TTG and MRV go live today! (official)

[Langree]

Anyone else not getting their Series 3 to show up in either TiVo Desktop or Tivo Transfer? I have transfers enabled in my account, on a local wifi network, can't find anything. No firewalls either.

I had to do a hard reset to get mine to show up.

[HDTiVo]

Oh man I absolutely love TTG on the Series 3. There are enough HD programs which are not copy protected to make the feature worthwhile. Currently I'm offloading those programs as well as the SD programs from TIVO to my 750GB media cartridge drive in my PC. (The media cartridge is a second hard drive that resides within my HP PC). The hard drive within the TIVO will be used only for copy protected HD programs. The media cartridge will only be used for TTG transfers to keep TIVO data separate from data in the primary hard drive on my PC. I'm not sure but I may not even need an eSATA drive with this strategy. TIVO delivers early and often!
Yeah, TTG and MRV definitely alter the eSata equation.

Hard work is paying off as I am watching a Lord of the Rings DVD RIP via the S3 with the anamorphic video perfectly output by the S3 and the DD5.1 sound coming beautifully through the sound system. This is what I spent so much time preparing for. :D

[armooo]

I just got around to testing out pyTivo on my THD.

I just changed a few setting.

video_br=8Mi
width=1440
height=720

It was transferring slower than real time but the tivo was outputting 720p when set to native.
And it looked much nicer than on my S2.

[richsadams]

Can someone help me troubleshoot this issue:

Tivo.com shows: Transfers Enabled
Tivo Software Version: 9.1.01-2-652
TiVoToGo: a,a,a
Tivo Desktop: 2.5.275381

I click on "Pick Recording to Transfer" in the Tivo Desktop and it responds with retrieving "1 of 38" and then after "11 of 38" I get the error message:

"There was an error while attempting to retrieve data from the selected DVR"

Network seems to be fine in contacting the Tivo service.I'm having the problem too, if anyone finds out anything about this please share it.See my earlier post. (http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?p=5625978&&#post5625978)

[rickfriele]

Do both TiVo's need to be on the same billing account for MRV to work? I can see my brother-in-laws S3 in my Now Playing list, but it is listed as just "DVR". When I select it I get a screen saying "DVR: Remote Now Playing", but there is nothing listed. I have a,a,a listed in system info and the name of the DVR finally shows up.

[bkdtv]

Do both TiVo's need to be on the same billing account for MRV to work?Yes.

[Laserfan]

Thank you TIVO - this has been a much awaited restoration of functionality. Mine is working perfectly.As an old S1 owner, and new S3 owner, I've known nothing of Tivo Desktop/TTB/TTCB but yesterday I DL'ed TTG and everything works! Kinda amazing--I can off-load programs to my home network and transfer them back to Tivo when I want. :up:

I expect you S2 guys who have grown to expect this functionality are relieved it is here--I am just thrilled to get features I never knew-or-expected.

Thanks Tivo!!! :cool:

[cwoody222]

I tried to use ComeBack with some old mpegs I had Tivo-formatted from back in my S2 days. They worked just fine on my S3!

[bdraw]

That's one benefit of Verizon FiOS, I suppose.

I have FIOS and I'm able to transfer HDnet content.

[cr33p]

Maybe they haven't goofed up.

Someone else in a Comcast system reported (in this (http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?p=5508193&&#post5508193) post) that he complained to his cable provider and local franchising authority that nearly everything was being set Copy One Generation and got action wherein the provider stopped setting things to Copy One Generation except where the content provider specifically requested it. Supposedly Comcast made this their policy nationwide. You may be reaping the benefits :).

Nice, it figures hey, I dont even have 2 Tv's in my house any longer and have offed all my s2 units. I get the ability to do anything with any of my content and have no use for it :( I suppose I could still pull content off and place it on my server for future use ;)

[SnakeEyes]

Some of my HD recordings play at what appears to be sorta 2x FF, for instance Enterprise on HDNet. I have a TiVoHD and a Macmini core duo. The audio and video is there just sped up

[naclone]

I'm a little rusty on TTG and TTCB since I haven't been using since getting the S3 a year ago. Back then I was converting avi files to mpg2 and uploading them to my S2. Just wanted to doublecheck that was the same procedure for S3 or is there another(better?) format I should be converting to?

Also, I understand that we cannot TTCB HD content that did not originate as an S3 recording. Any thoughts on the best way to maximize PQ when converting HD files for uploading via TTCB?

Any help greatly appreciated.

thanks

[PPC1]

I set up TTG for my S3. The TiVo desktop correctly loaded all of my programs in "Now Playing." I attempted to transfer two network HD recordings to my computer, Heroes and Journeyman, just to try it out.

The transfers started fine, but they each stopped transfering before the shows had been completely transfered. I tried transfering Heroes multiple times, but every time, it stops transfering at the same point. I know this episode was recorded in its entirety, as I watched on my S3. On the select programs to transfer menue, it showed the recording as a full 1:02 duration recording. I tried transfering Journeyman again, but again it stopped, and I think at the exact same point as the prior transfer of Journeyman. However, less of the program was transfered than was of Hereos.

Any ideas why the transfers keep stopping at exactly the same point? I suppose I need to test by transfering shows from other networks, and non-hd digital material, as well as analog to further trouble shoot.

[RoyK]

Don't shoot me for suggesting this but are you sure your PC's HD is NTFS and not Fat32? I got bitten by a similar situation due to the 4gb FAT32 file size limitation.

Edit: in my case I was transferring something to a USB hard drive - hence FAT32

[moyekj]

Any ideas why the transfers keep stopping at exactly the same point? I suppose I need to test by transfering shows from other networks, and non-hd digital material, as well as analog to further trouble shoot. Are there any noticeable glitches during playback at the points it's stopping? When transferring to your PC the Tivo is converting the stream to .TiVo format so I suspect glitches in the recording are causing problems. Of course check what RoyK just said above too first...

[PPC1]

Are there any noticeable glitches during playback at the points it's stopping? When transferring to your PC the Tivo is converting the stream to .TiVo format so I suspect glitches in the recording are causing problems. Of course check what RoyK just said above too first...

That is one of my hypotheses. Interesting thought to check the recording where it keeps cutting off. I didn't notice anything while watching Heroes, but the point where the transfer cuts off is during a comercial, which I had skipped through while watching. Otherwise though, the recording seemed great.

I haven't watched Journeyman, so I don't know about that either.

Hopefully though the ability to transfer is not so fragile that a minor hiccup in the recording will systematically prevent successful transfers.

[yunlin12]

It took a few tries to get TivoDesktop to see the shows on my S3, the 1st time it did 1 of 256, 11 of 256, 41 and 256, then errored out, the second time it wen through 1, 11, 41, then errored out after 91/256, the next time it stopped on 191, then the next time it succeeded. I didn't restart TivoDesktop in between.

Now it's transferring 5 shows, and it's blazing fast. I'm on a wired network, 30 min (The Daily Show) is about 590MB from Comcast, and it looks like it'll transfer in 8 minutes, but so far 2 shows I tried to transfer, one ended after 510MB, another one ended after 530MB. When I play them in WMP (Vista, WMP 11), WMP's only shows about 9 min of show. When I drag the progress bar of WMP all the way to the end, it continues to play past that point. Based on the file size, there are more shows that WMP is showing as 9 min, but I can not easily access it in WMP and check where it ends. Has anyone else seen this?

Edit: After playing one through, it seems that the show transfered OK, it's just the file size is smaller than what the S3 reported.

[PPC1]

Don't shoot me for suggesting this but are you sure your PC's HD is NTFS and not Fat32? I got bitten by a similar situation due to the 4gb FAT32 file size limitation.

Edit: in my case I was transferring something to a USB hard drive - hence FAT32

Was that addressed to my issue? If so why would I shoot you? I am not sure which, nor do I know how to check. I don't think that explains the situation though, as I had not transfered 4gb of data. More like 781 MB for Heroes, and 400 ish for Journeyman.

[azitnay]

Doesn't sound like FAT32 is your issue with those file sizes... But to check which filesystem you're using:

1) Open up My Computer
2) Right-click C: (or whatever drive you're using) and choose Properties
3) Look for "File system: NTFS" or "File system: FAT32"

Drew

[Hyrax]

I am always amazed at how much smaller a HD show is when it is recorded via cable as opposed to being recorded OTA. Last Sunday's Patriots game was 12.5 Mbps from cable and 18.1 Mbps over the air.

