Auto-Transfer & convert takes hours (CPU @ 100%)

[WeKnSmith]

I just purchased TiVo Desktop Plus, and set up an Auto-Transfer for the whole current season of Grey's Anatomy (11 episodes recorded at high quality (2.1 GB per show.)) I set the converter to put the video files into iPod format, and did not set it to delete the original file. The shows were recorded on my DRT-400, and are being transferred off the box via it's TiVo brand wireless adapter (Netgear 802.11G router with WEP enabled.)

The transfers started at 10 PM last night, and only one show has completed & the second show is at 45% completed. At this rate it is going to take days. The PC's CPU is running at 100% too. The PC is Windows Media Center Edition 2005 with an AMD 2500+ with 1GB of RAM (connected to the Netgear router via CAT-5e.)

Any ideas what may be wrong? Do I have something set up incorrectly or is this normal behavior?


Thanks in advance.

[FandL]

I use TTG on a fairly antiquated PC, but that doesn't matter much. The bottle neck with transfers is not the computer or your network, it is the TiVo and its limited power to encode the files while transfering the video on the fly.

Your second issue is your PC then having to re-encode the file for your device. Both operations take time and a CPU cycles.

It usually takes about 1 1/2 hours to transfer a 1 hour show to my PC, without converting it.

YMMV.

[WeKnSmith]

Originally Posted by FandL

It usually takes about 1 1/2 hours to transfer a 1 hour show to my PC, without converting it.

So 5 1/2 hours after I started the transfer it would only have completed 1.5 shows? Something doesn't sound right. I'll have to watch an individual transfer tonight to see how long it takes. I also want to see if the CPU runs at 100% during the transfer or only while it is converting the file.

Anyone else have a suggestion?


Thanks,

Bill

[CuriousMark]

Originally Posted by WeKnSmith

The PC is Windows Media Center Edition 2005 with an AMD 2500+ with 1GB of RAM (connected to the Netgear router via CAT-5e.)

Any ideas what may be wrong?

That is an older PC. Is its Ethernet port (the one connected to the router) using an nVidia chipset? If so check the port for the "Checksum offloading" option and if you see it, try turning it off. That may help.

If that isn't it, and your TiVo connects wirelessly, check for wireless interference.

CuriousMark

[WeKnSmith]

I checked and the motherboard in the computer is a Via chipset (Asus A7V8X-X).

The computer has 3 of the shows left to transfer (and then convert.) As everyone else probably already knew, the CPU runs at a low level during transfer and then cranks up during the conversion process.

I tried testing the network card to see how quickly it would transfer additional data during the current TiVo transfer (I copied the converted files over to a network share.) As it turns out there was plenty of bandwidth left to move the files.

I'm surprised that the transfer & convert process is this slow. Over 2.5 hours per 1 hour show that was recorded at High Quality?

What else am I missing?

[CuriousMark]

I record in medium on Humax DRT-800 and transfers take approximately real time. Conversion takes about 1/3 realtime but I have an AMD X2 4200+ and 2GB of RAM.

CuriousMark

[wellingtonsdad]

Did you try adjusting the TiVo Server Properties in TiVo Desktop. If you go into the Properties, click on the Perfomance tab and bump up the Maximum size to the cache folder and set Server Activity to High. I was able to transfer a 1 hour show recorded at Medium Quality (about 1.19 GB) in about 36 min.