# PyTivo - Talk to me like I'm in Kindergarten



## sptnut (Sep 1, 2003)

I have spent half the day trying to get pytivo to work I feel like I've looked at every help file on this forum but I know I'm missing something. I have python on my computer, I used the pytivo windows installer. After that is where I get lost. I can't figure out how to up date it. Yes, My Videos shows up in my Now Playing but I can't change the directory of where my videos are. I keep reading about user interface and I have no idea where thats at. I transfered a test file (HD) from my computer to my tivo, on the Tivo come out in SD. I just need someone to go step by step with me to help me set this up. I am not a programmer at all so I'm completely lost.


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## orangeboy (Apr 19, 2004)

Sounds like you are about there! Try this: http://scottsoapbox.com/2010/04/20/pytivo-install-instructions/


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## sptnut (Sep 1, 2003)

orangeboy said:


> Sounds like you are about there! Try this: http://scottsoapbox.com/2010/04/20/pytivo-install-instructions/


Those were the instructions I was following. I think where I start getting detrailed is when I install the update, I get duplicates in my pytivo folder for 90% of the files. It doesn't overwrite the files already in the folder.


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## jcthorne (Jan 28, 2002)

Sounds like you are not unzipping in the correct location. It should over right the current installation files with the new ones.

The old windows installer version is very outdated. Following these instructions from the pytivo wiki are much more current and the correct way to install in windows:

http://pytivo.sourceforge.net/wiki/index.php/Windows_Install

Post back and we will help get you running.


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## windracer (Jan 3, 2003)

And once you have pyTivo running, you should be able to point your browser to http://localhost:9032 and see the web interface.


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## dlfl (Jul 6, 2006)

Are you by any chance running Windows 7 and trying to unzip things into a Program Files folder? That can lead to strange happenings related to UAC and folder permissions. How are the "duplicate" files named? (They obviously can't be named exactly the same.)

If you suspect this kind of problem the solution is simple: Do not install pyTiVo in the Program Files folder tree.


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## sptnut (Sep 1, 2003)

jcthorne said:


> Sounds like you are not unzipping in the correct location. It should over right the current installation files with the new ones.


I tried this again and it did the exact same thing. I included a print screen so you can see what I see. I am on Vista if that makes a difference. I installed it orginally in the program files folder, but this time I tried a different one with the same results.


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## windracer (Jan 3, 2003)

Look closely at your screenshot. The .py and .pyc files are two different _types_ of files, not _duplicates_. The .pyc files are "compiled" versions of the .py files, created when pyTivo runs. That screenshot looks fine to me.


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## jcthorne (Jan 28, 2002)

I think you need to look in the wmcbrine directory for the new version files and copy them where they belong. The pyc files are not duplicates as windracer says, you still have a problem with the new version not being installed over the existing though.


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## sptnut (Sep 1, 2003)

Ok I've done everything suggested above, I copied all of the wmcbrine folder in the main folder, asked me if I wanted to replace all the duplicate files I said yes. But its still not working. I disable my firewall to see if that was it, nope, I check the local host, that doesn't work either.

Oh and the service is running I checked that too.


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## jcthorne (Jan 28, 2002)

I suggest just running it in a window until you get the bugs worked out. Then deal with the service option. Its also much easier to restart pytivo when you change options if its running in a window.

Did you shutdown and restart pytivo after replacing the files?

You need to let us know what pytivo log says when you start it.


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## sptnut (Sep 1, 2003)

Here's everything that was in my log:

05/10/2011, 13:50:31
C:\Pytivo\pyTivoService.exe
05/10/2011, 13:50:31
C:\Pytivo\pyTivoService.ini
05/10/2011, 13:50:31
C:\Pytivo\pyTivoService.log
05/10/2011, 13:50:31
pyTivo
05/10/2011, 14:41:07
C:\Pytivo\pyTivoService.exe
05/10/2011, 14:41:07
C:\Pytivo\pyTivoService.ini
05/10/2011, 14:41:07
C:\Pytivo\pyTivoService.log
05/10/2011, 14:41:07
pyTivo
05/10/2011, 14:41:22
StartServiceCtrlDispatcher failed, error code = 1063


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## jcthorne (Jan 28, 2002)

So the service did not start properly. Please try running pytivo in a window. Much fewer permissions issues and easier to diagnose there.


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## sptnut (Sep 1, 2003)

jcthorne said:


> So the service did not start properly. Please try running pytivo in a window. Much fewer permissions issues and easier to diagnose there.


Ok I tried this an got an error saying pytivo.conf doesn't exsist.

I just did a search and looked in the recycling bin, it's not on my computer at all.


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## windracer (Jan 3, 2003)

Take the pytivo.conf.dist file (I see it in your screenshot) and rename it to remove the .dist. Then edit it in a text editor to configure your basic settings.


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## eskay (Jul 23, 2002)

Don't forget about Step #12 in the installation link above.


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## sptnut (Sep 1, 2003)

Well Hallelujah I think I got it up and running. Not sure I understand any of the web admin however :|


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## jcthorne (Jan 28, 2002)

Ask away, we are making progress. Do you have your shares identified in the config file/web admin? Your mak address, tivo login info?

What is it you want pytivo to do for you and we can work toward that task first.


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## sptnut (Sep 1, 2003)

Basically I want pytivo to be able to download files from my computer. I'd love to be able to push them from my computer to my tivo too. Beyond that I'm not exactly sure what else it can do.


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## jcthorne (Jan 28, 2002)

OK, have you tried pushing or pulling video pc to tivo? Do you have video files ready to transfer? Have you tried the web interface from your computer for pushing videos?


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## windracer (Jan 3, 2003)

Now that it's running, point your browser to http://localhost:9032. You should get the pyTivo home page:










Click on the "Web Configuration" link to change your pyTivo settings (instead of having to edit the pytivo.conf file manually in a text editor):










In here you can set your TiVo.com account name and password (required for push) and also your MAK and file location (for TiVoToGo downloads). Once you've saved those changes, restart pyTivo with the "soft reset" button so they take effect.

Back on the pyTivo home page, you can click on one of your TiVos to download recordings via TiVoToGo:










Or, click on your video share to browse your local videos to push to a selected TiVo box:










Hope that helps!


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## jcthorne (Jan 28, 2002)

Very nicely done windracer. This should be added to the wiki.


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## sptnut (Sep 1, 2003)

Yes things make much more sense now! Thanks for your help.