I have been known to bitch endlessly <wife yawning in the background> about this fact, but today I get a chance to laugh at myself. It turns out to be a good thing when you want to archive shows! With TTG it takes about 2/3rds of the time to transfer a recording from a cable source than it does from an OTA source. And it really doesn't look all that bad on a small, 50" TV (of course they look terrible on a 100" screen).

Perhaps we should be thanking Comcast instead of damning them ;)

[Hyrax]

Where do I find out how to use TioToComeback? I want to try it out, but cannot find any guides for it anywhere.

[pkscout]

Where do I find out how to use TioToComeback? I want to try it out, but cannot find any guides for it anywhere.

Here's a link to the fourm specifically for MRV and TiVoToGo. You might check there for some answers.

http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/forumdisplay.php?f=35

[Hyrax]

Doh!
Thanks, PK.

[Dajad]

TiVo Desktop recognized our S3. However when I clicked on "Pick Recordings to Transfer" it started adding shows, got to 11 of 148, then gave the error notice (below). I closed TiVo Desktop and repopened it and the same thing, except it got to 43 of 148 and gave the error. So I kept opening and closing TiVo Desktop and it finally listed all of the recordings. :confused: Odd but it worked.

So for anyone seeing this:

http://i24.tinypic.com/2qktao1.jpg



Yupp, I'm seeing the exact same thing and getting the same error after 91 of 173 shows from my S3.

But, this is not just a problem on my s3.

Transferring from the S2 used to work fine but now when I tested it today it crapped out at 91 of 178.

And I have to shut down and restart my TiVo Desktop before it will allow me to attempt to do it again.

Argh!!!!

TiVo-to-Comeback Transfers from my PC to the S3 ans S2 are still working fine though.

[Update: I just turned on my S3 and it had the Upgrade Notice saying I just received 9.2. After accepting the message, allowing the reboot to occur (THX screen et. al) it seems to be working fine now. But I am still having problems with the S2]

[Update 2: After a few more tries it now works with my S2, but even after working, I left the screen open for awhile and worked on something else and then it spontaneously crashed (giving the same error screen as above) just while sitting on the transfer screen with nothing transferring - seems to really be hit and miss as to whether TiVo Desktop can properly populate the transfer screen and then maintain it on either TiVo.]
...Dale

[Sparty99]

Can anyone tell me what would make a decent video editor for downloads from an S3? I'd prefer frame accurate editing (which I hear VideoReDo doesn't have), but it's not crucial.

[joewmaki]

Can anyone tell me what would make a decent video editor for downloads from an S3? I'd prefer frame accurate editing (which I hear VideoReDo doesn't have), but it's not crucial.

I find VideoReDo very easy to use. I "thought" it was frame accurate. You can at least navigate by frame.

[Dajad]

Can anyone tell me what would make a decent video editor for downloads from an S3? I'd prefer frame accurate editing (which I hear VideoReDo doesn't have), but it's not crucial.

The TiVo Home Media forum is a better place for that kind of question:

http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/forumdisplay.php?f=35

...Dale

[mikeyts]

Where do I find out how to use TioToComeback? I want to try it out, but cannot find any guides for it anywhere.The main TiVo Desktop UI gives two selections in a lefthand pane, being "TiVo Recordings" and "Publish Media". If you select "Publish Media" you'll get 3 tabs, "Music", "Photos" and "Videos". If you select the "Video" tab, it will briefly explain how to set up to transfer videos to TiVo.

Basically, you just put it in the video files in the "My Documents\My TiVo Recordings" directory, which is where files that you transfer from TiVo to your computer will be placed by default. If the files are someplace else, you can place a shortcut to that directory in My TiVo Recordings. To get them to the TiVo, you just go to its Now Playing list and select the entry with your PC's name and it will list the videos in that directory (for any of them that are .tivo files, you'll get all the information for them that was saved for them originally by TiVo).

I don't know exactly which file formats are supported by the free TiVo Desktop; it lists the following on the Publish Video tab: Windows Media Video (.wmv)
Quicktime MOvie (.mov)
MPEG-4/H.264 (.mp4,.m4v,.mp4v)
MPEG-2 (.mpg,.mpeg,.mpe,.mp2,.mp2v,.mpv2)
DivX or XviD (.avi,.divx)However, I suspect that some or all of these formats require transcoding and that that will require you to upgrade to TiVo Desktop Plus at a cost of $24.95. (To upgrade, see the option on the TiVo Desktop help menu).

[Dajad]

Originally Posted by MickeS
My recording of "Heroes" is only 6,456MB. I hate my cable company...


OTA was 7.29GB here and FIOS was 7.51GB and Comcast was 7.61GB.
I don't know why Comcast and FIOS is more than the OTA broadcast.

Well, this is all off-topic but interesting, last night's OTA "Fight or Flight" Hero's broadcasted from Niagra Falls New York was 6.82 GB on my S3. The prior week's "The Kindess of Strangers" episode was 6.86 GB.

...Dale

[cwoody222]

... from WGRZ in Buffalo?

/waves :)

You're picking up Buffalo stations in Toronto? Cool!

[forgie716]

When you guys talk about forcing a connection to TiVO is this simply just restarting the box?

Thanks

[richsadams]

When you guys talk about forcing a connection to TiVO is this simply just restarting the box?

ThanksYou can force a connection to TiVo as follows:

TiVo Central > Messages and settings > Settings > Phone and network > Connect to TiVo now.

This will cause your TiVo to go through the connection, download and load procedure.

[Dajad]

... from WGRZ in Buffalo?

/waves :)

You're picking up Buffalo stations in Toronto? Cool!

All my U.S. networks are coming from either Buffalo or Niagra Falls. Click on my "Using the Series 3 in Canada" link below for the full list of U.S. OTA channels available in Toronto/Mississauga.

[wtb]

Regarding the S2 to PC copy problem, I noticed that too the past few days. I can copy from one S2 to my PC, but the other consistantly stops after getting 41 shows.

[Hyrax]

...

Basically, you just put it in the video files in the "My Documents\My TiVo Recordings" directory, which is where files that you transfer from TiVo to your computer will be placed by default. If the files are someplace else, you can place a shortcut to that directory in My TiVo Recordings. To get them to the TiVo, you just go to its Now Playing list and select the entry with your PC's name and it will list the videos in that directory (for any of them that are .tivo files, you'll get all the information for them that was saved for them originally by TiVo).

Thanks, Mikey.
What I'm trying to find out is how to get my PC recognized by the Tivo. I've got the files in 'My Tivo Recordings', but the Tivo doesn't put My Computer in the Now Playing list. I just forced a connection, so I hope that will fix the problem.

I would assume that the shows that I've transfered from my Tivo should show up in the 'My Tivo Recordings', right?

Edit: OK! I just had to force the connection one more time, and now it is working. And, the answer to my question above is 'yes'.

[HDTiVo]

Now that TTG is here we can figure out resolutions for the Series 3 Platforms:

Series3
Basic 352x480
Medium 480x480
High 720x480
Best 720x480

TiVoHD
Basic 352x480
Medium 352x480
High 480x480
Best 480x480


Audio rates are still 48KHz @192kb

[bkdtv]

Now that TTG is here we can figure out resolutions for the Series 3 Platforms:

Series3 TiVoHD
Basic 352x480 352x480
Medium 480x480 352x480
High 720x480 480x480
Best 720x480 480x480

Audio rates are still 48KHz @192kbYou can also see what resolution(s) your cable provider is using for their SD channels.

[HDTiVo]

You can also see what resolution(s) your cable provider is using for their SD channels.
Yes, for all digital channels.

With SD digital I have not found anything on mine other than 720x480. *


That's from using the SPS <- S code to get the little info bug.

[MickeS]

Now that TTG is here we can figure out resolutions for the Series 3 Platforms:

Series3
Basic 352x480
Medium 480x480
High 720x480
Best 720x480

TiVoHD
Basic 352x480
Medium 352x480
High 480x480
Best 480x480


Audio rates are still 48KHz @192kb

Do the S3 recordings look better on a PC due to this? I would think they should.

[bkdtv]

For those that weren't aware, you can use download Tivo recordings using a standard web browser.

http://mysite.verizon.net/~fiosdvr/tivoweb.gif
Your Tivo's IP address may be different, but you can find that under Settings -> Phone and Network.

As on the Series2, use https://mytivoip/. The login is "tivo" as and the password is your Media Access Key.

You can find your Media Access Key on your TiVo under Account & System Information -> Media Access Key. Your browser should save the login so you won't have to enter it again.

