# Tivo desktop on OS X Lion - can't find it??



## heg (Jan 12, 2004)

I'm a Mac rookie (long-time PC user) with a new Lion machine. I installed Tivo Desktop for Mac, v1.95a (shown to be for OS X v10.6 and later). The installation appeared to go well and I got the screen acknowledging the the installation was successful. So where is it? It's not in the dock. It's not in the Finder. There is a Tivo recordings folder in Documents, but I cannot find the program. I hope this is something simple, just my unfamiliarity with Mac. Someone please help this rookie.


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## nitrone (Mar 21, 2010)

Look in System Preferences - Other at the bottom


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## CuriousMark (Jan 13, 2005)

Don't expect the Mac version to do all that the PC version does. About the only thing they have in common is the name.


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## heg (Jan 12, 2004)

Thanks for that info. I did find Tivo Desktop in System Prefs, but it seems to be the preferences only, like which photos and music on my Mac I want to publish to Tivo. The screen shows that TiVo Desktop is off, but does not give me an option to start it. That button is grayed out. About the only thing it will let me do is to enter a name, but even that is not being accepted. In the absence of any button to save that info I tried <Command>+


> . That closes the window, but does not save the name I entered.
> 
> Where is this intuitive OS on Mac I have been hearing about for so long? As for TiVo Desktop for Mac not doing as much as the PC version, that's for sure - it actually runs on my PC!
> 
> Any other ideas, friends?


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## Phantom Gremlin (Jun 20, 2002)

heg said:


> Any other ideas, friends?


Switch to using one or more of the myriad free programs discussed in this forum.

Here is my rant to another user struggling with TiVo Desktop. I think he's on a PC, but the principle still holds: *TD is garbage. Use the free programs discussed in this forum.*


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## Jophan (Sep 1, 2011)

heg said:


> Thanks for that info. I did find Tivo Desktop in System Prefs, but it seems to be the preferences only, like which photos and music on my Mac I want to publish to Tivo. The screen shows that TiVo Desktop is off, but does not give me an option to start it. That button is grayed out.


Hi, Heg, welcome to the Mac platform. Many people do find it intuitive in the sense that there's good consistency in behavior across the OS and all the apps, but "intuitive" doesn't mean "telepathic" as my girlfriend seems to think, so keep your expectations within reason.

I'm sorry you've had a problem. As the previous posters have implied, it has more to do with TiVo's weak support for the Mac than with the Mac itself.

In my experience, TiVo Desktop's "start" button will be greyed out until you've checked the box next to at least one item in the list on the right to make that item a shared one.


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## elh (May 11, 2012)

I installed TiVo Desktop 1.95a under Snow Leopard and it worked fine. I have now upgraded to OS 10.7.4 Lion. TiVo Desktop is still in the System Preferences, but will not start up. It tries to start but reverts back to stopped. I have checked the check boxes for all Music and all Photos.

A chat with TiVo Support revealed that there is no update to TiVo Desktop for Lion and no word on when there might be.


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## steve614 (May 1, 2006)

That is because TiVo Desktop is basically 3rd party developed, and that 3rd party isn't going bother updating the app until TiVo compels them to do so.

I so wish the TiVo Desktop software was handled more like the TiVo DVR software. We need an avenue to report bugs and have them addressed.
Alas, I don't think it will happen because of the available alternative solutions that actually work.


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## allenkelson (Feb 28, 2011)

I haven't seen any of those alternative programs listed in this forum. I'm running a Mac with Lion. Apparently those TiVo programs I've converted to m4v files were converted before I was using Lion.

Can you recommend an app to convert TiVo files to m4v's? And will simply putting them in iTunes' iTunesMedia folder assign Movies and TV shows where they belong? How can I control that?


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## steve614 (May 1, 2006)

I'm not familiar with Macs, but you might want to check out PyTivoX.

Thread is here.
http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?t=412802


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## javabird (Oct 13, 2006)

Apps for Macs mentioned in this forum:

iTivo

kmttg/


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