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## orangeboy (Apr 19, 2004)

FWIW, you can now request a "push" from the TiVo UI (via an HME app): http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?t=468466

And yep, it means installing (and configuring) a couple more more programs!


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## moyekj (Jan 24, 2006)

orangeboy said:


> FWIW, you can now request a "push" from the TiVo UI (via an HME app): http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?t=468466
> 
> And yep, it means installing (and configuring) a couple more more programs!


 FYI, streambaby has had that capability for a long while now too.


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## windracer (Jan 3, 2003)

jcthorne said:


> Very nicely done windracer. This should be added to the wiki.


Thanks ... how would I go about doing that? Or, feel free to take those screenshots and use them yourself.


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## jcthorne (Jan 28, 2002)

windracer said:


> Thanks ... how would I go about doing that? Or, feel free to take those screenshots and use them yourself.


I will say I have not done this or contributed myself but this link discusses adding a page or editing the wiki:

http://pytivo.sourceforge.net/wiki/index.php/How_You_Can_Help


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## dlfl (Jul 6, 2006)

sptnut said:


> Yes things make much more sense now! Thanks for your help.


OK, now does this mean this experiment to see if a kindergartener can install and run pyTiVo is declared a success?


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## WestTx (Dec 5, 2005)

I just did a fresh install of pyTivo for the first time yesterday but I, too, found it a bit frustrating to have to find key pieces of information in several different places. Also, some of the key information was out-of-date.

After all the pieces provided me with a successful install I put all the relevant information together for future reference in a Google Document and thought I might as well share it with others wanting to try pyTivo. 

Would it be appropriate to post a link here to a shared Google Document for this purpose?

Thanks
Les


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## dlfl (Jul 6, 2006)

There is a forum for pyTiVo **here** , and a pyTiVo wiki **here**. Both have the same user account base. Once you have an account, you can edit the wiki to put in a link to your Google document. If you look on the wiki page I linked above, there is a note about, and link to, the detailed (but apparently slightly out of date -- did you attempt to use them?) installation instructions provided by skuban. I put in that note and link by editing the wiki. You could add a note and link to your instructions, and even replace my note/link if appropriate.

If you're uncertain about that, you could post the link here and expert users can review and comment on the doc. If you modify the wiki, it would be helpful to post a notice about it on the main pyTiVo thread here, and in the pyTiVo forum.

hmm... I just tried to log in to the wiki and failed (with my logon that works on the pyTivo forum). So I'm not sure what's going on there.


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## WestTx (Dec 5, 2005)

Thanks. Yes, I did use the instructions at the pyTivo forum and the wiki, in addition to bits here in the tivocommunity forum. But almost everything I found had out-of-date info and/or missing pieces of the puzzle. Your link to skuban's blog in the wiki was the most helpful of all to me but even it has some out-of-date or missing information. (e.g. even Python 2.7 does not work with the pyTivo Windows Installer - nothing later than 2.6 works.) 

You're right that the information should be in the wiki or at least the pyTivo forum and I'd like to see skuban's instructions updated and put on the wiki (along with the missing pieces). But, since I didn't feel qualified to make that leap, I thought I'd make my notes available so someone who knows more about what's going on could do that.

And now I find I can't even post my Google Docs link here until I have at least 5 posts so I guess I'll have to come up with something else to say to get there. (I've been a forum member for a few years - just don't post much.) In the meantime, I'd be glad to email the link to anyone so they can make comments and corrections if necessary.

Thanks 
Les


Update: I'm trying to put my instructions in the pyTivo forum and/or the wiki but am having a bit of a technical problem getting registered there. I'll continue there when that's all cleared up.


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## jcthorne (Jan 28, 2002)

I tried updating the wiki this evening to no avail. Sent the owner a pm, hopefully he will get back with me. I plan to bring it current and enlist the help of folks in this thread.

Here is my first pass at a new section for manual windows installation. I am sure I have forgotten something so feel free to let me know what to edit. When I get access again to edit the wiki, I can update it there. I would like to sub windracer's graphic discription of setup once I figure out how to insert pictures into the wiki.


```
===Manual Install Instructions for Window===

1.Download & Install Python 2.7 using defaults.  http://www.python.org/download/

2.IF you want to use the photo plugin (requires 32bit Python) install it too http://www.pythonware.com/products/pil/index.htm 

3.Download the latest .zip version (top right of shortlog) of pyTivo from the Current Releases Page:  If this is your first install, suggest wmcbrine, latest build to start. http://pytivo.sourceforge.net/wiki/index.php/Current_Releases

4.Extract the .zip to a new directory:
\program files\pytivo\

5.Grab the latest Rdian06 build of ffmpeg for pytivo:
http://pytivo.sourceforge.net/forum/download.php?id=323

6.Extract the ffmpeg.zip and overwrite the old ffmpeg.exe in \Program Files\pyTivo\bin\

7.To properly handle .tivo files grab the special version of tivodecode: 
http://pytivo.sourceforge.net/forum/download.php?id=196

8.Drop the tivodecode files into \Program Files\pyTivo\bin\.  

9.If you are using Windows Firewall, add a Windows Firewall exception for UDP 5353 so that Windows won&#8217;t block pyTivo&#8217;s new zeroconf share announcements.  (The most common reason pyTivo shares don&#8217;t show up or disappear from the Now Playing list on the Tivo is firewall blockages)

10. Start pyTivo by executing the file \program files\pytivo\pytivo.py

11. In your browser window (Internet Explorer) type in the address:
http://localhost:9032/

12. Click on Web Configuration and then select Global Server Settings.  Edit your tivo username, passowrd, mak, togo path.  You will also need to add a media share by adding a section, video type and entering the path to your videos to be pushed to tivo.

13. Enjoy.  You may also wish to add photo and music shares.
```


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## WestTx (Dec 5, 2005)

Good to see the updated instructions.

I think I had to move the pytivo.conf file from the users\public documents\pytivo folder to the \pytivo folder.

Also, in Step 8... It's not clear to me if the two tivodecode files should be in the pytivo\bin folder or if they should be in the pytivo\bin\tivodecode subfolder. And I thought I read a post by wmcbrine that tivodecode was now included in pytivo?


Thanks,
Les


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## wmcbrine (Aug 2, 2003)

There's no reason to stick with Python 2.6 if you're not trying to appease the old Windows Installer. 2.7 is current.

All binaries go in bin; there are no subfolders. No binaries are included with my source. Some packages may include it.


