# Suddenly unable to push videos to my tivo with pytivo



## jbernardis

I'm not sure when this started, but suddenly I am unable to push videos to my tivos via pytivo. Also since it uses pytivo, my my pytivo-video-manager HME app no longer works.

I tried updating to the latest pytivo, but it did not help.

Here is what I see in the pytivo log file:



Code:


{'cams_security_domain': 'tivocom', 'cams_login_config': 'http', 'cams_cb_password': 'xxxxxxx', 'cams_original_url': '/mind/mind7?type=infoGet', 'cams_cb_username': '[email protected]'}
2016-08-28 18:48:28,601 DEBUG pyTivo.mind: pcBodySearch
{}

<error><code>badCookie</code><debug>1</debug><text>Session cannot be authenticated; try login again</text></error>g
2016-08-28 18:48:34,285 DEBUG pyTivo.mind: pcBodyStore
{'replaceExisting': 'true', 'name': 'pyTivo'}

<error><code>badCookie</code><debug>1</debug><text>Session cannot be authenticated; try login again</text></error>g
2016-08-28 18:48:39,971 DEBUG pyTivo.mind: bodyOfferModify&bodyId=tsn:xxxxxxxxxxx
{'description': 'Round 4 of the 2016 Stanley Cup Playoffs - San Jose Sharks vs Penguins.', 'title': '2016 Stanley Cup Playoffs - Round 4 - Sharks', 'url': 'http://192.168.1.201:9032/My%20Sports/Hockey/2015-16/Round%204%20-%20Sharks.mp4?Format=video/mp4', 'pcBodyId': None, 'bodyId': 'tsn:8480301905E6D60', 'publishDate': '2016-08-28 22:4834', 'source': '2016 Stanley Cup Playoffs - Round 4 - Sharks', 'state': 'complete', 'partnerId': 'tivo:pt.3187', 'duration': 1657, 'encodingType': 'avcL41MP4', 'tvRating': 'nr', 'size': 368553155L}

<error><code>badCookie</code><debug>1</debug><text>Session cannot be authenticated; try login again</text></error>g
2016-08-28 18:48:39,972 ERROR pyTivo.video.video: <error>[CODE]badCookie

<debug>1</debug><text>Session cannot be authenticated; try login again</text></error>[/CODE]

Although I have masked them in the above, I have verified that the username and password are the same as the credentials I use to log into tivo.com.

Any help is appreciated.

Thanks in advance.


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## lpwcomp

http://pytivo.sourceforge.net/forum...g-for-anyone-or-is-it-broken-t3025.html#18340


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## jbernardis

Thanks for the link. It was an interesting idea, but did not work for me. 

To be clear I changed only my tivo_username field in the pyTivo.conf file to be all uppercase, and then restarted pytivo. I also tried leaving the ".com" in the email address as lowercase, and it still did not work.

I didn't change anything at tivo.com. I went there and tried to change my email address to all uppercase (and also with the lowercase .com) and it recognized the email address as a duplicate of what I already have.

I'll keep trying the angle of changing email address, but for now, it's just wait and hope for a fix.


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## lpwcomp

Is pull not an option?


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## gonzotek

lpwcomp said:


> Is pull not an option?


Not for pytivo-video-manager. Its whole point is to be a native(ish) UI for push, all the user the interactions happening on the TiVo(vs. a web browser or kmttg). https://github.com/jbernardis/pytivo-video-manager


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## lpwcomp

gonzotek said:


> Not for pytivo-video-manager. Its whole point is to be a native(ish) UI for push, all the user the interactions happening on the TiVo(vs. a web browser or kmttg). https://github.com/jbernardis/pytivo-video-manager


I know exactly how VideoManager works. I'm asking why pull is not an option. Pull uses a native UI and all of the interaction is on the TiVo.


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## gonzotek

lpwcomp said:


> I know exactly how VideoManager works. I'm asking why pull is not an option. Pull uses a native UI and all of the interaction is on the TiVo.


Among other reasons, because you can choose to have a program pushed from pytivo to a different tivo than the one you are interacting with. Including (I believe) minis(e.g. I'm on the mini and wanted something pushed to the Roamio host, so I could then stream it to the mini).


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## lpwcomp

gonzotek said:


> Among other reasons, because you can choose to have a program pushed from pytivo to a different tivo than the one you are interacting with. Including (I believe) minis(e.g. I'm on the mini and wanted something pushed to the Roamio host, so I could then stream it to the mini).


Thanks for actually answering the question. Your first response simply explained why you prefer vidmgr over other methods of initiating a push.

Yeah, if TiVo was still actively supporting PC transfers, there probably would be some mechanism for a Mini to initiate a pull to it's "Home" TiVo.

