DIVX to TIVO

jasch · 10-07-2005, 10:54 AM

I just wanted to share my experience in downloading shows from bittorrent and uploading them to the TiVo.

I've been experimenting several weeks, and found the best results with WinAvi (www.winavi.com). This program will let me convert DIVX to DVD (burn them to DVD-RW's, watch them and then re-use them), or to MPEG2.

I've converted about 10 shows this week to MPEG2, and re-inserted them on the TiVo and they played flawlessly. I was even able to MRV them to my DTivos :-)

(I had a lot of rain on Monday, and had to download all prime time programming from CBS, FOX and NBC).

WinAvi was really useful and cheap at $30. Now if there would only be an automatic way to download, transcode and re-insert :-)

wgary · 10-07-2005, 02:14 PM

How long is it taking to transcode? The program I'm using is SLOOOOW!

Bai Shen · 10-07-2005, 02:23 PM

Does it allow you to edit the files to remove commercials? Or is it just a one step conversion process?

jasch · 10-07-2005, 04:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wgary

How long is it taking to transcode? The program I'm using is SLOOOOW!

About 10 minutes for a 1 hour show.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bai Shen

Does it allow you to edit the files to remove commercials? Or is it just a one step conversion process?

Normally the DIVX you download from the internet have no commercial.

dwgsp · 10-07-2005, 05:13 PM

I'm using VideoReDo (www.videoredo.com) to remove commercials from MPEG files, and it's well worth the cost.

/Don

billmannor · 10-07-2005, 05:41 PM

You could remove the commericals from the AVI/Divx with virtualdub, free program and it's pretty easy to figure out. Doesn't work with MPEG though.

Bai Shen · 10-07-2005, 05:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by billmannor

You could remove the commericals from the AVI/Divx with virtualdub, free program and it's pretty easy to figure out. Doesn't work with MPEG though.

Color me stupid, but how? I haven't been able to figure out how to get it to work.

morac · 10-09-2005, 07:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by billmannor

You could remove the commericals from the AVI/Divx with virtualdub, free program and it's pretty easy to figure out. Doesn't work with MPEG though.

There is a version of VirtualDub that supports mpeg and mpeg2. It's available at http://fcchandler.home.comcast.net/stable/

billmannor · 10-09-2005, 08:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by morac

There is a version of VirtualDub that supports mpeg and mpeg2. It's available at http://fcchandler.home.comcast.net/stable/

Yes but you can't save it out as an mpeg2, only avi. mpg2 -> avi -> mpg2 would be a huge pain.

tangent1138 · 10-10-2005, 12:17 AM

mpeg2vcr edits mpeg2

jon01 · 10-10-2005, 12:38 AM

ok, so i tried to go from AVI (divx) to a mpeg2 file and when it plays on my TIVO i got these awful horizontal lines. when i fast forward they go away. any ideas? i used all the default settings in winavi video converter.

Stu_Bee · 10-10-2005, 03:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jon01

ok, so i tried to go from AVI (divx) to a mpeg2 file and when it plays on my TIVO i got these awful horizontal lines. when i fast forward they go away. any ideas? i used all the default settings in winavi video converter.

Not sure what the default settings are...try these:

Settings: Output of "MPEG2", Highest Quality, 480x480, Pref=By Speed, Source aspect ratio = Auto, NTSC

jasch · 10-10-2005, 06:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jon01

ok, so i tried to go from AVI (divx) to a mpeg2 file and when it plays on my TIVO i got these awful horizontal lines. when i fast forward they go away. any ideas? i used all the default settings in winavi video converter.

I am using 720x480 on my WinAvi preferences, I left the rest as default settings.

jon01 · 10-11-2005, 10:56 AM

yeah i changed the resolution and now it works. i made it 480x480 (i saw someones settings in another post). works like a charm now

Stu_Bee · 10-11-2005, 12:32 PM

Not sure if it's just me....but I changed from 720x480 to 480x480 on the Winavi settings to see if it cut down on the slight, but somewhat annoying, jerkiness that occurs when the scene scrolls/pans in any direction. I think it did help some, but not positive. I've seen this 'hitching' in every tool I've used to convert xvid/divx to Mpeg, so either it's just inherent in the xvid/divx converstion process....or my codec is to blame.

Everyone else see this?