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## jcthorne (Jan 28, 2002)

WestTx said:


> Good to see the updated instructions.
> 
> I think I had to move the pytivo.conf file from the users\public documents\pytivo folder to the \pytivo folder.
> 
> ...


Not sure how pytivo.conf ever got INTO the users\public documents\pytivo folder if you unzipped the downloaded file to \program files\pytivo. Do not attempt to edit the pytivo.conf file manually, use the web interface.


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## jcthorne (Jan 28, 2002)

wmcbrine said:


> There's no reason to stick with Python 2.6 if you're not trying to appease the old Windows Installer. 2.7 is current.
> 
> All binaries go in bin; there are no subfolders. No binaries are included with my source. Some packages may include it.


Updated above. Thanks.


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## WestTx (Dec 5, 2005)

jcthorne said:


> Not sure how pytivo.conf ever got INTO the users\public documents\pytivo folder if you unzipped the downloaded file to \program files\pytivo. Do not attempt to edit the pytivo.conf file manually, use the web interface.


Sorry. I was remembering the windows installer package putting it there.. Your instructions above are for _manual_ installation and I wasn't paying attention very well.

Les


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## wmcbrine (Aug 2, 2003)

There is no reason not to edit pyTivo.conf manually. Of course the changes won't take effect until you restart pyTivo.


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## Shelbrain (Aug 16, 2004)

I tried pushng a file to one of my tivos and got this error:

No option 'tivo_username' in section: 'Server' Traceback (most recent call last): File "C:\Program Files\pyTivo\plugins\video\video.py", line 341, in Push m = mind.getMind() File "C:\Program Files\pyTivo\mind.py", line 285, in getMind username = config.getTivoUsername() File "C:\Program Files\pyTivo\config.py", line 62, in getTivoUsername return config.get('Server', 'tivo_username') File "C:\Python26\lib\ConfigParser.py", line 541, in get raise NoOptionError(option, section) NoOptionError: No option 'tivo_username' in section: 'Server' 

Can anyone help? Thanks in advance!


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## jcthorne (Jan 28, 2002)

Shelbrain said:


> I tried pushng a file to one of my tivos and got this error:
> 
> No option 'tivo_username' in section: 'Server' Traceback (most recent call last): File "C:\Program Files\pyTivo\plugins\video\video.py", line 341, in Push m = mind.getMind() File "C:\Program Files\pyTivo\mind.py", line 285, in getMind username = config.getTivoUsername() File "C:\Program Files\pyTivo\config.py", line 62, in getTivoUsername return config.get('Server', 'tivo_username') File "C:\Python26\lib\ConfigParser.py", line 541, in get raise NoOptionError(option, section) NoOptionError: No option 'tivo_username' in section: 'Server'
> 
> Can anyone help? Thanks in advance!


See the instructions above and go to step 11. In step 12, complete your tivo username and password as instructed.


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## Shelbrain (Aug 16, 2004)

I dont see a place to enter the Tivo username and password; this is what I see:

Global Server Settings
port :	
guid :	
ffmpeg :	
beacon :	
debug :	
par :	
ffmpeg_pram :	
ffmpeg_tmpl :	
ffmpeg_wait :	
User Defined Settings:
temp :


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## Shelbrain (Aug 16, 2004)

Since I couldnt find a place to put the username and password into the online web configuration link, I tried editing the pytivo configuration file in Wordpad, but now it's not letting me get back into it (the web configuration link) anymore...any ideas? Thanks in advance Matt


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## jcthorne (Jan 28, 2002)

Shelbrain said:


> I dont see a place to enter the Tivo username and password; this is what I see:
> 
> Global Server Settings
> port :
> ...


Did you download and install the latest master from wmcbrine's fork as linked in the instructions? Those are not the options in the current version under Global Server Settings. If you install the current version, the global server settings screen will look like the one in windracer's pictorial above.


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## NYHeel (Oct 7, 2003)

I have pytivo set up on my laptop and now I'm going to set it up tonight on a new desktop I bought. I was never able to get the photos part of it to work before. I had installed PIL and created the share but it still didn't work. I was never able to get it to work. 

Now that I'm trying again from scratch is there anything I should know to get the photos to work. Also I'm now using a 64 bit Windows 7 version (my laptop had a 32 bit Windows 7 on it). From reading jcthorne's comment about PIL requiring a 32 bit version of python, should I download the 32 bit version of python eventhough I'm running a 64 bit version of Windows 7?


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## jcthorne (Jan 28, 2002)

Yes, stick with the 32bit version for now. There is no processor intensive functions going on in pytivo or any of its plug ins.


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## wmcbrine (Aug 2, 2003)

Since this is the second time it's come up in the last two days, I decided to see about a 64-bit PIL for Windows. I found this:

http://www.lfd.uci.edu/~gohlke/pythonlibs/#pil

Not tested by me. Hopefully this saves people from having to downgrade to 32-bit Python.


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## WestTx (Dec 5, 2005)

Just when I thought I was ready for 1st grade...

Why are my recordings identified as "protected" after I process (decrypt and cut commercials) and move them back to my Tivo?


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## wmcbrine (Aug 2, 2003)

Ask TiVo. The "push" mechanism does that. It's the same as with TiVoCasts. Supposedly there's a way to disable it (there used to be an unmarked TiVoCast or two, I've heard), but we haven't been able to discover it. At this time, all you can do to avoid it is to pull them from the TiVo's menus instead of pushing them from the PC.


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## KLINK (Aug 17, 2004)

wmcbrine said:


> Ask TiVo. The "push" mechanism does that. It's the same as with TiVoCasts. Supposedly there's a way to disable it (there used to be an unmarked TiVoCast or two, I've heard), but we haven't been able to discover it. At this time, all you can do to avoid it is to pull them from the TiVo's menus instead of pushing them from the PC.


Occasionally I get the copy protected symbol when trying to pull the file. I very seldom use the push function.

If I move the CP file to another folder that pytivo is monitoring, the CP symbol disappears.


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## wmcbrine (Aug 2, 2003)

That's a completely different issue. What you're seeing there is that we use the "copy prohibited" flag when a file can't be transferred for any reason, since it's the only such indicator available.

What you describe sounds like a transient failure of ffmpeg, most likely because it failed to return within the timeout period the first time. Is this an external or network drive? Anyway, if necessary, you can extend the timeout period with the "ffmpeg_wait" option.