[sinnfein]

I don't know exactly which file formats are supported by the free TiVo Desktop; it lists the following on the Publish Video tab: Windows Media Video (.wmv)
Quicktime MOvie (.mov)
MPEG-4/H.264 (.mp4,.m4v,.mp4v)
MPEG-2 (.mpg,.mpeg,.mpe,.mp2,.mp2v,.mpv2)
DivX or XviD (.avi,.divx)However, I suspect that some or all of these formats require transcoding and that that will require you to upgrade to TiVo Desktop Plus at a cost of $24.95. (To upgrade, see the option on the TiVo Desktop help menu).

Hi - can someone help clarify this for me too? I have 9.1 now on my TivoHD and installed the 2.5.1 desktop software. I notice that the only thing from my Tivo folder that is showing as visible on the TiVo are the .mpg files - none of the others show up.

Can anyone help confirm that if I upgrade to the Pro version I will get access to the other filetypes on my TiVo HD? That's worth $25 for me, but I don't want to waste it. The documentation is VERY fuzzy implying that I should be able to do this free with the standard free version.

Thanks!

[bkdtv]

Hi - can someone help clarify this for me too? I have 9.1 now on my TivoHD and installed the 2.5.1 desktop software. I notice that the only thing from my Tivo folder that is showing as visible on the TiVo are the .mpg files - none of the others show up.

Can anyone help confirm that if I upgrade to the Pro version I will get access to the other filetypes on my TiVo HD?Yes, it will.

With the free version of Tivo Desktop, you can transfer .Tivo and .MPG files to Tivos. With the "Plus" ($25) version, you can transfer many other file types.

[richsadams]

Do the S3 recordings look better on a PC due to this? I would think they should.I've only had time to transfer one HD recording (a Planet Earth episode) from our S3 to my PC to test it and the quality is excellent IMHO. :up:

[sinnfein]

Yes, it will.

With the free version of Tivo Desktop, you can transfer .Tivo and .MPG files to Tivos. With the "Plus" ($25) version, you can transfer many other file types.

bkdtv, thanks VERY much for the prompt response. I feel like I'm on the verge of changing my TV habits an order of magnitude similar to the feeling when I got my first DVR oh so many years ago.

The thought of loading DVDs, online videos, etc onto my TiVo so I can watch at my leisure on the bigscreen.... This is also motivating me to put another TiVo HD on my christmas list to my wife this year for our bedroom TV! These are OUTSTANDING features - well done TiVo.

[Goober96]

I have transferred some shows from my S3 to the PC but Media Player won't play them. It doesn't give any errors, but it's just blank.
Also, is there any way to get to the ToDo List from the PC?

[sinnfein]

I have transferred some shows from my S3 to the PC but Media Player won't play them. It doesn't give any errors, but it's just blank.
Also, is there any way to get to the ToDo List from the PC?

FYI, i had the same problem - I ended up installing and using Zoom Player and associating that with .tivo files and that worked for me.

I suspect a Codec issue. The problem actually went away for me when I upgraded from the Desktop Basic software to the Pro software (about 5 minutes ago :-)

[DinoBambino]

bkdtv, thanks VERY much for the prompt response. I feel like I'm on the verge of changing my TV habits an order of magnitude similar to the feeling when I got my first DVR oh so many years ago.

The thought of loading DVDs, online videos, etc onto my TiVo so I can watch at my leisure on the bigscreen.... This is also motivating me to put another TiVo HD on my christmas list to my wife this year for our bedroom TV! These are OUTSTANDING features - well done TiVo.

Seriously! I'm contemplating getting rid of my XBox running XBMC since I will be able to do almost all of the same functions using Tivo. Of course, I won't be able to play any games on the Tivo. But, I didn't really get the XBox to play games. I got it to stream all of my media from my PC to my TV/Stereo system.

[HDTiVo]

Do the S3 recordings look better on a PC due to this? I would think they should.
Probably. The bit rates for the S3 are higher above basic. I didn't take the time to calculate them for the HD,* but they were published for the S3 by me and Mega long ago. The HD bits rates look very close to the S2's (240's) just as the resolutions are identical to the 240's.

As I recall, S3 basic is ~1.5mbps, medium is ~3.5mbps, high ~5.5, best well over 7mbps.

240 bits rates are ~1.5, 2.5, 3.5 and 5.5mbps.


* I don't have 1/2 or 1 hr analog recordings handy to check the #'s at the various qualities. I leave that to the next person. :)

[John Cavanaugh]

FYI, i had the same problem - I ended up installing and using Zoom Player and associating that with .tivo files and that worked for me.

I suspect a Codec issue. The problem actually went away for me when I upgraded from the Desktop Basic software to the Pro software (about 5 minutes ago :-)

I have a slightly different problem. I pulled an SD program from my S3 to my PC last night and was able to play it without issue.

But, when I pulled an HD program to my PC and tried to play it, Media Player GPF'ed on me.

Now I noticed that when I played the SD program (and tried to open the HD program) I got a "codec error" down on the bottom line of Media Player.

Is there something I need to do to Media Player to allow it to play HD content?

Thanks.

[dpfels]

For those that weren't aware, you can use download Tivo recordings using a standard web browser.

http://mysite.verizon.net/~fiosdvr/tivoweb.gif
Your Tivo's IP address may be different, but you can find that under Settings -> Phone and Network.

As on the Series2, use https://mytivoip/. The login is "tivo" as and the password is your Media Access Key.

You can find your Media Access Key on your TiVo under Account & System Information -> Media Access Key. Your browser should save the login so you won't have to enter it again.


Am I missing something? This allows a download of a TiVo file for backup purposes only or can the files be played as well? Does this require the Tivo Desktop, or is it a pure web interface (does it work on Macs, for instance?).

I would be happy even to be able to archive some of my recordings on occasion.
Thanks,
Dan

[StEvEY5036]

FYI, i had the same problem - I ended up installing and using Zoom Player and associating that with .tivo files and that worked for me.

I suspect a Codec issue. The problem actually went away for me when I upgraded from the Desktop Basic software to the Pro software (about 5 minutes ago :-)

same problem as well.. any fix for the basic users?

[Goober96]

FYI, i had the same problem - I ended up installing and using Zoom Player and associating that with .tivo files and that worked for me.

I suspect a Codec issue. The problem actually went away for me when I upgraded from the Desktop Basic software to the Pro software (about 5 minutes ago :-)
Zoom Player worked great and it's free! Thanks!

[bkdtv]

Am I missing something? This allows a download of a TiVo file for backup purposes only or can the files be played as well? Does this require the Tivo Desktop, or is it a pure web interface (does it work on Macs, for instance?).Downloads aren't just for backup purposes. You can view them on your PC and Mac and burn them to DVD, HD-DVD, or Blu-ray disk.

Tivo Desktop is not required to download the files. You can use any web browser. One advantage of Tivo Desktop for Windows is that it lets you view recordings on your PC as they are transferred; you can't do that with some browsers. Basically, it provides multi-room viewing on any PC in your home.

To view the files on a Windows PC, you do need Tivo Desktop installed, regardless of whether you actually use that program to download recordings. Why? The Tivo recordings are stored as MPG format in an encrypted .Tivo wrapper, and Tivo Desktop includes the filter necessary to decode that wrapper.

I'm not as familiar with the Mac side, although I understand most Mac users are using the free Tivo Decode Manager (http://tdm.sourceforge.net/). Once you download files to your Mac with that program, you should be able to view them with the free VideoLAN player (http://www.videolan.org/vlc/download-macosx.html).

[jcthorne]

Yes, use a video format conversion tool to convert your .tivo files to .mpg and most of the compatibility issues on the PC side will go away. VideoReDo or Videora Tivo Conversion are 2, there are others and there are services that will run in the background and do the conversion on the fly if you want. I don't have good luck with background services so use the programs. I like VideoReDo so far. Go to the TTG area of the forum and learn much more about the files and how to use them.

[Laserfan]

I like VideoReDo so far.Now isn't that web server the coolest darn thing!!!!?!!!

For the record, VideoReDo does indeed do frame-accurate editing of MPEG2 files: If you cut on an I-frame there is zero re-encoding. If you cut anywhere else (B or P) VRD re-constructs the GOP, but that is the only re-encoding that is done (at the cut points). For a typical hourlong TV show that means only a half-dozen cuts.

I have edited hundreds of HDTV programs and I never see any negative impact of re-encoding at cut points.

Another nice feature is the audio graph which shows you where there is no audio (for perfectly silent cutpoints).

[jmpage2]

Now isn't that web server the coolest darn thing!!!!?!!!

For the record, VideoReDo does indeed do frame-accurate editing of MPEG2 files: If you cut on an I-frame there is zero re-encoding. If you cut anywhere else (B or P) VRD re-constructs the GOP, but that is the only re-encoding that is done (at the cut points). For a typical hourlong TV show that means only a half-dozen cuts.

