Tivo to Apple TV workflow

[Cagle]

Our Tivo Series 3 is full so I wanted to get some shows off it and onto Apple TV. My first and only attempt at this uses a Hauppauge HDPVR connected to the Tivo which records the shows using Elgato's EyeTV3. The problem is that when exported to 720p DV (for editing out the commercials in FC) the file i'm left with is 11GB and EyeTV takes hours to do just one show. I'm not going to even bother attempting to work with a 11GB file inside FC.

There must be a better way? surely.....

ps: I can't buy these shows online yet, they are HBO and I don't fancy torrenting HBO stuff

pps: Thought about Roxio toast but they limit the resolution to SD.

 

[TEG]

You can just log-in to the TiVo, and download the stored videos one at a time via the built-in web server. All you need is the IP address of your TiVo, and your MAK. When you enter the IP address in your browser, you will be prompted for a username and password. Simply enter 'tivo' as the username, and your MAK (Media Access Key, from TiVo.com) as the password. Then download what you want. The only problem, it that on most models, you can only download one video at a time.

http://www.pvrwire.com/2005/07/23/saturday-tip-accessing-tivo-with-your-browser/
http://www.tivoblog.com/archives/20...-connect-to-your-tivo-using-your-web-browser/

There is also a couple of utilities that will automatically download, remove the encryption, then convert to a non-MPEG2 format, then import to iTunes. Then all you would need to do is set iTunes to sync a playlist of just new Videos to the AppleTV.

The Utility I use is called iTivo -
http://code.google.com/p/itivo/

The TiVo Decode Manager also has an included Commercial Scrubber, than is about 95% accurate in removing commercials.

TEG

 

[aristobrat]

You might try iTiVo.
http://code.google.com/p/itivo/

 

[Cagle]

thanks a lot, but unfortunately the shows i'm after are HBO and Showtime, which show up as protected when I try your downloading method. The same things happens when I try and use iTivo or Tivo Decode Manager, only the free channels are selectable for transfer, the ones I want are copyrighted. I think the only way to get round the copyright issue is to have it come thru component cables via the HDPVR, but as I said before, its a hugely time consuming affair.

 

[KevinC867]

You might try HDPVRCapture (www.steventoth.net/blog/products/hdpvr-capture) to capture the video from the Hauppauge box. It's a nice, simple app written by one of the engineers at Hauppauge. I usually just use it's native m2ts output files, but it will also repackage the h.264 stream into an MP4 for you. However, to get it into the AppleTV you will probably need to run it through HandBrake to drop the frame rate and bit rate.

I set my DVR to output a 720P signal. I set HDPVRCapture to record anywhere between 5 mbps and 12 mbps, depending on the nature of the program. The the output files end up being 1-2 GB per hour of material. (E.g. 4 GB for a high quality 2 hour movie, 1GB for a good quality 1 HR TV show.)

 

[Cagle]

You might try HDPVRCapture (www.steventoth.net/blog/products/hdpvr-capture) to capture the video from the Hauppauge box.

QUOTE]

I'm interested in this but before I spend $30 I wonder how it is going to be different to using EyeTV3 for the capuring and exporting?

 

[mstrze]

Since when did HBO and Showtime start putting commercials in shows?

And what HBO shows can't you buy? I thought there were all available on iTunes?

(Just asking becuase you mentioned this specifically.)

 

[KevinC867]

I'm interested in this but before I spend $30 I wonder how it is going to be different to using EyeTV3 for the capuring and exporting?

I haven't used EyeTV3, so I couldn't tell you what the difference would be. But your description makes it sound pretty awkward, while HDPVRCapture is quite simple.

You might want to look at the conversion section in his FAQ. You can also download the program and use it as a demo version before buying a key. The demo is limited to 2 minute recordings.

 

[Cagle]

Since when did HBO and Showtime start putting commercials in shows?

And what HBO shows can't you buy? I thought there were all available on iTunes?

(Just asking becuase you mentioned this specifically.)

i dunno why I said commercials, I must be losing it. hbo shows for current seasons arent on itunes yet, i wanted my friend to see them as he doesnt have hbo and i thought lending him my apple tv would be an easy option