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## NYHeel (Oct 7, 2003)

Quick question about the manual install process jcthorne listed above. Does it create a service and if not how do I go about creating a service for pytivo so that it always starts up on bootup.


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## NYHeel (Oct 7, 2003)

OK, one other thing. I thought I once heard about some kind of HD type Photo app for the Tivo. The photo app I'm seeing is the same old one as always and the pictures seem somewhat fuzzy and they're not widescreen pictures. Anyone know anything about this?

Thanks.


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## jcthorne (Jan 28, 2002)

NYHeel said:


> Quick question about the manual install process jcthorne listed above. Does it create a service and if not how do I go about creating a service for pytivo so that it always starts up on bootup.


Those instructions do not run pytivo as a service. I have pytivo autostart with the server (which is only rebooted weekly) by including a shortcut to pytivo.py in my startup group. That way it stays in a window where I can monitor what its doing, check progress etc. I leave the box minimized most of the time but its there for ready access. I do not recommend running as a service but the instructions are at the wiki site to do so.


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## windracer (Jan 3, 2003)

NYHeel said:


> OK, one other thing. I thought I once heard about some kind of HD type Photo app for the Tivo. The photo app I'm seeing is the same old one as always and the pictures seem somewhat fuzzy and they're not widescreen pictures. Anyone know anything about this?


TiVo Desktop includes an HD Photos app but you have to explicitly enable it under Preferences. Some folks have also gotten it to run as a standalone app (it's java). I used to run it through Galleon but recently decided the java overhead wasn't worth it and just switched back to pyTivo's photo sharing (I don't use it much anyway).


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## jcthorne (Jan 28, 2002)

Guys, I made an attempt at updating the wiki to include the instructions for manual install and windracers graphic discripting of the web interface. Please take a look, make comments, updates, let me know of any faux pas that I may have commited etc.

http://pytivo.sourceforge.net/wiki/index.php/Windows_Install#pyTivo


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## orangeboy (Apr 19, 2004)

jcthorne said:


> NYHeel said:
> 
> 
> > Quick question about the manual install process jcthorne listed above. Does it create a service and if not how do I go about creating a service for pytivo so that it always starts up on bootup.
> ...


If you wanted to forgo the PyWin32 stuff, though it does add some useful functionality, you *may* be able to use the native Windows "SC" command to create a service:

(untested)

```
SC CREATE "PyTivo" binPath="%ProgramFiles%\PyTiVo\pytivo.py" start=auto DisplayName="PyTivo"
```
The above assumes that .py files are ASSOCiated with python.exe. You can confirm file type association using the following commands:


```
ASSOC |FIND ".py"
.py=Python.File
.pyc=Python.CompiledFile
.pyo=Python.CompiledFile
.pys=pysFile
.pyw=Python.NoConFile

and

FTYPE |FIND "python"
Python.CompiledFile="D:\Python 2.6.6\python.exe" "%1" %*
Python.File="D:\Python 2.6.6\python.exe" "%1" %*
Python.NoConFile="D:\Python 2.6.6\pythonw.exe" "%1" %*
```
Results may vary...


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## Slope (Apr 29, 2011)

I got pyTivo up and running thanks to a lot of help. 

When I go to select a show, it will let me transfer it to the Tivo. I thought I could store my videos on a server and stream them back to the Tivo. Is this not what pyTivo does? Do I need to use Streambaby for that? 

Thanks.


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## windracer (Jan 3, 2003)

Correct ... pyTiVo transfers (copies) the video from your "server" to the TiVo. If you want to stream then check out streambaby.


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## windracer (Jan 3, 2003)

jcthorne said:


> Guys, I made an attempt at updating the wiki to include the instructions for manual install and windracers graphic discripting of the web interface.


My only (minor) issue with my own screenshots is that since I run pyTivo on Linux, some of the fields show Linux paths, which a Windows user would not use. I've never installed pyTivo on Windows, does the sample config file contain Windows paths so it's not confusing to the end user?


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## lrhorer (Aug 31, 2003)

windracer said:


> Correct ... pyTiVo transfers (copies) the video from your "server" to the TiVo. If you want to stream then check out streambaby.


The difference is with streaming, the video as a whole never resides on the TiVo. When one copies, the file loads onto the TiVo. This means one can watch it as many times as one wants without having to stream the data across the LAN again. OTOH, it also means one can only FF and RW up to the point that has already transferred. With streaming, one may FF as much as one likes, all the way to the end of the file, if so desired, as soon as the streaming starts. The last I heard, Streambaby had a limit (imposed by the TiVo) that would only allow it to stream 1G before it paused. With an MPEG2 file on a feature length film, that's quite a few pauses.

Note also pyTivo's strength is transferring from the PC to the TiVo. Although it does support TTG transfers from the TiVo to the PC, Galleon and kmttg are superior utilities for this purpose.


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## jcthorne (Jan 28, 2002)

If you want to store the video on your server and yet have it available from the tivo, head over to the HME developers thread and check out vidmgr. Its a very nice addition to running pytivo that presents your server stored vids to the user and then uses pytivo to send them to tivo. You can start watching as soon as the transfer begins. Pretty much everything streaming offers but with none of the downsides.


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## jcthorne (Jan 28, 2002)

orangeboy said:


> If you wanted to forgo the PyWin32 stuff, though it does add some useful functionality, you *may* be able to use the native Windows "SC" command to create a service:
> 
> (untested)
> 
> ...


Could you elaborate on why I would want to do this? What advantages am I missing?


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## jcthorne (Jan 28, 2002)

windracer said:


> My only (minor) issue with my own screenshots is that since I run pyTivo on Linux, some of the fields show Linux paths, which a Windows user would not use. I've never installed pyTivo on Windows, does the sample config file contain Windows paths so it's not confusing to the end user?


If someone would be so kind as to recreate those screen shots from a windows installation and send them to me, I'd be happy to update the wiki. I could try and do it but would take me a while since not that handy with the graphics tools.


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## KLINK (Aug 17, 2004)

wmcbrine said:


> That's a completely different issue. What you're seeing there is that we use the "copy prohibited" flag when a file can't be transferred for any reason, since it's the only such indicator available.
> 
> What you describe sounds like a transient failure of ffmpeg, most likely because it failed to return within the timeout period the first time. Is this an external or network drive? Anyway, if necessary, you can extend the timeout period with the "ffmpeg_wait" option.


Thanks for the info.