I have edited hundreds of HDTV programs and I never see any negative impact of re-encoding at cut points.

Another nice feature is the audio graph which shows you where there is no audio (for perfectly silent cutpoints).

I tried using VideoRedo to edit my .TIVO files and convert them to MPG but it's not working. During playback/editing of the video the audio is all scrambled and distorted.

Has anyone else had this problem with VideoRedo?

[bkdtv]

I tried using VideoRedo to edit my .TIVO files and convert them to MPG but it's not working. During playback/editing of the video the audio is all scrambled and distorted.

Has anyone else had this problem with VideoRedo?I have not.

Are you using the latest version?

[Microman66]

Took off the Wireless Tivo Adapter, and put an ethernet cable on. I started to download to the PC, another 30 minute episode of a program. It started out over 1 hr and 20 minutes, but when I went to the TV and put both tuners on a station that did not get a signal, the time dropped to 42 minutes, It is now averaging out and says 45 minutes to go with 8% done. A lot better than the over 2 hours I experienced last night. Now if I could only read them off the PC to play as fast, Will try that when I get done with this transfer.

Wish I had bought my lifetime Tivo 2 a little sooner so I could qualify for the transfer of Lifetime to this Tivo HD.

How do people tell there transfer speeds. People are always quoting the speed from PC to S3, and S3 to PC...

Thanks.

Oh, and I finally got my name on the TIVO HD, EVerything is falling into place. 12% done now.

[EndBoards]

Some simple questions from page 2 that seem to have gotten lost in this thread..


1) Can one transfer to Tivos not made by tivo. I.e. the Humax Tivo/DVD?
2) Can you transfer to a Tivo that has a "Basic" service option?
3) Can one transfer to a tivo that does not have active service subscription? Meaning the subscription runs out, and just use it as a media extender not as a regular tivo, per se.

My guess to #1 would be yes, but I have no idea...

I'd be especially interested in knowing the answers to #2 & 3 myself..

[bkdtv]

Originally Posted by String
1) Can one transfer to Tivos not made by tivo. I.e. the Humax Tivo/DVD?
2) Can you transfer to a Tivo that has a "Basic" service option?
3) Can one transfer to a tivo that does not have active service subscription? Meaning the subscription runs out, and just use it as a media extender not as a regular tivo, per se.1) Yes.
2) No.
3) No.

[bkdtv]

How do people tell there transfer speeds. People are always quoting the speed from PC to S3, and S3 to PC... Here you go:

How do I calculate my TivoToGo transfer rate?

The first step is to determine the time a recording took to transfer. That is easy to do because a PC keeps track of the time the file was created and the time it was last modified (i.e. finished), as well as the total file size in bytes. You do not need to sit by and wait for the transfer to finish.

After the transfer is complete, simply open the properties dialog for the .TiVo file. To do that, right-click on the file and select properties, then details. Subtract the "time created" from the "time modified" to find the total number of minutes the recording took to transfer. Once you know how many minutes it took to transfer, you can calculate throughput using the below equation:

TTG transfer rate = (File size of .TiVo Recording in Bytes on your PC * 8) / (Minutes to Transfer Recording * 60) / 1000000How do I calculate my MRV transfer rate?

The first step is to determine the time a recording took to transfer. The transfer start time is on the bottom-right of the recorded program screen. You do not need to sit and wait for the recording to finish, because the exact time of transfer completion will be listed under the "Keep Until" date for the newly transferred recording. Subtract the start time from the "Keep Until" time to find the total transfer time.

MRV transfer rate = (Size in Gigabytes on TiVo Info Screen * 1000 * 8) / ( Minutes to Transfer Recording * 60)All transfer rates are in megabits per second (Mbps).

[jmpage2]

I have not.

Are you using the latest version?

Yes, it's the latest version.

[Chimpware]

I tried using VideoRedo to edit my .TIVO files and convert them to MPG but it's not working. During playback/editing of the video the audio is all scrambled and distorted.

Has anyone else had this problem with VideoRedo?

Nope works fine for me.

[EndBoards]

Also, a question/concern of my own.. The transfer speeds being posted seem terribly slow.

What kind of speeds can I expect from a new 10/100 hardwired network in my house?

I know that it varies from show to show, but from what it looks like, HD uses about 7GB/hr

On a 100Mb/s network, theoretical transfer times for that file should be about 9 minutes (of course, actual speeds will be slower due to traffic & hiccups..)

Why are people in this thread posting 1 and 2 hour transfer times for 1 hour HD shows? Like I said - I hope most of you are using wireless..

[moyekj]

Also, a question/concern of my own.. The transfer speeds being posted seem terribly slow.

What kind of speeds can I expect from a new 10/100 hardwired network in my house?

I know that it varies from show to show, but from what it looks like, HD uses about 7GB/hr

On a 100Mb/s network, theoretical transfer times for that file should be about 9 minutes (of course, actual speeds will be slower due to traffic & hiccups..)

Why are people in this thread posting 1 and 2 hour transfer times for 1 hour HD shows? Like I said - I hope most of you are using wireless.. Even on hardwired 10/100/1000 networks there are upper limits on MRV/S3 transfers that are well below 100 Mbps. Also THD transfers tend to be slower than S3 transfers right now for some reason. See my post here on my analysis:
http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?p=5626398&&#post5626398
Bottom line is for S3s MRV under "ideal" conditions seem to max out around 44 Mbps and under "normal" conditions about 30 Mbps. TTG is slower than MRV and THD unit max transfer speeds seem to be about half of the S3 rates.
Compared to S2 transfer rates these are very good IMO. There are many variables affecting transfer rates, so without all the details included a lot of the numbers you see posted in these forums don't mean much...

[danitaz]

Miraculously my settings for my S3 were already set to transfers allowed, and I just "stumbled" on this looking at my Now Playing List! Way cool <g>. I don't know that my 16 year old records anything that I really want to watch <heehee>, but I'm doing a test transfer to my S3 from her Humax right now just to say I can!

Danita

[mikeyts]

Even on hardwired 10/100/1000 networks there are upper limits on MRV/S3 transfers that are well below 100 Mbps. Also THD transfers tend to be slower than S3 transfers right now for some reason. See my post here on my analysis:
http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?p=5626398&&#post5626398
Bottom line is for S3s MRV under "ideal" conditions seem to max out around 44 Mbps and under "normal" conditions about 30 Mbps. TTG is slower than MRV and THD unit max transfer speeds seem to be about half of the S3 rates.
Compared to S2 transfer rates these are very good IMO. There are many variables affecting transfer rates, so without all the details included a lot of the numbers you see posted in these forums don't mean much...What exactly are these transfer numbers based on? What were you doing with a TiVo to create a 44 Mbps network transfer load?

[bkdtv]

What exactly are these transfer numbers based on? What were you doing with a TiVo to create a 44 Mbps network transfer load?He was probably using one of the two equations I posted above (http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?p=5630407&&#post5630407).

[moyekj]

What exactly are these transfer numbers based on? What were you doing with a TiVo to create a 44 Mbps network transfer load? If you click on the link to my original post I gave above you will see the details. In summary the 44 Mbps MRV rate I achieved was under "ideal" circumstances with both my S3s hard wired to same 10/100 switch with cat6 cables and all 4 tuners set to channels I don't receive, and not viewing the recording as it was transferring. Of course this is not something I would typically do, but it did show that minimizing load on the Tivos involved with the transfers gives a big boost in transfer speeds. (As bkdtv mentioned the Mbps rate was calculated using 8000*SIZE/(60*MINS) where SIZE is GB reported by Tivo "Info" and MINS was # of minutes the transfer took)

[azflackman]

I get the DVR on each Now Playing screen but don't see the S3 on TIVO Transfer list.

[mikeyts]

If you click on the link to my original post I gave above you will see the details. In summary the 44 Mbps MRV rate I achieved was under "ideal" circumstances with both my S3s hard wired to same 10/100 switch with cat6 cables and all 4 tuners set to channels I don't receive, and not viewing the recording as it was transferring. Of course this is not something I would typically do, but it did show that minimizing load on the Tivos involved with the transfers gives a big boost in transfer speeds. (As bkdtv mentioned the Mbps rate was calculated using 8000*SIZE/(60*MINS) where SIZE is GB reported by Tivo "Info" and MINS was # of minutes the transfer took)What I mean is what exactly were you doing when you say you achieved a certain rate for MRV? You tuned both tuners to channels that you don't receive to presumably stop it from messing with the disk while buffering, and then you watched a single program using MRV? Maybe I don't understand how MRV works. Is it like TTCB where you open an item in the Now Playing list and get a list of things that are available from another TiVo, and can choose one and start transferring it, playing it while it transfers? If so, how do you know precisely when it finishes transferring so that you can calculate a transmission rate?

