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View Full Version : Played video files on Mac after downloading WITHOUT toast/popcorn?


mattack
02-14-2008, 10:14 PM
I brought up similar issues in other threads, but I thought this would be worth it to start up a thread about.

Has anybody been able to download from Series 3 or TivoHD to a Mac, WITHOUT using Toast nor Popcorn, and had valid video files they could play/edit?

I have tried several things..

* Try downloading with TivoDecodeManager
Even though it 'says' it doesn't work with Series 3, I remember reading others say it worked... though can't find evidence of that now. I can get it to connect to both my Series 3 & TivoHD, but it downloads OVER AND OVER. It downloads the file, then immediately deletes it and starts downloading again.

* Downloading with the https://tivoip/nowplaying/ backdoor
I was able to download files with this, and then use the tivodecode command line program to supposedly convert the files.
But after this, I don't usually get video in any program. VLC and MPEG Streamclip play the audio of the recording, but no video at all. Also, VLC seems to think that all of the recordings are under about 12 minutes or so.. at least that's what it shows in the info.. But I seem to remember that the whole recording might actually be there (I didn't go through the whole thing, but skimmed, and it seemed like much longer than that).

I say 'usually' above since now I seem to remember I did get video one time, but it was still combined with other messed up things like the program thinking the recording was really short.

Any info about how people have done this successfully with a Mac *and* a Series 3 and/or TivoHD would be greatly appreciated..

Oh yeah -- and the downloaded size is different from what the web interface says. IIRC, web interface said 350 megs, it was really 305 megs downloaded (with no apparent interruption of the download). This may have been explained in another thread though.

Berone
02-16-2008, 10:53 AM
Yes, I have. I tested it last night burning a file. Now the only burning software I have that will read the file is Toast which I really hate, so I'm going to look for other options to unwrap the Tivo file. I also only have a cd burner on my server, so I couldn't burn a dvd. I did burn a video cd which played on my wife's ibook using Quicktime as well as on my Toshiba laptop using WinDVD. The transfer was done using Galleon 2.5.2, which is working quite solidly now. My notes on that are here: http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?t=384390
Let me know if I can be of assistance to you getting it set up.

mattack
02-18-2008, 10:25 PM
I'll read that, and try to set up Galleon again at some point (this weekend probably).. But if Toast is the only program that will burn it, it's kind of annoying.

Is there something *besides* Toast that will let me *losslessly* convert the file to a quicktime-compatible file, or some other file type that I can edit?

cwoody222
02-18-2008, 11:08 PM
Have you tried to play it with MPlayer?

TiVoDecodeManager has issues sometimes (downloading over and over) so I'd use the web browser interface.

mattack
02-19-2008, 10:20 PM
Have you tried to play it with MPlayer?

TiVoDecodeManager has issues sometimes (downloading over and over) so I'd use the web browser interface.

I'm not trying to be snotty, but I mentioned exactly that -- downloading over and over -- in the first post in this thread.

I haven't tried MPlayer.. I'll try that.

Pokeyjoe
02-19-2008, 10:27 PM
For awhile, but not anymore, I successfully used the NowPlaying 2.51 widget to download to my Mac and then I could play them with VLC. NowPlaying will no longer make the connection, however, and I don't know why. It may be linked to the 10.5.2 update, but I'm not sure.

mattack
02-20-2008, 10:23 PM
Have you tried to play it with MPlayer?

Success!! (with reservations..)

After downloading with the web interface, then running tivodecode on the file, I can play the videos with MPlayer.

MPlayer seems 'weird' though. It doesn't even have obvious things like cmd-W to close the window. (I realize that it's a Linux app ported to OS X.) Also, clicking in the time bar sometimes makes it stutter-jump to the new spot.

Though worse, MPlayer doesn't seem to have any editing/export ability. Even so, it's _enough_ success that I downloaded a few recordings and deleted them from my Tivos to make more room. (Of course, I chose some less-important ones that I don't really care too much if I lose.)

I really wish something else would play them and let me edit them.

I haven't yet installed the MPEG-2 codec on that machine to let me try again with QT player. Maybe using MPlayer's "redo the index" thing will somehow help that situation.. I'll try that (on a copy of a file).

wmcbrine
02-20-2008, 11:29 PM
MPlayer seems 'weird' though. It doesn't even have obvious things like cmd-W to close the window.There's an "MPlayer OSX" that might act more like a Mac app.

Though worse, MPlayer doesn't seem to have any editing/export ability.For that, you need MEncoder (part of the MPlayer package).

stevewjackson
02-21-2008, 03:04 PM
For awhile, but not anymore, I successfully used the NowPlaying 2.51 widget to download to my Mac and then I could play them with VLC. NowPlaying will no longer make the connection, however, and I don't know why. It may be linked to the 10.5.2 update, but I'm not sure.
I've got NowPlaying 2.51 and it still works following the update to 10.5.2.

= Steve =

mattack
02-21-2008, 05:34 PM
There's an "MPlayer OSX" that might act more like a Mac app.

For that, you need MEncoder (part of the MPlayer package).

that's what I'm running.

I guess MEncoder doesn't have a GUI frontend?
Remember, if possible, I don't want to change the audio/video quality at all.

Pokeyjoe
02-21-2008, 09:56 PM
I've got NowPlaying 2.51 and it still works following the update to 10.5.2.
= Steve =
I got mine to work today, too. Apparently, if the path to the download folder isn't perfect, it won't work. Don't forget the "~". :up: