DVD to TiVO

Wouldn't it be easier to just put the DVDs in the DVD player, then watch?

Seriously, first you would need something like this or this .

You would then need one of these to put the DVD onto your HD.

And then you would need this to convert to Tivo format, and then transfer to the Tivo.

 

Steve614's advice sounds good -- haven't tried it. Here is another possibility:

1. Get VideoReDo (Try it uncrippled for 15 days, then $50 to buy).

2. One of the VRD people has produced a free add-on that will use VRD to automatically produce an mpeg2 video file of your entire DVD movie

3. You may still need to run this while doing step 2 to overcome encryption. (It's free.)

4. The result will be a clean mpeg2 video that is ready to transfer to your TiVo. (It doesn't have to be a .tivo file to do this as long as it meets TiVo specs, which it will.) VideoReDo can also save in .TiVo format but the meta-data (recording date, etc.) wouldn't be there anyway so no real advantage over mpeg2.

One possible hitch: The mpeg2 produced will have AC3 audio. According to TiVo specs, mp2 audio is required. However I have a Series 2 TiVo and it plays the AC3 audio fine. Also, I'm assuming these are NTSC DVD's (USA).

I haven't actually done this but I have VideoReDo and highly recommend it, and I have a lot of faith in anything they say will work. I did search their forum and found several posts saying this worked fine with VideoReDo.

The major advantage of this approach (I think) will be speed. There is no re-encoding involved at any step. I don't know if this is true of the approach given by Steve614 or not.

 

Here are the specs for the MPEG to transfer to your TiVo: http://customersupport.tivo.com/TiVoCollection/4012D160-79C3-4238-96C8-A27B323D1413/ins_Content.html

I find that the S2 accepts some MPEGs that don't meet these specs exactly, so if you screw up, it's worth trying the transfer anyways.

On OSX, you'll want MacTheRipper to rip the DVD, MPEG Streamclip to convert it to MPEG, and TiVo Desktop with the video tab enabled (hold the command key when clicking on TiVo Desktop in System Preferences).

 

Even more cool: Consider archiving your library to an mpeg4 format (e.g., DivX, Xvid, H264 or even WMV) where you can get equivalent quality at one third the size of mpeg2 (.tivo) files. One free and easy path: DrDivx.

There are two freebies (TiVo.Net and pyTivo) that will serve these files to the TiVo and (like TiVo goback) you can watch them while they are transfering. Both programs have a few rough edges currently, but both seem to be almost ready for prime time.

I've encoded "A Passage to India" TiVo recording (Edited with VideoReDo) using DrDivx and served it back to TiVo using Tivo.Net. It's 2 hr 45 min long and all worked fine.

 

I have some *.mpg and *.mpeg clips that tivo desktop sees and plays fine on the PC.

My tivo sees them too, as the file names shows up under Now Playing in my PC folder. But when I attempt to play or transfer them to the Tivo, the tivo won't do it, saying the file couldn't be found.

Any ideas? Thanks.

 

I've converted DVD movies and TV shows to send to the TiVo, and personally, I've found it to be more hassle than it's worth. I just bought a HDD media disk from Newegg, made by INOi (model HV55). It has a 320GB disk, composite and component outputs, and digital coax sound. I can put unencrypted DVD's in folders and play them with 5.1 audio, subtitles, and full video quality. You connect it to a PC USB 2.0 port to move files, then off to the TV. It's the sixe of an external drive and I can control it through my Harmony remote.

I find this more convenient, and it saves the space on the TiVo for my wife's cooking shows.

 

Google for "DVDShrink". THIS IS FREE, DON'T PAY!!
- Use the Back up mode.
- Pick the largest file (usually Title 1). Sometimes they will have both widescreen and fullscreen, so you have to figure out which is which. You can also pick out any of the other files you might want or multiple files if it is like episodes of a show.
- Pick the file size you want or % compression. Don't separate audio and video.
- When done, rename the largest file in the backup folder (which I think it ends with .vob) to end with .mpg and give it a memorable name... also additional files you have selected.
- Copy to the folder that Tivo looks at. (Acutally, I use Galleon's GoBack feature and store my archived movies on an external HD.)

 

I've used this path for a year or so with Netflix/Blockbuster online just to timeshift rental DVDs and return them quickly. The kids prefer TiVO to DVD to watch their favorites too.

1. Rip to PC with AnyDVD / CloneDVDMobile (slysoft:com) to Generic Divx. (~30-60 minutes)
2. Point TivoServer 4.4A2 at the Divx directory.
3. From the TiVo, HMO xfer from the PC. (~40 minutes)

It's reliable, but I still confirm I can see the credits on the TiVo before I return the DVD. I make a point of deleting the PC/TiVo files after viewing.

Sure, the AnyDVD bundle is ~$80 with a coupon, but they update it a couple of times a month. If it's the latest flavor of Sony Arcos, they have the fix integrated before I have a problem.

LT

 

How do you do this successfully? This would be nice if it worked for me, but I tried this and the transfer won't succeed. It just says it has a problem with the transfer. I'm using wireless but honestly don't think thats the problem. I tried the same thing quite a while back with wired and had the same results. I've got galleon loaded but haven't tried the goback feature. Maybe that's a possible route? Or I believe I have the tools setup to convert to Divx or wmv. Would the tivo transfer and play divx (or less likely wmv)?

 

I use "videora" to tweak the VOB to mpeg-2, which then can be transferred back to my tivo easily. Haven't tried merely renaming the VOB.

 

Thanks! Videora for Tivo works great. The only thing that I need to do now is know what format the original is in in order to make the right selection in Videora (16:9 or 4:3). Cool!!! I'm going to try the xbox360 converter for my zune as well. Currently I use encode360 but I have to use AutoGK first (after dvd decryptor)

 

I've also used VOB2MPG to combine multiple VOBs to a single .mpg file (after using something like this to grab the main movie off the DVD). I then serve the movies up to the TiVo via Tivo Desktop or Galleon.

I've done this with several of the kids' DVDs... they are experts with the TiVo menu/remote and it keeps the actual DVDs clean and scratch free.

 

You can also just use dvd-decrypter to rip a dvd into one VOB. Go to Tools; Settings; then on the IFO Mode tab, set the file size to none (ie no limit).