[sfhub]

If so, how do you know precisely when it finishes transferring so that you can calculate a transmission rate?
http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?p=5630407&&#post5630407

[moyekj]

What I mean is what exactly were you doing when you say you achieved a certain rate for MRV? You tuned both tuners to channels that you don't receive to presumably stop it from messing with the disk while buffering, and then you watched a single program using MRV? Maybe I don't understand how MRV works. Is it like TTCB where you open an item in the Now Playing list and get a list of things that are available from another TiVo, and can choose one and start transferring it, playing it while it transfers? If so, how do you know precisely when it finishes transferring so that you can calculate a transmission rate? Yes it's similar to that. You choose a show to transfer from a remote DVR Now Playing List. When I start a transfer I mark the time I started the transfer. (You can start watching the show as soon as it starts transferring if you like, but for the purposes of "ideal" conditions I did not do that in this experiment). You don't have to babysit the Tivo to mark exactly when the blue light switches off and the transfer completes. Just come back at a later time after transfer completes and in NPL select the show that was transferred and go into Program Details and look at "This recording will be kept at least until .... hh:mm" The time shown here is when the transfer completed, so by knowing start time and end time you have # MINS transfer took (+/- 1 MIN accuracy). Info gives you the size in GB (decimal) and so then you can calculate transfer rate. As sfhub pointed out bkdtv posted a summary of how to do it already in this thread.

[Clusty]

So I transferred The Office - Fun Run just now. Looks exactly like HD!(to my eye)

I'm not sure if this is against the rules, but is there any way to compress MPEG2 files? If this is against the rules, please delete this part.

[moyekj]

Hopefully bkdtv will be putting together an excellent FAQ for TTG/MRV/TTCB specifically for S3/THD units and it can be made a sticky in this forum and he can include all this good information about computing transfer rates and techniques for optimizing transfers, etc. bkdtv, your efforts in putting together these FAQs are much appreciated!

[bkdtv]

So I transferred The Office - Fun Run just now. Looks exactly like HD!(to my eye)

I'm not sure if this is against the rules, but is there any way to compress MPEG2 files? If this is against the rules, please delete this part.If you want to cut out commercials, VideoRedo is probably the best tool to do that. If you haven't tried VideoRedo, you can download a 14-day free trial at www.videoredo.net.

[mikeyts]

So I transferred The Office - Fun Run just now. Looks exactly like HD!(to my eye)If you transferred a copy of a recording from an HD channel, it is HD, and should be more or less the MPEG that you recorded from the air or your cable system.

[TokyoShoe]

Well I've got two windows Vista machines. One wired network, another one wireless network.

The wired one can transfer a 1 hour HD show in about 30 minutes. The Wireless one tells me it's going to take 19 hours to transfer the same 1 hour HD show? Hmm, time to tweak some network settings!

[ThreeSoFar]

Well I've got two windows Vista machines. One wired network, another one wireless network.

The wired one can transfer a 1 hour HD show in about 30 minutes. The Wireless one tells me it's going to take 19 hours to transfer the same 1 hour HD show? Hmm, time to tweak some network settings!Why? Wireless will never compete with wired.

[jmpage2]

Well I've got two windows Vista machines. One wired network, another one wireless network.

The wired one can transfer a 1 hour HD show in about 30 minutes. The Wireless one tells me it's going to take 19 hours to transfer the same 1 hour HD show? Hmm, time to tweak some network settings!

I have a very fast gigabit network and it still takes my Vista box several hours to download an 8GB hour long HD program from my Tivo HD (which is a cabled 100Mb connection).

[TokyoShoe]

Why? Wireless will never compete with wired.

On this specific subject, I am unfortunately a victim of the arrangement of my kooky apartment. I can't run cables along the ceiling, because I can't tape them or nail them up (the ceiling is textured concrete, basically).

It's basically (1: Trip Hazard and hardwire it) , or (2: go wireless). I've had great success with wireless otherwise. Even copying files back and forth between the two computers (1 wired, 1 wireless) works at amazing speeds. It's just odd that , specifically transferring from the TivoHD, my wireless seems to bottleneck.

Hmm, I'll keep digging at settings and see what I find.

[Hyrax]

I tried using VideoRedo to edit my .TIVO files and convert them to MPG but it's not working. During playback/editing of the video the audio is all scrambled and distorted.

Has anyone else had this problem with VideoRedo?

Yes, I do. I've been using VideoReDo for years and this problem just started. I believe that in my case, there is a driver conflict on my system, because 3 other programs are having a similar problem. It all started when I updated Wold of Warcraft (WoW has the exact same audio problem as VideoReDo).

Anyway, I still use VideoReDo, but am going to do a system rollback eventually to get back the un-distorted sound.

[jebbbz]

So I transferred The Office - Fun Run just now. Looks exactly like HD!(to my eye)

I'm not sure if this is against the rules, but is there any way to compress MPEG2 files? If this is against the rules, please delete this part.

Besides cutting out commercials on your PC as bkdtv has mentioned (VideoReDo is my preferred tool, too) you can transcode MPEG2 into smaller MPEG4 files (wmv, divx, etc.) with a variety of tools, some free, some not. I have played with several. DivX Converter is easy to use and I can make excellent 1280x720 HD copies as small as 1/6 of the original size (depends on the kind of program). I can go even smaller if I down-size the files to 720x480 or so for backups or to burn as DVDs - 500 megabyte files still look good if noticeably softer than HD.

(I never found the specs on the Vixs 2115 chip that the TivoHD uses to encode and transcode but my hope is that it will be possible to do MPEG2 to MPEG4 transcoding quickly in the Tivo itself -- TTG, MRV and TTCB would not have to handle such big files then.)

[HDTiVo]

I am having some trouble transfering episodes of The War (cable PBS-HD) from my HD to my PC. It stops after 7MB. Other hi def content transfers via TTG.

I have no trouble using MRV on the shows from HD to S3. Same failure TTG S3 -> PC

The PC and S3 are on the same switch on the network.

Any hints for a work around or solution?

[jmpage2]

Yes, I do. I've been using VideoReDo for years and this problem just started. I believe that in my case, there is a driver conflict on my system, because 3 other programs are having a similar problem. It all started when I updated Wold of Warcraft (WoW has the exact same audio problem as VideoReDo).

Anyway, I still use VideoReDo, but am going to do a system rollback eventually to get back the un-distorted sound.

I just reloaded my system from backup and now I can play the .Tivo extension files just fine. Apparently some other application had really barbequed my codec settings.

What's weird is it's working now but the codec being used to play back audio/video shows the same in WMP both before and after the reload.

Can VideoReDo convert shows to MP4 for iPod playback? I didn't see a place where you could reset resolutions, etc. Normally I use Handbrake for iPod encoding but it would be nice if I could cut commercials from Tivo'd shows and get them converted for my iPod Touch in as few steps as possible.

[bkdtv]

Can VideoReDo convert shows to MP4 for iPod playback? I didn't see a place where you could reset resolutions, etc. Normally I use Handbrake for iPod encoding but it would be nice if I could cut commercials from Tivo'd shows and get them converted for my iPod Touch in as few steps as possible.No.

VideoRedo only supports MPEG-2. They've said they are working on MPEG-4 for the next major release.

They did just release the VideoRedo TVSuite, which adds DVD authoring capability to VideoRedo. I believe the upgrade from VideoRedo to the VideoRedo TVSuite is $20. Well worth it if you have any interest in burning to DVD.

I use MeGUI (http://sourceforge.net/projects/megui) (free) for MPEG-4 conversions. You may want to give that a try. It is a bit complicated at first, but you'll get the hang of it. Here's a tutorial (http://forum.videohelp.com/topic333634.html).

[HDTiVo]

No.

They did just release the VideoRedo TVSuite, which adds DVD authoring capability to VideoRedo. I believe the upgrade from VideoRedo to the VideoRedo TVSuite is $20. Well worth it if you have any interest in burning to DVD.

Will that work for your hi def on DVD media method?

[Clusty]

Does anybody know of a program like Video ReDo for Mac? I guess I should have mentioned this in my post.

[yunlin12]

I tried VideoReDo and it's great. I have 3 episode of Dr. Who so far that run into the video dimensions changed issue that prevents me from editing them. It seems that QuickStreamFix using video dimensions filter is not working for DVR-MS file type since 2.5.4. I have their latest 2.5.6. Anyone know how to get around that?