Am I to assume that jbernardis has a similar reason?


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## jbernardis

My main reason is that I have built up a library of movies and other videos on my NAS server where I run pytivo. They are all MP4 files. With pull, they all need to be transcoded into mpg format. Pytivo does this automatically, but the NAS does not have tremendous horsepower to do this and the transfer takes a LONG time.

Push uses the MP4 format directly. I'm not sure how it works, but it takes significantly less time. Also, at least on the roamio, the playback quality of the MP4 files is superior to the same file that has been transcoded - at least based on what I've seen to date.


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## lpwcomp

jbernardis said:


> My main reason is that I have built up a library of movies and other videos on my NAS server where I run pytivo. They are all MP4 files. With pull, they all need to be transcoded into mpg format. Pytivo does this automatically, but the NAS does not have tremendous horsepower to do this and the transfer takes a LONG time.
> 
> Push uses the MP4 format directly. I'm not sure how it works, but it takes significantly less time. Also, at least on the roamio, the playback quality of the MP4 files is superior to the same file that has been transcoded - at least based on what I've seen to date.


You can pull an MP4 to an S4 or later w/o transcoding.


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## gonzotek

lpwcomp said:


> Thanks for actually answering the question. Your first response simply explained why you prefer vidmgr over other methods of initiating a push.
> 
> Yeah, if TiVo was still actively supporting PC transfers, there probably would be some mechanism for a Mini to initiate a pull to it's "Home" TiVo.
> 
> Am I to assume that jbernardis has a similar reason?


Actually, I'm not currently a vidmgr user. Just a fan of the work jbernardis, et al, have done. And not to nit-pick, but I think my first answer is still correct - if push isn't working(for any reason), then there is very little point to vidmgr (other than seeing cover art in the shared files, perhaps), so pull really isn't an option, with respect to using (and for jbernardis, maintaining) vidmgr.


lpwcomp said:


> You can pull an MP4 to an S4 or later w/o transcoding.


 You can today, but this software pre-dates that ability. I think wmcbrine added pulling h264 to pytivo around December 2012, and the most recent vidmgr on github is circa Aug. 2011.

So, if the goal is simply to get the content to the TiVo, then yes, pull is almost certainly an option. But if (as I suspect) the reason jberndardis started this thread is to keep vidmgr around as an option for those users who find value in it, then pulling simply doesn't enter into the equation.

jberndardis, Try using a disposable email address temporarily, changing to it, then back to your original address. I've seen that work for someone else. It's definitely something wacky on TiVo's end, and as noted, they don't really support desktop downloads anymore, so here's hoping they eventually fix it.


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## lpwcomp

Oh, I use push almost every day when transferring content to my remote TiVo, so having it work reliably is of just as much interest to me. But saying that pull is not an option because you can't use vidmgr or you want to avoid transcoding is not a valid argument.

2012 is 4 years ago. Getting full metadata on a push is a lot more recent.

As to why this thread was started - do you know how many threads there are on this problem? At least as many if not more than the Rovi data transition. There's also at least 3 in the Sourceforge pytivo discussion forum.


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## justen_m

Anybody try this lately? I just successfully pushed a show from pyTivo on my laptop to my Roamio. I haven't changed my [email protected] in anyway. No capitalization change, email change, etc. Using the same pyTivo.conf file as I always have. Same tivo_username, tivo_password, tivo_mak, etc. It worked fine.

I mentioned this in one of the threads lpwcomp is referring to, after somebody else (newsposter) said it was fixed, so I tested it on my box.


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## gonzotek

lpwcomp said:


> Oh, I use push almost every day when transferring content to my remote TiVo, so having it work reliably is of just as much interest to me. But saying that pull is not an option because you can't use vidmgr or you want to avoid transcoding is not a valid argument.
> 
> 2012 is 4 years ago. Getting full metadata on a push is a lot more recent.
> 
> As to why this thread was started - do you know how many threads there are on this problem? At least as many if not more than the Rovi data transition. There's also at least 3 in the Sourceforge pytivo discussion forum.


Listen, *IF* a person wants to *use vidmgr*, pulling just isn't relevant. This particular thread was started, in the Developer forum, by the *developer* of vidmgr - who obviously has just a bit of a vested interest in having *vidmgr* work. You linked him to the right info to, hopefully, be able to work around the issue, that's great. And I've got no issues with you wanting to do things a different way (e.g. just pull). Please understand that there are other people with other preferences of how they want things to work in their personal setups.

And, justen_m, I was pushing some things over the weekend without changing any of my info, but I wasn't sure if the problem was universal for everyone to begin with or not..I assumed not.


