Problems transferring large HD file from TiVo to PC.

[J0hnP]

Dear forum folks,

I have read through some of the threads here that were related to my problem, but none of them are quite exact, and I thought I'd throw out an appeal for help. :-)

I have a TiVo HD unit (Bedroom), purchased through Weaknees (650/70 Hours). This unit has been working flawlessly, and I'm able to transfer programs from my other TiVo HD (Family Room) to this Bedroom unit.

I am trying to transfer a program from the Bedroom unit to my PC -- and this is the first transfer I've attempted from this unit. The file is an hour long HD 1080i -- about 8GB.

I am using TiVo Desktop 2.6.1 on Windows Vista Ultimate, all drives with NTFS (no FAT32).

I have my TiVo set up with my wireless router, and I haven't had any trouble with it before. I got about 1/3 of the way through, and I got the "transfer interrupted" message. I tried a few times, same thing -- but curiously it always fails in roughly in the same place (but not *exactly* in the same place; sometimes I'd get 2.3GB, sometimes 2.4GB, or somewhere in between).

I switched to use my PowerLine network (wired networking through my home's power lines). This failed in the same place as the wireless. Tried it several times, same results.

I brought my TiVo unit into my computer room and hooked it up to my LAN via a standard RJ45 connection with my router (Linksys BEFSR81 v3 with the latest firmware). Still the same results. Several times.

I ditched TiVo Desktop and tried to download the file via https://, but got *exactly* the same results as with TiVo Desktop -- once the file downloaded to about 2.4GB of the 8GB file, it just hung.

I called TiVo support, and, after escalating up the support chain, they're *convinced* that it's a router issue on my end. I am able to successfully copy a 3GB file from one computer to another over the LAN/router, so I'm skeptical about their position.

I have been able to run through the entire 1 hour show -- but I did not watch it (for any skips/hiccups near the problematic area), so I just assumed the file was okay.

I was thinking of eliminating the router and using a crossover cable between my computer and the TiVo unit, but I'm not sure if that's gonna work either (and I don't want to move the TiVo again ;-).

Does anyone have any advice/suggestions for me?

Very kind regards,

John Peterson

[CuriousMark]

You are on the right track. If it is a router issue, unlikely as that may be, the test you plan will solve the problem on this file. Most likely though it is a visible or invisible hiccup in the file at that location that is the source of the problem. There are several threads here describing it in detail and showing ways you can find the irregularity using VideoRedo.

[moyekj]

John, would suggest you try and transfer a different recording > 2.4GB from your Tivo to your PC to see if it hangs up around the same size. If that works then that rules out some networking/firewall issue. If it fails at around same point then I would suspect a networking/firewall issue. Note that prior to 9.3a release there were many others reporting issues with failed transfers. While 9.3a seems to have cleared up most of these, there may still be certain glitches that are impeding transfers that Tivo did not address.

[J0hnP]

Dear CuriousMark and moyekj,

Thank you so much for your suggestions! I had to slap myself on the forehead for not already trying a different file. That was easy, and I did it, and it was successful (3.2GB).

That seems to strongly suggest that it's likely not my network, but rather a glitch in the video file I was attempting to transfer earlier.

I don't know anything about VideoRedo, but I'll do some research. Hopefully it'll be something that I can run to detect (and repair?) the irregularity.

Thanks again for your help!

[wgw]

In my experience, TD requires almost 10GB of free disk space plus enough space for the file being downloaded. If you are transferring an 8GB file, you should make sure you have 18GB free space on the drive that TD is downloading the file to.

[J0hnP]

Thanks wgw! I've got over 100GB available on the drive, so I don't think that was the problem.

I looked into VideoReDo and heard back from a technical support specialist. Since I'm trying to get the file *from* the TiVo to the PC, there's nothing that their software can do to recover it. :-(

[CuriousMark]

I don't know anything about VideoRedo, but I'll do some research. Hopefully it'll be something that I can run to detect (and repair?) the irregularity.

No it will not help there. What it will do is let you see the anomaly in the file at the point where it died. There is a long thread on the issue here and descriptions of how to use VideoRedo to look at the unusual arrangement of frame types leading up to the point where the transfer breaks. In that sense it is only a postmortem that will let you verify that this particular issue is the one you are suffering and not something else that might be fixable.

[moyekj]

It could well be just a glitch with that particular recording and nothing can be done about it. I would look for an opportunity to re-record the show if possible as maybe there was a transmission glitch.

Since you have another THD in the house I would suggest using MRV to make a copy from bedroom THD to living room THD and then try TTG from the LR THD to your PC to see if that works. It's a long shot of course but worth a try anyway.