Also, my 30 min daily show transfered still show up as 9+ min in WMP, but Dr. Who and Robot Chicken I transfered both show up with correct length in WMP, I think maybe the Daily Show encoding at then cable co end is screwed up.

[Chimpware]

Does anybody know of a program like Video ReDo for Mac? I guess I should have mentioned this in my post.


There is not, closest would be MPEG StreamClip, but it does not have Ad Detection like VideoRedo. Alternate is to run Parallels or Bootcamp and Windows to use VRD.

[bkdtv]

Will that work for your hi def on DVD media method?VideoRedo TVSuite does not allow one to author DVDs with true high-definition content. I asked them about this and they said they would look at that capability for a future version.

VideoRedo TVSuite will downconvert HD content to SD for playback in standard DVD players. So it will (1) directly accept SD and HD .Tivo files, (2) automatically remove the commercials, and (3) convert the recordings to SD and burn them to DVD with a menu. The program author posted a Tivo menu theme so burned DVDs look like the Tivo Now Playing screen.

[Clusty]

There is not, closest would be MPEG StreamClip, but it does not have Ad Detection like VideoRedo. Alternate is to run Parallels or Bootcamp and Windows to use VRD.
I actually have a Dell Inspiron that's like 5 years old, running XP, and I downloaded VRD, but it's going kinda slow. Stupid question, but what is the Ad-Detective feature?

[Chimpware]

I actually have a Dell Inspiron that's like 5 years old, running XP, and I downloaded VRD, but it's going kinda slow. Stupid question, but what is the Ad-Detective feature?

Automatically marks, and can delete commercials from TV shows.

[Goober96]

I have the Plus version of Tivo Desktop. Some HD shows the are transferred to the PC play fine, but some do not. For example, I transferred all the episodes of "The Office" to my PC but they will not play. Any suggestions?

[bkdtv]

I have the Plus version of Tivo Desktop. Some HD shows the are transferred to the PC play fine, but some do not. For example, I transferred all the episodes of "The Office" to my PC but they will not play. Any suggestions?PC playback issues are almost always codec related. The recording transferred to your PC is 100% bit-for-bit identical to that on the Tivo.

If you are using Windows, you might try installing the codec pack below:

http://fileforum.betanews.com/detail/KLite_Mega_Codec_Pack/1080441198/1

During setup, check MPEG-2, DVD and choose Cyberlink. For MPEG-1, DVD select Microsoft. For the second part of the installation, choose Windows Media Player as the default media player. Reboot and try playback again.

[HDTiVo]

VideoRedo TVSuite does not allow one to author DVDs with true high-definition content. I asked them about this and they said they would look at that capability for a future version.

VideoRedo TVSuite will downconvert HD content to SD for playback in standard DVD players. So it will (1) directly accept SD and HD .Tivo files, (2) automatically remove the commercials, and (3) convert the recordings to SD and burn them to DVD with a menu. The program author posted a Tivo menu theme so burned DVDs look like the Tivo Now Playing screen.
VideoReDo is such a wonderfully designed program. I would love to use it if I make a DVD. This is the first time it has had transcoding ability, right? It would be great if mpegs could be transcoded as well to reduce bit rate, ala DVDShrink, and save some space on the server.

[bkdtv]

VideoReDo is such a wonderfully designed program. I would love to use it if I make a DVD. This is the first time it has had transcoding ability, right?Yes.

The current version of VideoRedo TVSuite actually has a bug so the quality of the transcoding [for DVD] is a bit less than it should be, but Dan said a fix for that would be out next week.

[jmpage2]

PC playback issues are almost always codec related. The recording transferred to your PC is 100% bit-for-bit identical to that on the Tivo.

If you are using Windows, you might try installing the codec pack below:

http://fileforum.betanews.com/detail/KLite_Mega_Codec_Pack/1080441198/1

During setup, check MPEG-2, DVD and choose Cyberlink. For MPEG-1, DVD select Microsoft. For the second part of the installation, choose Windows Media Player as the default media player. Reboot and try playback again.

Tried this and no dice.

WMP still has problems playing back the .Tivo files for certain programs. Additionall the "classic media player" that was installed with the K-Lite codec pack can't play .Tivo extension files, it causes the application to hang if you select one.

I'm going to un-install Nero 7 and then re-install the K-Lite codec pack to see if that has any impact on the problem.

I am starting to get worried that something has really hosed up my WMP installation.

[bkdtv]

Tried this and no dice.

WMP still has problems playing back the .Tivo files for certain programs. Additionall the "classic media player" that was installed with the K-Lite codec pack can't play .Tivo extension files, it causes the application to hang if you select one.

I'm going to un-install Nero 7 and then re-install the K-Lite codec pack to see if that has any impact on the problem.

I am starting to get worried that something has really hosed up my WMP installation.Nero also caused high-definition playback issues for me. Let us know how it pans out.

[mercurial]

Yes.

The current version of VideoRedo TVSuite actually has a bug so the quality of the transcoding [for DVD] is a bit less than it should be, but Dan said a fix for that would be out next week.

Are VideoRedo Plus and VideoRedo TVSuite the same program? I tried googling but I'm so confused. Looks like they have two different "front end pages" but the buy option leads to a place to purchase VideoRedo Plus only... :confused:

[jmpage2]

Nero also caused high-definition playback issues for me. Let us know how it pans out.

Uninstalling Nero made no difference. I also uninstalled KLM so that the only codec being used in WMP is the default Windows MPEG2 audio and video codecs and still it is not behaving any differently.

If I hadn't seen the video playback correctly on a different PC I would swear that there was something wrong with the video itself.

As it is I'm suspicious that there is some kind of problem with WMP11 in Vista and something in the formatting of the streams on some Tivo recorded material.

If the filesize of the episode in question wasn't so long I would consider giving it to someone else to verify the problem on their Vista system.

Fortunately it only seems that this problem affects a very small number of programs, so in all likelihood I will just learn to live with it.

[Langree]

As it is I'm suspicious that there is some kind of problem with WMP11 in Vista and something in the formatting of the streams on some Tivo recorded material.


I'm using Vista and WMP 11 and having no problems with playback.

[jmpage2]

I'm using Vista and WMP 11 and having no problems with playback.

95% of my programs play back with absolutely no issues either. What would be helpful at this point is if someone with Windows Vista and WMP11 could record an episode of Star Trek from TV Land, transfer it from Tivo HD to their desktop and confirm whether or not it plays back correctly.

The problem does not appear to be random, it only affects specific programs from certain channels, such as the one indicated above.

When I tried to play the same "problem child" file in VideoRedo it comes up with an error saying "stream failure, please consider stream conversion" or something to that affect.

[Langree]

95% of my programs play back with absolutely no issues either. What would be helpful at this point is if someone with Windows Vista and WMP11 could record an episode of Star Trek from TV Land, transfer it from Tivo HD to their desktop and confirm whether or not it plays back correctly.

The problem does not appear to be random, it only affects specific programs from certain channels, such as the one indicated above.

When I tried to play the same "problem child" file in VideoRedo it comes up with an error saying "stream failure, please consider stream conversion" or something to that affect.

I'll set one to record and test for you.

[jmpage2]

I'll set one to record and test for you.

That would be great!! If it does work on your machine maybe we can see what codecs are in use on your WMP, it doesn't seem to matter which codec is used on mine.

I just transferred an episode of Trek that was taped on G4 and it's doing the same thing, yet (so far) none of my other transferred programs have had the issue.

[jackster1]

Everything works for me on my XP machine but I have problems playing on my Vista Ultimate PC. On that machine analog cable shows play fine but OTA ATSC programs cause this error: "Windows Media Player Stopped Working"

Any ideas?

[bkdtv]

Everything works for me on my XP machine but I have problems playing on my Vista Ultimate PC. On that machine analog cable shows play fine but OTA ATSC programs cause this error: "Windows Media Player Stopped Working"

Any ideas?That's a codec issue on your PC.

[jmpage2]

Well, I was wrong, it's not just a few shows doing this, now it appears that they ALL are doing it.

Which applications can play back .tivo files without having to convert them first to MPG format?

I've tried reinstalling codecs, removing other applications, etc, and nothing seems to be fixing this issue. I'd rather not have to re-install the entire system just to try to fix a problem with .tivo files not playing back correctly. Everything else on my machine including mp4 playback, AVIs, other MPG, etc, all seem to play fine. Only the .tivo programs have issues.

Should I consider buying the Tivo upgrade to the desktop software? If it still fails to work after that maybe I can get some technical support out of the Tivo folks.

