# Do I really need Tivo Desktop Plus to transfer from PC?



## abdu (Feb 29, 2004)

My transfers from PC to Tivo, initiated from Tivo, stopped working. After going through various troubleshooting tips and calls to Tivo, I was told by a Tivo rep that I need the Desktop Plus version which costs $25. I asked her how come it was working before? The reply was they applied a patch and I need the plus version now.

So is this BS I am getting from Tivo or do I truly need the plus version?


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## gweempose (Mar 23, 2003)

abdu said:


> So is this BS I am getting from Tivo or do I truly need the plus version?


Unless something has changed that I'm not aware of, the customer service rep you talked to was absolutely wrong. You do not need the plus version of the software to simply transfer shows to your PC. The advantage of the plus version is that it will convert transferred shows for playback on portable devices. It will also transcode certain types of web videos on the fly so that they can be displayed on your Tivo.


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## moyekj (Jan 24, 2006)

Dump Tivo Desktop completely and use the free 3rd party tools such as:
pyTivo (transfer pretty much any video to your Series2 or Series3 Tivos)
streambaby (stream pretty much any video to your Series 3 Tivos)
kmttg (transfer videos from Series2 or Series3 Tivos to your PC with a lot of optional post-processing steps)
With a combination of the above you can do a lot more than TD+ can do and you can get much better support in these and other forums to boot.


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## muerte33 (Jul 4, 2008)

And don't forget TivoPlaylist for Windows users (new version .67 came out last week).
http://bellsouthpwp.net/d/c/dcahoe/tivo/index.htm


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## abdu (Feb 29, 2004)

gweempose said:


> Unless something has changed that I'm not aware of, the customer service rep you talked to was absolutely wrong. You do not need the plus version of the software to simply transfer shows to your PC. The advantage of the plus version is that it will convert transferred shows for playback on portable devices. It will also transcode certain types of web videos on the fly so that they can be displayed on your Tivo.


I am transferring From PC to Tivo. Not from Tivo to PC.


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## abdu (Feb 29, 2004)

muerte33 said:


> And don't forget TivoPlaylist for Windows users (new version .67 came out last week).
> http://bellsouthpwp.net/d/c/dcahoe/tivo/index.htm


Does it transfer from PC to Tivo? Looking at the description, it seems it does Tivo to PC only?


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## abdu (Feb 29, 2004)

moyekj said:


> Dump Tivo Desktop completely and use the free 3rd party tools such as:
> pyTivo (transfer pretty much any video to your Series2 or Series3 Tivos)
> streambaby (stream pretty much any video to your Series 3 Tivos)
> kmttg (transfer videos from Series2 or Series3 Tivos to your PC with a lot of optional post-processing steps)
> With a combination of the above you can do a lot more than TD+ can do and you can get much better support in these and other forums to boot.


Thanks. I will check out pyTivo. StreamBaby does streaming only. I actually want the video to reside on the Tivo. kmttg seems to transfer the other direction only.


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## moyekj (Jan 24, 2006)

abdu said:


> Thanks. I will check out pyTivo. StreamBaby does streaming only. I actually want the video to reside on the Tivo. kmttg seems to transfer the other direction only.


 Yes, the point was to show you complete functionality of Tivo Desktop Plus and more, since as you know Tivo Desktop can transfer from and to PC, so:
pyTivo to transfer stuff to Tivo
streambaby to stream stuff to Tivo
kmttg to transfer from Tivo to PC (and optionally many additional post-processing functions)


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## 20TIL6 (Sep 7, 2006)

I may make the jump to another solution like pyTivo. I've been running TiVo desktop for quite a while. Not using the latest version, but the one just prior. But it does not matter what version I use. After a few days of running, it just dies. No longer see my PC in the Now Playing list. I have a dedicated PC running TiVo desktop, and it's a very capable box. But the TiVo desktop service just disappears after a few days. Reboot, restart, and I get a few more days, then it's gone again.

I love TiVo, but I gotta' say, that app is frustrating.


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## malign59 (Mar 2, 2009)

I have similar problems with Desktop. Works normally most of the time, then all of the sudden my PC doesn't show up on the Now Playing list on Tivo. The server still seems to be running on the PC. My method of recovering it is to restart the server on the PC (although it still won't show up on Tivo), then I go and view my shared pictures on the Tivo, then back to Now Playing and I have my PC showing up again. Quicker than re-booting the Tivo, but still quite frustrating that this happens so often.


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## 20TIL6 (Sep 7, 2006)

malign59 said:


> I have similar problems with Desktop. Works normally most of the time, then all of the sudden my PC doesn't show up on the Now Playing list on Tivo. The server still seems to be running on the PC. My method of recovering it is to restart the server on the PC (although it still won't show up on Tivo), then I go and view my shared pictures on the Tivo, then back to Now Playing and I have my PC showing up again. Quicker than re-booting the Tivo, but still quite frustrating that this happens so often.


Good to have company.


