Archiving TiVo

[John Adams]

I got all into this TiVo Desktop stuff a few months ago, which will automatically archive (allowed) shows off my TiVo and to a storage device. If I ever want to watch the show again, all I have to do is wait 4 hours for it to copy back over

So I started digging around a while back and found DirectShow Dump, which will convert the *.tivo files to *.mpg. They are still huge files, but look wonderful when I play them back via Windows Media Player. However, this of course is not the end of my journey.

I only want segments of recorded shows (certainly not commercials, for instance). So I load the converted MPG file into my trusty high-end consumer software Pinnacle Studio 11. The video plays perfectly there too, and I can slice and chunk my media any way I like. Now comes the tragic part.

Any video recorded in HD (16:9) does not render back out in any format from Studio 11. It starts to write the file, gets a few frames in, and Studio 11 just stalls there. I have spent hours upon hours scouring Google and all AV/HD sites trying to see if anyone else has the same problem, but of course, everyone's problem is only similar, and no fixes work for me.


So, back to square 1. Does anyone know of another solution for archiving TiVo shows to an editable format? EtIvO isn't going to cut it either, since it's archaic brain cannot seem to install with the newer TiVo Desktop software, nor a PC in an active directory domain (wtf?) AND it wants to impersonate my admin account? I don't think so buddy.

OR, can someone recommend a (free? hehe) MPG HD video editing software I can try? Again, I am not trying to do anything fancy, just cut commercials out.

Btw, video converted from *.tivo to *.mpg that is SD (4:3), there are no lockup problems at all - so I am fully blaming Pinnacle and their consistently shitty software they put out.

TIA for any advice.

[Bion]

I don't know how to do it as I don't have any hd files to test with but I use avidemux to do most of my enocoding for various things. it allows you to copy a stream so it will be the same as the source no reencoding. so what you would do is

load the file and at the bottom of the screen there is a timeline with a slider what you want to do is skip to the parts you want to delete with it and from the first frame that you want to delete hit the start A button( all the way to the right of that slider bar)
then go to the end of that set of frames you want to delete and hit the end B button the just hit delete. do this for all the commercials or whatever you want to get rid of it will delete anything between the start a and end b then once you are done removing stuff save it and use copy for the streams that way it will not reencode anything not sure if you have to with hd or not but if you do need to reencode h.264 and ac3 will prob be the video and audio codec you will want.

[LethalEncounter]

I was thinking about doing something similar John as I have 2 of the Series2 Tivos, but I think I am going to make my own DVR solution instead of keeping the Tivos. The reason being that if I setup a DVR solution with TV cards, I can easily share out the files to any computer on my network. In addition, if I get something like: http://store.sagetv.com/Merchant2/merch ... ry_Code=HD
I can put one of them on each TV and access all my shows directly. Something like this would be easily expandable and have no monthly fees. It would be a pain in the ass to setup for the first time, but after it is set up I think it will work out better for me than my Tivos did.

[Image]

TIVO is terrible, need to find a good PC TV tuner card that has recording capabilities in mpeg or something. Then you have a lot more storage capability as well (And expandability).

[John Adams]

I realize TiVo as a service is rather out-dated and probably a dying concept, but I just love the absolute simplicity of not having to do one single thing accept bloop my way through menus. The time it would take me to research how to build a PC to do the same thing (MythTV?) or use Linux and TV tuner cards and all the jerking around with cable providers and blahblahblah, I'd just as soon slap a M-Card in a TiVo Series3 and be done with it.

For me, TiVo is also about the interface - because I had DirecTV for 10 years, and when DTV forced their horrid DVR on me when I went to HD, I almost cried. Well not literally, but their DVR was SO terrible, after being a TiVo fan for 8 years. It took literally months to unravel that nightmare just to get back to an interface I liked.

Maybe I am just a UI guy, because the same thing is happening to me now that XBox 360 has f'd up my old Xbox UI and forced me to be this stupid ass gay little Fisher Price "avatar" and I had no choice in the matter. The games haven't changed, but simply because I have no choice in how to view my xbox, now it doesn't get turned on as much as it used to. God bless my PS3 =)

Yeah I have issues. So?

[Image]

Be cool to make your own, my worry about tivo is the changes they have talked about time from time, like forcing commercials and rights management. They can upgrade the box and screw you hah.

[John Adams]

Well, let me add... while I am a fanboy of TiVo, the latest Series3 HD DVR with it's fooking advertisements embedded in my menus and lists seriously pisses me off. Honestly, I can re-train myself to use other interfaces... I'm just beaten into submission by this last years fiasco with DirecTV, because TiVo and DTV no longer worked together - so after dumping satellite and going back to c*ble, I find out that TiVo and DirecTV ARE getting back together afterall.

Oh, did I mention the scare about SDV that people like me cannot ever seem to figure out if it will be effecting me? All I know is that after all the above nightmares, I go to some HD channels and have no TV. Apparently, my cablecards are not the right ones (after I just got them).

So sick of this shit. Praying everything will come streaming soon and these fat bastards can all go bankrupt and die.


btw, this is the one my ISP tech told me about: http://www.mythtv.org/

[LethalEncounter]

Yah I feel ya John. I have directv right now, but as soon as my contract expires I'll probably switch back to cable. At least that way I can get most of my channels with a TV tuner card. I'm tired of my Tivo going through a converter box because of the missed recordings from IR issues or the converter box needing a reset every month or so :/ In general, I'm with you and can't wait until they start showing the shows immediately online instead of waiting up to a week for them to air :/