hummm... thanks ... in this post noneyabuzz says he has TiVo Desktop working in Vista 32 with something called Orca. Anyone able to replicate this in either Vista 32 or 64?

http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?t=354694

...Dale

[ACraigL]

I got Orca to work with 2.4a, but 2.4a did not work for me. It messed up my Galleon installation somehow. I went back to 2.3a and everthing is fine (Vista Ultimate 32)

[riddick21]

theres an option to change it to tivo skins, because some of the colors are bad. it does photos,music, transfered videos between tivo and computer and has about 18 other cool applications with it such as email, rss feeds, togo, internet images, itunes, music organizer,traffic,weather,upcoming venue events,videocasting,podcasting and a couple more. all these applications are accessable from your tivo box. its an aleternative to tivo desktop which you only can do photo,music and togo functions.

Ok I gave galleon a shot. Both skins are pretty ugly. After using I have come to the conclusion that the TiVo already does most of what this does. It already has music streaming, video downloading, photo streaming, weather, traffic, podcasts, and fandango. Sure galleon lets you check email on your TV but what's the point of that? I really have no use for this.

[MikeRadio]

Ok I gave galleon a shot. Both skins are pretty ugly. After using I have come to the conclusion that the TiVo already does most of what this does. It already has music streaming, video downloading, photo streaming, weather, traffic, podcasts, and fandango. Sure galleon lets you check email on your TV but what's the point of that? I really have no use for this.

Well there are other things like...

Sending your show sto your computer from your Tivo
Seeing events around town
Looking at traffic cams to check traffic
Listening to music organized through the organizer

Plius it works with Vista and desktop doesnt

Etc.

[Lenonn]

Just in case anyone missed it, TiVoPony said it (Vista-compatible Desktop) is coming:

Thread (http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?p=5239837#post5239837)

[alansh]

It appears they've also locked down 2.4a to prevent you from using Orca to allow an install on Vista. I tried it, and it got to the initial dialog but when you click Next it says an installer error occurred. Looking at the log file in the TEMP directory, it says "Sorry, Tivo Desktop requires Windows XP (Service Pack 2 or later)."

[zoma4]

Just in case anyone missed it, TiVoPony said it (Vista-compatible Desktop) is coming:

Thread (http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?p=5239837#post5239837)


Thanks, Lenonn, for linking to this.

It doesn't make up for the fact that TiVo is 6 months behind. A company that's had it's biggest successes through customer word of mouth, I'm incredibly disappointed in TiVo on this one. Don't get me wrong, I'm glad the Vista version is coming... I sorely need it, but to me, TiVo has soiled their image, and I doubt I will be comfortable continuing my customer relationship with them or recommending to my friends.

It wasn't even that the software wasn't available, it's that TiVo sat and ignored the pleas from the customers who were begging for some word of SOMETHING. They kept silent, they didn't respond to emails, didn't post any notice on TiVo.com, nothing.

[riddick21]

Thanks, Lenonn, for linking to this.

It doesn't make up for the fact that TiVo is 6 months behind. A company that's had it's biggest successes through customer word of mouth, I'm incredibly disappointed in TiVo on this one. Don't get me wrong, I'm glad the Vista version is coming... I sorely need it, but to me, TiVo has soiled their image, and I doubt I will be comfortable continuing my customer relationship with them or recommending to my friends.

It wasn't even that the software wasn't available, it's that TiVo sat and ignored the pleas from the customers who were begging for some word of SOMETHING. They kept silent, they didn't respond to emails, didn't post any notice on TiVo.com, nothing.

Adobe didn't release a universal version of Photoshop for a whole year after the first intel mac was released. One companies update schedule is not always in sync with another companies. They maybe working on other projects or what not. Vista is still in the minority and pony already said its coming what more do you want? TiVo is a DVR, the music streaming is just a bonus feature and they can't give priority to supporting the minority of Vista users before other more important things, like developing a cheaper S3 for example. I'm a mac user and I know its frustrating to have to wait for software but a TiVo is a DVR first and foremost and it still excels in being a DVR no matter what version of windows is out. If you no longer recommend TiVo to friends then what would you recommend? the cable company DVR? I doubt they do music streaming with vista or any OS.

[zoma4]

pony already said its coming what more do you want?

This thread (not the first of its kind) was started 2 months ago. So I am to believe that Pony just found out that it is coming? I am upset with how TiVo has handled this by keeping customers in the dark.


If you no longer recommend TiVo to friends then what would you recommend? the cable company DVR? I doubt they do music streaming with vista or any OS.

My recommendations are different based upon an individual's situation. Sometimes I would tell someone that I don't have a recommendation. The point is, there are a significant number of people that I know who ask me for advice, and this customer service related incident with TiVo has had an impact on what they hear from me.

Will TiVo see profits fall because of me? God no. But I stick to my principles and offer unabashed advice to my friends who want to hear it.

[MikeRadio]

I am just mad it is not here.

Because I can not do anything with these .tivo files... ROx Media Player doesnt even work.

As far as reccomending.. well I wouldnt base that on a software patch.

[Dajad]

It appears they've also locked down 2.4a to prevent you from using Orca to allow an install on Vista. I tried it, and it got to the initial dialog but when you click Next it says an installer error occurred. Looking at the log file in the TEMP directory, it says "Sorry, Tivo Desktop requires Windows XP (Service Pack 2 or later)." Can anyone else confirm the 2.4a/Orca approach is not working. See the original thread here:

http://www.pvrblog.com/pvr/2007/05/how_to_run_tivo.html

On this (http://www.tivo.com/mytivo/domore/tivotogo/windows.html) TiVo downloads page it seems there is a new 2.4a version that supercedes the prior 2.4 version. Note the asterisk where it says:

* Version 2.4a is a minor update to 2.4 which addresses an incompatibility with Roxio Easy Media Creator 9.