It loos like the ffmpeg thing. I get a Tivo Please Wait message when this happens.


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## WestTx (Dec 5, 2005)

jcthorne said:


> If someone would be so kind as to recreate those screen shots from a windows installation and send them to me, I'd be happy to update the wiki. I could try and do it but would take me a while since not that handy with the graphics tools.


PM sent


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## jcthorne (Jan 28, 2002)

WestTx said:


> PM sent


Thanks for the prepared image. wiki updated.


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## orangeboy (Apr 19, 2004)

jcthorne said:


> Could you elaborate on why I would want to do this? What advantages am I missing?


There may be a couple advantages. With a Service, pyTivo will run without needing someone to log on, or be logged on. Also, it ensures only one instance is ever run at a time. For example, I can log on at the computer's console, and have my Startup folder programs execute without issue. Walking away and logging in via Remote Desktop on my laptop, those same Startup folder programs attempt to execute, and fail with being unable to bind to a specific required port. Having an open or minimized window for me offers an opportunity to accidentally close it, if I'm not paying attention.

ETA: I tried the SC command, and initially got a 193 error indicating that the program (pytivo.py) was not a valid Win32 application. So I specified python.exe followed by the path to pytivo.py, and got a 1053 error, indicating that the Service didn't start "in a timely fashion".


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## langsbr (Jan 19, 2008)

OK, I need the kindergarten lesson now - I've been using pytivo for years and love it. I never messed with the push feature and I don't believe I have it in my install.

Ive searched and searched and find people having issues, but nothing on HOW to get Push working. I really want to use push with vidmgr. When I went to the vidmgr install, it says it needs pyhme - is that simply a part of the newest build of pytivo? Im using an older version of wmcbrine's fork.

What am I missing? Is it as simple as installing the newest version of pytivo and then push will be installed, along with the pyhme?

Thanks


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## langsbr (Jan 19, 2008)

OK, I found the hme for python that wmcbrine created - loaded and good. I think Im onto the right path for vidmgr.

However, using the quick start method to launch it keeps it running in a command window on Windows. Is there a way to have it run as a service, the way pytivo does?

Also - has anyone seen a pytivo pull video completely disappear after transfer? I just got a premiere and Ive transferred the same video 4 times and its gone as soon as its done. I can begin playing it while its transferring, but I usually kick off the transfer and come back so it doesnt catch up to the transfer.


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## Iluvatar (Jul 22, 2006)

langsbr said:


> Also - has anyone seen a pytivo pull video completely disappear after transfer? I just got a premiere and Ive transferred the same video 4 times and its gone as soon as its done. I can begin playing it while its transferring, but I usually kick off the transfer and come back so it doesnt catch up to the transfer.


Transfers (push) that error out and are not completed do this. If you pull the content normally you can cancel the recording at any point and the video up to the canceled point will stay on your TiVo. If you push the file, any error or cancellation of the transfer will result in the file disappearing from the recording list, even if you have all but the last 5 minutes of a video transferred.

As to why it is happening to you it could be a number of things. An error output would be helpful.


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## jcthorne (Jan 28, 2002)

Did you upgrade to a current pytivo build to support the premiere?

vidmgr requires 3 things. pytivo, hme for python and vidmgr.


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## jcthorne (Jan 28, 2002)

orangeboy said:


> There may be a couple advantages. With a Service, pyTivo will run without needing someone to log on, or be logged on. Also, it ensures only one instance is ever run at a time. For example, I can log on at the computer's console, and have my Startup folder programs execute without issue. Walking away and logging in via Remote Desktop on my laptop, those same Startup folder programs attempt to execute, and fail with being unable to bind to a specific required port. Having an open or minimized window for me offers an opportunity to accidentally close it, if I'm not paying attention.


Thanks for the explaination. I learned something.


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## langsbr (Jan 19, 2008)

jcthorne said:


> Did you upgrade to a current pytivo build to support the premiere?
> 
> vidmgr requires 3 things. pytivo, hme for python and vidmgr.


That fixed it - I was running a build of pytivo that wmcbrine did in 2009!

I've got pytivo working beautifully, as well as vidmgr working now!

Strange - iluvatar said that push transfers disappear if they fail - it was occuring on mine with pulls. I wonder if it was due to the old version of pytivo and the premiere?


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## Iluvatar (Jul 22, 2006)

langsbr said:


> That fixed it - I was running a build of pytivo that wmcbrine did in 2009!
> 
> I've got pytivo working beautifully, as well as vidmgr working now!
> 
> Strange - iluvatar said that push transfers disappear if they fail - it was occuring on mine with pulls. I wonder if it was due to the old version of pytivo and the premiere?


Ah I misread that. I have not seen pulls disappear typically unless you are having ffmpeg errors. If you updated you were running 2009 pyTivo you are probably running 2009 ffmpeg as well. I would recommend updating this as well. There is a thread over on the official pyTivo forums by rDian06 that offers prebuild ffmpeg binaries v.1.02 is the latest from them. Or you can compile your own.

edit: link for windows. http://pytivo.sourceforge.net/forum/download.php?id=323


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## lrhorer (Aug 31, 2003)

jcthorne said:


> If you want to store the video on your server and yet have it available from the tivo, head over to the HME developers thread and check out vidmgr. Its a very nice addition to running pytivo that presents your server stored vids to the user and then uses pytivo to send them to tivo. You can start watching as soon as the transfer begins.


Not necessarily. The process employed by the TiVo for the push function calculates the size of the transfer and the bit rate, and prohibits playing of the program until enough has buffered to prevent pauses. This may mean a delay of several minutes, depending on the model of the TiVo, the LAN performance, the encoding, the size of the video, and the video resolution.



jcthorne said:


> Pretty much everything streaming offers but with none of the downsides.


'Not true. Trick-play features in particular suffer significant limitations when pushing. For many users, however, these limitations may not be of great concern.


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## lrhorer (Aug 31, 2003)

Iluvatar said:


> Ah I misread that. I have not seen pulls disappear typically unless you are having ffmpeg errors.


Not just ffmpeg errors. Any error during a pull transfer will cause the video to disappear unless the user is actively playing the video.


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## jcthorne (Jan 28, 2002)

lrhorer said:


> Not necessarily. The process employed by the TiVo for the push function calculates the size of the transfer and the bit rate, and prohibits playing of the program until enough has buffered to prevent pauses. This may mean a delay of several minutes, depending on the model of the TiVo, the LAN performance, the encoding, the size of the video, and the video resolution.
> 
> 'Not true. Trick-play features in particular suffer significant limitations when pushing. For many users, however, these limitations may not be of great concern.


