# Tivo to PC then what?? How to Convert to DVD



## kmckelvey (Dec 8, 2004)

I've been a Mac user for years but TIVO doesn't support TivoToGo for Mac so I decided to buy a PC! What fun XP is. Anyway, I installed TivoToGo and downloaded a recording. Now I want to convert it to a DVD formated file so I can edit it without buying SONIC although it may end up that way. I downloaded some of the usually conversion applications, cucusoft for example, but when I run the converter and go to the tivo recordings it doesn't see it. The Dell came with MyDVD LE and sees and plays the Tivo recording but the EDIT function is dimmed out. My guess is they want me to buy the delux version with edit enabled... 

Any suggestions on what to use to:

1) be able to see a file and convert it to DVD.
2) an edit application to edit out commercials.
3) burn the darn thing. (I do have nero).
or
4) Forget Tivo and get a real DVR that doesn't have perpritory file types and use TitianTV for program selection.

Thanks,

KM


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## Dan203 (Apr 17, 2000)

VideoReDo is your best bet. It can open .tivo files, edit them and output them as standard MPEG files. Once you have that you can import the MPEG into Nero and make a DVD. Or if you want to skip the transcoding phase, which Nero will require, you could use a free program like DVDStyler to make the DVD instead. However instead of outputting from VideoReDo as an MPEG output as a VOB instead. This adds nav packets, which DVDStyler needs and will help save you some time when creating the DVD. (DVD styler can add them, but it's a lot slower then VideoReDo)

Dan


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## Joey Bagadonuts (Mar 13, 2006)

Another vote for the VideoRedo/Nero combination to transcode and burn tivo files to DVD. You can download a FREE (full) version of VideoRedo Plus and try it out for 15 days. By using that, you can first edit out whatever you don't want to burn to DVD, then you can save your work as an MPEG or VOB file. Close VideoRedo and open Nero. Find your file and burn it to DVD. Nero is tricky, though. You have to make sure it has the DVD-Video plug in (my OEM version 6 did not and I had to download that for $25). Once your free trial for VideoRedo runs out, you'll have to pay $50 for the program.


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## VagabondSW (Feb 23, 2006)

Just out of curiosity... I did the whole burn Tivo to DVD last night using the (Roxio) Sonic MyDVD Studio. What is the difference between what I did and the VideoRedo/Nero route? Is it that I cannot edit out commercials while VideoRedo will permit users to edit out commercials?


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## Dan203 (Apr 17, 2000)

A lot of people have trouble with MyDVD. Also while it does allow editing the interface for making the edits is really slow and can be extremely tedious. Which can be even more frusterating if the burning fails or the finished product is out of sync. (common problems with MyDVD)

Dan


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## Scott Atkinson (Jan 19, 2004)

Well, I'd vote Video Redo as well, but even cheaper - Direct Show Dump (free) to get rid of the proprietary wrapper on the file, and then mpeg2cut2 (free) to edit, and then burn thru' Nero, which you have.

Scott A.


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## Joey Bagadonuts (Mar 13, 2006)

One question please. What is the difference between saving as an MPEG file and saving as an FOB file? Is one process faster than the other? Is one format more stable or compatible than the other? I have done both and I don't see any difference in quality when I play back the DVD. 
Thanks in advance...


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## Dan203 (Apr 17, 2000)

When you save a file as a VOB from VideoReDo it adds the blank nav packets that dvdauthor, the brains behind DVDStyler, needs to make the file into a DVD. If you don't do this then DVDStyler fist has to demux the audio and video, then run them through mplex to get them into a stream with the nav packets. With that added step you add about 15 minutes to the time plus you run the risk of having sync problems. However that only applies if you're using a dvdauthor based program to burn the DVD. If you use a program like Nero the video is being reencoded anyway, so it doesn't really matter.

Dan


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## krypdo (Sep 13, 2001)

Yet another vote for VideoRedo and DVDstyler. Just backed up my son's "little Einsteins" and "wonder pets" to DVD with a simple menu. Simple, quick and in-sync. When the image output from DVDstyler is > a DVD-R, I just throw it into DVDshrink and then burn with no noticable problem with quality.


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## Joey Bagadonuts (Mar 13, 2006)

I suck at learning things by reading a manual. I wish someone would offer a Nero class.


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## mike3775 (Jan 3, 2003)

I had never tried VideoRedo until last night. I now regret it lol

I edited about 25 different TV show eps last night one after the other with no hassles at all. I had been using MyDVD which I had been putting off. 

Thanks to everyone who recommended VideoRedo, it makes life so much easier.


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## alyssa (Dec 7, 2003)

Does any one know if I could use VideoReDo to edit then use MyDvd to transcode & burn? or could I have Videoredo transcode? Also might Nero express v6.3 work for burning if VideoReDo would transcode?

For some odd reason I'm not having problems transcoding or Burning with MyDvd but am extreemly tired of the mydvd editing process.

