Programs not downloading properly on Tivo Desktop - Please Help

[BurnBaby]

A problem that was only happening every so often is now happening all of the time. I remembered something similar was happening back when I last visited this forum but couldn't find the answers to it now. Maybe I'm not entering the right search terms.

First the basics: I have a TiVo HD, a TiVo wireless adapter, Tivo Desktop installed on a laptop, the operating system is XP. Everything is completely up-to-date. I updated Windows Media Player just in case that was the issue and it didn't help. Downloads and transfers are enabled on my tivo.com account page. I've always had digital cable.

Now the Problem: My programs are either not fully downloading, the programs download much quicker than they should and the entire program isn't there. Or, more frequently, the whole program downloads, as indicated by the file size, but only a certain portion is able to be forwarded through on Windows Media Player. So, for example: I have a program that's 1 hr long. After it downloads and I open it in Windows Media Player, the end time shows 11 minutes. Most of the time, the entire program is there if I let it play, but I can't fast-forward to it or jump to the end or jump to any specific portion beyond 11 minutes. The number of minutes visible always varies.

Here are the odd things, this was primarily happening only one one channel, MSNBC, but now it's happening with all of my recordings. But it doesn't always happen, sometimes the same exact program will download just fine, sometimes it won't. What's going on and is there a workaround? Is there another program I can use to view the entire recording? If I burn to DVD, will the entire program be there?

Please help.

Edit: One more question, if I then transfer these recordings back to my TiVo to watch again, will the entire program be there? Right now I'm still afraid to delete the originals on the TiVo so I haven't tested it out.

[ggieseke]

Some cable companies change the timestamps or even the actual stream format when they insert local advertisements, and I suspect that this is what you're seeing. If you compare the point at which the recording ends or the fast forward quits working with the original show on your TiVo you should be able to confirm or deny the presence of nuclear commercials.

If it's a bad enough glitch that the recording won't transfer the entire show there's nothing that you can do about it. If you try the same show again and it transfers a different amount of data it could be interference on your wireless, but if it always stops at the same point you're out of luck.

For shows that transfer all the way but have the "11 minute" problem, running it through VideoReDo's Quick Stream Fix feature should clean up the timestamps that are messing up the fast forward and the apparent end time. You can try it out free for 15 days.

The complete .TiVo files should transfer back and play just fine. You can delete one of the original files on the DVR to try it, and if it doesn't work just recover it from the Recently Deleted folder.

[dlfl]

After you download VideoReDo you must perform a free-trial registration. Otherwise it will be crippled to something like 15 minute max video length.

There is no real competition to VRD for "fixing" mpeg2 (including TiVo) files. There are two versions of VRD: Plus ($50) and TVSuite ($75). Either one will do the QSF and let you edit out commercials (plus other functions). TVSuite also creates DVD's.

[BurnBaby]

ggieseke and dlfl - thank you very much. I will be downloading VideoReDo in the next couple of days and will report back, just in case someone else has this same problem and wants to find the answer.

That is very interesting about the local commercials. Will for sure compare the points the windows media file appears to end to when local commercials aired during the program. I know that three channels of the four channels that it's happened on so far, do air local ads. The last one, BBC America, I'm not sure if they do or don't. BBC America consistently had the problem on every single file. All of the other channels' downloads didn't consistently have the problem.

Not to sound too uniformed, but...what exactly causes interference of a wireless connection? I know I used to have a problem with my phone being on the same frequency as my wireless, but I changed routers and some settings and now the connection seems to be fine.

Today, I thought I remembered something about some shows being copyrighted and somehow blocked from downloading. Is there anything to that or am I remembering a different topic?

dlfl, do you happen to know if I get the VRD Plus if I can just use another program to create DVDs from the files it creates or is there another step in between. Right now, I just use Roxio because, well, it came free with my computer.

I'm so relieved to have found some possible answers already.

[ggieseke]

If a show is copyright protected it will show up with a classic Ghostbusters icon, and you wouldn't even be able to start the transfer.

Besides other sources of 2.4Ghz signals like hands-free phones, a neighbor on the same channel is probably the most common problem. If you search this forum for wireless interference you should get a ton of hits.

You can use VRD Plus to edit out the commercials and save the results as MPEG-2 files for later use in Roxio, but once you see VRD in action I can't imagine that you would ever want to use anything else. One really cool feature is that it has an option to create "non-compliant" DVDs that will still play in 99% of the DVD players out there. Roxio always has to transcode the TiVo files to 720x480, which takes forever.

[BurnBaby]

Wow, this is excellent and very useful info, ggieseke - more thank yous. I do have one of those old DVD players.

So far, I haven't been able to link the troubles to local commercials.

Will update as soon as I've run the videos through VRD.