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## motley28 (Jan 10, 2010)

I see that for pyTivo one of the requirements is that you have a subscription. Question, is there software to transfer video from PC to Tivo without a sub? Reason being is that I have 2 tivo series 2 receivers, one with lifetime sub and one without any sub paid on it since who knows. Anyway I have been thinking about selling the lifetime subbed receiver because I'm broke. The tivo desktop feature is the one thing that I don't want to live without. I already paid for the Tivo Desktop Plus software but only works with subbed receiver(as far as I can tell). I love the software it really saves time and I just got so sick of burning DVD's, it's alot easier to just rip a dvd or whatever and transfer and watch. Works well with video I take with vid cam as well. If anyone is wondering about the Tivo Plus software, I love it!!No probs! Any help would be much appreciated. Thanx.


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## steve614 (May 1, 2006)

The subscription requirement is in regard to the Tivo. A Tivo without a subscription will not do transfers and there is no PC software that will circumvent this. You may want to hang on to your lifetime subbed Tivo.


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## purefct (Dec 3, 2003)

I don't want to pay for the new Tivo Desktop plus, so I downloaded an older Tivo Desktop and after I entered my Media Key for my lifetime Tivo subscription I was able to watch the old shows! I haven't used my Series2 Tivo for about 5 years now and today I wanted to watch shows I previously downloaded to my laptop so this was a great option


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## Jim5506 (Oct 3, 2004)

If it works for a few days and then stops, it might be either the computer or your router, reboot both and see if that helps.


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## unitron (Apr 28, 2006)

purefct said:


> I don't want to pay for the new Tivo Desktop plus, so I downloaded an older Tivo Desktop and after I entered my Media Key for my lifetime Tivo subscription I was able to watch the old shows! I haven't used my Series2 Tivo for about 5 years now and today I wanted to watch shows I previously downloaded to my laptop so this was a great option


Desktop Plus isn't a newer version, exactly.

You can install the newest version of the free version 2.8.2 or 2.8.3 (which is just 2.8.2 with code added to work with the THR22, the DirecTiVo which came out a few years ago), and you'll have the newest version. Paying for the Plus "upgrade" gives you a "key" to enter that turns on some features that are disabled in the free version.

But to copy shows from the TiVo to a PC or from a PC to the TiVo you don't even need the Plus key.

If you want to watch the shows *on* the PC instead of on the TiVo, and you're running Windows 8 or newer, you'll probably have to pay for Plus for reasons that are Microsoft's fault.


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## unitron (Apr 28, 2006)

Jim5506 said:


> If it works for a few days and then stops, it might be either the computer or your router, reboot both and see if that helps.


If it works for a few days and then stops, give all of the TiVos involved and all of the PCs involved fixed IP addresses which lie outside of the router's DHCP address pool.


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## justen_m (Jan 15, 2004)

unitron said:


> If you want to watch the shows *on* the PC instead of on the TiVo, and you're running Windows 8 or newer, you'll probably have to pay for Plus for reasons that are Microsoft's fault.


I'm running Windows 10 Pro Preview(10162), having upgraded from a 7 Pro system, clean install, and Windows Media Player (v12.0.10011.0) works fine to play .TiVo files I've pulled from a Tivo using Tivo Desktop Software (v2.8.2). I just needed to associate .TiVo with WMP.

So will 10 come with DVD/.TiVo (mpeg-2) playback? Do I have it because I upgraded from 7? What about people who upgrade to 10 from 8.1? Any idea?


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## HerronScott (Jan 1, 2002)

It was reported that Windows 10 would not have DVD-playback support initially but that it would come later.

Not sure if you have it due to upgrading from Windows 7 (which included the codecs) or if you have any additional DVD-playback software installed.

Scott


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## justen_m (Jan 15, 2004)

HerronScott said:


> It was reported that Windows 10 would not have DVD-playback support initially but that it would come later.
> 
> Not sure if you have it due to upgrading from Windows 7 (which included the codecs) or if you have any additional DVD-playback software installed.


Thanks. I have a pretty clean installation (I installed W7Pro64 from disk, installed just a few vitals and immediately upgraded to W10), but I did install VLC, which will play DVDs. It won't play .TiVo files, unless I decrypt them first. With WMP in W10, I can just double-click a .TiVo file and it opens and plays. Likewise, if I associate .TiVo with WMP, I can just choose a file and play it from the desktop software.

I should probably ask about DVD playback and WMP in the W10 thread.


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## HerronScott (Jan 1, 2002)

justen_m said:


> With WMP in W10, I can just double-click a .TiVo file and it opens and plays. Likewise, if I associate .TiVo with WMP, I can just choose a file and play it from the desktop software.


That means that you either installed TiVo Desktop or the DirectShow driver which would allow WMP to play a .TiVo file.

