Few newbie questions about Tivo To Go

[poo706]

I have an 80 GB networked Series 2 TiVo, and Galleon installed on Windows XP. I'm starting to run out of room, so what I would like to do is move my girlfriend's daily Gilmore Girls recordings to the PC as I need room. Currently I'm not concerned with burning to DVD or transfering to other computers.

My first question: Do TTG tranfers stay within the local network, or do they go across the internet? My ISP is Comcast, and they get a little crazy about excessive uploads.

My second question: Once I have shows transfered to the PC, can I stream them from the PC through the TiVo and to the TV? I basically want to use the PC as an external hard drive to store more recordings, but I still want to watch all of the recordings via the TiVo. I have seen that Galleon added my PC to the Now Playing list, so I'm pretty sure I have everything set up correctly.

Thanks.

[poo]

[CuriousMark]

Currently I'm not concerned with burning to DVD or transfering to other computers.

My first question: Do TTG tranfers stay within the local network, or do they go across the internet?
Yes, they stay withing your local network. As a matter of fact that is a requirement. If you were to send them over the internet you would violate your terms of service with Tivo.

My second question: Once I have shows transfered to the PC, can I stream them from the PC through the TiVo and to the TV? I basically want to use the PC as an external hard drive to store more recordings, but I still want to watch all of the recordings via the TiVo. I have seen that Galleon added my PC to the Now Playing list, so I'm pretty sure I have everything set up correctly.
You cannot "stream" them back to the TiVo, it is a copy, but you can start watching while the copy is in progress, which is a lot like streaming. However in this case, the show will not disappear off the TiVo when you quit watching it. You will have to delete it manually.

You should be good to go.

[poo706]

Ok, I'm a little confused. Tell me if I understand this correctly.

Record show to TiVo. Transfer show to PC. Delete show from TiVo. Down the road, play show stored on PC through TiVo. PC starts transfering show back to TiVo. TiVo plays show as it's being transfered. Then, when the show is done playing, I'll have to delete it from both the Tivo and the PC.

Will I have to delete the PC copy of the show from the PC itself, or can I do it from the TiVo?

[poo]

[CuriousMark]

Record show to TiVo. Transfer show to PC. Delete show from TiVo. Down the road, play show stored on PC through TiVo. PC starts transfering show back to TiVo. TiVo plays show as it's being transfered. Then, when the show is done playing, I'll have to delete it from both the Tivo and the PC.

Will I have to delete the PC copy of the show from the PC itself, or can I do it from the TiVo?
Sorry for being unclear.

You record the show on TiVo, and then transfer the show to PC, you can feel free to delete the show on the TiVo once it is transferred, but don't have to, you will just have two copies, one on each machine. Go ahead and delete the show on the TiVo to save space, since the show is on PC, it can be transferred back to the TiVo at any time. To do so, in the now playing list of the TiVo scroll down to the computer near the bottom of the list, select the computer, find the show on the computer and select to transfer it. It starts transferring. You can choose to start watching it or not. It will transfer to the TiVo and just be another show on the now playing list, just like it was before you moved it to the PC. When you choose to watch it doesn't matter, you can let it transfer completely before watching it or you can choose to watch while it is transferring.

That last part is a little like "streaming",and is the confusing part. With true streaming, you MUST watch while it is transferring and when it is done it is gone. So the TiVo is not streaming, it is just that the part of being able to watch while transferring is a little similar to streaming.

When the transfer is done you will still have a copy on the PC. You can leave it or delete it as you see fit. (TiVo calls this transfer, but it is really a copy).

You can only delete the file on the PC while at the PC, you can't do it from the TiVo, unless that is a feature of Galleon that I don't know about. I use TiVo Desktop and am describing how it works. Galleon is similar, but not identical.

[poo706]

Ok, I get it now. That's much clearer, thank you. So it looks like watching a show that resides on a PC is pretty much the same as watching a show that resides on the TiVo HDD, except that there's the one little extra step of starting the show copying over first. TiVo network transfers seem mighty slow. I'm assuming that if you had a long show at high quality with a lot of commercials and started watching it at the beginning of the transfer, you could eventually catch up before the show's done transferring?

[poo]

[steve614]

When you start a transfer from the PC, you're going to want to wait 20 min per hour of programming (if you want to skip the commercials) to avoid "catching up" with the transfer.

Side note: Anything I bother to transfer to my PC, I go ahead and edit out the commercials with VideoReDo. :)

[CuriousMark]

Ok, I get it now. That's much clearer, thank you. So it looks like watching a show that resides on a PC is pretty much the same as watching a show that resides on the TiVo HDD, except that there's the one little extra step of starting the show copying over first. TiVo network transfers seem mighty slow. I'm assuming that if you had a long show at high quality with a lot of commercials and started watching it at the beginning of the transfer, you could eventually catch up before the show's done transferring?

[poo]

Yup. Your transfer rate will depend on a lot of factors, so it is pretty much impossible to predict in advance. TiVo transfers are slow compared with computer to computer transfers, but remember, the TiVo is an appliance, not a PC and doesn't have a high powered processor and lots of RAM. As long as it is fast enough for you to use comfortably, it is good enough.

[rtduke]

If I transfer a show from a Tivo HD to my PC, and then back again is it still in full HD format or does it lose some resolution during the process?

Randy

[CuriousMark]

Nothing is lost.

[rtduke]

So, I can use a hard drive on my PC as an inexpensive expander for the Tivo HD? Not quite as convenient, but good for "archive" storage of concerts, etc. that we "may want to watch again".

I currently have a Toshiba SD-H400 on lifetime basic service (the free service). Is there a way to move the programs on this device to my PC? I don't think it supports Tivo ToGo.

Thanks

[classicsat]

It supports TiVoToGo and MRV (for SD programs) only if you subscribe it to the full TiVo service. OTherwise you need to use a capture device on your PC, or a DVD recorder to record the A/V playing from it.