Does anyone have a link to a downloadable version of 2.4 (without the "a").

I know there is a version of 2.3 available for download but since 2.3 does not have the Web-Video-Transfer functionality I want, it appears 2.4 is the only version of the TiVo Desktop that will support my needs.

I Capitulated - For Now!: I'm going to just download 2.4a on my XP laptop (both 2.4a desktop and the 2.3 plus upgrade) and hope that works for now until an upgrade comes out for BOTH for Vista?

QUESTION 1: Key Transfer When Vista Version Comes Out

Do any of you if I'll be able to use the TiVo Desktop 2.3 Plus upgrade key I'm about to purchase now for use with TiVo Desktop 2.4a on my XP laptop, with a Vista version of TD 2.4 once it is available and I download it on my Vista desktop PC? Will I be able to use the same key on both installs? Or will I have to purchase yet another key?

QUESTION 2: Does Galleon Have a Web Video Transfers Function?

From my reading at Galleon.tv, it doesn't seem to have a Web Video Transfer-like feature. Is this true? The ONLY reason I want to install/use any of these programs is to watch/transfer video from my PC on/to my TiVo s2 or S3. Can Galleon do this? I'm thinking not.


...Dale

[rigger29]

Galleon can transfer tivo programing to PC using the togo function. but the best bet for transfering videos from pc to tivo is tivo.net were it supports alot of video formats. tivodesktop only supports a few and alot of your videos wont work even with the new version. Also i did get version 2.4a working with orca. but I recently deleted tivodesktop because galleon is so much better. Galleon you can transfer tivo recordings to PC from your tivo. no more juming on the computer to transfer shows.

[Dajad]

Thanks Rigger.

You have confirmed my suspicions about galleon. I'm not quite sure why people would WANT to send back a video to the TiVo that they had once sent from the TiVo to the PC (what I've just learned is properly called the [b]TiVo2Comeback Feature[b]). I guess there is some storage offloading value to that. But my hard drive capcity on my TiVos are all so huge now it's not something I'd likely do.

I had almost ZERO luck getting TD 2.4a to work on my XP SP2 laptop yesterday. I got the pictures part to work but never got a single mp4 transfer to work - despite trying almost all day yesterday. I didn't try music because all my mp3s are on my network PC. Perhaps I'll try TiVoNet om my XP-SP2 laptop next. But it likely won't be until next weekend now.

...Dale

[zoma4]

I'm not quite sure why people would WANT to send back a video to the TiVo that they had once sent from the TiVo to the PC (what I've just learned is properly called the [b]TiVo2Comeback Feature[b]).

Consider the situation where the video was not originally on the TiVo. A video created or downloaded by other means and converted to standards set by TiVo for playback. Perhaps a clip downloaded off the web which you want to watch on your TV rather than your PC.

[wolflord11]

Just in case anyone missed it, TiVoPony said it (Vista-compatible Desktop) is coming:

Thread (http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?p=5239837#post5239837)

And by then the next OS from Microsoft will be out and we will be back where we started again :D

[Adam1115]

I've never used tivodesktop to burn dvd's, but doesn't it require that there be a special dvd burning program installed? Does that program support Vista?

[wolflord11]

Any Known DVD Program will burn the DVD's. But first you must be able to transfer the Programs from the tivo, to the Computer. Thats where the problem is.

Nero DVD Software is Fully Compatible with Vista, as are many of the others.

[Adam1115]

Any Known DVD Program will burn the DVD's. But first you must be able to transfer the Programs from the tivo, to the Computer. Thats where the problem is.

Nero DVD Software is Fully Compatible with Vista, as are many of the others.

I guess I don't get it. I'm using TiVo Desktop 2.3 and I can transfer shows fine with my Vista computer..

[MickeS]

I guess I don't get it. I'm using TiVo Desktop 2.3 and I can transfer shows fine with my Vista computer..
Yes, however TiVo Desktop 2.4a will not allow you to install it on a Windows Vista computer, and it has some functionality that 2.3 doesn't have. Same for TiVo Desktop Plus (I think).

[Adam1115]

Yes, however TiVo Desktop 2.4a will not allow you to install it on a Windows Vista computer, and it has some functionality that 2.3 doesn't have. Same for TiVo Desktop Plus (I think).

I know. I was asking if MAYBE what's holding up full Vista functionality is the ability to burn DVD's natively from the software (which I have never done, so I don't know if this works in 2.3). Wolflord11 replied that no, the problem is the ability to transfer programs from the TiVo to Vista, but that doesn't make sense because we already have that ability with 2.3.

[Dajad]

Consider the situation where the video was not originally on the TiVo. A video created or downloaded by other means and converted to standards set by TiVo for playback. Perhaps a clip downloaded off the web which you want to watch on your TV rather than your PC.

Xoma4, I think you misunderstood me.

As I NOW understand it "TiVo2GoBack" ONLY sends back .tivo files that were once sent from the TiVo to the PC, BACK to the TiVo. That was what I was wondering about - why people would ever want to do that. Though, I gathered offline storage was the answer to my question.

What you describe is the "Web-Video-Transfer" feature. That I understand, that is what I am doing this all for.

