[elprice7345]

For now, I’ve switched TS to off.

With TS=Auto, I got faster transfers overall and fewer videos were transcoded, but many of them had longer durations after transferring to my TiVo. The videos with longer durations had navigation issues. For example, clicking the replay button should go back 10 seconds, but in some instances it went back many more seconds or even minutes. Sometimes after clicking replay the sound would disappear until the video got back to the point before I clicked replay. FF & RW were sketchy also.

With TS=Off, the transfers are slower, in general, and more video gets transcoded, but the watching experience is much better.

I would love to figure out what the issue is so I could use the TS=Auto feature, but for now, it’s better for me to leave it off.

I guess my main question remains: Is there something that can be done on the user side with FFMPEG, pyTivo, etc. to fix the problem or is this a TiVo side issue and we’re stuck?

I will be happy to try anything else and/or help with further testing if anyone has suggestions.

 

[Dan203]

You said that if you simply remux the file with VideoReDo the duration is correct right? Which means that there is something weird with the timestamps in the original file. FFmpeg apparently doesn't do the same sort of timestamp correction VideoReDo does. Which means there is really nothing you can do to fix this short of QSFing every file with VideoReDo first.

 

[steinbch]

Running the latest version of PyTivo Desktop (1.6.6) on a Mac (10.12.5) and for some reason my queue does not move past the first file in the list. Is there something I might be missing?

From the logs:
INFO: pyTivo.togo:[16/Jun/2017 09:08:17] Done getting "/Users/user/Movies/Taboo - ''Episode 1'' (Recorded Jan 11, 2017, FXHD-E) (2).ts" from Living Room, 2249211996 bytes, 134.05 Mb/s
Unhandled exception in thread started by <unbound method ToGo.process_queue>
ERROR: pyTivo:Exception in pyTivo
Traceback (most recent call last):
File "plugins/togo/togo.py", line 826, in process_queue
File "plugins/togo/togo.py", line 763, in get_tivo_file
TypeError: cannot concatenate 'str' and 'int' objects
INFO: pyTivo:192.168.1.14 [16/Jun/2017 09:08:26] Request timed out: timeout('timed out',)
INFO: pyTivo:192.168.1.14 [16/Jun/2017 09:08:26] Request timed out: timeout('timed out',)

 

[Dan203]

Sh*t. I threw that change in at the last minute and didn't test it. I'll fix it and release a new version in a few hours.

 

[Dan203]

OK new version posted with fix. Sorry about that.

 

[steinbch]

OK new version posted with fix. Sorry about that.

Thanks for the quick attention.

 

[amyf]

Hey Dan. I downloaded the newest version and the icon on my Mac status menu has a red x over it. It seems to indicate that the service is stopped, even though I was able to download a program to the Mac. I also have an issue when I open pyTivo Desktop - it opens up the settings window automatically. I think this is because I have an old TiVo with no recordings on it (waiting/hoping for another upgrade offer). If I close the settings window and switch to a different TiVo and then back to the series 3 box, the settings window opens up again. But all in all, I like what you've done and thanks for your work.

Thanks,
Amy

 

[Dan203]

Those are two different issues. If pyTivo really wasn't running then Desktop would popup the "error connecting" dialog immediately.

My guess is that there is a rogue version of pyTivo still running in the background. Click the icon and select quit. Then open the activity monitor and look for pyTivo in the list. If you see it do a force stop on it. Now relaunch pyTivo and see if it works.

 

[amyf]

Dan, good catch on the extra pyTivo process still running. I guess that it was left over from before I installed the new release. I should have been more clear that there were 2 separate issues. I think that the second issue is definitely due to the Series 3 having no programs on it. I can always record a few minutes of nothing (no cable cards in the unit & no OTA here) to see if that changes things.

Thanks,
Amy

 

[Dan203]

It pops up the settings dialog when pyTivo finds not TiVos on your network. It does that becuase it assumes that if it can't find TiVos it's because the MAK is incorrect.

 

[mlippert]

@amyf If you've got another tivo on the same network as the series 3, the series 3 should be able to see it and transfer a show from it, so you don't have to try to record nothing.

 

[amyf]

I ended up transferring a show to the S3 and the settings menu no longer pops up when starting the desktop, nor when switching to the S3.

BTW, transferring a show took a whole lot longer than recording a few minutes of nothing.

Thanks,
Amy

 

[Dan203]

Hmm... I'll take a look at the code and see if there is an easy way for me to distinguish an empty TiVo.

 

[alexb]

just installed for the first time, whats the difference between stream mode and program mode?
Also do i need to worry about things like "TS errors detected! 211 packets affected"

 

[HerronScott]

just installed for the first time, whats the difference between stream mode and program mode?
Also do i need to worry about things like "TS errors detected! 211 packets affected"

I assume you mean transport stream and program stream? As long as your shows are still in MPEG2, I'd probably stick with program stream, but if you are with Comcast and most of your channels have been moved to MPEG4 then you'll have to use transport stream for the MPEG4 channels which users have reported getting errors in the downloaded show. Dan's program can detect and report on those errors (and retry the download to see if you can get a cleaner version).

I'll let Dan pass on more information on the difference between them but Wikipedia has the following.

MPEG transport stream - Wikipedia

"Transport stream specifies a container format encapsulating packetized elementary streams, with error correction and stream synchronization features for maintaining transmission integrity when the signal is degraded.

Transport streams differ from the similarly named MPEG program stream in several important ways: program streams are designed for reasonably reliable media, such as discs (like DVDs), while transport streams are designed for less reliable transmission, namely terrestrial or satellite broadcast. Further, a transport stream may carry multiple programs."

Scott

 

[Mikeguy]

From the ignorant-user standpoint (i.e., me), as I understand it, TS transfers can be faster than via PS, and can sometimes work when a PS transfer doesn't. But then, TS transfers can have glitches even when successful, whereas a PS transfer just will fail (and then you can try again). Also, if I recall correctly, PS transferring sometimes can have corrupted closed captions; TS, less so.

 

[Dan203]

FYI I have not abandoned this, I've just been busy with work. I have a new feature in the works though that will tie my real job in with pyTivo Desktop. I'm adding a feature that will allow you to post process your downloads with VideoReDo. This will allow you to QuickStream Fix, Ad Scan or even transcode your downloads automatically. (obviously Windows only)

I also have a few other features, for both platforms, that I will be including in the next update as well.

 

[Test]

Great app, nice and clean (and functional). Thanks Dan203

Request: white menu bar icon for those that have dark mode enabled on their mac

 

[Dan203]

Great app, nice and clean (and functional). Thanks Dan203

Request: white menu bar icon for those that have dark mode enabled on their mac

I'll have to see if there is some way for me to detect the dark theme on Mac.

 

[bgc]

I installed 1.6.7 on my desktop and laptop, with the only changes being setting up a share. I then downloaded the same podcast from twit.tv to both, the file size is identical. The desktop, connected to the linksys 802.11n router via ethernet cable, took about 5 min. to transfer the 1hr 29min file. The laptop took about 1.5 min over wifi. The file from the desktop shows the correct length on the roamio, while the file from the laptop shows the length 8 min. longer at 1hr 37min. When you fast forward the longer file from the laptop, it skips ahead many times faster than normal, then slows down but is jerky. The file from the desktop has normal navigation. Any ideas what is causing this?

Thanks
BGC