1. I am new to Mac and Popcorn3. After installing, I seem to have 3 different "POPCORN" programs, a Popcorn 3, a TiVo Transfer for Popcorn and a Toast Video Player and I am trying to figure out what they do and how they are integrated.
On my very old PC I used Tivo-2-Go Plus to transfer, convert and play the Tivo recorded files stored on the external drive. It was pretty straight forward and only one program. I elected to try Popcorn because I do not need to burn any dvds, only view and transfer recorded programs from a computer or a TiVo unit but the Popcorn 3 pdf "manual" is not at all clear on how to do this.

2. I have figured out how to transfer files from my two TiVos to my iMac and I used Finder to figure out where they are located. I found .tivo files in my DOCUMENTS folder but how do I convert them and where do I find the options for converting them and determining where they are to be located? About 45 min to a few hours later after I start a transfer I can find m4v files using the Finder and they are under my MOVIES folder and also under my iTunes folder (sometimes 4 or 5 versions) but I have no idea what makes them appear there, when they will show up or how many versions I will find of the same program.

3. I have searched the program's HELP menu and the pdf manual to try to find out what the POP IT button does but no luck. When I click on it either nothing happens or a window pops in the background for a nano-second and then disappears. What is the Pop It button used for?

4. One of the 3 Popcorn programs must be auto converting the TiVo transfers but which one? Is there any way to access a preference setting to set the preferred conversion formats and change where they are stored and reduce it to only one converted file in only one place? I would like to use an external drive for storage and be able to access them from my other computers and Tivos but it is a pain to search for and drag all the files there. I have tried the Preferences (TiVo Transfer for Popcorn) from the drop down FILE menu but that is of no help.

5. Finally, the .tivo files on my old PC's external drive are accessible from both of my Tivos' Playlist and can be transferred back to either TiVo unit for viewing but the .tivo files on my iMac are not showing up on either of my TiVo units (series 2). Can the .tivo files be transferred back to my TiVo unit form my iMac or the external drive?


Thanks in advance

Maybe this article will be helpful. It uses Toast 8 but much of the concept is the same with Popcorn 3.

There also is a forum specifically for TiVo-to-Go issues here.

To convert video to other formats add the video files setting in the Player section of the Popcorn window and click the burn button.

The Toast Media Player provides an opportunity to set markers for parts of the video you want trimmed out during the export to a new video file.

Thank you for the article and forum links but I could not find the answers to my Roxio Popcorn 3 questions. I puzzled for a while on how to "add video file settings" as you recommended and I searched for "Player" on Popcorn 3's menus. I finally gave up and just played around with the programs for the past few days. Hopefully this post will help another newbie with what the Roxio software is capable of and how it functions with TiVo files.

1. Roxio's Popcorn 3 comes bundled with a program called Tivo Transfer for Popcorn and that program allows you to transfer Tivo Files off your TiVo DVR. It also allows you to view the files that are on your TiVo DVR and to set up automatic transfers. Popcorn 3 also bundles the Toast Video Player which allows you to view the transferred files on a Mac but it does not provide any controls for pause, forward, rewind, etc., other than keyboard shortcuts. A better option is to use Popcorn 3 to convert the transferred TiVo files into something QuickTime or Front Row can handle so you can use your Apple remote.

2-4. From the TiVo Transfer for Popcorn program, highlight the file that you want converted and then click on the POP IT button ONCE! You will get no confirmation that the file is being converted (or you may see a window flash for a nanosecond in the background). Every time you click the POP IT button, Popcorn is converting that file again (which is why I so many of the same converted files). The POP IT button in the TiVo Transfer program will automatically use Popcorn to convert the Tivo files into the format type that you have selected (or the default Apple TV format, mv4). The preference settings for conversions and storage are NOT in the Tivo Transfer program, they are found in the Popcorn's Preferences menu.

5. I went back to the TiVo site and learned that there is a separate program called MacToTivo for transfering Tivo files stored on the Mac back to the TiVo DVR. It is not bundled with Roxio's Popcorn 3, it is only bundled with Roxio's Toast programs. Popcorn 3 cannot transfer any TiVo files from the Mac to the TiVo DVR. You will need Toast's bundled MacToTivo program to do that. I have now bought Toast and it has a separate Tivo Transfer Program for Toast with a button called "TOAST IT" instead of "pop it". Toast seems to only convert files for burning to a disk but I was able to locate the .tivo file in FINDER and then drag it to Popcorn's window to convert and store it on my Mac. After I installed Toast, I then configured the MacToTivo program which enabled my TiVo DVRs to recognize my Mac.

Unfortunately my TiVo DVR still does not display a list of the TiVo files which are on my Mac so I am headed over to the TiVo forums to figure that out. And I will try to search the Toast Documentation and/or Roxio's forums to see if anyone can explain if Toast can be used to convert a TiVo file into an m4p file that is stored on my Mac instead of burning the file to a disk.