[bkdtv]

Well, I was wrong, it's not just a few shows doing this, now it appears that they ALL are doing it.

Which applications can play back .tivo files without having to convert them first to MPG format?Any Directshow-capable player in Windows should do it.

[bsaunder]

I transferred an SD program to my PC using Desktop, but there's no audio in either Windows Media Player or Media Center. Am I doing something wrong or do I need to change a setting or add a CODEC?

Thanks.

I'm getting the same thing - only does it on the files transfered from my S3 (HD and SD). All programs from my S2 are fine.

[jmpage2]

Any Directshow-capable player in Windows should do it.

Media Player Classic and the other players I've tried can't seem to pull it off. I'm going to install Tivo Desktop and WMP11 on my Windows XP Professional work laptop to see what kind of results I get there. Will report back in a bit.

[jmpage2]

Well, at least I'm not losing my mind. I have just installed WMP11 on my XP Professional Laptop along with a fresh install of Tivo Desktop 2.5.1.

Took one of the Tivo files that's on my desktop and moved it over to the laptop with a flash drive.

Guess what? It has the exact same problem playing back on the XP machine that I was seeing on the Vista box. Thank God I didn't re-install windows over this issue. Also worth noting is that the laptop is using completely different codecs than the desktop, and yet the problem is manifesting in the same way.

Now the only question is, is the problem in the Tivo Desktop software, or in the Tivo HD itself?

I'm doing a fresh download of a known "problem" recording from the Tivo HD to see if that exhibits the problem too.

Another possibility is that these problems are being caused by recordings made BEFORE the Tivo updated to 9.2. Will investigate that more also.

[Laserfan]

I have 9.1, and now Tivo Desktop 2.5.1, and VideoReDo. In transferring an HD Tivo file to my PC, editing it with VRD, and saving as HD .mpg file when I put it back on the Tivo it has odd jumps & skips, i.e. missing video frames, though the audio always remains in sync.

I have not tried (yet) saving from VRD as a .tivo file but will try that next--apparently VRD uses Tivos own .tivo directshow filters to function.

But there's something about the HD .mpg files that Tivo doesn't like--maybe the non-standard GOPS? I suppose I could also have VRD fix the GOPS. The VRD developer is getting a Tivo HD, which if history holds true means they will get this sorted-out for sure.

[pbp4th]

just set up ttg for my series 3 HD. after a little trouble getting it to show the programs available for transfer, it did. kind of. i have 105 programs. it lists the last 4 (including one being recorded right now and shows the others as "details unavailable". thoughts.

also. i see a lot of talk about getting the 9.2 update. there's no way to "get" it, is there? it just comes from tivo when it comes, right?

[windracer]

it lists the last 4 (including one being recorded right now and shows the others as "details unavailable". thoughts.
The "details unavailable" thing is usually a cache problem. Shut down TiVo Desktop and then delete all the files under C:\Documents and Settings\<username>\Local Settings\Application Data\TiVo Desktop\cache.

also. i see a lot of talk about getting the 9.2 update. there's no way to "get" it, is there? it just comes from tivo when it comes, right?
You can sign up on the priority list (http://www.tivo.com/priority).

[pbp4th]

thanks windracer. that did seem to get more details (i now show 30-35 of the 105 programs), but i still can't see them all. I went into server-->tivo server properties-->performance and maxed out the cache size, too. but that didn't seem to get it done either.

[ReidWings]

What's with the inordinate amount of shows that are flagged and not able to be transferred? For instance, Real Time with Bill Maher on HBO and many movies from HBO and Encore. What gives? TTG is great and all, but not if I can't use it!

[azitnay]

Complain to your cable provider... We're pretty much at their mercy, outside the local networks. But I can't see getting upset about anything on a premium channel like HBO being copy-protected.

Drew

[bicker]

I'm having a strange problem (which may be the same problem HDTiVo mentioned earlier). I can transfer some HD programs from my S3 to my PC, but these half-hour HD programs off PBS are not working. When I initiate the transfer (either from TiVo Desktop 2.3a or using the direct download from the web browser) I get a 2MB file with (from what I can tell) no content. Does anyone know what might be going on?

[bicker]

If your cable company is doing that, that is illeagal.If the recordings are off broadcast networks. The cable company can legally protect anything else they'd like, unless prohibited by an agreement with the content provider.

[mikeyts]

What's with the inordinate amount of shows that are flagged and not able to be transferred? For instance, Real Time with Bill Maher on HBO and many movies from HBO and Encore. What gives? TTG is great and all, but not if I can't use it!The cable providers mark content on some channels with a copy protection code called "Copy One Generation"; it allows you to hold only a single copy of the broadcast, being the one on the DVR. TTG and MRV need to make a second copy, so they don't work with Copy One Generation content. There's a discussion of this in the Copy Protection Affecting TTG (http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?t=371196) thread.

FCC regulations allow the cable providers to mark anything not in their core basic tier with that level of protection; other regulations require that they position all rebroadcasts of local television in that tier, so they can't apply copy protection to the national networks like ABC, CBS and NBC. Though the cable companies have been a bit too liberal in their use of Copy One Generation, premium service providers like HBO/Cinemax and Starz!/Encore explicitly want their content marked this way. You're free to complain to your cable company but it's unlikely to change that.

The licensing for the protocols used to deliver the content to TiVo (DFAST and CableCARD Host Interface) allow the implementation of a "move" operation for Copy One Generation content which would make a copy, deleting the original recording when done. TiVo doesn't currently implement this.

[HDTiVo]

I'm having a strange problem (which may be the same problem HDTiVo mentioned earlier). I can transfer some HD programs from my S3 to my PC, but these half-hour HD programs off PBS are not working. When I initiate the transfer (either from TiVo Desktop 2.3a or using the direct download from the web browser) I get a 2MB file with (from what I can tell) no content. Does anyone know what might be going on?
That does sound like the exact same problem - particularly because we both are seeing it on PBS HD recordings. Unfortunately, I only have those 'The War' recordings available to test. I should try some others on both my HD and S3 units.

Do you have a second hi def unit to test MRV on? I found MRV worked fine. I also found that TTG didn't work on the program after it successfully MRV'd either.

[bkdtv]

I'm having a strange problem (which may be the same problem HDTiVo mentioned earlier). I can transfer some HD programs from my S3 to my PC, but these half-hour HD programs off PBS are not working. When I initiate the transfer (either from TiVo Desktop 2.3a or using the direct download from the web browser) I get a 2MB file with (from what I can tell) no content. Does anyone know what might be going on?You have 9.2 on your Tivo, right?

Some files wouldn't transfer for me with 9.1, but do transfer with 9.2.

[bkdtv]

ook one of the Tivo files that's on my desktop and moved it over to the laptop with a flash drive.

Guess what? It has the exact same problem playing back on the XP machine that I was seeing on the Vista box. Thank God I didn't re-install windows over this issue. Also worth noting is that the laptop is using completely different codecs than the desktop, and yet the problem is manifesting in the same way.

Now the only question is, is the problem in the Tivo Desktop software, or in the Tivo HD itself?The Tivo just copies the original digital recording from your Tivo.

These days, the encoders used by broadcasters and cable providers employ many 'tricks' to increase compression and improve efficiency. Many codecs on the PC simply cannot handle all of these. I do not like the MainConcept codec because it known not to correctly handle many high-definition transport streams. I much prefer the hardware-accelerated Cyberlink codec.

MPG and .Tivo files may be set to use different video codecs -- depending on your PC's setup -- which adds to the confusion.

[HDTiVo]

You have 9.2 on your Tivo, right?

Some files wouldn't transfer for me with 9.1, but do transfer with 9.2.
In my case I have 9.2 on the HD the recording was made; but of course not when the recording was made. hmmmmm....


The other recordings I successfully TTG'd were more recent ones.

[bicker]

Do you have a second hi def unit to test MRV on?No, just the one S3.You have 9.2 on your Tivo, right?Yes, that's correct.

[jkc120]

Is it normal for TTG transfers (well, downloading via https://...) to go at about 1MB/s? That's pretty darned slow. At that rate, a standard HD 1 hour program would take over 1.5 hours to transfer. This is on a S3 Tivo, not a TivoHD.

What kind of transfer rate are other folks seeing?

*edit* Oops, I forgot to mention that I'm connected via Ethernet (100baseTx-FD).

I realize there are a limited number of resources on this thing, but 1MB/s? I guess with two buffers writing to the disk at the same time, I'm lucky to get 1MB/s. Too bad there's no way to tell it to stop recording the live buffers. I'll try changing both tuners to SD channels to see if that helps. :)

[bkdtv]

Is it normal for TTG transfers (well, downloading via https://...) to go at about 1MB/s? That's pretty darned slow. At that rate, a standard HD 1 hour program would take over 1.5 hours to transfer. This is on a S3 Tivo, not a TivoHD.