I don't think TiVo has clearly branded these two features as people seem to call what TiVo refers to as "Web-Video-Transfer", the TiVoToGoBack feature, which it isn't - at least I don't think it is.

...Dale

[CuriousMark]

As I NOW understand it "TiVo2GoBack" ONLY sends back .tivo files that were once sent from the TiVo to the PC, BACK to the TiVo.
Actually that is not true. The TiVo will accept a *.tivo file that is encrypted with the same Media Access Key or any completely unencrypted MPEG-2 file that meets the specs shown in the How to prepare MPEG-2 video files for a TiVo DVR paragraph on this page. (http://customersupport.tivo.com/LaunchContent.aspx?CID=4012d160-79c3-4238-96c8-a27b323d1413) So the file can have pretty much any source. TiVo dot Net and PyTiVo take advantage of this by converting other formats on the fly to the one that the TiVo can swallow and sending it to the TiVo. TiVo Desktop 2.4 does too, but with a much more limited subset of input video types.

CuriousMark

[Dajad]

OK, that's interesting. So, anything that you can cram into the old Mpeg 2 codec can be transferred back. I didn't know this.

This is a rather strange naming convention because the "Transfer Web Video" functionality that is ONLY available if you purchase the TiVo Desktop Plus upgrade for Windows key does the same thing. I guess all it does is manage the conversion from web formats into Mpeg 2 for you.

Oh, what a learning curve this is. I spent the better part of the weekend trying to figure out exactly what these programs are supposed to do. The marketing blurbs and other info on the TiVo website was/is almost useless. I read dozens of blog/press reports on the functionality and there were many conflicting statements.

Well, in any event, My TiVo Desktop 2.4a with the TiVo Desktop 2.3 Plus upgrade key STILL won't transfer any of the .mov, Mpeg-2, WVM, MPeg-4/H.264 content to my shiney new TiVo S2. But, I'm starting another thread for that one.

...Dale

[CuriousMark]

I don't think TiVo has clearly branded these two features as people seem to call what TiVo refers to as "Web-Video-Transfer", the TiVoToGoBack feature, which it isn't - at least I don't think it is.
Since TiVo never officially named it go back or come back, those monikers were created here so that we could talk about them efficiently. I agree that TiVo DOES need to market or brand these features. What I am not sure of is whether they need to be distinguished. In the future many different video types will be digestible by future TiVos, and the need for intermediate software on a PC may lessen. The series 3 will eventually be able to swallow some MPEG4 variants without help, given that it has the hardware to do so now. Future series will probably be even more versatile.

In any event being able to get web or other source video on your TiVo without needing to go through the TiVo Service or some web provider that charges is a defining feature and one they need to trumpet loudly. It deserves a better name than goback or comeback.

CuriousMark

[CuriousMark]

This is a rather strange naming convention because the "Transfer Web Video" functionality that is ONLY available if you purchase the TiVo Desktop Plus upgrade for Windows key does the same thing. I guess all it does is manage the conversion from web formats into Mpeg 2 for you.
Exactly. You are paying for the licensing fee of the codecs needed to do the conversions. The software ships with embedded codecs, but the key is required to unlock them and let them be used.

CuriousMark

[CuriousMark]

Well, in any event, My TiVo Desktop 2.4a with the TiVo Desktop 2.3 Plus upgrade key STILL won't transfer any of the .mov, Mpeg-2, WVM, MPeg-4/H.264 content to my shiney new TiVo S2. But, I'm starting another thread for that one.
I am willing to bet it is a firewall or security software problem on the PC. Over 75% of the time, that is the culprit.

CuriousMark

[MikeRadio]

Anther Month comes to a close witht TIvo Desktop for Vista support.. the ONLY program I run WITHOUT a VISTA version.....

Cmon... Any ETA.... Is this going to show up sometime?!?

[Adam1115]

Working fine for me...

[dbarth]

I don't get it. I PM'd the TiVo folks on this forum, I have posted a desperate plea, and they continue to ignore those of us who have lost many of our favorite TiVo features because we use Windows Vista.

Not having the software ready is one thing, not even dignifying the concerns with a response is another entirely. Why would TiVo insult their customer base in such a way?

I have the same question relating to dropping Windows 2000 support, AND no longer posting or making available the last version that was compatible with Windows 2000.

[rigger29]

get galleon alot better than tivodesktop. it has all the same function plus tons more.

[MikeRadio]

Have Galleon.. works great with Vista.. but doesnt allow .tivo files to be handled by Easy media Creator or watched with Windows Media player

[rigger29]

oh ok. you dont hav the codec. but you can get tivodesktop working using orca. mine is runnning strrong using vista. heres the directions how to do it
http://www.pvrblog.com/pvr/2007/05/how_to_run_tivo.html

[sandycityscott]

How on Earth can TiVo not support Vista, yet? That would be like Microsoft not having enough programming manpower to make Office compatible with the latest Mac OS.

Those who have said on this forum that TiVo's inability to release this in a timely manner is "troubling," have hit the nail right on the head. Is TiVo really that short on programmers? Money? Foresight? The fact is there is no rational excuse for TiVo Desktop to not have a Vista release, other than TiVo doesn't have the capability to churn it out... and that would make me REALLY nervous if I owned TiVo stock.

[MikeRadio]

How on Earth can TiVo not support Vista, yet? That would be like Microsoft not having enough programming manpower to make Office compatible with the latest Mac OS.

