Playing Tivo on DVR

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 >> Stay informed about: Playing Tivo on DVR 

Rex Mundi wrote:
> On Tue, 15 Jan 2008 11:06:26 -0600, Dave S <dabcdschell.RemoveThis@mts.not>
> wrote:
>
>> jay lunis wrote:
>>> I have recorded some shows off my Tivo DVR to my PC through TivoDesktop.
>>> FWIW, this works well.
>>> Problem is this.
>>> I copy the file/show from TivoDesktop to the DVR on my PC so my wife can
>>> play it on the DVR upstairs (so I can watch football in peace). But I
>>> get an 'unknown format' error. Will Tivo files not play on a standard
>>> DVR or am I doing something wrong?
>> You need to convert the .tivo file to a format your DVR understands.
>>
>> Super C will do that (a free download).
>> http://www.erightsoft.com/SUPER.html#Dnload
>>
>
> With the bazillion or so formats Super C supports, I didn't see tivo
> mentioned on the page. Will it's internal codecs handle tivo's
> scrambled mpeg format?

When I tried to open the .tivo file from SuperC, it didn't show up in
the folder as a media file. But I was able to drag the file into the
working space, and SuperC was definitely working on it. So that made me
think it was fine.

However, when SuperC had finished, and I tried to view the video it had
created, it was all screwed up.

So I retract my recommendation for SuperC as a converter for .tivo.
It won't do it.

But another program that may work (I haven't tried it) is TiVo Desktop
Plus ($24.95)
It says it will convert to MPEG-4 or H.264 video (whatever that is).
http://tivo.com/mytivo/domore/tivotogo/windows_hide.html

Dave S.
 >> Stay informed about: Playing Tivo on DVR 

Dave S <dabcdschell RemoveThis @mts.not> shaped the electrons to say:
>So I retract my recommendation for SuperC as a converter for .tivo.
>It won't do it.

DirectShow Dump will strip the DRM from .tivo and give you raw MPEG-2
to work with.

There are other options, like TiVo Decode.

-MZ
--
megazone-at-megazone.org http://www.MegaZone.org/ Gweep, Geek, Human, me.
http://www.TiVoLovers.com/ http://www.Eyrie-Productions.com/ -><- Hail Eris
"A little nonsense now and then, is relished by the wisest men" 508-852-2171
 >> Stay informed about: Playing Tivo on DVR 

Dave S wrote:
> Rex Mundi wrote:
>> On Tue, 15 Jan 2008 11:06:26 -0600, Dave S <dabcdschell.RemoveThis@mts.not>
>> wrote:
>>
>>> jay lunis wrote:
>>>> I have recorded some shows off my Tivo DVR to my PC through
>>>> TivoDesktop.
>>>> FWIW, this works well.
>>>> Problem is this.
>>>> I copy the file/show from TivoDesktop to the DVR on my PC so my wife
>>>> can play it on the DVR upstairs (so I can watch football in peace).
>>>> But I get an 'unknown format' error. Will Tivo files not play on a
>>>> standard DVR or am I doing something wrong?
>>> You need to convert the .tivo file to a format your DVR understands.
>>>
>>> Super C will do that (a free download).
>>> http://www.erightsoft.com/SUPER.html#Dnload
>>>
>>
>> With the bazillion or so formats Super C supports, I didn't see tivo
>> mentioned on the page. Will it's internal codecs handle tivo's
>> scrambled mpeg format?
>
> When I tried to open the .tivo file from SuperC, it didn't show up in
> the folder as a media file. But I was able to drag the file into the
> working space, and SuperC was definitely working on it. So that made me
> think it was fine.
>
> However, when SuperC had finished, and I tried to view the video it had
> created, it was all screwed up.
>
> So I retract my recommendation for SuperC as a converter for .tivo.
> It won't do it.

Sorry to contradict myself twice, but the abilities of SuperC don't
always show themselves on the first try.

My latest attempt to decode a .tivo file with SuperC was successful.
This time I chose to decode with ffmpeg and checked the box labeled
"DirectShow Decode". The explanation for this box is that it uses the
Windows Media Player engine.

Dave S.
 >> Stay informed about: Playing Tivo on DVR 

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 >> Stay informed about: Playing Tivo on DVR