180 replies to this topic

[gabull]

Just to make sure we're all using the same language here . . .

Getting Tivo'ed material onto our Macs via Toast is a two step process.  Step 1 is Transfer - using TivoToGo to move the file off the Tivo and onto the Mac.  Step 2 is Encoding - using Toast to translate the moved file into a format that can be burned to DVD.

I'm seeing the stall in Step 2, aka Encoding.  Step 1, aka Transfer, still works fine for me.  You say "I have yet to get a transfer to work. It sticks at 0%", but I suspect you really mean it is the Encoding step that is sticking.  I'd like to verify if this is indeed what you're seeing.  I ask not to be pedantic, but rather because it is possible this problem manifests differently for different people/setups.  For instance, I'm on a G4 machine, not an Intel box.  Such details might be helpful to Roxio in debugging the problem.

Doug G.

I have a Tivo Series 2 (Toshiba SD-V392 with DVD player), and a dual G4 Mac running 10.4.10 & Toast 8.0.1.  I've only tried one show since the update. The transfer worked, but the meta data does not parse properly (the whole filename shows up in the Title field), and Toast stalls when I try to burn it to DVD.  The encoding phase seems to be doing nothing.  Normally Toast uses about 150 to 160% of my dual CPUs according to Activity Monitor, with this newly transfered show Toast is coasting along at 2 to 5% CPU.

I opened a case with Roxio last Friday and got the same e-mail that has been posted elsewhere in this topic.

Hopefully they'll get this fixed soon.
Gary

[galfridus73]

Still acting up here.  I thought I was receiving e-mail notifications of replies to this forum, so I'm shocked to see pages more of replies from the last time I was here.

As most of you have seen by now, the Series3 (and, I assume TiVo HD) have MRV and TTG enabled as of this week (try forcing an update if that's not the case for you).  I can see my Series2 from my Series3 and vice versa.  I can't move HD content to the Series2 (that's specific to the design - TiVo says the Series2 boxes can't handle the HD decoding, even if you were just to view it in 480i), but I don't think I would want to...

However, I cannot see my Series3 in TiVo Transfer, only the Series2.  Previous to the 9.1 software release I could see the Series3 (it just had no program listings), and then post-9.1 I can't even see the S3 box.

I have not tried burning a DVD, but I suspect that my results would be the same as everyone else's.

I've read the forum up to this point and am just amazed that Roxio is being so obtuse about this.

I want to go on the record that I, for one, want to see an update to handle this in 2007 and NOT a "feature" in Toast 9 when it inevitably comes out in January of 2008 at MacWorld.

Don't get me wrong - I will probably buy the upgrade as I use Toast for a lot of its features and the TiVo function is just icing for me.  But I really don't want to wait over two months while shows build up on my Series2 and those who are just looking for a TiVoToGo solution shouldn't be forced to upgrade.

[richdean]

What is most upsetting is that Roxio continues to sell Toast 8 claiming that it works with TiVo when it doesn't. Since TiVo forces the 9.x upgrade down on users, Toast has essentially stopped working (or will soon for everyone). This software should be pulled from their site, or at least the description changed.

At best Roxio is being disingenuous -- how many people buying the software are going to dig through these forums (which is the only place Roxio has acknowledged this problem). At worst, it's outright fraud.

Still waiting for a fix that lets me use the software I bought......

Rich

S2 TiVo

[freshburn]

My Tivo is running 9.1 and it works just fine with Toast still.  Funny how everyone wants to blame Toast for something that worked fine until Tivo had an update.  I would be putting the blame on Tivo for putting out such a bad update.

[cranky matty]

My Tivo is running 9.1 and it works just fine with Toast still.  Funny how everyone wants to blame Toast for something that worked fine until Tivo had an update.  I would be putting the blame on Tivo for putting out such a bad update.

This same thread is going on over at the TiVo community forums as well. I think Roxio needs to issue a fix in this case because my TiVo boxes still work fine since the update (slower, but fine), it is the Toast part that is not working. Plus, I didn't have to pay TiVo for TiVoToGo for my Mac, I had to pay Roxio, so they should be responsible for support of the product they sell. Glad yours is working, but obviously many other people are having big problems since the update.

My symptoms are exactly like Sluggo042-2's.

Edited by cranky matty, 25 October 2007 - 06:49 AM.

[Tommy E.]

Wow! So far my experience with Roxio support has been dreadful. I purchased Toast a few weeks ago for one reason and one reason only, TiVoToGo. I got it all installed, could see my TiVos and transferred files to the Mac no problem. I went to burn one to DVD, and it just sat there at 0% during the encoding phase. I spent several hours trying to find information on the Roxio support site, to no avail. I finally did find this thread, so at least I know it is not just me.

