TivoToComeBack (transferring back to Tivo) issues...

[soben]

Can anyone help me with the following issue?

 

I am able to see my computer in the now playing list, but I don't see any of the shows that I have previously transferred to my computer.

 

Strangely, I CAN see (and can transfer to the Tivo and play) home videos that are in plain .mpg format. It's only files with the .tivo extension that do not appear.

 

FYI just for kicks, I just tried changing the extension of the .tivo files to .mpg, and sure enough, they now appear, but they won't transfer.

 

What's going on and can anyone tell me how to fix this? I have shows that I transferred to my computer and I'd just like to be able to move them back to the Tivo so I can watch them on the TV. Thanks!

 

Steve

 

PS I am using a MacBook Pro (Tiger 10.4.10), Toast Titanium 8.0.1 (w/ Tivo Transfer 1.01, and a Tivo Series 3 with software version 9.2.J1-01-2-648

 

PPS I just bought Toast yesterday and I have no problem transferring programs from the Tivo to my Mac and transfering to iPhone (in other words, I don't seem to be having the other problems other users have reported w.r.t. Tivo software 9.2 "breaking" Toast)

[patatrox]

*bump* Any progress on this issue, Roxio?

 

This feature is not a part of any of current offerings.

[Arcady]

We're still waiting for the promised ability to move .tivo files back to the TiVo...

[soben]

Anyone know if there is progress on this issue?

 

I really want to be able to move all these .tivo files that are accumulating on my Mac back to my Tivo.

[kmitchell]

The weird thing is that TivoPony (over on tivocommunity.com) specifically said that Roxio was going to support TivoToComeBack on the Mac. See http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showt...761#post5483761 (you have to dig back in the thread to see that he is indeed talking about TivoToComeBack)

 

That's good to hear that Roxio is going to support the feature in the future which makes me even more convinced that Tivo (the company) is never going to fix the unsupported code in Tivo Desktop 1.9.3.

 

Thanks,

Ken

[soben]

... but the "unsupported" code in Tivo Desktop 1.9.3 that makes TivoToComeBack work on a Mac has not and, in my opinion, will probably never be updated.

The weird thing is that TivoPony (over on tivocommunity.com) specifically said that Roxio was going to support TivoToComeBack on the Mac. See http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showt...761#post5483761 (you have to dig back in the thread to see that he is indeed talking about TivoToComeBack)

[soben]

 

 

*bump* Any progress on this issue, Roxio?

[kmitchell]

Anyone know if there is progress on this issue?

 

I really want to be able to move all these .tivo files that are accumulating on my Mac back to my Tivo.

 

This is left over from the mess caused by the Fall 2007 Tivo update. The format of the metadata has been changed. Tivo Desktop for Windows has been updated to know about the format change but the "unsupported" code in Tivo Desktop 1.9.3 that makes TivoToComeBack work on a Mac has not and, in my opinion, will probably never be updated. The Roxio Tivo Transfer program was broken as well until the 8.0.3 update.

[kupe]

We're still waiting for the promised ability to move .tivo files back to the TiVo...

 

Well, by combining information from a couple different threads here, I have it working right now. In fact, I'm watching a show right now on my Tivo HD that I transferred back from my iMac. Here's what I did:

 

 

1) Enable the hidden "Video" transfer feature in Tivo Desktop 1.9.3 if you haven't already done so. To do so, turn off Tivo Desktop in System Preferences, then paste the following into Terminal:

 

defaults write com.tivo.desktop FileVideo -dict-add VideoUIEnabled -bool true

 

Restart Tivo Desktop, and you'll now have a Videos Tab. And on your Tivo under Now Playing you should see your computer.

 

2) Download the Tivo Decode Applescript at http://inik.net/system/files/TiVo_Decoder.zip

 

3) Presumably you already have some Tivo shows on your computer in the folder user/TivoShows. Simply drag one of them onto the AppleScript you downloaded above. I found that a 30 minute show converted in around 30 seconds. This AppleScript strips the Tivo wrapper and leaves you with a basic MPEG-2 movie.

 

4) Now go to your Tivo. The show you just converted should appear under your Computer in Now Playing. If not, try turning Tivo Desktop off and on again. Transfer as you would any show, and enjoy!

 

I've noticed a couple issues, though they seem minor:

 

One is that on your Tivo, the Fast Forward/Rewind bar may show the program's duration in seconds, not hours/minutes.

 

Two, for some reason, if I tried to play the converted shows on my Mac with Quicktime Player, they would play with audio, but no video. And I have the Apple MPEG-2 plugin installed, so not sure what's up with that. FWIW though, the converted show played fine in Toast Video Player.

 

Third, this does not appear to be a workaround to transfer an HD show to a Series 2. Even converted to generic MPEG-2, the Series 2 does not seem to be able to play a transferred formerly HD show.

 

I'm running the above setup with a Tivo HD running 9.2 and a Series 2 running 9.1.

 

Kupe