Those who have said on this forum that TiVo's inability to release this in a timely manner is "troubling," have hit the nail right on the head. Is TiVo really that short on programmers? Money? Foresight? The fact is there is no rational excuse for TiVo Desktop to not have a Vista release, other than TiVo doesn't have the capability to churn it out... and that would make me REALLY nervous if I owned TiVo stock.

I am nervous.. and people I know are thinking of doing just that.

As I said every single program I ha din my XP machine was updated to Vista no problems at all..

EXCEPT one.. tivo desktop!

What is Up.. how hard is this if everyone uses some whale Orca to do it.. why cant we get an OFFICIAL release?!?!??! :confused:

[Adam1115]

What problems are you guys having with TiVo desktop?? I've been running it forever under Vista..

[rigger29]

I am nervous.. and people I know are thinking of doing just that.

As I said every single program I ha din my XP machine was updated to Vista no problems at all..

EXCEPT one.. tivo desktop!

What is Up.. how hard is this if everyone uses some whale Orca to do it.. why cant we get an OFFICIAL release?!?!??! :confused:

the only thing thing that is broke is the installer program. use orca. the only thing i use tivodesktop for is to get the codec so i can watch .tvo files. other than that i use galleon for everything. even if a official release comes out I doubt i would use it unless more features are included in it.

[MikeRadio]

the only thing thing that is broke is the installer program. use orca. the only thing i use tivodesktop for is to get the codec so i can watch .tvo files. other than that i use galleon for everything. even if a official release comes out I doubt i would use it unless more features are included in it.

Rigger...

I also need to use the codec... The one tha tis postedon here allows the codec to work with WMP but not with Roxio and other avenues...

Can you install Plus as well?

Orca is a whale.

[rigger29]

all orca does is let you take out a couple lines within the installer file and resave the windows installer so you can launch it.and im not sure about + I never used plus before. but what I read the codec only supports WMP its a built in codec for tivodesktop. im still trying to find a standalone codec to support oher media features. but the vista support has nothing to do with codec. the only thing that is broke is the installer. you use orca to get around this. when installed everything works just as well as you had winXP. and if your codec is not working with other meadia players its probably because tivo doesnt allow it. Like I said im still looking for the standalone codec. also tonight im going to install roxio and see if i can get .tvo files working with it.

[Dajad]

The problem with orca, and any hack like this, is how do you UNINSTALL the program when you want to? Can you use "Add Remove Programs" to uninstall a program installed with orca if there are problems. What happens when the official Vista version comes out. You may not be able to properly uninstall. Or TiVo's official installer may not recognize the installed version.

There is too much that can go wrong in my opinion. I'm just hanging back and waiting. In the mean time I'm using my laptop for now. It's a pain in the neck to wait but in my experience, its much more of a pain in the neck to remove undocumented kludges from my system (and the registry) than they are worth.

...Dale

[ACraigL]

It's a pretty risk-free "hack".

All it does it remove a line that that checks OS. Since Vista isn't "known" to the installer, it quits out. The hack removes the check, so it can be installed, keeping all information, including uninstall scripts, intact.

[Dajad]

Do those uninstall scripts work with Vista. I thought the whole install/uninstall system was different in Vista - adding security and stability changes and the like. If I was certain that I could uninstall (without a gummed up system) with orca, then I might give it a try.

But, I've had too many experiences in the past with services left running and registries all screwed up after uninstalling software that was designed to be unstalled. So, I'm highly skeptical. Not being able to uninstall bits of old problems, in my experience, is the surest way to gumm up a system and slow it down to a snails pace than any other thing that can be done to a PC.

...Dale

[rigger29]

The problem with orca, and any hack like this, is how do you UNINSTALL the program when you want to? Can you use "Add Remove Programs" to uninstall a program installed with orca if there are problems. What happens when the official Vista version comes out. You may not be able to properly uninstall. Or TiVo's official installer may not recognize the installed version.

There is too much that can go wrong in my opinion. I'm just hanging back and waiting. In the mean time I'm using my laptop for now. It's a pain in the neck to wait but in my experience, its much more of a pain in the neck to remove undocumented kludges from my system (and th doee registry) than they are worth.

...Dale

once you remove the lines using orca and save it as a new install file. it installs just as normal. it doesnt hack the program. it installs just like a acttual release and yes you can uninstall it using the add/remove programs. Repeat IT DOES NOT hack the program

[MikeRadio]

Normally, I would take a risk...

But I dont want to since SYstem restor eon my machine seems to work SOME times and never thoreoughly.

I rather wait until something official comes out

WHEN though

!!!

[Dajad]

Hey Mike, intersting to here you are having System Restore issues too. Since I instaleld Vista Ultimate Edition (64bit) I've not had reliable System Restore functionality either. On XP I could access dozens of restore points. With Vista, at most I have 3 or 4 restore points avaiable, sometimes none. This is especially irritating when you set manual restore points only to find them disappear a week later.

So, ya, for that reason too I am hesitant to install anything other than the official version.

Thanks for the added info Rigger.

...Dale

[rigger29]

Hey Mike, intersting to here you are having System Restore issues too. Since I instaleld Vista Ultimate Edition (64bit) I've not had reliable System Restore functionality either. On XP I could access dozens of restore points. With Vista, at most I have 3 or 4 restore points avaiable, sometimes none. This is especially irritating when you set manual restore points only to find them disappear a week later.

So, ya, for that reason too I am hesitant to install anything other than the official version.

Thanks for the added info Rigger.

...Dale
my 2 cents on system restore. ITS ALL JUNK. I invested with Norton Ghost. it seems windows just through that in at the last minute.

