# Transferring files using Tivo Desktop the video has major artifacts.



## Bgraham34 (Aug 15, 2010)

Longtime lurked here. I was transferring video to my vista desktop. I have the newest tivo desktop software installing. When i play a file that I recorded this past week the video has tons of artifacts in it and plays the image slow. I played an older file that i transferred over months back and that's fine. I am playing the file from TiVo desktop software. I just upgraded to 14.5 as well. 

Thanks


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## qux (Aug 21, 2010)

I'm having this exact same problem. Windows 7, latest Desktop, old eps play fine, new eps look horrible. The shows also transfer much quicker than using my old Series 2 so that probably has something to do with it. Any help given is appreciated.


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## simon7 (Mar 26, 2008)

Same problem here. Video plays fine on the Premiere, but has major pixelation on computer after transferring via TivoDesktop.


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## simon7 (Mar 26, 2008)

Did some more research. I tried transferring a file from my TivoHD to my Premiere. Then transferred that same file directly from TivoHD to the computer AND from the Premiere to the computer. ONLY the file that came via the Premiere had pixelation. And, I can't see any pixelation when I view the file on TV via the Premiere. SO it seems very likely the heavy pixelation is somehow being introduced in the transfer process from the Premiere specifically.


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## Dan203 (Apr 17, 2000)

Perhaps the 14.5 software update enabled the TS file format as default? If this is the case then Windows Media Player has to use a different demuxer to get at the video, so it could be that whatever demuxer it's using for these TS files is corrupting the video some how.

Do any of you guys know how to use GraphEdit? If so try rendering both a new file and an old one and see if any of the filters are different.

Or if any of you are VideoReDo users you can try opening one of the new files in in then checking the Tools->Show Video program Info screen. It will simply say TiVo as the type if it's using the old Program Stream format, but will say TiVo-TS if it's using the new TS format.

Dan


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## qux (Aug 21, 2010)

I tried the VideoReDo thing and it won't even open the Premiere files, it said the program stream was not found, but it opened the old Series 2 files with no problem. There's definitely a difference between Premiere and Series 2 files, Any idea on how we get around this?


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## jtso (Oct 2, 2009)

simon7 said:


> Did some more research. I tried transferring a file from my TivoHD to my Premiere. Then transferred that same file directly from TivoHD to the computer AND from the Premiere to the computer. ONLY the file that came via the Premiere had pixelation. And, I can't see any pixelation when I view the file on TV via the Premiere. SO it seems very likely the heavy pixelation is somehow being introduced in the transfer process from the Premiere specifically.


Have you tried the reverse route: transfer a file from the Premiere to the TivoHD and then to the computer?


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## gregbennett (Nov 1, 2002)

jtso said:


> Have you tried the reverse route: transfer a file from the Premiere to the TivoHD and then to the computer?


Just tried transferrring to my S3 then to PC and the file played fine and it opened in VideoReDo.

When I tried the Premier file in VideoReDo it took forever to open. First couple of times I tried I thought the program had died as it said it was not responding. After letting it sit for awhile it eventually loaded but said there was no audio stream. Trying to view the video info as Dan suggested hung the program again and I gave up.


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## jtso (Oct 2, 2009)

gregbennett said:


> Just tried transferrring to my S3 then to PC and the file played fine and it opened in VideoReDo.
> 
> When I tried the Premier file in VideoReDo it took forever to open. First couple of times I tried I thought the program had died as it said it was not responding. After letting it sit for awhile it eventually loaded but said there was no audio stream. Trying to view the video info as Dan suggested hung the program again and I gave up.


I just thought of another thing to try. If instead of using TiVoDesktop for file transfer, you can transfer via the web browser. For the Premiere, you can download either in the TS format or the PS format. Does the TS file produce the video artifacts while the PS file does not?


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## gregbennett (Nov 1, 2002)

jtso said:


> I just thought of another thing to try. If instead of using TiVoDesktop for file transfer, you can transfer via the web browser. For the Premiere, you can download either in the TS format or the PS format. Does the TS file produce the video artifacts while the PS file does not?


Yes, from the web browser the TS version has the artifacts like the TiVo Desktop download and the PS file plays fine.


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## jtso (Oct 2, 2009)

gregbennett said:


> Yes, from the web browser the TS version has the artifacts like the TiVo Desktop download and the PS file plays fine.


Greg,

Thanks, this has been very interesting. I don't know enough to suggest ways of getting TS files to play on a computer, but I now know what not to do if I transfer a file from a Premiere!

Jon


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## innocentfreak (Aug 25, 2001)

If PS transfers fine look into KMTTG. http://code.google.com/p/kmttg/ and Tivocommunity thread.

