# Tivodecode replacement that has GUI?



## slimjim867 (Sep 20, 2005)

I want to take .Tivo files with me to watch at a location that I do not have a Tivo at. I know that Tivodecode will strip the encryption but i cannot get it to work. I'm not criticizing the program.....I'm just not a command line sort of guy. I really need a GUI to work with. ( I have Tivo Desktop Plus).
I would like a no cost program but would be willing to pay for one if i must. I have found a couple of programs on a google search but would prefer a recommendation from someone here because i'm worried about downloading nasties from bad people.
Thank you for your help


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## ggieseke (May 30, 2008)

Try kmttg.


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## slimjim867 (Sep 20, 2005)

ggieseke said:


> Try kmttg.


Looking for GUI


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## SullyND (Dec 30, 2004)

slimjim867 said:


> Looking for GUI


Try kmttg.


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## slimjim867 (Sep 20, 2005)

SullyND said:


> Try kmttg.


Ah! Sorry.....I thought that kmttg was command line bc i downloaded it yesterday and could not figure out how to install it. I revisited kmttg just now and found a win32 package that i missed before. So, now I have unzipped the package and now have a folder that lists ....

atomicparsley,comskip,curl,ffmpeg,handbrake,mediainfo_cli,mencoder,projectx,tivodecode

i dont see an executable for the whole package.... just executables within each folder. forgive my ignorance but i dont know what to do now.


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## moyekj (Jan 24, 2006)

Read the documentation starting with:
windows_installation


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## ggieseke (May 30, 2008)

It will do everything you're looking for and so much more...


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## slimjim867 (Sep 20, 2005)

moyekj said:


> Read the documentation starting with:
> windows_installation


Thank you.
I followed the instructions and installed the program. I converted one .Tivo file to the default .mpg extension.
The video loads but is of poor quality. Also one second of program takes a minute to play.
I will be watching the videos on an HDTV. Can someone clue me in as to the proper settings?
Thank you
Danny


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## moyekj (Jan 24, 2006)

What are you using to play the .mpg file(s)? Decrypting .TiVo to .mpg has no effect on quality. Try playback with VideoLAN VLC player which doesn't rely on Windows crappy codec system.

"watching the videos on an HDTV" is too vague because you don't mention with what device you will be doing that with.


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## slimjim867 (Sep 20, 2005)

moyekj said:


> What are you using to play the .mpg file(s)? Decrypting .TiVo to .mpg has no effect on quality. Try playback with VideoLAN VLC player which doesn't rely on Windows crappy codec system.
> 
> "watching the videos on an HDTV" is too vague because you don't mention with what device you will be doing that with.


I am using VLC.
I only mentioned watching on an HDTV bc I want to stay with a high resolution file when converting.

So, can anyone suggest the settings that I might use in case that is the problem?


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## Dan203 (Apr 17, 2000)

I've used this one...

http://gmonweb.com/wordpress/?page_id=17

It's simple and easy to use.

Although keep in mind that Premiere units use a TS file format that is not compatible with tivodecode. A better option might be to install TiVo Desktop and then use DirectShow Dump instead. It exploits a part of TiVo Desktop to do the decrypting so it can decrypt anything TiVo Desktop can. However it hasn't been updated in a while so the files it outputs always have a .mpg extension. You may need to change those to .ts if you're files are from a Premiere.


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## slimjim867 (Sep 20, 2005)

Dan203 said:


> I've used this one...
> 
> http://gmonweb.com/wordpress/?page_id=17
> 
> ...


Hi Dan,
Thank you for your response.
I need some clarification though.

First let me say that my goal is to convert my .Tivo files into something that I can play through my WD Live media streamer onto my TV. Right now I can do so with .avi. I think that .mpg will also play.

So, in reference to your suggestions...
1. I do have a Premier.....the extensions are.Tivo.....does that mean that i cannot use the app in your link?
2. I do use Tivo Desktop with a Premier....will DirectShowDump leave me with a file that i can stream? I thought that it was for making TS files for burning DVD.
Thanks again
Danny


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## wmcbrine (Aug 2, 2003)

Dan203 said:


> Although keep in mind that Premiere units use a TS file format that is not compatible with tivodecode.


The Premiere has the _option_ to use transport stream format. It is not required, except when the source uses H.264 video instead of MPEG-2.


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## jcthorne (Jan 28, 2002)

I use kmttg to download and convert to mpg format. Then use videoredo to edit commercials and then meGUI to encode to an MP4 format that plays well on BOTH Tivo and our WDTV boxes.


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## slimjim867 (Sep 20, 2005)

Dan203 said:


> I've used this one...
> 
> http://gmonweb.com/wordpress/?page_id=17
> 
> ...


Hi Dan,
I've downloaded TivoDecoder from the link that you supplied.
When i try to decode a Tivo file I get the following error...
>>Error (Exit code= -1073741819<<
Any help will be appreciated.
Thanks
Danny


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## Dan203 (Apr 17, 2000)

wmcbrine said:


> The Premiere has the _option_ to use transport stream format. It is not required, except when the source uses H.264 video instead of MPEG-2.


That option is set by default. Also the TS format is more reliable when files have minor glitches and it's significantly faster. So turning it off just so you can use tivodecode seems silly.



slimjim867 said:


> Hi Dan,
> I've downloaded TivoDecoder from the link that you supplied.
> When i try to decode a Tivo file I get the following error...
> >>Error (Exit code= -1073741819<<
> ...


