stop ttcb > ttg auto-transfer cycle?

[ggersch]

Hi,

I use TTG auto-transfers to save some series to a PC/Server in case they get deleted. (Amazing how fast even a HD-XL fills up.) Then I use TTCB to move them back to the TiVo. All of this works great.

The problem I have is that once I move a show back to TiVo, the TTG auto-transfer kicks in AGAIN, and retransfers the show back to the server. This results in two copies of the same show on the server, wasting space and making file management more annoying.

Is there any way to get this behavior to stop?

I'm currently using Tivo Desktop 2.7 on a dedicated XP workstation. I had the same problem with Galleon, but just figured that was a Galleon oddity. I was hoping 2.7 would be smarter. It actually seems dumber, sometimes randomly auto-transfering a particular show 2 or 3 times.

Any thoughts? (Aside from turning off auto-transfer, which would sort of defeat the purpose.)

(And if this is a common question, sorry, but I did try several searches before starting a new thread.)

[windracer]

I had the same problem with Galleon, but just figured that was a Galleon oddity.
This is something I've considered looking into for Galleon, enhancing the rules feature so that you can indicate first-run only, similar to a season pass. I'm not certain that's possible, though. As you've seen, Galleon rules just do a straight pattern matching for the auto-downloads. I have a rule for "Lost" so of course I have to keep clearing out duplicate recordings from Suggestions that get auto-transferred to my server.

Now, for your TD setup, the only work-around I can think of would be a little complicated. If you send the recordings back as regular .mpg files, instead of .TiVo files (without meta-data) that might prevent TD from downloading the file again since it wouldn't match the auto-transfer. Maybe you could use a tool like kmttg (http://code.google.com/p/kmttg/) to auto-edit your downloaded files. Then when you send them back via TTCB, hopefully TD wouldn't re-transfer it. I haven't thought this all the way through, but maybe it will help ...

[ggersch]

Hey Windracer, thanks for the comments. But your idea just adds a layer of complexity.

I guess I'm just dismayed that Tivo Desktop (and Galleon too) are just too dumb to realize that they are downloading something they already have a copy of. I mean, how hard can it be to do a simple check of the title, channel and the original record date? Geez.

I just figured I was missing something dumb, not that the program was that dumb.

[windracer]

I mean, how hard can it be to do a simple check of the title, channel and the original record date? Geez.
That involves storing all of that information somewhere, which can cause other issues, I'm sure. Not to mention unforseen complexity ...

Heck, you've surely seen how incomplete Guide data causes the TiVo itself to record duplicates when it can't tell if a show is a repeat.