[Dajad]

my 2 cents on system restore. ITS ALL JUNK. I invested with Norton Ghost. it seems windows just through that in at the last minute.

Well, now we are going way off topic, but on my XP systems, System Restore was WONDERFUL. I used it many times. I'd set a restore point before installing ANY new software, if I didn't like it, I'd BOTH deinstall THEN do a system restore. In Vista, on my system at least, its catch as catch can. Ghosting is WAY beyond what I want to do. I'm hoping that some Vista patch will solve the problem.

[zoma4]

Another day past, another day without any information from TiVo regarding Vista. This thread is over 10,000 views now.

Great job, TiVo.

[MikeRadio]

Well, now we are going way off topic, but on my XP systems, System Restore was WONDERFUL. I used it many times. I'd set a restore point before installing ANY new software, if I didn't like it, I'd BOTH deinstall THEN do a system restore. In Vista, on my system at least, its catch as catch can. Ghosting is WAY beyond what I want to do. I'm hoping that some Vista patch will solve the problem.

I actually LOVED Norton GoBack! It worked GREAT, although sort of slowed performance a little. But it gavce a REAL restore of the entire drive.

I see they are again having it part of Systemworks 2008, however from looking at the Beta setup, it seems it is only available for XP users NOT Vista Users.

I also have used a program which worked GREAT but there was an issue with slowups in boot.. it is called Rx Rollback from Horizon Data Systems. It uses snapshots to also restore the drive exactly as it was.

System restore never restoed EVERY file.... I like to go back to EXACTLY what the thing looked like before the problem.. every file!

Ok now back on subject!

NO tivo desktop still.. its gong to be AUGUST SOON!!

[rigger29]

NO tivo desktop still.. its gong to be AUGUST SOON!![/QUOTE]

As much talk as i been saying galleon is alot better than tivodesktop i have to agree with you all that tivo needs to support vista. I never seen a company take so long making a simple update. also I noticed all the tivo eng. or administrators avoid this thread like the plague. I see them all over the other threads. So tivo whats the damm problem.

[zoma4]

As much talk as i been saying galleon is alot better than tivodesktop i have to agree with you all that tivo needs to support vista. I never seen a company take so long making a simple update. also I noticed all the tivo eng. or administrators avoid this thread like the plague. I see them all over the other threads. So tivo whats the damm problem.

FWIW, they also ignore PMs.

In my opinion, TiVo has irreparably damaged their image to me. Even releasing the new software today wouldn't go far enough to clean up this mess. Regardless, I still need the software, and my frustrations continue whether I like TiVo or not.

[robk33]

Got off the phone with a rep yesterday, and he said a Vista compatible version of TD will be available "at the end of summer."

Wish I could get Galleon to configure... :(

[ACraigL]

Wish I could get Galleon to configure... :(

What's the problem with Galleon? I have 2.4 running well with TD 2.4a and JRE 1.6. Maybe I can help.

[robk33]

There seems to be a communication error somewhere. Galleon sees the recorded programs on TIVO, and TIVO sees the apps loaded, such as Galleon, Traffic and Music. But when I try to load the Galleon program trough TIVO, I get the following message:

Can't Run - An error occured while running the application. Http failure (http connection error: 0x50005).

Also, when I try to save a program to my PC from TIVO using the Galleon UI, the status does say saving, but it looks like the file is stuck at 8k.

I'm using Galleon 2.3, with JRE 1.5.0_06-b05

Thanks

[wolflord11]

Hey Mike, intersting to here you are having System Restore issues too. Since I instaleld Vista Ultimate Edition (64bit) I've not had reliable System Restore functionality either. On XP I could access dozens of restore points. With Vista, at most I have 3 or 4 restore points avaiable, sometimes none. This is especially irritating when you set manual restore points only to find them disappear a week later.

That is one of the cutbacks done in Vista to improve security issues with XP.

XP's System restore is wonderful. Vista's is nearly done with.

You need to purchase aftermarket Software for example Norton Ghost etc. to have reliable System Restore again.

[wolflord11]

Got off the phone with a rep yesterday, and he said a Vista compatible version of TD will be available "at the end of summer."

Wish I could get Galleon to configure... :(

Which end of Summer.... 07, 08 or 09?

:D

[dvisser]

Does anyone know if there is a different Vista compatible program that will do the same things that TiVoToGo Desktop does? The Vista support team is worthless because of the time this is taking and because of their lack of being forthright. I talked to a live tech person from Tivo today and just asked the question if there was a patch or something available that I wasn't aware of and the person didn't even understand what I was asking about. I actually had to explain to him about the incompatibility issue with Vista. I purchased the Desktop Plus program after I bought my Tivo DT 2 last weekend. It was only afterwards that I found out it was not Vista compatible (my fault for not reading the fine print). But I then read that they are working on the issue. The tech person actually had to search the web page (like I had already done) and then he read everything that I had already read verbatim off the web page, as if this was the first time he encountered this issue. Huh???????? What is up with that?? Someone have any suggestions for me?

[aaronwt]

That is one of the cutbacks done in Vista to improve security issues with XP.

XP's System restore is wonderful. Vista's is nearly done with.

You need to purchase aftermarket Software for example Norton Ghost etc. to have reliable System Restore again.

Vista comes with it's own backup software. It works great.
My system restore also works without any problems on my machine with Vista Ultimate. I haven't used it on my Vista Premium machines though.
I haven't noticed any restore points missing. The last time I looked I had dozens of restore points.