TS transfers are disabled by default.


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## simon7 (Mar 26, 2008)

My pixelated files open right up in VideoRedo. They show as file type Tivo TS.


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## Dan203 (Apr 17, 2000)

qux said:


> I tried the VideoReDo thing and it won't even open the Premiere files, it said the program stream was not found, but it opened the old Series 2 files with no problem. There's definitely a difference between Premiere and Series 2 files, Any idea on how we get around this?


I forgot to mention you must be running the latest beta for it to read the TS files.

You can get the beta version from our forum. There are beta versions of Plus, TVSuite and TVSuite v4 w/H.264 that support this new format.

Dan


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## Dan203 (Apr 17, 2000)

simon7 said:


> My pixelated files open right up in VideoRedo. They show as file type Tivo TS.


Are they pixelated in VRD?

Dan


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## simon7 (Mar 26, 2008)

Dan203 said:


> Are they pixelated in VRD?
> Dan


Yes, for me the Tivo-TS files open fine in VideoRedo but show the pixelation. (I'm not sure which version of VRD. I downloaded H264 months back and just update when it tells me to... so is there a new beta that doesn't show up in updates?)

(And, to be clear, some frames will be perfectly clear, then a cluster will be extremely pixelated, like blocks were randomly mixed up on them.)

Thanks Dan.


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## Dan203 (Apr 17, 2000)

OK just to be clear...

PS = Program Stream, which is the format used by the old TiVo files. These show up in VideoReDo as a simply "TiVo".

TS = Transport Stream, which is the format used for new TiVo files. (up until now they've only been used in Aus/NZ) These show up in VideoReDo as "TiVo-TS".

OK So assuming you meant TiVo-TS then the problem appears to be in the muxing or decrypting. You can test if it's a muxer problem by simply running the file through Quick Stream Fix and saving it to a standard .mpg file. If it still has the pixelation then the problem is most likely in the decryption. Unfortunately there isn't much you can do about that. There was a patch posted to the tivodecode project a while back that works with TiVo-TS files, but it had a similar pixelation problem with certain files so it's probably not much better. The only thing you can do to insure you get the old style PS files is to either use a different program to download the files, like pyTiVo, or use the web interface to specifically download the PS version of the show. (the web interface offerse both options)

Dan


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## simon7 (Mar 26, 2008)

(Typo on file type in previous post corrected.) 

You were right. Logging in via browser and downloading the PS solved the problem. 

Doing a Quick Stream Fix on the problematic TS does NOT fix the problem.


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## Dan203 (Apr 17, 2000)

So this is either some sort of corruption happening on the TiVo side or some sort of corruption being introduced by the decryption code in the TiVo DirectShow filter. Hopefully TiVo is aware of the problem and will get it sorted out quickly. Or at the very least release a patch for TiVo desktop to force it back to downloading the old style PS files until they get it sorted out.

Dan


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## mrantoinemil (Sep 24, 2010)

Well, it's now September 24. Tivo has yet to create a fix for the transfers from the tivo, so, all my media that I want to have transferred to my iPhone is now pixelated every few seconds. Great!! Come on Tivo! I'm losing faith with you guys more than ever. I want a fix, there's no point to pay for a product if you can't even have it work in the first place.


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## orangeboy (Apr 19, 2004)

mrantoinemil said:


> Well, it's now September 24. Tivo has yet to create a fix for the transfers from the tivo, so, all my media that I want to have transferred to my iPhone is now pixelated every few seconds. Great!! Come on Tivo! I'm losing faith with you guys more than ever. I want a fix, there's no point to pay for a product if you can't even have it work in the first place.


Don't use the "fastest method" (set by default). There's issues with the mpeg-ts transfers.


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## mrantoinemil (Sep 24, 2010)

How do I go in doing that?!


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## orangeboy (Apr 19, 2004)

mrantoinemil said:


> How do I go in doing that?!


File > Preferences > File Transfer Speed (checkbox). Uncheck it.


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## mrantoinemil (Sep 24, 2010)

So, I tried doing what you said. I go to file > preferences and I don't have a transfer speed box. All I get are tabs which include: File Locations, Portable Devices, Audio Boost, Restart/reset.

If it helps you I'm using the most updated software of Tivo to go Version. 2.8 
(358513)


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## innocentfreak (Aug 25, 2001)

Actually 2.8.2 is the newest one.

https://www3.tivo.com/store/accessories-software.do

Well it says 2.8.2, but the link is for 2.8.1.


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## steve614 (May 1, 2006)

I'm using TD 2.8.1 and I don't have a File Transfer Speed checkbox. 

Could it be an extra feature of the Plus version or is there a 2.8.2 out and TiVo just hasn't updated their website?


