How To Edit And Burn Tivo Files?

[RonEpstein]

I have been successfully able to transfer TIVO recordings to my computer.

 

I am guessing that burning them to DVD via Roxio Toast will be easy -- basically drag and drop.

 

However, for the life of me, I have not been able to figure out how to edit the Tivo files using TOAST so that I remove portions of commercials prior to the start of the programming.

 

Can anyone give me a description of how to accomplish this?

 

Thanks

[RonEpstein]

Just to update....

 

Figured out you have to drag the Tivo video into converter.

 

Just can't figure out this whole playhead thing. There is a top and bottom playhead you need to adjust.

 

Every time I adjust the playhead to the beginning and end points of the video, it seems to reset itself.

 

Can someone post the exact process in dealing with this editor?

[tsantee]

Just to update....

 

Figured out you have to drag the Tivo video into converter.

 

Just can't figure out this whole playhead thing. There is a top and bottom playhead you need to adjust.

 

Every time I adjust the playhead to the beginning and end points of the video, it seems to reset itself.

 

Can someone post the exact process in dealing with this editor?

The editor can be buggy when the source is HD videos from the TiVo but it should work great with SD videos.

 

Below the video in the edit window there is a timeline bar. The playhead is the downward-facing arrow. The markers at the left and right are used to set the start and end point of the video. To edit out commercials move the playhead to a point where a commercial begins. You can use the keyboard arrow keys to fine tune this spot. (Also, you might want to enlarge the edit window to full screen by clicking the zoom window button at the top left of the window). When you are at the spot where you want the edit to begin click the upward-facing arrow that is to the left of the "Set picture" button. This places a double arrow marker. Click and drag the right half of the marker to the point you want the edit to end. Again, you can use the arrow keys or the digits in the Start and End time boxes to adjust the marker locations. When you are done with that move the playhead to the start of the next commercial and repeat the process. Keep doing that until done. Click OK when you're done.

 

The Set Picture button is for setting the frame for the thumbnail image that appears in a DVD menu.

[RonEpstein]

Digital Guru,

 

Appreciate the assistance, but I am getting lost.

 

Is what I am highlighting by the markers what I want cut or want to include?

 

Is there a way I can actually cut the material I don't want so I can actually see only what I am about to burn?

 

This is really an obnoxiously confusing editor and I don't see any included reference material from Roxio on how to use it.

 

I'm still very confused.

 

I drag the playhead to the start of the material I want to KEEP. I then kit the upward button next to SET PICTURE. However, that doesn't seem to do the trick.

[tsantee]

Digital Guru,

 

Appreciate the assistance, but I am getting lost.

 

Is what I am highlighting by the markers what I want cut or want to include?

What you want to exclude

 

Is there a way I can actually cut the material I don't want so I can actually see only what I am about to burn?

No. This only marks what you want Toast to exclude when it does the conversion. It does not actually trim the existing video file.

 

This is really an obnoxiously confusing editor and I don't see any included reference material from Roxio on how to use it.

 

I'm still very confused.

 

I drag the playhead to the start of the material I want to KEEP. I then kit the upward button next to SET PICTURE. However, that doesn't seem to do the trick.

Set picture only is for marking the frame you want to appear as the button in the DVD menu. It has no other purpose. Drag the left hand marker to where you want to the kept video to start and drag the right side marker to where you want it to end. Then use the playhead and the upward facing triangle to mark any places in the middle that you also want excluded from the final video.

[RonEpstein]

Thank you for elaborating on the existing instructions.

 

Finally understand and will try it out later today.

 

Thanks again

[RonEpstein]

One more question....

 

I want to burn this to a DVD.

 

There is no DVD option in the conversion devices menu.

 

There is a MPEG-4 and a H.264

 

I selected the H.264

 

Is that okay for burning to DVD? Is one really better than the other for burning to DVD?

 

I take it after I convert to that format I just drag the file into Toast and burn to DVD?