Just to provide a complete answer, If the files on the server are in mp4 format and configured for native playback on a tivo Premiere, transfer will take place far faster than real time, even over most wireless networks and trick play funcitons will be fully available (ff, rew, skip ahead and pause) for the portion of the video already recieved.

In real world use (my network) HD 1080p video is available to play in the time it takes to request it and go to the now playing list, select it and press play. Within 10 minutes the entire 2 hr movie has transferred while I am watching. THere is no rebuffering, no hickups, no pauses for data traffic etc. It truly CAN be everything local streaming wants to be with none of the down sides. But much like streaming, incorrectly formatted files, network limitations etc can lead to difficulties. The thread I pointed to will steer the user in the right direction to avoid this. Help is also available here in the forum for most of this detail.

With vidmgr it also presents the tivo premiere user with a very nice HD menu of the titles available complete with cover art for each.


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## orangeboy (Apr 19, 2004)

Kind of going against the "kindergarten" level, I have installed a user defined Service using Windows Resource Kit tools "Instsrv.exe" and "Srvany.exe", and Regedit.exe. The Service I installed was for HME for Python (hosting the pyTivo Video Manager app), but the process for installing pyTivo as a Service should be the same. I have instructions on how I did it in this thread.


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## lrhorer (Aug 31, 2003)

jcthorne said:


> Just to provide a complete answer, If the files on the server are in mp4 format and configured for native playback on a tivo Premiere, transfer will take place far faster than real time, even over most wireless networks and trick play funcitons will be fully available (ff, rew, skip ahead and pause) for the portion of the video already recieved.


Correct. The downside here is any MPEG2 files - which means all files transferred via TTG from a TiVo (in my case, virtually 100% of the files on the server) must be transcoded prior to transfer in order to enjoy the benefits. This involves a small amount of trouble for the user, although the process can be automated. For some users, the more important consideration is the inevitable loss of PQ when transcoding from MPEG2 to MPEG4.



jcthorne said:


> In real world use (my network) HD 1080p video is available to play in the time it takes to request it and go to the now playing list, select it and press play.


I don't have a Premier, so 1080i is the maximum resolution on anything I have on the server. Even some 1080i MPEG2 material, however, can have trouble with the speed of transfer, and my system has generally very good transfer rates. Watching some of the Planet Earth or Life episodes, for example, one will encounter pauses if one does not allow a few minutes of buffer.



jcthorne said:


> With vidmgr it also presents the tivo premiere user with a very nice HD menu of the titles available complete with cover art for each.


If one goes to the trouble of creating cover art. It's definitely not worth it, to me. 'Not for a couple of thousand titles.


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## lrhorer (Aug 31, 2003)

orangeboy said:


> Kind of going against the "kindergarten" level, I have installed a user defined Service using Windows Resource Kit tools "Instsrv.exe" and "Srvany.exe", and Regedit.exe. The Service I installed was for HME for Python (hosting the pyTivo Video Manager app), but the process for installing pyTivo as a Service should be the same. I have instructions on how I did it in this thread.


That, or just run the servers under Linux and create a simple startup script under whatever directory your distro uses for its default run level.


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## jcthorne (Jan 28, 2002)

mpeg2 to h264 recoding does not have to result in any meaningful qualtiy loss if done correctly. Its not inherent in the format. The upside is transfer speed and size stored on both the server and tivo.

As for the cover art, you might take a look at a utility called thumbgen. I had been using it to create cover art and moviesheets for a WDTV box when vidmgr came on board. A couple minor settings changes and its generating cover art for vidmgr, nearly fully automated. Set it to run on a folder full of videos and it will run overnight to do several hundred. I then step through the results and manually fix the 1 or 2 that it gets wrong.

Streaming mpeg2 1080 resolution video is not going to work for most folks. Between internet connection speeds, router speeds and other pitfalls, its just too much of a bandwidth hog to bother with for most folks. It can be made to work but.....
Thats way ALL online video sources that stream 1080HD material use h264 as do the sat services and some cable operations. The few remaining are headed there. Mpeg2 will eventually be relagated to broadcast OTA video only.

If near local storage of a large collection of video is your intended use, perhaps a Premiere makes more sense as an upgrade than you previously thought?


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## lrhorer (Aug 31, 2003)

jcthorne said:


> mpeg2 to h264 recoding does not have to result in any meaningful qualtiy loss if done correctly. Its not inherent in the format. The upside is transfer speed and size stored on both the server and tivo.


Unless it is loss-less any re-coding inevitably results in some lost information. MPEG4 is definitely not loss-less. There may be some settings that result in almost no noticeable artifacts, but I have not yet had enough time to delve into the actual parameters to the required extent. My inquiries in this and other websites have heretofore resulted in little or no quantitative results.



jcthorne said:


> As for the cover art, you might take a look at a utility called thumbgen. I had been using it to create cover art and moviesheets for a WDTV box when vidmgr came on board. A couple minor settings changes and its generating cover art for vidmgr, nearly fully automated. Set it to run on a folder full of videos and it will run overnight to do several hundred. I then step through the results and manually fix the 1 or 2 that it gets wrong.


1 or 2? I'm skeptical, but I'll take a look if I get a chance. It certainly adds nothing to the utility of the program. Given a choice between screenshots of the videos and a larger font for the descriptions, I'll take the larger fonts.



jcthorne said:


> Streaming mpeg2 1080 resolution video is not going to work for most folks. Between internet connection speeds, router speeds and other pitfalls, its just too much of a bandwidth hog to bother with for most folks. It can be made to work but.....


Internet? Who's talking about the internet? We're talking about pyTivo / vidmgr, here, which almost surely limits the conversation to the LAN, not the internet. Certainly I have no desire or intent to use these utilities with anything but content from my video server. The server itself can read more than 2600 Mbps, but the LAN limits transfers to about 850 Mbps or so. That's far, far more than enough for streaming MPEG2 video. The TiVo, however, is limited to about 18 Mbps for 1080i. That's enough for most MPEG2 1080i video, but not all. 720p transfers a bit more slowly.



jcthorne said:


> Thats way ALL online video sources that stream 1080HD material use h264 as do the sat services


Yes, of course.



jcthorne said:


> and some cable operations.