[rigger29]

Does anyone know if there is a different Vista compatible program that will do the same things that TiVoToGo Desktop does? The Vista support team is worthless because of the time this is taking and because of their lack of being forthright. I talked to a live tech person from Tivo today and just asked the question if there was a patch or something available that I wasn't aware of and the person didn't even understand what I was asking about. I actually had to explain to him about the incompatibility issue with Vista. I purchased the Desktop Plus program after I bought my Tivo DT 2 last weekend. It was only afterwards that I found out it was not Vista compatible (my fault for not reading the fine print). But I then read that they are working on the issue. The tech person actually had to search the web page (like I had already done) and then he read everything that I had already read verbatim off the web page, as if this was the first time he encountered this issue. Huh???????? What is up with that?? Someone have any suggestions for me?

You can download galleon. it is awesome alot better than tivodesktop in my opinion and has tons of other apps to use with tivo such as tivotogo app that lets you transfer from tivo to pc from your tivo. and for streaming video use either pyrotivo or tivo.net which lets you download any video format such as vidx,avi etc. were tivodesktop is limited on the format. Also dont rely on a vista version anytime soon, there taking there sweet time with it. also you can try orca to fix the vista issue here is how to get tivodesktop working under vista http://www.pvrblog.com/pvr/2007/05/how_to_run_tivo.html

[dvisser]

Thanks Rigger -- I will definitely give it a go.

[ACraigL]

Re: System restore, Vista has something else as well.... shadow copies. I did not think much of this at first, but at one point thinking I was selecting and deleting a single file from the TiVo recordings folder, I accidentally deleted the entire folder (not reading the warnings, of course). As some files are very large, they are deleted permanently. This also included many videos converted for my media player, lots of non-recoverable data.

I was able to restore the TiVo folder itself from the Recycle Bin. When I right-clicked on it, I saw an option for "Restore previous versions...". I was delighted (and skeptical) that I could restore the folder's contents to any number of previous versions, including from the evening before.

It took about 3 hours (50 GB of data), but it ALL came back. All of it. I was very pleased. Regular image backups should be made, of course, but this was far more convenient than re-ghosting.

[dylanemcgregor]

So my roommate finally got TiVo Desktop 2.4.1 installed on his Vista machine and running. Everything works pretty well except transfers from the computer to TiVo. We can see his computer at the bottom of the NP list, but whenever we try to access it we get an "unknown error." Music and photo streaming is working fine.

I've done a search on the forum for Vista and Unknown Error, but came up empty. Has anyone else seen this, or have any suggestions on things we can try? Before getting 2.4.1 to work he had installed each version of TD going back to 2.0 and also had tried Galleon, all with less success than he currently has with the current version.

Thanks,
Dylan

[MikeRadio]

Seems Tivo is getting PINGED for NOT having compatible software....

Of course this is about the "problems" with Vista.. which I have NONE except that tivo desktop doesn't work.....

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070719/tc_nm/column_pluggedin_dc_2;_ylt=Ail2kU.n0hyiEsPTiNfQluME1vAI

[mmd3962]

To download Tivo Desktop 2.3a go to softonic website and search for tivo desktop. Click download and on the next screen you have to choose the premium download and pay $0.99 but it works great. I searched all over the internet and this is the only place I found to download it. Good Luck:)

[drbuzz44]

Thanks very much, that's a tip I'd not seen before. Can you see your computer's pictures and music on the Tivo Box? I've gotten everything to work except that piece.

Thanks again for the tip.
Buzz

[hkancyr]

I wouldn't say Galleon is a lot better than TiVo Desktop. It is however, an acceptable substitute while we wait for the real deal. I am running VistaUltimate x64 and Galleon functions quite nicely. It sees all my Tivo's and sends to the computer, it also sends to any TiVo from the computer.
P.S. Videora is crazy fast on my new quad x64 system.

[bookwormgirl]

Hi, did anyone try this and if so, did it work? Thanks in advance.

[rigger29]

I wouldn't say Galleon is a lot better than TiVo Desktop. It is however, an acceptable substitute while we wait for the real deal. I am running VistaUltimate x64 and Galleon functions quite nicely. It sees all my Tivo's and sends to the computer, it also sends to any TiVo from the computer.
P.S. Videora is crazy fast on my new quad x64 system.

well in my opinion its alot better. you have other applications built in which desktop doesnt have and it does the same thing tivodesktop does. lets compare
tivodesktop lets you play music,photos,videos and the togo functions. Galleon does all that and also has 21 additional applications built in. BUT there is only one drawback which is you have to have tivodesktop installed in order for you to play the .tvo files on your computer because of the tivo built in codec in desktop. I wish i could find a standalone .tvo codec so I do have tivodesktop version 2.4a installed on vista and it works just like the REAL DEAL using orca to bypass the install file

[hkancyr]

My problem is with the setup of Galleon. Much less intuitive than Tivo desktop. Galleon is not install and go. I don't really need email on my TiVo. Galleon traffic does have a cooler map. Weather has a nice radar map too. I can't get more than one page of computer files to show up on Galleon either, which is no big thing, I just limit my computer files so I see the ones I want.
Do you use VideoReDo for editting TiVo files?