 

Thanks

[tsantee]

One more question....

 

I want to burn this to a DVD.

 

There is no DVD option in the conversion devices menu.

 

There is a MPEG-4 and a H.264

 

I selected the H.264

 

Is that okay for burning to DVD? Is one really better than the other for burning to DVD?

 

I take it after I convert to that format I just drag the file into Toast and burn to DVD?

 

Thanks

To make a DVD use the DVD-video setting in the Video window rather than the Convert window.

[RonEpstein]

To make a DVD use the DVD-video setting in the Video window rather than the Convert window.

 

Tsantee,

 

So I need not to convert the video first?

 

Remember, this is originally in TIVO format.

 

Thanks, as always.

[tsantee]

Tsantee,

 

So I need not to convert the video first?

 

Remember, this is originally in TIVO format.

 

Thanks, as always.

The TiVo transfers are MPEG 2 video files in a .tivo container. A video DVD is MPEG 2 as well so the only thing that needs to happen is for Toast to remove the .tivo container. If your TiVo transfer is a standard-definition video then you'll find that making a video DVD is very fast because Toast doesn't need to do any re-encoding of the MPEG 2 video. So, no, you don't need to do any conversion unless you have some reason you want to play it in iTunes or on a computer that doesn't have the Roxio Video Player that's part of Toast 11 which plays the TiVo transfers without needing to remove them from the container.

[RonEpstein]

The TiVo transfers are MPEG 2 video files in a .tivo container. A video DVD is MPEG 2 as well so the only thing that needs to happen is for Toast to remove the .tivo container. If your TiVo transfer is a standard-definition video then you'll find that making a video DVD is very fast because Toast doesn't need to do any re-encoding of the MPEG 2 video. So, no, you don't need to do any conversion unless you have some reason you want to play it in iTunes or on a computer that doesn't have the Roxio Video Player that's part of Toast 11 which plays the TiVo transfers without needing to remove them from the container.

 

Okay, here's the catch...

 

The video is off a HD Tivo box. So it is in Hi-Def.

 

I am looking to burn it to a DVD.

 

So, do I need to convert it first and then burn to a DVD or just drag the file to the video tab of Toast and let it convert and burn from there?

 

Of course, I need to add it first in the converter box (unless there is another way to edit it before burning to DVD).

 

You know what? As I type this all out, I think maybe it's better to stop wasting your valuable time with questions. Perhaps this will help...

 

For HD Tivo content to Roxio Toast DVD conversion of programming that needs to be edited

 

What is the best way to do it?

 

From importing to Roxio to editing to burning.

 

You have been awfully patient and I appreciate the help.

[tsantee]

 

For HD Tivo content to Roxio Toast DVD conversion of programming that needs to be edited

 

What is the best way to do it?

 

From importing to Roxio to editing to burning.

 

You have been awfully patient and I appreciate the help.

Here's what I'd do since I'm not confident about Toast's editor with HD MPEG 2 video files.

 

1. Choose DVD video as the format in the Toast Video window and add the TiVo video either from the Toast Media Browser or dragging it directly from the TiVo Recordings folder in the Finder.

 

2. Click the Edit button but only set the start and end points in the editor. Don't do any editing of commercials at this time. If it's a sporting event and there is something like a 20-minute halftime you want to delete, then go ahead and mark the that segment for exclusion but nothing else.

 

3. Choose Save as Disc Image from the File menu. Toast will take a long time to convert the video a standard-definition MPEG 2 file as part of making the disc image. You might want to check the Energy Savings panel in System Preferences to make certain the Mac doesn't go to sleep while all this is going on.

 

4. Once the disc image is complete delete the TiVo video from the Toast Video window (or choose New Disc... from the File menu). In your Documents folder there is a Roxio Converted Items folder. Drag the .m2v file that's in this folder to the Video window. If Toast asks you for an audio file show it where the .ac3 file is located in that same folder. (Don't drag the .ac3 audio file to the Video window – Toast matches up the video and audio by dragging in only the video).