I opened a ticket with Roxio explaining in detail what my issue is. My question was not "is there an issue", but rather "when will it be fixed" since the only reason I purchased Toast was for this. If it is not going to be resolved in a timely fashion, then I would like a refund as the product does not do what it says it can. I explained that I could see the TiVos just fine and could transfer files just fine. The response? A canned response with suggestions on what to troubleshoot so I can see the TiVos and transfer files from them. NOTHING on what I actually asked about, which leads me to believe they did not even read my question. More time wasted. Evidently I have to spend more money and actually call them in order to get any answer what-so-ever (even though I expect it will not be a straight forward answer).

[XposeLA]

I had the same problem then it went away after an update earlier in the week and now with no update my files will not transfer again.

[XposeLA]

In response to the re-occurance of this problem, I rebooted TIVO and now it works again.  

[cranky matty]

I just got a response from Roxio's support dept.-

Thank you for contacting Roxio Technical Support

We have confirmed that recent TiVo Fall 2007 Software Update for the TiVo unit has caused the TiVo files not appearing correctly in the TiVo Transfer window and burning to DVD stuck at 0% or 1%.

We have provided the information to TiVo and are currently working on a fix for the issue and will provide an update on our website as soon as we can.

Thanks for contacting Roxio Customer Care. Let us know if you need further assistance on this issue by clicking the Update button.

Regards,

Roxio Technical Support
http://support.roxio.com

So at least they are officially recognizing the problem.

[galfridus73]

My Tivo is running 9.1 and it works just fine with Toast still.  Funny how everyone wants to blame Toast for something that worked fine until Tivo had an update.  I would be putting the blame on Tivo for putting out such a bad update.

No, I disagree.  From both customer support and project planning perspectives, Roxio is to blame.

TiVo needed to make changes to the files' metadata in order for MRV and TTG to be certified by CableLabs for the Series3 and the TiVo HD.  Those of us who have done simple Google searches have been able to find that information since the S3 went on the market, so it has been public for quite some time and well before the Toast solution came about in January of this year.

Roxio actively markets its partnership with TiVo for Toast, so we can only assume that the developers knew this was coming.

So, no, I don't blame TiVo on this one.  This is squarely Roxio's responsibility.

[cranky matty]

Ah- looking back over the thread, it seems that Roxio has been aware of the problem for a while now, at least since Oct. 10th- somebody else got the same message I did.

[galfridus73]

I found this on tivocommunity.com.

So, since Toast isn't ready for Leopard they need to get that patch out and, hopefully, the metadata fix will be in there, too.  I hope I'll be able to see my S3 at that point, too.

[Griz]

I just got this response from Roxio about this issue.


>Thank you for contacting Roxio Technical Support

>An update to allow the HD tivo files to be transferred to your toast application will be released by TIVO.
>They are aware of this problem.

I swear sometimes they have complete idiots who don't even clearly read your messages. I never asked about HD Tivo. This message seems to imply that Tivo will be releasind TTG for Tivo HD, which I do know about, but that has nothing to do with the problem.
I'll be replying to their response and will post what I hear back.

-Scott

[RockinRobin]

OK, So now I'm pissed. I bought Toast LAST NIGHT specifically for the export from TTG to ipod and was referred specifically by the Tivo site.  PLEASE don't tell me Roxio can't track referred traffic and provide an appropriate warning for people specifically seeking this functionality...  This is irresponsible at best, fraud at worst.  

To make it even worse, I bought this #$^@ functionality because my partner is in the hospital and wanted to be have a few feelings of home and be able to watch some of her shows.  Now I'm out $80, having purchased software Roxio KNEW wouldn't work and Tivo KNEW wouldn't work.  Neither, of course, provided any alerts for prospective buyers.  I wouldn't normally check user forums just to determine whether promised functionality still works and/or provides basic functionality advertised!  

Roxio sure keeps that #$^@ "best in show" award from MacWorld up and current yet can't bring itself to warn users -- even those referred by Tivo's site -- that their software currently doesn't work.  That's some customer service....

[galfridus73]

>An update to allow the HD tivo files to be transferred to your toast application will be released by TIVO.
>They are aware of this problem.

The CSRs don't always have up-to-date info in front of them and, unfortunately, some of them will make things up to push you away since many contact centers value closed tickets over quality and customer satisfaction.

We're just lucky to be in the loop because there are Roxio employees who actively read these forums and have told us that there is a fix on its way.

Now, it's possible (but not probable) TiVo is taking TTG for the Mac back in to its house for development and that's what the CSR is talking about, but I doubt it.  I have to assume that they would have released a new  TiVo Desktop for the Mac when the 9.1 & 9.2 updates started rolling if that were the case.

[djwtwo]

Now, it's possible (but not probable) TiVo is taking TTG for the Mac back in to its house for development and that's what the CSR is talking about, but I doubt it.  I have to assume that they would have released a new  TiVo Desktop for the Mac when the 9.1 & 9.2 updates started rolling if that were the case.

I don't think that's the case, but since part of the issue is an inability to interpret the metadata on the new files, and Roxio is almost certaintly using TiVo-provided libraries to do that (the library in TiVo Transfer is very, very similar to the library that TiVo Desktop for Mac uses for this purpose). TiVo Desktop for Mac also has issues in its unsupported TiVo-to-Come-Back mode, so I'm guessing that we'll see both fixes at about the same time.

