[Yoav]

You still have not tried what I suggested.

h264 video and ac3 audio in an mp4 container (.mp4) NOT and mkv or m4v. Tivo does not recognize m4v or mkv as native files.

m4v is an mp4 container that contains video (and m4a is an mp4 container that contains audio). So if he's made it in m4v he made an mp4 (h.264/ac-3). You can rename the file with an .mp4 at the end if it makes things 'better' for you.

The problem being reported is that the h.264 encoding seems too 'complex' for Series 3 tivos, but ok for Tivo HD. He's asking about what h.264 encoder settings in handbrake will generate an mp4 that can be streamed without transcoding AND that plays correctly.

 

[Yoav]

Right now, I'm using Tivo Desktop Plus.

Thanks for the replies so far!

Ok, well tivo desktop plus will gladly re-encode the file for you so that the tivo can play it (for many types of input files). Similarly, iTunes will gladly re-encode the file so that your ipod can play it. So you *could* make one common file and then wait a LONG time for it to be re-converted to work on your iPod and on your tivo.

So the only real problem now is that ipods will not accept an mp4 with resolutions higher than 320x240 (I don't know if gen 3 ipods are even more stringent?).

So, you can encode to that (apple/ipod in handbrake), and it will play on your ipod, on the tivo, and anywhere else. Unfortunately, it will look like crap.

The alternative, rip it to a higher quality mp4, and let iTunes and tivodesktopplus do their conversions on the fly... Try it and see if that delay is acceptable? Use a setting like Apple/Universal or Apple/Quicktime (the latter will be higher quality, but I'm not 100% if iTunes will correctly convert that to use on the ipod).

note: Make sure you have the latest version of handbrake. A LOT of changes went in...

 

[Yoav]

Two questions about using Handbrake for Windows to rip DVDs for viewing on Tivo:

1. Which preset do you use for ripping DVDs for viewing on Tivo? I would like to find a preset that works both for Tivo and an iPod nano (3rd gen - the "chubby" one). File size is not an issue.

2. In the past, I used the iPod High Rez preset which seems to have been deprecated in the latest release. I still use it, but occasionally get rips that do not work with Tivo - the filename shows up on my Tivo, but has the red slash next to the name. This does not happen with all or even most of the files, but the only way to tell when it happens is to look at the list of files from a Tivo. Generally if I rerip the episode (with the exact same settings), the file will then be fine. Any thoughts on why this is happening?

thanks!

There is a 'Quicktime Universal' setting that is supposed to work for iphone, appleTV, and whatnot. And there is an 'iPod' setting that's just aimed for iPods.

File size isn't the problem. The problem is that ipods only accept files that are up to a very low resolution, and tivo (S3/HD) will accept anything up to full HD. So you can either make a file that works on both (very low resolution) or make a file that works on the HD but that needs to be re-encded to work on the ipod...

Depending on how you get the file to the tivo, it's not clear that you can use mp4 encodes anyways (the ipods need an mp4 containers, and I thought the tivo only accepts mpeg-2 containers).