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## orangeboy (Apr 19, 2004)

My apologies. The setting can be changed in the Windows Registry:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\TiVo\Desktop:
Value name: "UseFastestTransferMethod"
Value data: "0"

It's probably best to update the Registry key then restart TiVo Desktop:
File > Preferences > Restart or Reset > Just restart


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## SugarBowl (Jan 5, 2007)

I'm having the same problem, and it started at the same time (august 2010). Everything that i've transferred prior to august looks fine. 

I added the "UseFastestTransferMethod" setting and rebooted my computer, but it didn't seem to help anything.


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## SugarBowl (Jan 5, 2007)

Ok, upgrading to 2.8.2 fixed the problem. Clicking on "check for updates" in tivo deskktop 2.8 did not work, it said that I already had the latest version. So i went to Tivo's website and manually downloaded 2.8.2 from the link in this thread. 

And now, every file that I had already transferred plays back fine.


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## vurbano (Apr 20, 2004)

Dan203 said:


> OK just to be clear...
> 
> PS = Program Stream, which is the format used by the old TiVo files. These show up in VideoReDo as a simply "TiVo".
> 
> ...


excuse my ignorance. I got 2.8.2 running and downloading. When I uncheck the box in preferences for using fastest downloading video redo will open the file fine and it looks fine to me. When I check the box and download the file Videoredo won't even open it, it just becomes nonresponsive and will not even close. What is even more confusing to me is that windows says both files are .Tivo files. I thought one was .Tivo and one TS? Or am I even more confused than I think? I really stinks because one of the major reasons for going to premiere is file transfer speed.


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## innocentfreak (Aug 25, 2001)

Maybe 2.8.2 didn't fix the transfer issues. 

Both files will still be in the .TiVo container regardless of how you transfer them.


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## steve614 (May 1, 2006)

The Premiere gives you two options in regards to downloading programs. There is MPEG-TS format (transport stream) and MPEG-PS format (program stream). The MPEG-PS format is familiar with all Tivos. The MPEG-TS format is new with the Premieres.

I'm thinking the "use fastest downloading" option transfers one stream (presumably the MPEG-TS format), and not selecting that option transfers the other stream (MPEG-PS format).

This would make sense to me because I have heard of many problems with the MPEG-TS format causing problems in VideoReDo.
I'm sure the people at VRD are working on a solution, but in the mean time, I suggest sticking with the option that is known to work.

--edit--

Check out the VRD forums for more info and/or the latest beta releases.
http://www.videoredo.net/msgBoard/index.php


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## aaronwt (Jan 31, 2002)

I know one format is much slower and also slower with VideoReDo trasncoding it. Whatever format mine is set for has transfer speeds between 60Mb/s and 70Mb/s from the Premieres to my TiVo Desktop PC and VideoReDo is able to transcode an hour long HD show in a few minutes.
With the other format VideoReDo takes much longer to transcode. I'm not sure what the settings are since I have not messed with them in a while.


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## vurbano (Apr 20, 2004)

Grief. At least they could get the file extensions to read .TS or whatever. I upgraded to the latest Beta for tvsuite and now can process the new Tivo files. I don't see the increased artifacts.


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## bsmith1051 (Nov 15, 2009)

FYI - I've had two similar probs and found workarounds for both:

1. the original transfer would be corrupt but if I deleted it (from the PC) and re-transferred it would be fine. This would seem to indicate there was something intermittent going on with the Tivo Premiere ?

2. the transfer would play ok (e.g. in Windows Media Player) but was corrupt in any/every editor, including VideoReDo. If I decoded it with DirectShowDump, however, it was fine.


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## SugarBowl (Jan 5, 2007)

bsmith1051 said:


> FYI - I've had two similar probs and found workarounds for both:
> 
> 1. the original transfer would be corrupt but if I deleted it (from the PC) and re-transferred it would be fine. This would seem to indicate there was something intermittent going on with the Tivo Premiere ?
> 
> 2. the transfer would play ok (e.g. in Windows Media Player) but was corrupt in any/every editor, including VideoReDo. If I decoded it with DirectShowDump, however, it was fine.


My experience sounds kinda like #2. The transfers played back with artifacts while I had Tivo Desktop 2.8 installed. After installing 2.8.2, i didn't need to retransfer anything, all of the shows that I had already transferred started playing properly.


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## Puppy76 (Oct 7, 2004)

Okay, so if I'm understanding this right, so long as you have 2.82 installed, this new format you get by having that box checked works fine-the pixilation and weirdness was because the newest one wasn't installed.

AND it sounds like that setting ONLY applies to the Series 4. I'd love to know the hardware changes going on there! Oh well, my S3's transfers are fine as is


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