Problems w/corrupted downloads in kmttg/Tivo Desktop

I'm having the same issue using kmttg and I've come down to the idea that it's a transport stream vs program stream issue. My Tivo is usually near capacity with me just barely clearing off enough space for the current night's programming so I started down the road of downloading with kmttg and then encoding to be able to stream it via Plex (Thanks to this community for the obvious idea!! )

But for some of the programs they were failing to encode . . . digging more into it led me to start using Video Redo and to batch the files thru that. Even then they aren't succeeding but are completing with errors - not many errors - just some audio and / or video frames removed (I've checked the start of the show and end of the show to make sure it all looks ok and it does - but I'm still afraid to delete some of the stuff I really want to watch from my Tivo!)

And you mention Gotham . . . I've been downloading season 1 and 2 and I've had repeated issues with episodes 222, 219, 218, 217, 216, 212, 203, and 119. I just changed the setting in kmttg to so that it would not download them in Transport and so far Video Redo has process 5 of the 8 and 4 of them succeeded and the one that completed had 1 input sequence error . . .

If they were playable on the Bolt . . .then they are stored on the Bolt and I doubt it has to do with your internet.

Sorry for all of the detail and to partially steal your thread but I was about to post the same thing and with it being the same show . . . I'm going to guess it's the same issue.

Can you try and turn off Transport Stream and try again? It's the 2nd checkbox on the Program Options tab in kmttg.

And for everyone else . . .why is it better to use transport stream instead of program stream?


Thanks


Farson

 

It is quite a bit faster, and it supports transfer of mp4, if that matters.

 

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Cubdukat - great! Hope it works for you!

Justen_m

transfers faster? That really doesn't matter to me. I work from home and have a laptop dedicated to doing this. (Alienware 15r2 6820hk with nvidia 980 - so powerful enough to handle this)

So TS supports MP4 while PS only supports MP2? But I can recode the PS to MP4? Will it lose any quality if I do that?

Thanks!


Farson

 

This is a revised version of my post on January 5.

I am experiencing exactly these same issue described by cubdukat. Using a TiVo Bolt

The problems started for me when Comcast converted to MPEG4 here, and downloads have to now be in TS mode.
- The program recorded on the TiVo plays back perfectly, no sign whatsoever of any problems with the original saved file.
-When I download the encrypted file, (the .tivo file), it is corrupted - pixelation and dropouts. Generally only one instance of this in a file (lasting between one and eight minutes), but nearly every recorded file has this corruption. You can actually view the problems in the downloaded .tivo file, view both in WMP and in VideoReDo)
-For any given recorded program, the corruption is always identical in the downloaded .tivo file, no matter what method I use to download the file (TiVo Desktop, kmmtg, Archivo). I have downloaded the .tivo file several times, to several different computers. In each case, the corruption of the .tivo file occurs at exactly the same time in the playback. (However, for Movie #1 vs. Movie #2, the corruption occurs at different times in the playback of the downloaded .tivo file)
- Comcast still has some channels that have not yet been converted to TS mode. For recorded shows from those channels, I still use PS downloading, and the resulting downloaded files show ZERO corruption.

As you would guess, subsequent decryption of the .tivo files brings the corruption into the decrypted file, and in some cases makes it worse.

I have not been able to figure this out - the fact that the originally recorded files play perfectly on the TiVo is part of what stumps me. Could it be an issue with the NIC hardware or driver in the TiVo? Or some kind of glitch with my router?

I would greatly appreciate any help that's out there on this - it's a deal killer for future TiVo use! Thanks in advance for any help!

 

It doesn't matter which program you use to download the .tivo file (TiVo Desktop, kmmtg, Archivo, web browser). The programs just receive data sent from the tivo. If you are downloading in TS format, then any download method should produce the same file.

The tools that you use to decrypt and/or play the downloaded file can make a difference. If you own VideoReDo, then try performing a "QS Fix" on one of your problem files and see if that helps.

 

I have been running Desktop version 2.8.2. Have just discovered a 2.8.3, will install and see what happens. If there is a newer version than that, please advise (including where I would find it!)
In the month since my last post, I have tried a zillion different approaches to avoid the pixelation and dropouts. Here is where things stand for me:
1. All my comments apply to movies recorded on a TiVo Bolt, and the movies are recorded from Comcast.
2. The problem applies whenever the program is MPEG4, and can ONLY be downloaded in TS mode.
3. The program plays perfectly when played from the TiVo
4. The pixelation and dropouts ALWAYS occur no matter what approach I have used to download, including
- TiVo desktop
- kmttg
- Archivo
- TiVo web interface
5. These problems always present in the downloaded .tivo file - that is prior to decryption. They show up in VideoRedo playback of the .tivo file and in Windows Media Player. So, it is not appear due to the subsequent decryption.
6. The problems show up in EVERY file, and generally seem to occur in roughly the same time points in that file. However, the duration of the problem and the exact time point can vary.
7. Not all Comcast channel have changed to TS/MPEG4. These problems NEVER show up in PS mode transfers. When it was possible, I have downloaded the same program from the Tivo both ways (kmttg). The PS download and the decrypted version are both flawless; The TS download ALWAYS has pixelation/dropouts in the .tivo file, prior to decryption

All of this has led to my current working hypothesis - the problem seems to have it roots in the Tivo TS Muxer, which does not seem to work properly. (The Tivo Muxer continues to work fine, but only works on PS files).

I would appreciate any thoughts you or others may have on this

 

I have TD 2.8.3 installed. Is there a newer version? More importantly, is there a newer version of TivoDirectShowFilter.dll?

I see "glitches" or jumps all the time in my TS downloads. I use VRD to decrypt.

 

V5

 

I have always thought that the problem was in the TiVo code. Saw a glitch in last night's "Timeless". Decrypted again using DSD and glitch is still there, in the same spot. However, if I d/l again, glitch is gone, at least from that spot. Probably some kind of weird timing problem with the transfer code on the TiVo.

It would probably be possible to create an edited recording w/o glitches using 2 (or more) downloads but it would require way more time and effort than I'm willing to expend.

 

Just pulled down two movies using Desktop 2.8.3. No improvement, still have the glitches.
I don't think it matters which software you use to download the .tivo file to PC, that .tivo file will have glitches due to the Tivo TS Muxer being used by all of those programs (including web interface). Since the glitch is already there before you decrypt, it is always there after you decrypt as well.
Using VideoRedo Quick Fix on the downloaded .tivo file (prior to decryption) does a pretty good job of removing the glitches, but does so by removing out-of-sync frames, so then you get skips, but the glitches are much reduced.
I'm afraid that the only real solution is for Tivo to fix their Tivo TS muxer....I wonder if they have any inclination to do so.

 

Since Ira Bahr said that TiVo no longer supports TiVo<->PC transfer, I doubt that this will be fixed.