What kind of transfer rate are other folks seeing?

*edit* Oops, I forgot to mention that I'm connected via Ethernet (100baseTx-FD).

I realize there are a limited number of resources on this thing, but 1MB/s? I guess with two buffers writing to the disk at the same time, I'm lucky to get 1MB/s. Too bad there's no way to tell it to stop recording the live buffers. I'll try changing both tuners to SD channels to see if that helps. :)Yes, maximum TTG throughput on the Series3 is 15-17Mbps. You'll see different results with:

both tuners set to channels you do not receive (i.e. no buffers);

both tuners set to low-bitrate SD channels like SCI-FI and CNN; and

both tuners set to higher-bitrate channels like CBS-HD and NBC-HD while watching a previous recording from CBS-HD.
This is summarized in the sticky at the top of the forum.

[HDTiVo]

You have 9.2 on your Tivo, right?

Some files wouldn't transfer for me with 9.1, but do transfer with 9.2.
In my case I have 9.2 on the HD the recording was made; but of course not when the recording was made. hmmmmm....


The other recordings I successfully TTG'd were more recent ones.
I TTG'd a recording I made from ABC HD under 9.1. While it did transfer - unlike those PBS HD recordings - it did not play in WMP. WMP said it was playing, but there was a black screen and no active progress bar...

I ran it through VideoRedo and played the mpg just fine in WMP.

The difference I observed is that WMP says it is attempting to download codec, then download codec failed, just before successfully playing the mpg (also other successful HD .tivo files do that) For this unplayable .tivo, there is no codec attempt.

WMP 10.00 Windows XP SP2

[bicker]

Another possibility is that these problems are being caused by recordings made BEFORE the Tivo updated to 9.2. Will investigate that more also.That is not the case from what I can see. I cannot transfer Travels to the Edge from 10/26 (again, this is TTG, not MRV).

[HDTiVo]

95% of my programs play back with absolutely no issues either. What would be helpful at this point is if someone with Windows Vista and WMP11 could record an episode of Star Trek from TV Land, transfer it from Tivo HD to their desktop and confirm whether or not it plays back correctly.

The problem does not appear to be random, it only affects specific programs from certain channels, such as the one indicated above.

When I tried to play the same "problem child" file in VideoRedo it comes up with an error saying "stream failure, please consider stream conversion" or something to that affect.
It sounds like I ran into a similar problem to this in my last post. I did find I could fix it by running through VR. Also, note the failed attempts of WMP 10 to download codec when playback works vs. no attempt when playback doesn't work.

Haven't tried more post 9.2 recordings to see if I trip up on any of those. I need to record something new off PBS HD too.

Between bicker, jmpage and myself we are describing two things which might be related:

1. Failure to fully download recording (TTG). Generally stops within 10MB. MRV to another TiVo seems to work.

2. Failure of fully downloaded recording (TTG) to play on PC (WMP only?) Processing such recording to mpg via VideoRedo results in playable file.

Plus, 3. Fully downloaded .tivo plays, but not smoothly at times. Conversion to mpg via VideoRedo fixes problem. Possibility that TiVo DRM filter gets in the way of smooth HD playback?

[Clusty]

I've downloaded the trial of VideoReDo TV Suite. It's a very nice program, it only misses some short commercials, which I expected. Very nice.

[ThreeSoFar]

Pleasantly surprised here.

I had identical results with these two transfers, one wireless (via TiVo branded wifi adapter) and one wired (all over the same home network). I figured the wifi would be slower.

First was MRV transfer from S2A to S3A, simultaneous with an MRV from S2B to S3B (I have 3 S3's and 2 S2's).

[andrews777]

Yes, maximum TTG throughput on the Series3 is 15-17Mbps. You'll see different results with:

both tuners set to channels you do not receive (i.e. no buffers);

both tuners set to low-bitrate SD channels like SCI-FI and CNN; and

both tuners set to higher-bitrate channels like CBS-HD and NBC-HD while watching a previous recording from CBS-HD.
This is summarized in the sticky at the top of the forum.

Can someone explain exactly why we have to go through such contortions to transfer files efficiently? Shouldn't the system just prompt me for that and/or do it automatically if I am not watching live TV?

Brad

[ThreeSoFar]

Can someone explain exactly why we have to go through such contortions to transfer files efficiently? Shouldn't the system just prompt me for that and/or do it automatically if I am not watching live TV?

Brad
No is your answer.

The throttling is specifically so the performance of whatever you're recording/viewing is NOT degraded. For obvious reasons, transfer speeds are lower priority than playing/recording.

The CPU in these things is not that beefy, and the memory pretty minimal.

[ThreeSoFar]

And also, of course, with live TV playing you are always BOTH viewing a recording (the live buffer) AND recording.

[andrews777]

No is your answer.

The throttling is specifically so the performance of whatever you're recording/viewing is NOT degraded. For obvious reasons, transfer speeds are lower priority than playing/recording.

The CPU in these things is not that beefy, and the memory pretty minimal.

I know the reasons why, but why can't I override that recording. I have many hours in the day where I am not watching and I would prefer a much faster transfer time over recording live TV.

Brad

[ThreeSoFar]

I know the reasons why, but why can't I override that recording. I have many hours in the day where I am not watching and I would prefer a much faster transfer time over recording live TV.

Brad
You know the reasons, but you're not admitting they exist?

TiVo defaults to showing live TV. Live TV means both playing and recording. And there's no setting to change that behavior, no.

Why? Because they wrote the software that way.

[jebbbz]

I know the reasons why, but why can't I override that recording. I have many hours in the day where I am not watching and I would prefer a much faster transfer time over recording live TV.


I'm with you on this.

Most people may be happy with the standard offering but I have been spoiled by some of the PC-based software that allows quite a bit of user customization. Maybe Tivo should offer some "Tivo Pro" software that would allow user modifiable settings -- set a different-sized buffer, turn off buffering between certain hours (1AM-6AM, e.g.). If the hardware in the Series 3 and the THD allowed it I would like to be able to transcode HD recordings to lower bit rates to save space, sort of like the quality settings on the analog Tivos.

[Adam1115]

I know the reasons why, but why can't I override that recording. I have many hours in the day where I am not watching and I would prefer a much faster transfer time over recording live TV.

Brad

There IS a setting to override this.

It's STANDBY.

If the S3 you are MRVing or TTGing FROM is in standby, no tuners or buffers will be active.

[moyekj]

There IS a setting to override this.

It's STANDBY.

If the S3 you are MRVing or TTGing FROM is in standby, no tuners or buffers will be active. Standby does not stop buffering - when my Tivos come out of standby the full 30 minute buffers on both tuners are still available. Standby turns off the Tivo outputs but does not eliminate disk activity. So best option for speeding up TTG/MRV is to tune to channels you don't receive or music channels.

[bkdtv]

On my TivoHD, standby mode actually appears to reduce throughput.

I've only tested with a few files using TTG and TTCB. More testing is needed before I can say anything definitive.

[Adam1115]

Standby does not stop buffering - when my Tivos come out of standby the full 30 minute buffers on both tuners are still available. Standby turns off the Tivo outputs but does not eliminate disk activity. So best option for speeding up TTG/MRV is to tune to channels you don't receive or music channels.

Wow, you're right...

Hmm. That's dumb.

[randymel]

Hi! Came home from work the other day and noticed that my "Bedroom Tivo" (Series 2 DT) was now on my "Living Room" Tivo's (Tivo HD) "Now Playing" list. However, when I went to select it, there were no programs listed. Went into the bedroom and it still had software version 8.something while the one in the living room had 9.whatever. Ok so no biggie fries. I figured I would just wait a while and sure enough, the next day my bedroom Tivo had software version 9.whatever. It is so cool to be able to transfer shows to each Tivo (with the exceptions noted above). Thanks Tivo!!!

randymel

[Hyrax]

How do you tune both tuners in the TivoHD to unused channels when you're OTA? It doesn't indicate which tuner you're using.

[moyekj]

How do you tune both tuners in the TivoHD to unused channels when you're OTA? It doesn't indicate which tuner you're using. Tune to something you know is not a real channel (like 111-1) then click "Live TV" to switch tuners and then tune to a different channel you don't receive (such as 112-1). You should have a dark screen and when you click "Live TV" again you should still have a dark screen.

[Hyrax]

Thanks, moyekj...worked like a charm and transfers do seem faster.