I'm trying to avoid paying for a bunch of different of software. I own the sonic, nero express & would be willing to buy the VideoRedo if I could could be reasonabley assured that my existing software was able to accomplish the transcoding & burning.


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## DrBarron (Jun 7, 2005)

I have found several programs that say they can convert TiVo to DVD and yet all that I have found I am not happy with. I don't care if I have to purchase a program to do this, but, can someone give me some advice on what they have found and use to do this. All I want to be able to do is first convert the TiVo format to something my DVD player will be able to read and also where I can take out all the non-related stuff from the input. So when I am done I will have just the program I want to see. 

Thank you everyone for your help,
Jason


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## moyekj (Jan 24, 2006)

DrBarron said:


> I have found several programs that say they can convert TiVo to DVD and yet all that I have found I am not happy with. I don't care if I have to purchase a program to do this, but, can someone give me some advice on what they have found and use to do this. All I want to be able to do is first convert the TiVo format to something my DVD player will be able to read and also where I can take out all the non-related stuff from the input. So when I am done I will have just the program I want to see.
> 
> Thank you everyone for your help,
> Jason


 If you are on Windows platform then VideoRedo TV Suite (not free) is probably the easiest way to go. They have a fully functional free trial version you can use to see if it meets your needs.


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## nyy574 (Dec 29, 2009)

I have looked through these forums a lot and I think I have come up with the simplest way to burn your Tivo files to DVD, using all free software. I am not a technical person, so I hope this helps. I have successfully transferred shows many times with this method:

1) Transfer the show to your computer using Tivo Desktop 2.8 software.

2) Run the resulting .tivo file through DirectShow Dump Utility. Search these forums for a link to the software. This makes it an mpeg file.

3) Finally, I burn it to DVD using DVD Flick, a free program (dvdflick.net).

If you need to edit any programs, like taking out commercials or removing extra portions, do this in Windows MovieMaker after you've run the file through DirectShow. Save that new file as a .wmv file and burn it with DVD Flick. I've had some audio issues trying to burn it with MovieMaker, but DVD Flick works fine.

Hope this helps.


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## redtape (Oct 14, 2003)

Does Direct Show Dump work with Windows 7 (64bit)?


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## MegsMommy (Mar 22, 2006)

redtape said:


> Does Direct Show Dump work with Windows 7 (64bit)?


I don't think so, I've been trying for the last week to get it working with no luck.


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## mailber350 (Nov 5, 2010)

You can choose a Mac app to convert Tivo files to some burnable video formats and then burn video files to DVD via DVD burner.

The way I burn Tivo to DVD is transcoding Tivo files to MOV with Aunsoft Video Converter for Mac and then burn it to DVD via iDVD.

Quite efficient way.


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## ggieseke (May 30, 2008)

redtape said:


> Does Direct Show Dump work with Windows 7 (64bit)?


Use tivodecode.


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## Dan203 (Apr 17, 2000)

I think the problem with DSD is that it was written in .Net 2.0. The fundimental functionality behind DSD still works fine in Windows 7. (i.e. building a DirectShow graph and dumping the output of the TiVo Decode filter to a disc file) I actually wrote a program myself, before DSD, which did basically the same thing except it was written in C++/MFC. It still works fine in Windows 7 64bit. The reason I never released it is because before I got a chance TiVo caught wind of it and sent me a threatening letter "asking" me not to. I could probably get away with releasing it these days, since circumvention is so proliferant anyway, but I think it's functionality overlaps slightly with VideoReDo and I don't think my boss would appreciate it. Plus I don't want to support it.

Anyway my main point was that the only reason DSD doesn't work is because it uses an out of date version of .Net, not because the hole it exploited has been closed. Someone could easily write another program that does the same thing with very little effort.

Dan


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## moyekj (Jan 24, 2006)

I started doing same thing using DirectShow Java Wrapper, but not much point since tivodecode is available and can run on any platform rather than just Windows.


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## wmcbrine (Aug 2, 2003)

The only thing is that DSD can apparently handle the TS-format .TiVo files that tivodecode can't yet. Otherwise, yeah, it would be obsolete.


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## Dan203 (Apr 17, 2000)

I thought someone added TS support to tivodecode?

Dan


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## wmcbrine (Aug 2, 2003)

Dan203 said:


> I thought someone added TS support to tivodecode?


Partly. If you read his release notes, he describes a problem with it.


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## Dan203 (Apr 17, 2000)

Oh yeah. I remember talking to him about that. Something about a new decryption key coming along before the last video frame had been completely decrypted so the remainder of that video frame was actually unencrypted. He couldn't find any sort of flag which indicated this happening so the remainder of the video frame was decrypted anyway, which garbled the data and caused a video glitch. I recommended a way to for him to work around this by reading the video frame size from the PES header but I guess he never got around to implementing it.

