Minimum SW to decrypt .tivo files?

[bmgoodman]

Since I now have a small home server to store my videos on, I don't see the need to continue to let Tivo Desktop suck up resources on my main PC. That said, I occasionally want to be able to create a DVD of .tivo shows using Roxio as I have done in the past.

What is the best way to remove all of the other functionality of Tivo Desktop while leaving me the ability to decrypt the .tivo files? Should I just disable all the Tivo services? Is there an easier way?

[jlb]

You could stop all services but the one necessary to get the files from the TiVo to the PC. Then go buy VideoRedo TV Suite as a great all in one editing and burning tool.

[RoyK]

You can stop all the tivo services - use your browser to transfer the .tivo files from your DVR to your pc and use the free DirectShow Dump utility to decrypt the files to a standard mpeg format.

http://www.prish.com/etivo/tbr.htm

[jlb]

That.

[wmcbrine]

The minimum software to decrypt .tivo files is tivodecode (http://tivodecode.sf.net/). It's free, it will run on anything, and it doesn't depend on any part of TiVo Desktop.

[DaJoos]

You can stop all the tivo services - use your browser to transfer the .tivo files from your DVR to your pc and use the free DirectShow Dump utility to decrypt the files to a standard mpeg format.

http://www.prish.com/etivo/tbr.htm

I'm not quite following. First, if you are going to stop all Tivo services (via Task Manager/Processes?) wouldn't you be in effect disabling Tivo Desktop? Why not just uninstall Tivo Desktop - or can it do something worthwhile even with the 3 processes halted?

Secondly, could you clarify what you mean by 'use your browser to transfer the .tivo files from the DVR' - do you mean IE? And if so, how would that work?

Sorry if the answers are obvious to others - I am new(ish) to Tivo but have been visiting this forum for a while - these two topics seem new to me, though.

[socrplyr]

I'm not quite following. First, if you are going to stop all Tivo services (via Task Manager/Processes?) wouldn't you be in effect disabling Tivo Desktop? Why not just uninstall Tivo Desktop - or can it do something worthwhile even with the 3 processes halted?

Secondly, could you clarify what you mean by 'use your browser to transfer the .tivo files from the DVR' - do you mean IE? And if so, how would that work?

Sorry if the answers are obvious to others - I am new(ish) to Tivo but have been visiting this forum for a while - these two topics seem new to me, though.

I believe that DirectShow Dump requires that Tivo Desktop be installed and setup for your Tivo's Media Access Key (MAK). (I think it actually plays back the file quickly and captures the data.) If you install Tivo desktop and give it the MAK for your Tivo you can now also play the .tivo files in Windows Media Player, without Tivo Desktop running. Uninstalling Tivo desktop will remove this behavior.
Now as for the mention of using a browser to transfer the files, Tivo has a webserver that you can access by going to your Tivo's IP address. https://192.168.x.x Note that it is a secure server (https). The username is tivo and the password is the Tivo's MAK.

There are some other very simple options out there, that I don't think require Tivo Desktop to be installed at all. However, I have not tried them without Tivo Desktop. I have used kmttg. It is relatively simple to use and both transfers the files and then decodes them directly after you transferred them. The only catch is you have to install a Perl scripting program first as it is written in Perl. http://code.google.com/p/kmttg/

[DaJoos]

Thanks very much, socrplyr - the information is very helpful and appreciated!