So I've been meaning to start grabbing recorded shows off my TiVo and onto my Mac, ultimately to transfer to my iPod. I already knew that TiVo did not provide the transfer functionality (TivoToGo) for Mac themselves, but instead offloaded the responsibility to Roxio and embedded that function in Toast and Popcorn, two packages (for extra $) that will find your TiVo, transfer shows, and convert for the iPod.
I would have been fine paying for Toast and/or Popcorn, but seems that one of the latest TiVo software updates has broken the Roxio software and made it less-than-functional. TiVoCommunity has a thread here about this issue.
So I figured, rather than spend $49 on Popcorn 3 with no guarantee that it will work (Roxio does not let you try out their software for a limited time before purchase, you have to buy before you play), I examined home-grown solutions.
One option was SeasonPassGetter, which worked, but doesn't have the prettiest of interfaces. Being picky, I wanted to find something else that might be a little easier. Plus, SPG is mostly about giving it a show, and having it get every episode continually and automatically post them to iTunes. What if I just wanted to get one show specifically?
Second choice: TiVoDecode Manager. This gives you a TiVo-desktop-like interface, where you pick shows and transfer them to your Mac. The TiVo DRM is stripped off during the transfer, and you're left with an MPEG2 file that you then must convert to MPEG4 before getting to your iPod. That's easy, though (see below).
One last choice, the utterly manual option: Access your TiVo through https://tivo.name.or.IP, then enter "tivo" as the user, and your MAK as the password. You then get a list of programs which you can transfer right through the browser. This gives you a large .tivo file.
Next, strip the DRM with TiVoDecode, a command-line tool you download and build yourself. This takes the .tivo file as input, and spits out an MPEG2 file, which you then have to bring to MPEG4 just like before.
To get your MPEG4 file to your MPEG2/iPod compatible format, use ffmpegx, being careful to follow the instructions to get all the related binaries it needs, which have to be downloaded separately. Once installed, though, ffmpegx simply lets you drag a movie file (say, your MPEG2 file) to the ffmpegx window, then select the destination device (say, an iPod), then click one button to do the conversion. Easy enough.
All in all, though, the Mac is lacking a one-stop solution like Windows users have with TiVo Desktop, unless you look to Roxio. I'd love to buy their solution, but I need to be sure that it will actually work. I'll keep watching the TiVo forum to see when this particular problem is resolved.. but it's been a while so far, so I'm not holding much hope.
I would have been fine paying for Toast and/or Popcorn, but seems that one of the latest TiVo software updates has broken the Roxio software and made it less-than-functional. TiVoCommunity has a thread here about this issue.
So I figured, rather than spend $49 on Popcorn 3 with no guarantee that it will work (Roxio does not let you try out their software for a limited time before purchase, you have to buy before you play), I examined home-grown solutions.
One option was SeasonPassGetter, which worked, but doesn't have the prettiest of interfaces. Being picky, I wanted to find something else that might be a little easier. Plus, SPG is mostly about giving it a show, and having it get every episode continually and automatically post them to iTunes. What if I just wanted to get one show specifically?
Second choice: TiVoDecode Manager. This gives you a TiVo-desktop-like interface, where you pick shows and transfer them to your Mac. The TiVo DRM is stripped off during the transfer, and you're left with an MPEG2 file that you then must convert to MPEG4 before getting to your iPod. That's easy, though (see below).
One last choice, the utterly manual option: Access your TiVo through https://tivo.name.or.IP, then enter "tivo" as the user, and your MAK as the password. You then get a list of programs which you can transfer right through the browser. This gives you a large .tivo file.
Next, strip the DRM with TiVoDecode, a command-line tool you download and build yourself. This takes the .tivo file as input, and spits out an MPEG2 file, which you then have to bring to MPEG4 just like before.
To get your MPEG4 file to your MPEG2/iPod compatible format, use ffmpegx, being careful to follow the instructions to get all the related binaries it needs, which have to be downloaded separately. Once installed, though, ffmpegx simply lets you drag a movie file (say, your MPEG2 file) to the ffmpegx window, then select the destination device (say, an iPod), then click one button to do the conversion. Easy enough.
All in all, though, the Mac is lacking a one-stop solution like Windows users have with TiVo Desktop, unless you look to Roxio. I'd love to buy their solution, but I need to be sure that it will actually work. I'll keep watching the TiVo forum to see when this particular problem is resolved.. but it's been a while so far, so I'm not holding much hope.
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