Dan


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## wpatters1229 (Nov 11, 2003)

Just tried the VideoReDoPlus trial version to convert a 2hr special that a friend who does not have cable wants to see. Did not try the cutting out of commercials...interested to see if that really works as this is a commercial rich tv show. Anyhow it converted the program from tivo in just a few minutes. It is now being burned using nero vision 10 to a dvd...that takes 2hr 40 mins...but it will run in the background while I do some work. Will update on the commercial cutting and if this dvd really does work in a plain old DVD player.


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## steve614 (May 1, 2006)

wpatters1229 said:


> Just tried the VideoReDoPlus trial version to convert a 2hr special that a friend who does not have cable wants to see. Did not try the cutting out of commercials...interested to see if that really works as this is a commercial rich tv show. Anyhow it converted the program from tivo in just a few minutes. It is now being burned using nero vision 10 to a dvd...that takes 2hr 40 mins...but it will run in the background while I do some work. Will update on the commercial cutting and if this dvd really does work in a plain old DVD player.


Some tips that might help with editing...

In VRD+, go to 'View' in the menu bar and select 'Show Thumbnails'.
This will give you a video strip below the main screen that shows frames before and after what's on the main screen. Clicking on a thumbnail frame will take you to that frame. Right click on the thumbnail and you can select how many seconds between thumbnails.

Also go to 'Tools' -> 'Options' and click 'Navigation' in the left region. Here you can adjust the settings for the editing buttons in the user interface AND buttons on your keyboard and mouse wheel (if your mouse has one).

My personal preference: 8 seconds for the single arrow button, 30 seconds for the double arrow button and 120 seconds for the triple arrow button on the user interface.
For the keyboard/mouse, mouse wheel at ten seconds. Left/Right arrow goes to previous/next "I" frame. Up/down arrow goes forward/back one frame.

Experiment with using "cut mode" compared to "scene mode" (Tools -> Options, under General Parameters -> Editing Mode).
With cut mode, you highlight the parts you want remove.
With scene mode, you highlight the parts you want to keep.
Personally, I like scene mode.


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## wpatters1229 (Nov 11, 2003)

I just burned the dvd onto a RW disc using Nero vision 10 and the video and audio is terribly out of sync...really bad not just a little. I noticed spots of video that would speed up like someone hit ff and the sound did not. Guess the VideoReDo Plus has failed the test.
All I did was grab the video off of tivo, run the videoredo to export as an mpeg file...did not change anything...just what ever the program decided I needed to decode tivo. Took that mpeg file and converted it via nero vision where you import a video file and then it converts it for burning to a standard dvd.


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## steve614 (May 1, 2006)

First, I would run that .mpg file through VRD's Quickstream Fix tool (under Tools -> Quickstream Fix) and try again with the fixed file.

If that doesn't help, I would suggest doing the trial for VideoReDo TV Suite, just for comparison purposes.

TV Suite adds DVD conversion/burning ability.
Burn a DVD with TV Suite and see if it has the same problems.


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## wpatters1229 (Nov 11, 2003)

I went back and opened the project in nero and they sync is fine all the way through so something happened when tanscoding the movie. I changed the video settings to only use 1 pass and made things all automatic. Will see what happens as I believe now that it might be nero that is getting things out of sync....but why and what should be the best settings for Transcoding an mpeg to dvd


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## Dan203 (Apr 17, 2000)

You should try using VideoReDo TVSuite instead. It has built in DVD burning and has the ability to create DVDs without recoding, which means it could take a few minutes rather then a few hours.

Dan


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## wpatters1229 (Nov 11, 2003)

I changed the settings to one pass and the made things less intense in quality and it now produced nice video and all the audio is in sync. Guess I was pushing it too hard!

Now I just need to find a Decrypter app that is free and does what VideoReDo Plus does but not cost $50. I do not need to edit out commercials etc.. I have Nero Vision 10 to do that with. Just something that will strip the tivo junk out. I thought there was one but can't seem to find it.


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## DocNo (Oct 10, 2001)

wpatters1229 said:


> Now I just need to find a Decrypter app that is free and does what VideoReDo Plus does but not cost $50


http://code.google.com/p/kmttg/wiki/kmttg_vs_Tivo_Desktop


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## Dan203 (Apr 17, 2000)

There are free programs that can decrypt .tivo files, but none that I know of that provide the same syncing and timestamp correction that the Quick Stream Fix feature in VRD does. I'm not trying to give you the hard sell, I'm just warning you that if you switch to another decryption technique you should check your DVDs and make sure that they don't have any sync or navigation problems. (I've seen a lot of .tivo files with weird timestamp anomalies that can cause weird problems in programs that do not know how to handle them)

Dan


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## wpatters1229 (Nov 11, 2003)

I found that using Direct show dump did the conversion over from TIVO to Mpeg really fast and then I can use NERO to burn the disk or Nero Vision to edit out commercials


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