Your files are likely TS format. When TiVoToGo was first introduced the files that you downloaded where basically just encrypted .mpg files with a special header. They had a .tivo extension. A few years ago they released a software update to the Premiere units which switched them to using a new file format which is basically an encrypted .ts file. But they still have a .tivo extension. TiVo Desktop can tell them apart because there is a flag in the special heard that tells it the type.

If you use DirectShow Dump then you can convert these files. However the files it outputs will have a .mpg extension when they are actually .ts files. You will need to manually change the file extension to .ts. If your WD live doesn't support .ts then you will need to use another program to remux them as real .mpg files.

Not to be a shill, but have you tried VideoReDo? With it you can open either type of .tivo file, edit out the commercials and save directly to a .mpg file. You can even save to a .mp4 or .mkv with H.264 video to same some storage space. Although doing that requires a full recode which is a lot slower then saving to .mpg. We offer a 15 day trial. You should try it out and see if it's of any use to you.


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## slimjim867 (Sep 20, 2005)

Dan203 said:


> If you use DirectShow Dump then you can convert these files. However the files it outputs will have a .mpg extension when they are actually .ts files. You will need to manually change the file extension to .ts. If your WD live doesn't support .ts then you will need to use another program to remux them as real .mpg files.


Sorry, I'm confused.
If i use DSD i will get .mpg files but i need to change the extension to TS?
If i am trying to get .mpg files, DSD outputs .mpg files.....??

also note.....the resulting files that i get from using kmttg do play on VLC.....just at about a frame in 10 seconds.


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## slimjim867 (Sep 20, 2005)

Dan203 said:


> Not to be a shill, but have you tried VideoReDo? With it you can open either type of .tivo file, edit out the commercials and save directly to a .mpg file. You can even save to a .mp4 or .mkv with H.264 video to same some storage space. Although doing that requires a full recode which is a lot slower then saving to .mpg. We offer a 15 day trial. You should try it out and see if it's of any use to you.


Thank you but i don't have the means to purchase VideoReDo. 
I will try it though .....if i still cannot get a file that will play maybe that will give you guys another clue to ascertain my problem.


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## slimjim867 (Sep 20, 2005)

Dan203 said:


> I've used this one...
> 
> http://gmonweb.com/wordpress/?page_id=17
> 
> ...


The link brought me to "Tivo Decoder GUI"
using that program gave me >>Error(Exit Code=-1073741819)<<


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## slimjim867 (Sep 20, 2005)

Dan203 said:


> If you use DirectShow Dump then you can convert these files. However the files it outputs will have a .mpg extension when they are actually .ts files. You will need to manually change the file extension to .ts. If your WD live doesn't support .ts then you will need to use another program to remux them as real .mpg files.


I've googled DirectShowDump but am not getting any good links. Anybody have one?


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## jcthorne (Jan 28, 2002)

I think your best bet would be to go back to kmttg and with the help of folks on this forum, figure out what is wrong with your files or your ablilty to play them. Forget tivodecode. 

Use kmttg to download and decrypt a file from your TiVo. Make sure you are not set up to download TS format but the older PS format. Start fresh with a program on your TiVo, not a .TiVo file you already have. kmttg will download and convert to .mpg all in one operation.

Run mediainfo on your resulting .mpg file and post the results. We can then see what is going on with your files.


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## slimjim867 (Sep 20, 2005)

jcthorne said:


> Make sure you are not set up to download TS
> format but the older PS format.


Thank you
How do i set up to download the older PS format.
(I already have programs recorded on my Premiere)


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## jcthorne (Jan 28, 2002)

slimjim867 said:


> Thank you
> How do i set up to download the older PS format.
> (I already have programs recorded on my Premiere)


In kmttg, click 'File' then 'Configure'

On the Program Options tab, make sure the checkbox for 'Download Tivo Files in Transport Stream Format' is not checked.

This tells kmttg to download in the older Program Stream format.


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## murgatroyd (Jan 6, 2002)

jcthorne said:


> I think your best bet would be to go back to kmttg and with the help of folks on this forum, figure out what is wrong with your files or your ablilty to play them. Forget tivodecode.


Doesn't kmttg call tivodecode to do the decrypting part?


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## Spire (Jun 6, 2001)

murgatroyd said:


> Doesn't kmttg call tivodecode to do the decrypting part?


Yes.


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## jcthorne (Jan 28, 2002)

murgatroyd said:


> Doesn't kmttg call tivodecode to do the decrypting part?


Yes, but the OP does not need to worry about that, its all handled by kmttg.


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## murgatroyd (Jan 6, 2002)

jcthorne said:


> Yes, but the OP does not need to worry about that, its all handled by kmttg.


Unless he gets an error, in which case, he will have to worry about tivodecode.

Don't get me wrong -- I like kmttg, and it's very easy to install on Windows. I think the OP should give it a try. My concern is, if there's something funky going on with tivodecode on his machine, just slapping kmttg on top of it is not going to fix his problem.

E.g. my elderly PPC Mac. I thought I had the right executable, but when I try to decrypt, tivodecode exits with an error code, and I haven't had time to debug the problem. So I need to carve out a corner of time where I'm awake enough to work the problem.


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## jcthorne (Jan 28, 2002)

The OP is working on a PC, not a mac and the kmttg install includes the tivodecode portion. A clean install and using program streams should result in properly working downloads. One thing at a time.


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## murgatroyd (Jan 6, 2002)

jcthorne said:


> The OP is working on a PC, not a mac and the kmttg install includes the tivodecode portion. A clean install and using program streams should result in properly working downloads. One thing at a time.


I agree the OP should go for it. The install on my PC was very smooth. If my Windows machine's power supply hadn't crapped out, I would still be using it.


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