« "Cleaning out the TiVo" on Colbert Report | Main | Holiday Gadget Guide: BDI's Avion line and the Slingbox Pro »
Looks like someone has released an open source toolkit called TiVo File Decoder. It's a command-line utility to convert .tivo movie files to normal mpeg files. It uses your own media access key, so it basically mimics what the TiVo Desktop Software does, but goes another step beyond to remove the DRM. This would allow you to view your TiVo recordings on other unsupported platforms (linux, mac) as well as other devices (cellphone video player, iPod, PSP, etc).
Of course, it requires a Series 2 TiVo in order to function, since all the TiVoToGo functionality is turned off on Series 3 boxes. [via engadget]
by Matt Haughey December 4, 2006 in TiVo
This is cool... can someone tell me how to get it running on a mac?
Posted by: Bosk at Dec 4, 2006 12:12:16 PM
I just typed:
make
inside the folder after expanding. But, I had the xcode kit installed.
Posted by: Joe at Dec 4, 2006 12:41:02 PM
OK, totally lost me there.... isn''t xcode a developer tool? How do I get the Tivo File Decoder working on a mac running tiger? Do I have to run it via terminal?
Posted by: Bosk at Dec 4, 2006 1:40:31 PM
You probably have to compile it yourself from the source provided. On a Mac that probably requires installing the developer tools.
Posted by: Nate at Dec 4, 2006 3:15:15 PM
Yep, you have to compile it yourself. I linked to a couple of Mac How-To posts from the original post. (Which was picked up by PVRWire, then Engadget picked it up from them, then it ended up here. The blogosphere as a game of 'telephone'. ;-) ) http://blog.tivolovers.com/384800.html
Posted by: MegaZone at Dec 4, 2006 5:02:42 PM
What version of code is needed on the Tivo? I have two hacked HDVR2s (DirecTV, yes) that I have recording unscrambled and can extract using TyTool, but this sounds interesting.
Posted by: beemer at Dec 4, 2006 5:03:57 PM
This type of thing has been around for quite some time. I had a program over a year ago called Directshow Dump (http://prish.com/etivo/tbr.htm) which does the same thing. It doesn't require your MAK either.
Posted by: rb999 at Dec 4, 2006 5:43:11 PM
Beemer - This is for standalone Series2 units without any hacks.
rb999 - No, this is new. DirectShow Dump only works on Windows and it requires the TiVo Desktop be installed, because all it does is use the included DLL. It plays the video at high speed via a DirectShow filter and saves the MPEG stream. And it DOES require your MAK - it just uses the saved MAK you configured when you installed TiVo Desktop, like any other playback engine.
This code works on platforms other than Windows, doesn't use any playback tricks - it is direct decryption, and it doesn't require TiVo software.
Posted by: MegaZone at Dec 4, 2006 7:54:53 PM
I created an Automator action to wrap the decoder. Nothing fancy (this is my first attempt) but it works. I don't have anywhere to host it, but I am willing to share.
Posted by: Peter at Dec 5, 2006 9:54:39 PM
Thanks peter - where do we get it?
Posted by: geekaba at Dec 8, 2006 5:08:17 PM
You can grab it here: http://bwah.org/stuff/TiVoDecodeAction-1.1.dmg
It's PPC only (because that's all I have to compile on), and it's been updated to work with version 0.1.4.
Posted by: Peter at Dec 9, 2006 1:27:01 PM
can someone tell me how to get it running on a mac?
------------
http://www.dl4all.com
Posted by: Michael at Dec 11, 2006 1:21:54 PM
This has been out for a long time called video redo.
http://www.videoredo.com/
Just drag and drop your .tivo videos in it and edit them very easy and save them out as mpg for other formats. Even back out as .tivo
You just have to put in your TiVo password for the video one time and it remembers it after that. It's way better then Sonic Solutions MyDVD! Way faster too at moving in the video.
It has a Free Trial. It cost about $50 but I think worth it.
-Raymond Day
Posted by: Raymond Day at Dec 14, 2006 4:50:55 PM
I tried Sonic and it was a slow, tedious, process... then tried Video Redo and it was easy and fast. It did everything I needed so the choice was easy Video Redo!
Posted by: TommyTwoToes at Apr 14, 2007 6:29:30 AM
What version of code is needed on the Tivo? I have two hacked HDVR2s (DirecTV, yes) that I have recording unscrambled and can extract using TyTool, but this sounds interesting.
---------
http://www.insurance-center.us/
Posted by: David at May 6, 2007 11:39:18 AM
I'm using Direct Show Dump. But it won't recognize a *.tivo file unless Tivo Destop is installed. Apparently it must depend on a DLL or filter that is provided. Does anyone know of a workaround so I don't have to have Tivo to Go installed to use DSD?
Posted by: iceflatline at May 24, 2007 9:58:54 PM
Thanxs! VideoReDo is amazing.. and best of all works w/ Vista unlike directshow dump which I had been using w/ XP.
Posted by: chris at Jun 1, 2007 3:05:03 PM