[andyman58]

To download Tivo Desktop 2.3a go to softonic website and search for tivo desktop. Click download and on the next screen you have to choose the premium download and pay $0.99 but it works great. I searched all over the internet and this is the only place I found to download it. Good Luck:)

Thanks for the tip, as I couldn't find a copy of the 2.3a either. It was worth the buck to finally get Desktop working on my Vista machine.. :up:

Shame on Tivo for lacking support for Vista!!!!! :mad:

[rigger29]

Thanks for the tip, as I couldn't find a copy of the 2.3a either. It was worth the buck to finally get Desktop working on my Vista machine.. :up:

Shame on Tivo for lacking support for Vista!!!!! :mad:

Man dont you guys read post. Yes I agree tivo needs to get support. but you can run 2.4A on vista. theres a risk-free hack. really the hack doesnt change nothing in the program it just lets you take out two lines in the install program which prevents it from installing. once you do this its just like the real thing. The program is unchanged. Basicallly the hack doesnt write nothing to the program. using orca it just lets you open up the install file and remove the two lines. Give it a try. The problem is when people here the word hack they automatically think it changes the program somehow and get very worried. Its such a simple hack it makes me laugh why tivo hasnt fixed it.

[andyman58]

Why do a hack on 2.4a when 2.3a works just fine....This is just a stopgap until we get Tivo to get off their rears and write some proper code that is designed to work with Vista....

[rigger29]

Why do a hack on 2.4a when 2.3a works just fine....This is just a stopgap until we get Tivo to get off their rears and write some proper code that is designed to work with Vista....

2.4a is better and the hack takes 2 minutes. and theres no proper code to be added they just have to take out two lines. unless tivo is doing this becuase there developing a big big change with tivodesktop. I really dont consider this method a hack since nothing is being written to the program. basically orca is just a editor so you can take out those two line.

[TokyoShoe]

I've been trying to get TiVo Desktop 2.4a (or any similarly functional app) to work on my Vista home network. Unfortunately the TiVo Desktop app keeps failing out right at the start of the installer, citing Windows XP SP2 requirements (same as everyone else).

Could someone post a step by step on this "installation hack" that I appear to have missed? Or if you could PM it to me that would be fabulous. I really am interested in getting this working.

[ACraigL]

TokyoShoe:

http://www.pvrblog.com/pvr/2007/05/how_to_run_tivo.html

[cowboys2002]

Yes, and competent ISVs are ready on or about day one. It had been in beta for a year.

One post and done huh???

With all the complaints about Vista (visionary and others), is it any wonder what is taking so long?

Would you rather Tivo release a not so ready for prime time version?

Sorry if I am smeeking.

[sandycityscott]

Yes I would... at least that would be a start, and prove that they even know Vista was released.

But that said... if TiVo is too incompetent to release a "ready for prime time" version after 7 months of Vista release, I want my subscription money back.

This reeks of something being horribly wrong at TiVo... and I just hope they're not going the way of SunRocket.

[MikeRadio]

What is a SunRocket?

I agree... Vista is NOT NEW anymore... I dont have trouble with any othe woftware.. leveryone is updated except Tivo.. But I have a feeling it weill be ready soon!

[TokyoShoe]

TokyoShoe:

http://www.pvrblog.com/pvr/2007/05/how_to_run_tivo.html

Thanks for the Tutorial, it is infact.. simple and informative!

One minor complication tho: The "Orca" that it references in that tutorial post.. is no longer downloadable through the links provided. It shows as "Forbidden".. apparently the file's been removed or locked.

[jvptiv]

Good news for Vista users. I've been researching this for awhile and finally ran across a solution. A great guy who works for Microsoft named Mark MacLachlan has posted some VERY detailed instructions about how to make TivoToGo (TiVo Desktop) 2.4a (very latest version) work with Vista. Turns out there are two very minor bugs (see below), and perhaps because of that the TiVo folks have artificially crippled version 2.4a, which otherwise works fine with Vista. One bug is that when you minimize TiVo Desktop you have to double-click the TiVo icon in the system tray to restore it to full screen. The other is similarly trivial--right-click doesn't work on the tray icon--and has the same solution (use left-click). These are detailed clearly on Mark's instruction page. NOTE: The instructions are VERY detailed and technical. Anyone should be able to follow them if they go carefully step by step, but you should read them over first to see if fright overcomes you or you otherwise feel over your head. I followed them with no trouble, but if you've never used a DOS box, etc., you may want to get a more techie friend involved. I really did accomplish the task of getting 2.4a to run in about 15 minutes, after months of searching. My motivation was that with 2.3 an error message blocks many operations (like changing where recordings are stored) with a meaningless message about how "specified service does not exist as an installed service" about which nothing can be done. (The workarounds people posted earlier no longer seem to work.)
Why hasn't TiVo put out a solution without the crippling feature as a beta? Hmmmm....
Anyway, I'm not allowed to post the URL due to spam protection measures, but the instructions are at a site called "the spiders parlor" (remove the unnecessary spaces and add the com) and many thanks to Mark for this valuable assistance!

[hkancyr]

Very Nice jvptiv, it seems to work beautifully.
Orca can be located with a simple google search.

[TokyoShoe]

Well I have managed to use the above posted guide and get TiVoDesktop 2.4 installed. Unfortunately.. now it won't start up as it keeps requesting "Beacon2 Service" be started. I have checked, and apparently during install no Tivo-related services were installed. Seems like it's back to the drawing board.

[dylanemcgregor]

Well I have managed to use the above posted guide and get TiVoDesktop 2.4 installed. Unfortunately.. now it won't start up as it keeps requesting "Beacon2 Service" be started. I have checked, and apparently during install no Tivo-related services were installed. Seems like it's back to the drawing board.

