TiVo 7.2 allows PC to TiVo transfer

filburt1 sent this tidbit in:

TiVo has released new knowledgebase articles referencing the current beta version (7.2). One in particular mentions the often-requested feature of transferring video from a PC to a TiVo. You need the latest version of TiVo Desktop, plus the videos need to be in standard MPEG-2 format.

Sounds exactly what I was hoping for a short while back when the privacy policy changed, as it sounded to me like customers would be able to move video to their TiVos in the future. Of course, since a lot of people use quicktime, DV, and divx to store their own video, hopefully we'll see a guide to prepping and transcoding your video into mpeg2 pop up.

Comments

[Justin Thyme]

You scooped them this time Matt. We have been sitting on the TivoCommunity TTG forum wondering who would be first. It was only 3 hours since the first post on this on our site.

Check out those specs- with 8MPS at 720X480 delivered as 16:9 with optional Dolby- any decent upscaler will deliver a very close to HD picture out of that- all from a box that can be had for $100.

That's pretty awesome.

What's even cooler is that Tivo clearly as openned up the doors to third party content providers. If only partners of Tivo could distribute to Tivo's platform, that would be an predictable way to go, but in opening it up, basically everyone and their cousin can create content.

Not sure if that will be more that one ton of porn, but hey- I personally am hoping for a wikipedia of video content. Another popular idea is videoPoding. Not too far away with a base of one million Tivos to sell into.

So how will joe-sixpack vote with his dollars- will he pay a couple bucks for a limited range of the studio's VOD content, or will he go rather watch individual taste stuff that is to studio content as ebay product is to that of mass merchandisers?

[Matt Haughey]

The only thing I think could hold a TiVo back from a IPTV kind of future you describe is that the decoders only do MPEG2, which is pretty high bitrate and filesize. If next generation TiVos could decode divx, xvid, and other compressed formats, I think internet delivery of independent shows to TiVos could really take off.

[Eric B]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but couldn't Tivo just include some software decoders in an OS update to allow divx, xvid, DV, mov, etc, playback? Or do the current Tivos rely on HW decoders instead of SW ones?

[Matt Haughey]

As far as I know, it's a hardware limitation of a simple chip that can only decode mpeg2. I know it's possible to transcode everything to mpeg2, but it's kind of going backwards to do that -- to make a compressed format into a less compressed format.

[Zeo]

yes, the current TiVo hardware is mepg-2 only. There have been indiciations that the next hardware reference will do mpeg-4 and open things up. But I can right now on my standard PC encode a one hour mpeg-2 to AVI in 10 minutes. so this is not much of a hurdle to overcome.

[eric]

What about the .tivo files that have been moved from the TiVo to the PC? In other words, would this let me use the PC as respority of TiVo recordings that can be moved back and forth?

[G]

Saw this link on Engadget, I guess that answers a few questions... http://customersupport.tivo.com/knowbase/root/public/tv251080.htm?

Gentelmen start your transcoders:

MPEG:
Resolution 720 x 480, 704 x 480 (D1), 544 x 480 (3/4 D1), 480 x 480 (2/3 D1), and 352 x 480 (1/2 D1).
Bit Rate 1 – 8 Mbps.

Frame Rate 29.97 (standard NTSC).

Aspect Ratio 4:3 (recommended) or 16:9
Audio MPEG-1 Layer 2 for TiVo DVRs without DVD; AC/3 (Dolby) for TiVo DVRs with DVD.

[JayDoggett]

Not streaming == not useful

[Matt]

Zeo, I'm interested in whether this means we can move .tivo files back onto the Tivo unit as well. That way I can use my PC as an archive for Tivo shows, what I had originally hoped TivoToGo would do.

Can anyone verify if the OS 2.2 change will allow reverse-TTG transfers?

[Justin Thyme]

If they didn't, it would be trivial to transcode the .tivo file into a .mpg- so one way or another you will have your functionality- provided this really is in the upcoming release. Seeing as how that page is still up on their web site, it's hard to doubt it.

As for the comment, "Not streaming == not useful"- that assumes everyone has the bandwidth for uninteruppted streaming transfers of video that looks good on a big screen. Secondly, it assumes everyone will continue to cling to that particular mental model of what is available Right Now.

There are two worlds people are living in- one where people value TV as it was- where you have the ability to watch RIGHT NOW the stuff that is available from the distributors, versus the Tivo world with the ability to easily watch RIGHT now the mountain of favorite stuff on your DVR that you already don't have enough time to watch.

The fact that you can watch a VOD movie NOW, or a streaming on demand movie NOW, using other services has little appeal if you have about 80 hours of stuff you want to watch NOW that is already on your DVR, and is easily navigated to (something that cable DVRs coincidentally make very hard).

It also helps that you probably have to pay much less for the Right Now stuff from your DVR versus the Right Now stuff from the content distributors.

[akb]

"Audio MPEG-1 Layer 2 for TiVo DVRs without DVD; AC/3 (Dolby) for TiVo DVRs with DVD."

If different types of audio is required for different types of Tivo boxen this will make distribution of 3rd party content difficult. Take for example archive.org which has thousands of mpeg2 files. Most of the audio is in mpeg-1 layer 2, but a minority of it is in ac3. They could double their storage requirements and transcode all the audio to the other format or they can require that the user transcode the audio themselves.

[codematic]

Does the new Version provide remote delete capability ? I could REALLY use the ability to delete shows from the PVR via the HTTPS XML interface...

Thanks,
Lenny

[tivoiscrack]

Streaming and reverse TivoToGo transfers are ok!!

[Chris]

So how does one get v7.2?

[Griffin]

7.2 priority request: http://research.tivo.com/72priority/

[Ron]

best thing would be software that could transcode internet based codecs (Quicktime7, H.264, WMV9) to the archaic MPEG2 format for transfer to the Tivo unit. The transcoding could happen faster than the actual transfer (thanks to the stupid choice of leaving USB2 off the Tivo unit). However I don't see Tivo providing that software so it seems to be at least a two step process.....

[MegaZone]

Ron, check your facts, USB2.0 has been on on the TiVo units since 7.1.

And there is nothing stopping soemone from writing a module for something like Galleon to do on-the-fly transcoding. So there is no need for it to be two steps.

[Thurman]

What is the best way to convert Avi or Divx files too MEPG-2?

[Marc]

I'm trying to compress a video using Discreet Cleaner on a Mac. I'm using the settings that were posted on the Engadget site. Everytime I try to transfer it to the tivo, i get an error. Does the compression have to be done on a pc and with specific compression software.

[Norm]

I have ripped TivoTogo files to Raw MPEG-32
then encoded then in H.264 based FLV files
that stream very well as a progressive download.

He biggest hassel is streaming the orinal file
from my Humax to the PC..

Any suggestions..

Norm

[tom]

wow, sounds it works well, but if you use 1Click DVD to Mpeg Mpg, you will find it's easier!

http://www.yaodownload.com/video-design/dvdrippers/1click-dvd-to-mpeg_dvdrippers.htm