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## lpwcomp

Switched to lower case. Failed. Switched back to upper case. Failed. Tried again, still using uppercase. Success.

Bottom line - still flakey.


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## lpwcomp

gonzotek said:


> Listen, *IF* a person wants to *use vidmgr*, pulling just isn't relevant. This particular thread was started, in the Developer forum, by the *developer* of vidmgr - who obviously has just a bit of a vested interest in having *vidmgr* work. You linked him to the right info to, hopefully, be able to work around the issue, that's great. And I've got no issues with you wanting to do things a different way (e.g. just pull). Please understand that there are other people with other preferences of how they want things to work in their personal setups.
> 
> And, justen_m, I was pushing some things over the weekend without changing any of my info, but I wasn't sure if the problem was universal for everyone to begin with or not..I assumed not.


That's a load of BS. I never said or even implied that that I *wanted* anyone to do it a different way but the goal should be to get the recording on to your TiVo, not to use vidmgr. If push isn't working and thus vidmgr won't work, you're just supposed to give up and say "well, I guess I can't transfer anything to my TiVo"? That's just silly. The problem has nothing to do with vidmgr per se, nor is it a kmttg problem. It's not even a pyTvo problem. it is a general push problem involving the TiVo servers.

I also stated that I use push just about every day. The only viable alternative _*for that TiVo*_ is sneaker-net, which would be a major pain as I'm usually only over there every two weeks. I suppose I would set up a VPN but that would also be a major PITA. Plus it's much easier for me to initiate the xfer here after I edit the recording and have the xfer take place while she is at work. Transfer rate is only about 1.3xMb/s.

The first mention of this problem that I can find is August 11th. That's nearly three weeks ago. How does opening up yet another thread on the problem help anything?

Finally, I asked the question of jbernardis. Who the heck appointed you as his spokesman?


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## gonzotek

You're right, I'm not his spokesman. I can't tell why I'm not getting the point across, but I've tried my best to explain why I think this topic is important to the few other vidmgr users out there. I'm done, sorry for the off-topic-ness & unsolicited comments.


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## jbernardis

I'd have to reiterate what gonzotek is saying. As far as I know, it is not possible to initiate a pull request from anywhere except the target tivo. So if you want to push to other destinations, then pull is not an option.

If I try to peruse my video collection just using pytivo, I can see the file directory structure. pytivo presents the files according to their physical location. Vidmgr provides for multiple indices based on genre, actor, or any other metadata. I can easily find out what movies Matt Damon is in. And that same movie will show up in the index for every other actor that is in the metadata.

The bottom line is that I think there are some compelling reasons to use vidmgr, but it's basically useless without the push functionality.


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## lpwcomp

I get it. I always got it. You want to use vidmgr for a number of reasons, not the least of which is that it is way more convenient when you are using a Mini. I use push when I do because it is *way* more convenient than sneaker net. But if push were totally down for an extended period, I would go back to using sneaker net. I did it for a long time before I was informed that I could push to a remote TiVo. Fortunately, it is not (yet) totally down I am able to get it working again by switching back and forth between upper and lower case ID and trying the push multiple times. Since the problem appeared, I've yet to get it to work with a lower case ID.

I still do not understand why we needed yet another thread on this issue. gonzotek's explanation that "this topic is important to the few other vidmgr users out there" makes no sense as the thread title _*makes no mention of vidmgr!*_ The _*issue*_ is of importance to vidmgr users but there were already multiple threads about it.


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## jbernardis

lpwcomp said:


> You can pull an MP4 to an S4 or later w/o transcoding.


You mentioned that you can pull an MP4 directly. When I choose these files with pytivo, they are automatically transcoded - I don't ask for it. Is there some way to configure pytivo to not transcode?


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## wmcbrine

From early 2012 on, I added the "ts = on" option to pyTivo, to allow it to pass transport streams to TiVos that could receive them (Series 4 and later, plus Aus/NZ TiVos). In the case of an MP4, it still has to be remuxed, and probably have the audio transcoded (from AAC to AC3), but the video is passed through.

Then, in early 2016, I changed the default behavior so that transport streams are used automatically when appropriate (no option needed).


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## markp99

My recent pyTivo PUSH requests for 10+ files/day have been failing using my pushCast script from gPodder subcriptions; manual PULLS are still working. I guessed something had changed.

I am not clear from this thread if support for pyTivo pushes has been intentionally suspended, or it's more an issue of config & server flakiness. 

Is there a TL;DR version of the current status?

Thanks/


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## lpwcomp

markp99 said:


> My recent pyTivo PUSH requests for 10+ files/day have been failing using my pushCast script from gPodder subcriptions; manual PULLS are still working. I guessed something had changed.
> 
> I am not clear from this thread if support for pyTivo pushes has been intentionally suspended, or it's more an issue of config & server flakiness.
> 
> Is there a TL;DR version of the current status?
> 
> Thanks/


It's flakiness. TD+ users are also having problems. See this thread for some possible ways to get it working.