With Leopard arriving on hard drives today, I'm guessing that they may have just decided to bundle any Leopard fixes with these changes rather than drop two updates within a week or so of one another.

[dhartlieb]

In an attempt to provide some information on what I am seeing with the TiVo fall update’s confounding Toast’s ability to make DVDs and iPod files, I have compiled a listing of my equipment and the results I have been able to see.

My equipment:
TiVo Series 2 dual tuner
Wireless 802.11g connection between TiVo and my network
PowerMac G5 2Ghz dual processor, 3 GB RAM, Pioneer DVR-111d burner

The program that was recorded after the fall update:
MASH, 30 minutes, basic quality

TiVo Transfer was used to locate the program on the TiVo DVRs window where it showed the duration and channel information.

TiVo Transfer successfully downloaded the recorded program to my Mac where the TiVo Recordings window showed an underscore laden filename and no duration, episode, or channel listed.

I selected this transferred program and clicked “Toast It.”  Toast 8.0.1 opens in the DVD video mode.  In the options, encoding is set to automatic.  Clicking Record or File/Save as Disc Image gives a stalled encoding window. No joy.

Trying again with the options for encoding set to Custom and the Reencoding set to Never (my usual way of making a DVD), I successfully burned a DVD and saved a 386 MB disk image.  HOWEVER, the audio on playback lagged the video by about 0.7 seconds. A wee bit of joy.

Trying to use Export to iPod gave a stalled exporting window.  No joy

The Experiment…
In the TiVo Recordings folder, drop the .tivo file on TiVo Decoder.  This produces a decrypted mpeg file of the same name with a .mpg extension.  

The Bsd News…
This .mpg file produces the exact same results as the .tivo trials when using Toast 8.0.1 for burning, disc imaging, or exporting.  No joy.

(Trumpet Fanfare)  Visual Hub to the rescue!

The long way to a DVD…
Use Visual Hub to burn this .mpg file directly to a DVD or to a disk image with the Author as DVD option checked.  With no advanced options selected, the processing time is about 30 minutes for the above mentioned 30 minute program.  The disk image size is 1.64 GB.  The audio/video sync is perfect.

The short way to a DVD…
Use Visual Hub to burn this .mpg file directly to a DVD or to a disk image with the Author as DVD option checked.  In the advanced options, set the video Extra ffmeg Flags popup to “Copy Original Video Track (passthrough)” and the audio Extra ffmpeg Flags popup to “Copy Original Audio Track (passthrough)”.  With these additional options selected, the processing time is about 2 minutes.  The disk image size is about 367 MB.  The audio/video sync is perfect.

The iPod News…
In Visual Hub, select the iTunes tab and choose your device.  Make your quality and H.264 selections.  For my test, the quality was set to Standard, no H.264, and iPod (5G).  Processing time was about 10 minutes and yielded a 96 MB .mp4 file.  Audio/Video sync was perfect.  By the way, the Visual Hub advanced options can be used to boost the volume of the output file which is great for compensating for soft

[Griz]

(Trumpet Fanfare)  Visual Hub to the rescue!

The iPod News…
In Visual Hub, select the iTunes tab and choose your device.  Make your quality and H.264 selections.  For my test, the quality was set to Standard, no H.264, and iPod (5G).  Processing time was about 10 minutes and yielded a 96 MB .mp4 file.  Audio/Video sync was perfect.  By the way, the Visual Hub advanced options can be used to boost the volume of the output file which is great for compensating for soft

Thanks for the tireless effort to find the issue. But a "trumpet fanfare" isn't warranted for a hack that uses additional software to perform a task that TTG is supposed to.

[Deaf Systems Engineer]

I been having problems like the other are with the TiVoToGo Transfer.  I figured that TiVo made some updates.  After reading the previous issue that other are having same problems I am having.

I cleared all the auto transfer and create new one.  That fix the auto transfer.

Still having format display issue, by information on the show and etc.

Did not test the burn to DVD at this moment.  I do not have any shows that I need to transfer to DVD.

However, with all the messages and information from support on this posting.  I have a strong feeling that Roxio is going to ignore this issue for two quarters and release a new version of Roxio Toast 9 with new version of TiVoToGo Transfer to fix the problem.  Think about it, it seems to be a marketing tools from managements, since they were aware of the "TiVo Fall 2007 update" for a while.  This would not even surprise me if this is the case.  Other vendors do the same thing with their hardwares/softwares.

[Sluggo042-2]

I have a strong feeling that Roxio is going to ignore this issue for two quarters and release a new version of Roxio Toast 9 with new version of TiVoToGo Transfer to fix the problem.

Check out the identically titled thread over on the boards at Tivo Community.  Someone from Roxio has spoken about a fix over there, and there is definite evidence they are working on the problem.  I don't know how long it will take them to nail down the problem and release the fix, but I do know for a fact that they're not "ignoring the issue".

Doug G.