# Make Tivo Play ALL File Formats



## BigFarnz (Feb 24, 2002)

I have been using ORB from Orb networks to stream my media while I travel. I also use a slingbox for watching my tivo while on the road. My question is this: If the computer that ORB is installed on is the computer that is rendering and streaming the file, why can't tivo do the same thing with the Tivo box accessing the stream coming from the computer? There would be now additional power needed on Tivo's end as everything is being converted on the computer. I love my Tivo, but I am starting to move towards my Media Center Machine for the added functionality of being able to play my backed up dvd's without having to convert them and transfer them to the tivo. I think this is something Tivo users would like to have, a all in one center to stream media and watch TV.


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## megazone (Mar 3, 2002)

Video is one of the things planned to be supported in a future update of the HME API, so it is possible that, once that is available, someone could write a media viewer in HME.


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## HotStuff2 (Feb 21, 2005)

Simply put, TiVo would need the audio and video CODECs to play the video with sound. Many (most) CODECs would require TiVo to pay either a licensing or royalty fee, and it would need to be a CODEC that runs under Linux - another hurdle. Your PC has the CODECs because they're produced for Windows-based machines, but many of them are "illegal" CODECs, like the original DivX and some of the Microsoft MPEG formats. TiVo couldn't use them without paying big $$$.

I, for one, have really gotten away from the TiVo and use my modded Xbox running XBMC for most everything now - especially HDTV wide-screen format. BitTorrent is a wonderful thing. I'm not sure even the Series3 will get me away from it. And if the Series3 is to expensive (meaning anything over $300, which it probably will be), I'll just wait for it to go on sale before I "upgrade" to it.


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## megazone (Mar 3, 2002)

Worse than that, TiVo uses a HW decoder, which only handles MPEG-1 and MPEG-2. That's it. So it isn't even an option to handle other formats on the current HW. (The Series3 will also do MPEG-4 AVC/H.264 and VC-1/WM9, it uses a new decoder.)

HW decoders are far more cost effective than putting in a powerful CPU and a lot of RAM and doing it in software, which is how PCs do it. It gives you a LOT more power for the buck, but the limitation is that you can only decode the formats supported by the HW.

The XBox takes the PC approach - it has a powerful GPU that handles most of the decoding. Though you could tax an XBox with high-bit rate content, especially things like H.264.


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## NoCleverUsername (Jan 29, 2005)

HotStuff2 said:


> Simply put, TiVo would need the audio and video CODECs to play the video with sound. Many (most) CODECs would require TiVo to pay either a licensing or royalty fee, and it would need to be a CODEC that runs under Linux - another hurdle. Your PC has the CODECs because they're produced for Windows-based machines, but many of them are "illegal" CODECs, like the original DivX and some of the Microsoft MPEG formats. TiVo couldn't use them without paying big $$$.


Yeah, but I think what the OP meant was for the PC to do real-time transcoding and streaming over to the TiVo, not to have the TiVo box play everything natively.


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## BigFarnz (Feb 24, 2002)

NoCleverUsername said:


> Yeah, but I think what the OP meant was for the PC to do real-time transcoding and streaming over to the TiVo, not to have the TiVo box play everything natively.


Thank you for reading my original post. That was my whole point. I know that the Tivo can't handle the transcoding, but if the pc is doing it and the tivo is just accessing the stream, how hard can it be? My ipaq doesn't have a divx codec on it, but it plays divx through orb because the pc transmitting it is decoding it on the fly. This has to be possible correct?


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## megazone (Mar 3, 2002)

And I responded to the original post, then I responded to what HotStuff2 said, which is a different issue.


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## Jerry® (Jan 26, 2006)

Aac


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## Yoyas (Jan 30, 2009)

1 Round 2 LNB DirectTV Satellite Dish
1 DirectTV receiver in my living room, which works perfectly no matter how I set it up (ie, I switched all the connections from it to the TiVo and it still worked fine)
1 DirectTV Samsung TiVo, which now has downloaded a DirectTV Guide, recognizes my card, and has a signal strength of 95%, but cannot find the satellite
I have added the Samsung MulitSwitch (3-4 [2 sat/1 ant]) to which on the incoming side I have both LNB leads from the satellite coming in on the two connections that say "Sat In", plus my antenna into the middle connection that says "Ant In", and on the out side on RX1 I have the cable to the TiVo and on RX2 I have the cable to the regular receiver. Note, the first time I set it up, RX1 and RX2 were reversed. Both ways the front receiver works just fine and I still can't find a satellite in the the back room.

For the record, I have tried to run just the antenna line into the RF in on the back of the TiVo, and tried on both Channel 3 and Channel 4 and I cannot get any antenna reception at all. However, it works fine through the AB Switch. I will check again in February after "the switch", but until then, it appears the AB switch is necessary in my location. Wish it wasn't - one less thing to deal with.

Hooking the TiVo directly to the TV did not work - I can program and do all that stuff, but the TiVo still does not recognize the satellite.

I have compared all the settings on the regular receiver to the TiVo and everything matches.


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