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## markp99

lpwcomp said:


> It's flakiness. TD+ users are also having problems. See this thread for some possible ways to get it working.


Thanks! Swapping emails out and back has it working for me again.

[email protected]


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## markp99

markp99 said:


> Thanks! Swapping emails out and back has it working for me again.
> 
> [email protected]


And then not... Grrr.


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## markp99

markp99 said:


> And then not... Grrr.


And then, Yes. I changed .conf email to [email protected], not sure if this was the issue.

I had deleted the the all the pending content from my laptop. When things kicked back on, I had to keep restarting pyTivo to clear the the queue of multiple "file not found" messages.

The latest round of gPodder content (6 files) is being pushed right now, hands off. Back to normal, I hope.


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## lpwcomp

markp99 said:


> And then, Yes. I changed .conf email to [email protected], not sure if this was the issue.
> 
> I had deleted the the all the pending content from my laptop. When things kicked back on, I had to keep restarting pyTivo to clear the the queue of multiple "file not found" messages.
> 
> The latest round of gPodder content (6 files) is being pushed right now, hands off. Back to normal, I hope.


Only if you consider intermittent normal.


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## markp99

It's been running flawlessly for more than a year since I started in on this little pushCast project:

http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?t=527973


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## lpwcomp

markp99 said:


> It's been running flawlessly for more than a year since I started in on this little pushCast project:
> 
> http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?t=527973


All pushes have been flakey for the last 3 weeks and still are.


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## lew

Two of the 20 questions Ira answered may be on point:
......


> his isn't ideal, but the PC transfer is no longer a supported feature on our platform. As for the mobile app, this continues to be a supported platform and will be transitioned fully as with all of our existing software platforms.





> We understand that there is a hole that was left when TiVo Desktop and Desktop Plus were EOL'd. There were some external reasons why we had to EOL that product. We are presently trying to get a replacement on the technology roadmap.


I'd be surprised if tivo does anything to fix push.


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## markp99

I was getting perfect hands-off pushes to my TiVo for better part of a week.

Seems to be broken again, same as before: 


Code:


ERROR:pyTivo.video.video:<error>[CODE]badCookie

<debug>1</debug><text>Session cannot be authenticated; try login again</text></error>[/code]

Not sure what I did last time to restore function beside flipping my email format between:

[email protected] and [email protected]

Which just seems an odd fix. This approach has no effect today.

Bummer.


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## markp99

Been down for a solid 2 weeks. Grrr. 

I tried the uppercase thingy to no avail. I can still PULL from TiVo, so that will be my use model for the time being.

Edit: PULL from PC is also working.


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## markp99

Guessing this function is done. Dead. Over and out. Bummer.


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## atomarchio

I know. What a bummer....


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## glennbag

I found, what I believe, fixes this issue. I realized that push was failing on a new laptop I'd purchased, but worked great on an older laptop. A little weird I thought. I tried most of the recommendations in this thread without success. Then it hit me. The error discusses a bad cookie. I realized that I hadn't logged in to tivo.com on my new laptop, so no cookie would be present. I logged into tivo.com and, bingo, push is working again.

I don't believe this has been suggested yet. For those of you experiencing this error, you may have an expired cookie or no cookie at all. Log in to tivo.com to reset (or set) your cookie and this just might work for you.


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## lpwcomp

No joy here.


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## atomarchio

How do you reset Tivo cookie? Please clarify. Thanks.


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## markp99

That's the $1,000,000.00 question. No repeatable solution for me. On ONE occasion, I changed my email on TiVo.com and pyTiVo to [email protected] (note the uppercase). Worked for a day or two.

Since then, no luck even after many attempts. I've reverted back to PULLING from TiVo directly, which sucks as Meta data and Folder info does not come along for the ride with this approach. Sucks.


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## lpwcomp

markp99 said:


> Since then, no luck even after many attempts. I've reverted back to PULLING from TiVo directly, which sucks as Meta data and Folder info does not come along for the ride with this approach. Sucks.


Huh?


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## Lurker1

pyTivo Discussion Forum :: View topic - Goodbye Push


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## markp99

Lurker1 said:


> pyTivo Discussion Forum :: View topic - Goodbye Push


Thx, Lurker.

That's a bummer. Still pulling FROM TiVo ~every day - I suppose will have to live with that.


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## Lurker1

TiVo could alleviate our pain if they added a "Transfer everything in this folder" option, similar to the "Play everything in this folder" option they already have.


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