Tivo to PC (edited) -> DVD

[soulax]

Im looking into get a TiVo and a lifetime supscription. I like the new units that have built in DVD burners, but they are pricey, and you can't remove the commercials. Has anyone transferd stored content from a TiVo HD to a PC, edited it, then burned it from the PC to a DVD. Is this possible?

[jrmann1999]

It's possible, but you won't find much talk of it here as it requires you to crack into your TiVO box which invalidates the warranty(and if it's a tivo attached to a satellite reciever you've gone into a whole realm of illegality). Just do a little googling and you should find plenty of information on "blessing" your tivo with certain tools.

[Happygolucky]

Originally posted by soulax
Im looking into get a TiVo and a lifetime supscription. I like the new units that have built in DVD burners, but they are pricey, and you can't remove the commercials. Has anyone transferd stored content from a TiVo HD to a PC, edited it, then burned it from the PC to a DVD. Is this possible?

I have one of the new DirecTV DVRs, which is a Tivo with two built-in sat tuners. It records the raw DirecTV MPEG2 signal to the hard drive, which gives very good results. However, though it has the standard Tivo Series 2 features like USB ports, currently they don't seem to be activated by the firmware that comes with them. I've tried using the "Save To VCR" feature to copy a recorded program to VHS tape, then connecting the VCR to my computer via my ATI All-In-Wonder 9000 Pro graphics card, but the result was only OK. I used the ATI Multimedia software to do the capture using its MPEG2 codec in "DVD Quality" mode. I tried using VirtualDub but it kept crashing on me.

I was disappointed in the picture quality I got, but after looking at the VHS tape, it was pretty bad. I should try recording it in SP mode (used LP mode because the program was 3 hours long) to see if quality improves.

If there was a way to use the USB ports to connect direct to my computer, say via a Wi-Fi adapter or something similar, that would be fantastic.

[oldhack]

i have the sa tivo and do a "save to vcr" to my ads box and i get tv quality mpeg2 compliant files. it isnt as good as a rip from a dvd but it is as good as what you see on tv.
there are some hacks out there that will let you copy directly to the pc using a null modem cable. the usb port is for getting programming updates from the internet instead of using a phone line.
to copy directly from the tivo(hd) to your pc Hd you really need to get a second hd that you can play with using linux. Format it with fat32 and load the mfstools cd that yop make and your on your way.
its not that hard to do a backup, whats hard is to find a ver 3 backup to use with the hacks. fortuantly there are some on the net. look for the "full monte"

[Happygolucky]

Originally posted by oldhack
i have the sa tivo and do a "save to vcr" to my ads box and i get tv quality mpeg2 compliant files. it isnt as good as a rip from a dvd but it is as good as what you see on tv.
there are some hacks out there that will let you copy directly to the pc using a null modem cable. the usb port is for getting programming updates from the internet instead of using a phone line.
to copy directly from the tivo(hd) to your pc Hd you really need to get a second hd that you can play with using linux. Format it with fat32 and load the mfstools cd that yop make and your on your way.
its not that hard to do a backup, whats hard is to find a ver 3 backup to use with the hacks. fortuantly there are some on the net. look for the "full monte"

I'm not quite ready to go hacking into my Tivo since it is brand new. Maybe when the warrenty is lapsed...

I tried a Save to VCR and used a new high quality tape in SP mode, then transferred that to my PC using my All-In-Wonder. The quality was very good. True, it wasn't a DVD rip, but it was close enough.

Note for anyone wanting a DirecTV Tivo unit, they're selling them for $99 with professional installation included. The guy showed up and ran new RG-6, put in a multiplexor switch, moved one of my old receivers to another room... all included in the $99 price for the Tivo unit. Can't beat that!

[oldhack]

if i am hearing you right. you saved to an actual vcr tape? use the "save to vcr" function but hook the cables directly to the ati wonder card(if you can)and capture the movie. you have an extra step in there thats not needed and that reduces quality.i dont have the wonder board but i am assuming it has rca jacks?

[Happygolucky]

Originally posted by oldhack
if i am hearing you right. you saved to an actual vcr tape? use the "save to vcr" function but hook the cables directly to the ati wonder card(if you can)and capture the movie. you have an extra step in there thats not needed and that reduces quality.i dont have the wonder board but i am assuming it has rca jacks?

I can't seem to find any cables the necessary 62' long to connect my Tivo directly to my All-In-Wonder. ;) My Tivo is in the living room, my computer in my office, on complete opposite ends of my house.

[oldhack]

I suggest getting a shorter house.(grin) I have 25' rca cables for my setup.I know you can get jack adapters to lengthen your cable. But then you would have this long cable running through the house. That is a dilema.You could unhook your tivo and take it into the computer room for the day and get stuff off it. Other than that, i think your stuck.

[Happygolucky]

Originally posted by oldhack
I suggest getting a shorter house.(grin) I have 25' rca cables for my setup.I know you can get jack adapters to lengthen your cable. But then you would have this long cable running through the house. That is a dilema.You could unhook your tivo and take it into the computer room for the day and get stuff off it. Other than that, i think your stuck.

I think the signal degredation for such a long cable length would make the VHS tape method look better. I'll stick with the tapes for now. I hope to eventually be able to build a small pc just for video duty that I can put in the media cabinet next to my big screen tv. Then I should be able to copy to it and network it to any other computer I wish.

[jsquare]

I own 2 Series1 SA Tivos, one has a TurboNet network card with 160GB hard drive, the other has a 30Gb HD only and it's used by my family for recording cartoons, children movies, etc. Hacking the Tivo is not an easy task, but once you get everything in working order it's just a breeze to download directly to your local hard drive, author and burn to DVD. Series1 are the easiest to hack and upgrade, you can even change the recording resolution to 720x480 so no conversion/patching is needed when burning to DVD. A neat application called TyStudio will edit and convert your stream from your Tivo to MPEG2 in real time, no need to download the TY files then edit, convert and upsample the audio to 48khz, TyStudio will do everything. On DirecTivos and Series2 things are a litle different, so you may want to check the forums at DealDatabase (http://dealdatabase.com/forum/), they have all the info for DirecTivos and SA Series 1 & 2.