Mac, TTCB, Toast TivoTransfer and TivoDecode Manager

[jschaffe]

I've copied several shows to my Mac using TivoTransfer and a couple more using TivoDecode Manager. When I enable TTCB in system preferences, my Tivo sees the shows I transferred using TivoDecode Manager but not the shows transferred using TivoTransfer. I notice that the TivoTransfer files all have a .tivo extension while the TivoDecode files have .mpg extensions, but I'm not sure that's the critical factor.

Am I missing something?

Jeff

[sobenski]

I've copied several shows to my Mac using TivoTransfer and a couple more using TivoDecode Manager. When I enable TTCB in system preferences, my Tivo sees the shows I transferred using TivoDecode Manager but not the shows transferred using TivoTransfer. I notice that the TivoTransfer files all have a .tivo extension while the TivoDecode files have .mpg extensions, but I'm not sure that's the critical factor.

Am I missing something?

Jeff

I'm having the same issue -- plain mepgs appear but .tivo files imported with Toast (Tivo Transfer) do not. :confused: Any help would be appreciated! (I'm using a MacBook Pro and Tivo Series 3)

[jschaffe]

I haven't tried it, but can we rename the .tivo files as .mpg2?

[sobenski]

I haven't tried it, but can we rename the .tivo files as .mpg2?

Interesting -- I renamed the files with a .mpg extension and they now appear when I browse the computer files on the Tivo's Now Playing List. I've tried to start transfers but they seem to hang and the file doesn't ever actually move to the Tivo.

Perhaps this is related to the metadata problem that others have said is caused by the latest Tivo software update??

[sobenski]

Hi Jeff --

I posted this problem over on tivo.com and got a very detailed answer. See
http://forums.tivo.com/pe/action/forums/displaysinglethread?rootPostID=10349974

It was illuminating, but the bottom line is that TivoToComeBack (transferring shows back to the Tivo) is not a supported feature for Mac users and there is no guarantee it will ever be fixed....

sigh. :(

[bedelman]

Hi Jeff --

I posted this problem over on tivo.com and got a very detailed answer. See
http://forums.tivo.com/pe/action/forums/displaysinglethread?rootPostID=10349974

It was illuminating, but the bottom line is that TivoToComeBack (transferring shows back to the Tivo) is not a supported feature for Mac users and there is no guarantee it will ever be fixed....

sigh. :(

Actually -- that was my posting to which you linked. Please understand that I am not a TiVo employee (just a little more active than most over at the TiVo Support Forums -- hence the "All-Star")

From your post over there...

So... is there any chance of Tivo fixing this issue with the "hidden" video tab? Over at TivoCommunity, TivoPony announced that TivoToComeBack was going to be part of the feature set for the Series 3 / HD, so it's a huge bummer to find out it's been effectively disabled for mac users.

I really don't know. In my opinion, TiVo doesn't have any direct commitment to fix this seeing as the video tab feature was never really enabled officially. It's possible that since this is merely a metadata issue, that it can be fixed by someone with a bit of development experience. TiVo Desktop for Mac OSX looks to be very Java based.

As for the workarounds (converting to mpeg-4, etc.) they are not great options -- as you know, it can take an hour or two to do the conversion of an HD file, even on a fast Mac. And, Toast doesn't even allow you convert full HD (1080i) to an Mpeg4 file without also reducing the resolution to 320x240, which is just a waste of an HDTV (and Tivo S3)...

Have you tried enabling the "expert" mode in Toast? I (and others) posted about it here a while ago and it unlocks a bunch more export options. Do the following in Terminal while Toast is NOT running defaults write com.roxio.Toast "tivo export mode" -integer 1

Long story short, how do we let Tivo know that Mac users care about TTCB? I am just sort of in shock that once again Mac users are stuck waiting indefinitely for a solution...

In my opinion, there was never any commitment to getting TTCB on the Macintosh. That's probably the best place to start.

[jschaffe]

Well I used TivoDecode Manager to bring a whole bunch of SD and HD shows to my Mac. Between Toast video player and QuickTime player I seem to be able to play them all successfully, and they actually show up when I look at the Mac from my Tivo.

Unfortunately trying to restore them to the Tivo is interesting. They come down *fast* (well, relative to getting them to the Mac anyway), but when I play them there's gross pixelation, audio drops, and skips, making them essentially unwatchable.

Oh well.

[sobenski]

Thanks, Bob.

In my opinion, there was never any commitment to getting TTCB on the Macintosh. That's probably the best place to start.

Actually, I just noticed that TivoPony has said that TivoToComeBack, even for HD files, IS supposed to be supported for Macs (via Roxio). See his post here:http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?p=5483761#post5483761
which was in response to whether TTG for the S3 would include TTCB supports for Macs.

Having made that commitment, I would hope that Tivo and Roxio would work together to fix this issue.

Thanks again for the workaround tips. They are useful, but just not as quick or elegant as simply sending the native file back from the Mac to the Tivo.

Steve