Did you go on to the TiVo Beacon Service part?

http://www.thespidersparlor.com/tivo.htm

If you encounter problems with the TiVo Beacon service, give the following a try.

1. Configure TiVoBeacon service for auto restart:
a. Press Ctrl + Shift + Esc
b. Click Services tab
c. Click the Services button
d. Double click TivoBeacon service
e. Click the Recovery tab
f. Choose Restart the Service for the first three options
g. Click OK and close Services and the Task List
2. Navigate to the TiVo Beacon Service executable. Path is as follows:
x86 Systems: C:\Program Files\Common Files\TiVo Shared\Beacon
x64 Systems: C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\TiVo Shared\Beacon
3. Right click the TiVoBeacon.exe choose properties
4. Click the Compatibility tab
5. Check the top box for compatibility mode, set the drop down to XP (Service Pack 2)
6. Click OK
7. Right click the TiVoBeacon.exe choose Run As Administrator
8. Restart the computer

Once the TiVoBeaconService has successfully launched, it is not necessary to run in XP compatibility mode after that but won't hurt to keep it that way either.

[hkancyr]

There are some problems with 2.4a now that I've tried a few things - my photos aren't viewable, transfers are unreliable from the computer to the TiVo. No TiVoBeacon probs however.

[arroz]

Hello all. I have spent 3+ hours now reading all your responses to the TiVo/Vista incompatibility issue... thanks to everyone who took the time to instruct and inform the rest of us. Here's my issue: I had been successfully burning TiVo shows to DVD, until my old laptop crashed (possiblity thanks to the Roxio software TiVo supports, but that's another story). I got the new one complete with Vista, which as we all know, has these TiVo issues. I talked to one TiVo tech support person who gave me an IP address I could use to bypass the Desktop problems and I was able to successfully download my TiVo shows to my harddrive, however, I tried to access the same address today and find it is now extinct. Have any of you had success that route?

I'm trying all of your suggested remedies, but assuming I can even GET my shows to my computer, have any of you been able to successfully burn DVD's using ANY software? There's been some mention of this issue, i.e. that a codec is necessary to convert TiVo files from .tivo format to something Roxio (Vista-compatible) can edit and use to burn (as I understand the issue). I can play TiVo shows on Windows Media Player, but cannot use Roxio to burn them to DVD. The bottom line is more concerning, because apparently TiVo is prohibiting Roxio & Co. from converting TiVo files into usable form, based on copyright laws... at least until they get their act together and on board with Windows Vista. Thoughts, suggestions??

[CuriousMark]

I talked to one TiVo tech support person who gave me an IP address I could use to bypass the Desktop problems and I was able to successfully download my TiVo shows to my harddrive, however, I tried to access the same address today and find it is now extinct.
I am guessing he had you access the TiVo using the unsupported web interface where you point your web browser at the TiVo's IP address. That IP address can be found on the TiVo's phone and network screen. However if it is changing, then you probably have network problems. It shouldn't change often. Check your wireless or wired router settings, make sure the DHCP leases are set to a long period. Mine are set to "forever" on my router. Some routers call that settings a "static" DHCP lease. Unfortunately that can be confused with setting a static IP address and a DHCP provided IP is not static in the same sense. If your IP is hopping around, it is going to cause lots of troubles, so you do want to get that issue resolved.

I'm trying all of your suggested remedies, but assuming I can even GET my shows to my computer, have any of you been able to successfully burn DVD's using ANY software? There's been some mention of this issue, i.e. that a codec is necessary to convert TiVo files from .tivo format to something Roxio (Vista-compatible) can edit and use to burn (as I understand the issue). I can play TiVo shows on Windows Media Player, but cannot use Roxio to burn them to DVD. The bottom line is more concerning, because apparently TiVo is prohibiting Roxio & Co. from converting TiVo files into usable form, based on copyright laws... at least until they get their act together and on board with Windows Vista. Thoughts, suggestions??
If you use the spider's web instructions, your TiVo files should be just fine. If there is a Vista compatible version of Roxio Easy Media Creator out yet, it should be able to burn them to DVD. Your older version, however, is most likely not Vista compatible and you will have to upgrade.

There are also threads here on using other programs and to the best of my knowledge they also work with Vista. The most recommended here is to use the new VideoRedo to remove commercials and burn the DVD. One of the programs authors, DAN203, hangs out on this forum and is very helpful with questions. Any of his posts will help you greatly.

CuriousMark

[DVReveler]

Somebody said TD 2.3 works fine in Vista. Where can I download it?

[TokyoShoe]

Did you go on to the TiVo Beacon Service part?

http://www.thespidersparlor.com/tivo.htm

That's the complication. I get the application to install just fine. But it never actually installs any services during this process. No "Beacon2". No "TiVoBeaconService".. nothing. There is not one single TiVo-related service that I can identify.

I even downloaded the 2.3 client from somewhere, and that installs.. but won't start up. It cites a lack of a service to contact or communicate with. *Shrug*

[cashspot]

How long did it take you to get your Key once purchased?

[ArmyGolfer]

It's here! Finally! I have been using 2.4 with the Orca hack just fine, but no beacon service.

I installed it just now and have the Tivo beacon in my tray and my notebook shows up on my now playing list, just like my desktop that runs on XP with the old 2.3 version. No problems with the install. It even transfers the shows that were on my 2.4 version.

Google the Tivo Lovers Blog for more info. If you don't know about this blog, it is great for all things Tivo!

It's been a long time coming!!

Can't wait to get the HD, but I'll wait till it has Tivo to Go support! We'll see how long that takes!