Neutron :: Bomb

by John Calian |
Topics: iPhone | Mac OSX | TiVo | TiVo Decode | TiVoToGo

Finally got around to figuring out how to get my movies and television shows I record with my TiVo HD onto Mac, and then what to do with them once I had them.

Goal: download the content I want and convert to a format (MPEG) that was free and clear of any Digital Rights Management (DRM) and able to be played using Front Row in a high quality (the exact quality off the TiVo box)

Items you need first:

1. TiVo Decode (download)
2. FFmpefX (download)
   
3. Your TiVo Media Access Key (MAK) - get this by logging into My TiVo online
4. IP address (optional) of your TiVo box (get this by looking it up on the TiVo machine OR use your router browser admin to look it up)
   
5. Roxio Toast Titanium (optional) to download content from the TiVo and to convert to iPod/iPhone format and/or burn content to DVD
   
6. VLC (optional) for video playback on Mac
   

Transfer to your Mac

1. Use Roxio Toast Titanium, which includes TiVo Transfer (this is the offical way to do it, and the software has a nice queuing service
2. Otherwise, you can simply browse to your TiVo via a web browser. Simply type in:
   • https://
   • Once there, you will need login info
   • login: tivo
   • pwd: your MAK
   • click around to find your shows or movies, and download one by one

Easy way to watch and convert (does NOT achieve goal)

1. Use Roxio Toast Titanium.
2. Watch content with Roxio movie player on your Mac
3. Convert to iPod format to use on your iPod/iPhone/Front Row

Cons: low quality once converted. Front Row uses low quality iPod format. Cant watch highest quality (HQ) on Front Row. Cant use Quicktime for HQ.

Correct way (IMHO) - no paid software required

1. Use browser for downloading
   • See instructions above
     
2. Use Tivo Decoder to decode
   • Open Terminal (the Mac application)
   • TYPE : tivodecode -m ########## -o distraction.mpg distraction.tivo
     • ########## = your MAK
     • distraction.mpg = the new name of your file
     • distraction.tivo = current name of file with .tivo extension
       
   • In just a minute or two, you’ll have a free and clear MPEG-2 to play with. Enjoy!
3. Use FFMpeg to convert decoded files to nice MPEG-4 format for viewing in Quicktime at highest quality. Also covers Front Row, and you can of course create iPod/iPhone formats as well
   
   • See instructions at the FFmpegX website
4. You should now have videos you can enjoy anywhere
   

Email me if you have any questions.