Re-Hash · 10-11-2005, 03:35 PM

Buy a cheap DVD player that handles DiVX and skip all the transcoding, etc. I have a Norcent DP-220 that works great for this, costs about $50. Dump your DiVX AVI's on a DVD+/-RW and watch from that. When done, erase & repeat.
cnet dvd divx link

Stu_Bee · 10-11-2005, 06:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Re-Hash

Buy a cheap DVD player that handles DiVX and skip all the transcoding, etc. I have a Norcent DP-220 that works great for this, costs about $50. Dump your DiVX AVI's on a DVD+/-RW and watch from that. When done, erase & repeat.
cnet dvd divx link

I think I'd miss some of the joy of using Tivo to view my divx (transcoded to MPEG) shows.
- Don't have to keep switching DVD's to find the show I want...they are all listed in my PC's MPEG directory that Tivo displays.
- The Tivo GUI/Remote is much easier to use than the DVD remote (on mine at least). One interface for all show viewing..very nice.

It's not really a long nor painful process to change Divx to Mpeg if you use a nice tool like Winavi.

Yes, I wish Tivo could play native mpeg4/divx formats...but until that enhancement comes along (external USB transcoder?)....this is very workable.

jon01 · 10-11-2005, 08:46 PM

i have a philips dvd player now that plays divx GREAT. I need to convert now cause the DVD player isn;t hooked up since i moved recently :P

natallica · 10-12-2005, 01:49 PM

Quick question. Is the Tivo Server able to load .mpeg files back on the Tivo or do you need to lie and rename them .Tivo?

I've been burning VCDs of the downloaded AVI's via Nero and the transcoding takes forever...this would make my life much easier!

-- N

jasch · 10-12-2005, 02:33 PM

If they're compliant with Tivo specification, you can load them up onto your tivo. That's what I've been doing (downloading divx's from bitorrent, transconding and uploading them to my tivo to watch on my tv)

Drenhead · 10-12-2005, 04:10 PM

Sorry for my ignorance, but how do you get them back on the tivo to watch? Do they stream from your PC, or do you actuall have to move them back to the Tivo? Do you use the Tivo desktop utility to move them?

Thanks in advance.

jasch · 10-12-2005, 04:11 PM

Using TivoDesktop 2.2 you can MRV the files form your PC to your Tivo, and you can even watch them while they are being transferred.

natallica · 10-12-2005, 04:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jasch

If they're compliant with Tivo specification, you can load them up onto your tivo. That's what I've been doing (downloading divx's from bitorrent, transconding and uploading them to my tivo to watch on my tv)

Great! I'll have to try it out...thanks for the tip on the transcoding software...

-- N

jafo67 · 12-26-2005, 12:03 PM

According to tivo's site, u should see my pc listed at the bottom of the now playing screen, but I don't see it. I do see my pictures and music. Have desktop 2.2 running and no network problems at all. Am I missing something?

naparish · 01-05-2006, 11:12 PM

I've taken some DiVX vids and used Nero to transcode them to MPEG-2, then tried to upload them from my PC to my TiVo. Each time, it gets a few seconds in (the exact place varies) and then the transfer just stops.

I'm able to play the extremely tiny bit that transfered, and it looks fine, but the transfers won't !@#%$ complete! My TiVo is on a wireless connection. Any ideas on why it won't work? Could it be that the vids I'm transcoding start out as PAL 16*9 vids, and I turn them into NTSC vids? If so, why does it start to work in the first place?

jkalnin · 01-06-2006, 08:19 AM

I have been downloading a lot of Divx encoded avi's from the web and Videora is the easiest and fastest Tivo transcoder that I have found. I highly recommend it.

http://www.videora.com/en-us/Converter/TiVo/

Free, easy, fast, and fantastic. 2 thumbs up!

naparish · 01-06-2006, 09:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jkalnin

I have been downloading a lot of Divx encoded avi's from the web and Videora is the easiest and fastest Tivo transcoder that I have found. I highly recommend it.

I tried Videora, and that didn't work either. This time, my TiVo told me that it was unable to transfer the file because there was no signal.

Maybe I'll have to try "old-fashioned" DVD+RWs instead.

jkalnin · 01-06-2006, 10:03 AM

That isn't a file conversion problem, that sounds like a network error.

naparish · 01-06-2006, 01:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jkalnin

That isn't a file conversion problem, that sounds like a network error.

I don't think it's the network. As noted in the thread called PC to Tivo- Program not found in this forum (the forum software won't let me post a URL until I've made 5 posts), others have had similar problems, somehow related to the video or audio format of the transcoded file. Maybe I'll try VLC ...

naparish · 01-07-2006, 03:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by naparish

Maybe I'll try VLC ...

VLC didn't work either. It got about 5 minutes into the transcode and just stopped. The good news is that my DVD-RW worked in my very old DVD player ...