 

5. Now click the editor and trim out the commercials. When you close the editor you'll notice that Toast reports the time length of the video as less than before you made those edits.

 

6. Set up the menu the way you want it to look. Choose auto-play on insert if you want the disc to play without first showing a menu. Choose continuously play all items if you want the disc to never stop playing until you press the stop or menu button on your remote control.

 

7. Insert a blank disc and click the burn button. Toast will multiplex rather than encode the new video DVD so this goes pretty quick.

 

8. Test the final disc to see if it turned out the way you wanted. If so, the contents of the converted-items folder will be deleted when you quit Toast. You'll need to drag the .toast disc image file to the trash to remove it.

[RonEpstein]

Tsantee,

 

This is PERFECT. Thank You.

 

One exception....

 

In step #4, when dragging the converted file over to the video window, it indeed does ask about the accompanying audio file. I select NO, meaning it is not in a separate window.

 

When I preview what has been dragged over, there is no audio playing. Is the audio still being imported over and will appear when burned?

 

Again, I have no audio playing in the converted file dragged to the video window.

 

EDIT:

 

I opened the .m2v file with VLC and other video applications and there is no audio intact either. Did I lose the audio in the conversion process explained in Step #3?

 

Fortunately, that conversion took under 30 minutes for a 90 minute movie on a i7 iMac.

[tsantee]

Tsantee,

 

This is PERFECT. Thank You.

 

One exception....

 

In step #4, when dragging the converted file over to the video window, it indeed does ask about the accompanying audio file. I select NO, meaning it is not in a separate window.

 

When I preview what has been dragged over, there is no audio playing. Is the audio still being imported over and will appear when burned?

 

Again, I have no audio playing in the converted file dragged to the video window.

 

EDIT:

 

I opened the .m2v file with VLC and other video applications and there is no audio intact either. Did I lose the audio in the conversion process explained in Step #3?

 

Fortunately, that conversion took under 30 minutes for a 90 minute movie on a i7 iMac.

Toast will automatically match the audio if it is in the same folder and has the same name (except for the extension) as the audio file. In this case the names didn't match so Toast asked you to locate it. You should indicate that there is an audio file and Toast opens a dialogue window for you to select it. It is the .ac3 file in the Roxio Converted Items folder. I'm sorry I didn't make that step clear.

[RonEpstein]

tsantee,

 

Have done this over and over again, and there is just no .ac3 file in the converted folder.

 

All I have is the .m2v video file and the Toast.DMG file.

 

Now....

 

This is what I did...

 

I clicked on the Toast DMG file (created from the initial conversion). That opened up into a VIDEO_TS and AUDIO_TS file.

 

This I am familiar with.

 

I simply dragged the VIDEO_TS file into the video window of Toast and burned the disc. The audio seems intact.

 

So, hopefully, as the disc is burning now, I have created the disc I need correctly.

 

Hopefully you agree I did it correctly (though a bit differently than you instructed)

 

Thank you so much for your patience and all the help you provided me.

[tsantee]

tsantee,

 

Have done this over and over again, and there is just no .ac3 file in the converted folder.

 

All I have is the .m2v video file and the Toast.DMG file.

 

Now....

 

This is what I did...

 

I clicked on the Toast DMG file (created from the initial conversion). That opened up into a VIDEO_TS and AUDIO_TS file.

 

This I am familiar with.

 

I simply dragged the VIDEO_TS file into the video window of Toast and burned the disc. The audio seems intact.

 

So, hopefully, as the disc is burning now, I have created the disc I need correctly.

 

Hopefully you agree I did it correctly (though a bit differently than you instructed)

 

Thank you so much for your patience and all the help you provided me.

Good job. Glad you found a solution. I thought it would be easier to use the files in the converted items folder rather than mounting the .toast file and using the VIDEO_TS folder but in this case I was wrong.