None of which I know. 'Care to provide some examples?



jcthorne said:


> The few remaining are headed there. Mpeg2 will eventually be relagated to broadcast OTA video only.


Oh, I doubt it. SDV allows for unlimited content delivery using MPEG2. I think it will be a very long time, indeed, before the CATV providers move away from MPEG2.



jcthorne said:


> If near local storage of a large collection of video is your intended use, perhaps a Premiere makes more sense as an upgrade than you previously thought?


'Not even close. A Premier in my house - indeed a large number of houses - would be little more than a brick. With a Premier, the only thing that could be transferred to the server would be PBS, and while I watch a fair bit of PBS programming, I copy comparatively little of it to the video server. Since the primary function of all of my TiVos is as a content filter for programs to be archived to the server, this eliminates the Premier as a useful device. Other than the better network throughput, the Premier has nothing to offer.


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## jcthorne (Jan 28, 2002)

Now I understand. No, vidmgr and a Premiere would likely not work for you. But realize your use of a hacked S3 is a very small subset of users. I can transfer any video on my Premere from any network to my pc. I do not subscribe to any services that disable my use of material I paid to watch so have no need for a hacked tivo for that use. You do so I see where an S3 is a better solution for you. Hacking is the only place left that a series 3 unit has any advantage over a Premiere. The Premire has unfinished new features and blemishes to be sure, but other than this, does everthing the series 3 boxes do and much of it better and faster.

As for h264 video being used by content providers, Amazon, Netflix, YouTube, DirectTV, Dish, Virgin, ATT Uverse, Verizon FIOS and BluRay discs all use h264 of varying flavors for at least some of thier content. ALL Comcast / Time Warner boxes bought new in the last year or so have been specified to handle it for future use, indeed every box SA and Motorola currently offer to the OEMs support it.

I concede that near line storage of mp4 video served up in real time to a premiere in full 1080p resolution and using an HD menu complete with cover art is not the solution you desire. It is for others. Please stick with your mpeg2 encodes and prior generation box.

Rereading the above it all sounds like I am trying to pik an argument. Perhaps I was at first. No desire to do so here and you have proven your point that what I suggested does not work for everyone. I will be more specific in my recomendations in the future.


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## lrhorer (Aug 31, 2003)

jcthorne said:


> Now I understand. No, vidmgr and a Premiere would likely not work for you. But realize your use of a hacked S3 is a very small subset of users.


True, but the number of people impacted by CATV systems that implement aggressive copy protection is growing rather rapidly. At this point in time, most users are not impacted by this, but in another 2 or 3 years, this will likely no longer be the case.



jcthorne said:


> I can transfer any video on my Premere from any network to my pc.


Today you can. Just talk to richsadams if you want to find out how quickly and radically that can change.



jcthorne said:


> Hacking is the only place left that a series 3 unit has any advantage over a Premiere.


Yeah, but that's a really big place. Hacking potentially enables much, much more than just circumventing CCI byte issues.



jcthorne said:


> The Premire has unfinished new features and blemishes to be sure, but other than this, does everthing the series 3 boxes do and much of it better and faster.


Yes, but turn that around. Other than performance the Premier offers virtually nothing of substance the S3 / THD don't. Add to that the deal breaker of not being able to hack them when needed, and I am compelled to conclude that I cannot recommend the platform.



jcthorne said:


> As for h264 video being used by content providers, Amazon, Netflix, YouTube, DirectTV, Dish, Virgin, ATT Uverse, Verizon FIOS and BluRay discs all use h264 of varying flavors for at least some of thier content.


Those are not content providers, at least not principally. They are service providers. More importantly, they are not CATV systems, whihc is what I asked you to cover.



jcthorne said:


> ALL Comcast / Time Warner boxes bought new in the last year or so have been specified to handle it for future use, indeed every box SA and Motorola currently offer to the OEMs support it.


Yes, but that doesn't mean teh CATV companies are going to go out and spend several $Billion to buy new encoders, when it offers them few benefits.



jcthorne said:


> I concede that near line storage of mp4 video served up in real time to a premiere in full 1080p resolution and using an HD menu complete with cover art is not the solution you desire. It is for others.


OF that I have no doubt whatsoever. It just should be made clear which users should expect what and under what circumstances. No one serving up MPEG2 content to their TIVos should expect a performance increase when using vidmgr.



jcthorne said:


> Rereading the above it all sounds like I am trying to pik an argument.


I did not take it as such.


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## lrhorer (Aug 31, 2003)

jcthorne said:


> As for the cover art, you might take a look at a utility called thumbgen.


I gave it a quick try. There may be an acvanced config setting I haven't researched, but from the hip, ThumGen barfs over my file naming. Every movie not from a franchise is named

[,The|,A] (Recorded <DOW mmm dd, yyyy, <channel>).mpg

Every movie that is part of a franchise is named

xx [,The|,A] (Recorded <DOW mmm dd, yyyy, <channel>).mpg

where xx is the location of the move within the franchise.

Every series with chronological episodes (e.g. Wings, ER) is named

<series title> - Sxx Eyy - <episode title> (Recorded <DOW mmm dd, yyyy, <channel>).mpg

where of course xx is the season number and yy is the episode number within the season.

Every series with non-chronological episodes (e.g. Star Trek) is named

<series title> - <episode title>[,The|,A] (Recorded <DOW mmm dd, yyyy, <channel>).mpg


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## jcthorne (Jan 28, 2002)

My movie filenames are much the same except I only use year of release.

I think the search sucess has more to do with what service you have it configured to use rather than your file names. I have the best luck with english titles using TheMovieDB.org as the preferred info and coverart source, TheTVDB.com for tv shows. I will admit to not trying many of the others but do remember these were not the default choices. The author is not from an english first country so the defaults did not work so well for me.

Also have not used it much for discriptions for tv shows, just for folder art. All the movie data I have came through thumbgen though.

I would like to enlist some help from others here to get pytivo compatible metadata derived from the thumbgen saved information but I am not a programmer.


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## wmcbrine (Aug 2, 2003)

Why not try the existing metadata tools that are made to work with pyTivo? I can't see what's special about thumbgen. It seems much more oriented towards cover art (which is useless for pyTivo by itself) than metadata.


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## jcthorne (Jan 28, 2002)

I currently use metagen for metadata and it works well enough, one file at a time but does not handle cover art. I use thumbgen for the coverart but it does not do pytivo format metadata. 

Would like to have one tool that does both as every vid stored on the server needs both pieces of info to present properly in the menus of both tivo (using vidmgr) and our wdtv.

One would hope that someday, even tivo may support cover art.....one can dream right?

Besides, thumbgen is being actively developed for a much larger audiance and being maintained to keep up with all the various sources of video information. Metagen has not been updated in well over a year.


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## craiggers14 (Oct 31, 2010)

I have tried twice following the directions in post #32 to the letter and at step 10 where you start the pytivo script, it crashes. The cmd window flashes for a half second then disappears. I don't understand how it works for everyone else but not me. 

How can I troubleshoot this?

Running win 7.


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## orangeboy (Apr 19, 2004)

craiggers14 said:


> I have tried twice following the directions in post #32 to the letter and at step 10 where you start the pytivo script, it crashes. The cmd window flashes for a half second then disappears. I don't understand how it works for everyone else but not me.
> 
> How can I troubleshoot this?
> 
> Running win 7.


Open a command prompt and enter:

"%PROGRAMFILES%\pytivo\pytivo.py"
or 
"%PROGRAMFILES(X86)%\pytivo\pytivo.py"

depending on where pyTivo is installed. This will output the results into the command window, which since it was already open, won't "flash" and close, and you'll be able to see whatever message (if any) is displayed.


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## windracer (Jan 3, 2003)

Try running the script from the command-line so the window stays open. That way you can see what the output is.


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## craiggers14 (Oct 31, 2010)

orangeboy said:


> Open a command prompt and enter:
> 
> "%PROGRAMFILES%\pytivo\pytivo.py"
> or
> ...


THANK YOU! This led me to a message telling me that there was no pytivo.conf file. I had copied the pytivo.conf.dist to the desktop and then renamed it there. Seems like a step may be missing from the "kindergarten" walkthrough...make sure that that file stays in that folder.

Now I'm trying to figure out how to set up auto push from my PC to the Tivo. I downloaded the autopush from http://code.google.com/p/pytivo-auto-push/ and went ahead with the install. However, now I get an error

Cannot run program "c:\Program Files(x86)\pyTivo\bin\ffmpeg.exe": CreateProcess error=2, The system cannot find the file specified

when I go ahead and click autopush box. Anyone else run into this issue?


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## windracer (Jan 3, 2003)

Are you sure you followed steps 5 and 6 in the wiki? It sounds like you're missing ffmpeg.



> 5.Grab the latest Rdian06 build of ffmpeg for pytivo: http://pytivo.sourceforge.net/forum/download.php?id=323
> 
> 6.Extract the ffmpeg.zip and overwrite the old ffmpeg.exe in \Program Files\pyTivo\bin\ If the directory does not exist, create it.


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## craiggers14 (Oct 31, 2010)

windracer said:


> Are you sure you followed steps 5 and 6 in the wiki? It sounds like you're missing ffmpeg.


Yeah I definitely did that. I have no problems pushing video on my own through the web interface...but I want to set it up so that it auto pushes whatever video ends up in that folder.


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## windracer (Jan 3, 2003)

So you have a ffmpeg.exe file in your pyTivo bin directory? If so, it must be something specific to auto-push (which I have never used, sorry).


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## craiggers14 (Oct 31, 2010)

Figured it out. The auto-push jar needs the spacing and capitalization in the ffmpeg address to be exact. for example:

c:\Program Files(x86)\pyTivo\bin\ffmpeg.exe and 
c:\Program Files (x86)\pyTivo\bin\ffmpeg.exe do not work but

C:\Program Files (x86)\pyTivo\bin\ffmpeg.exe does. 

pytivo does not have this issue. Oh well. The price we pay for doing things out of the ordinary.


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## koch (Dec 16, 2011)

followed all the wikis to the t or so i thought. please help.

pulling video is fine

pushing returns this error:

INFOyTivo:127.0.0.1 [14/Jan/2012 11:34:32] "GET /TiVoConnect?Command=QueryContainter&Container=My%20Movies&Format=test/html HTTP/1.1" 200 -
INFOyTivo:127.0.0.1 [14/Jan/2012 11:34:32] "GET /main.css HTTP/1.1" 200 -
INFOyTivo:127.0.0.1 [14/Jan/2012 11:34:32] "GET /folder.png HTTP/1.1" 200 -
ERRORyTivo.video.video:unsupported operand type(s) for /: 'str' and 'int'

i turned off firewall, antivirus, loaded udp ports into allowed on windows firewall updated ffmpeg used the correct versions of pytivo and the libraries and python...

at a loss.

any help would be appreciated. the only problem i have found is when i go through the pytivo wiki i can't load the pytivo webpage from another computer just the localhost.


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## TracySMiller (Oct 14, 2002)

I disagree that the OP was answered "As if I am in Kindergarten". Maybe some of the brighter kids on "Are You Smarter than a Fifth-Grader?" could handle some of it, though.


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## wmcbrine (Aug 2, 2003)

Well the truth is that pyTivo is not intended for use by kindergarteners, sorry.


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## TracySMiller (Oct 14, 2002)

wmcbrine said:


> Well the truth is that pyTivo is not intended for use by kindergarteners, sorry.


Of course not. Kindergarteners should stick to TiVo Desktop.


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## bareyb (Dec 1, 2000)

TracySMiller said:


> I disagree that the OP was answered "As if I am in Kindergarten". Maybe some of the brighter kids on "Are You Smarter than a Fifth-Grader?" could handle some of it, though.


For what it's worth I put up a new "PyTivo Setup Tutorial for Beginners" for folks who want to see the process carried out step by step (which is what I think the OP was asking for).

It is Mac-centric, but it might help people wrap their minds around the whole setup process a little better. Hopefully... I think it will certainly help. I wish I'd had it the first time...


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## Eamus Catuli (Aug 9, 2010)

> One would hope that someday, even tivo may support cover art.....one can dream right?


I'm using MetaGenerator version 3.39 which produces a .mp4.jpg file in addition to .mp4.txt

I'm just a little confused - is it that PyTivo can't send it or the TiVo itself can't handle it? Or both? Thanks!


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## wmcbrine (Aug 2, 2003)

The TiVo doesn't request cover art, so pyTivo doesn't provide it. In that sense, "both" would be correct. The third-party tools for pyTivo metadata started adding cover art for the benefit of HME apps like Streambaby, and now Vidmgr. (HME apps render their own interfaces as they see fit, so they can use cover art, if they want.)


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