Scott


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## unitron (Apr 28, 2006)

justen_m said:


> I'm running Windows 10 Pro Preview(10162), having upgraded from a 7 Pro system, clean install, and Windows Media Player (v12.0.10011.0) works fine to play .TiVo files I've pulled from a Tivo using Tivo Desktop Software (v2.8.2). I just needed to associate .TiVo with WMP.
> 
> So will 10 come with DVD/.TiVo (mpeg-2) playback? Do I have it because I upgraded from 7? What about people who upgrade to 10 from 8.1? Any idea?


Up through 7 the cost of Windows included a license to use whatever 3rd party software it is that gets used in playing .tivo files on the PC.

When 8 came out MS had quit paying whoever that 3rd party was (or whoever they were), so on a new PC with 8, like you'd bring home from the store, you'd have to pay for Desktop Plus to turn on either the same 3rd party software in Desktop or something else in there that did the same thing that in this case TiVo rather than MS would have to pay someone else licensing fees on.

That's when TiVo removed links to the free version of Desktop so they didn't have to spend many hours and many dollars explaining all that to someone who just bought a Compaq or Dell or whatever, but could just make paying for Plus the only option TiVo newbies would find right under their noses on the website.


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## wmcbrine (Aug 2, 2003)

unitron said:


> Up through 7 the cost of Windows included a license to use whatever 3rd party software it is that gets used in playing .tivo files on the PC.


See, this is the odd part of it all -- it was only in 7 (and maybe Vista?) that those codecs were ever included in the first place. They weren't in XP, although you could add them by installing almost any DVD player software (as you can also do in 8+).


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## dianebrat (Jul 6, 2002)

wmcbrine said:


> See, this is the odd part of it all -- it was only in 7 (and maybe Vista?) that those codecs were ever included in the first place. They weren't in XP, although you could add them by installing almost any DVD player software (as you can also do in 8+).


Actually the history is there because they were initially included in Windows XP Media Center edition, when Vista and 7 home versions shipped with WMC included the CODECs came with them.


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## Technologist (Dec 4, 2005)

So, back to the original question. Do I need to PAY for Plus to transfer shows to AND from my TiVO, as well as transfer shows to AND from my PC? or will the free version work?

And I am 3 PCs past the last time I downloaded the free version... and I know TiVo doesn't provide it anymore... so where (reputable) can I download the latest version?


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## ej42137 (Feb 16, 2014)

Technologist said:


> So, back to the original question. Do I need to PAY for Plus to transfer shows to AND from my TiVO, as well as transfer shows to AND from my PC? or will the free version work?
> 
> And I am 3 PCs past the last time I downloaded the free version... and I know TiVo doesn't provide it anymore... so where (reputable) can I download the latest version?


No, the free version of TiVo Desktop transfers in both directions; you don't need Plus for this capability.

I don't know where to get the program from if it's not available somewhere on the TiVo website. If it helps, the MD5 sum of the 2.8 install is 71832c0fc2bce1e1c9193d0da77358ea.


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## justen_m (Jan 15, 2004)

ej42137 said:


> I don't know where to get the program from if it's not available somewhere on the TiVo website. If it helps, the MD5 sum of the 2.8 install is 71832c0fc2bce1e1c9193d0da77358ea.


What is that checksum for, exactly? Filename?

For the self-extracting Windows install executable I have md5 checksum for TiVoDesktop2.8.2.exe of
72819279acf61078c59d3b5385689e3b

Verified and used by me on XP x32, 7 x64, and 10 x64. Never personally tried 8/8.1/8.1Update.

It was downloaded directly from tivo.com a time ago and its just been sitting on my server.

This looks like a safe archive. I downloaded it and compared it to mine and the checksums match. Filesize is 26,348KB. Pretty small.
http://download.cnet.com/Tivo-Desktop/3000-2085_4-10364915.html

There is a 2.8.3 floating around, but I never bothered upgrading. I have no idea what changes there are between 2.8.2 and 2.8.3.


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## HerronScott (Jan 1, 2002)

You can download 2.8.3 from TiVo using the following link.

http://assets.tivo.com/assets/exe/tivotogo/TiVoDesktop2.8.3.exe

Scott


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## L David Matheny (Jan 29, 2011)

HerronScott said:


> You can download 2.8.3 from TiVo using the following link.
> 
> http://assets.tivo.com/assets/exe/tivotogo/TiVoDesktop2.8.3.exe
> 
> Scott


I just downloaded that. It matches the 2.8.3 I downloaded on 2013/02/09, for which MD5deep calculates a checksum of c5a664adcff119e5ab0a31e56332fbb1 (in case you download from somewhere other than TiVo and are worried about tampering).


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## Technologist (Dec 4, 2005)

I downloaded from the link above and will give it a shot as time allows. Thanks for all your answers...


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## ej42137 (Feb 16, 2014)

My MD5 sum was for 2.8, as I said above. As I remember it, I was having problems with the TiVo Desktop Server looping, and 2.8.2 and 2.8.3 seemed to make it worse; I stayed with 2.8 then and later found kmttg much more reliable. That was back on XP, now with Windows 7 I have no such problems and I'm sure 2.8.3 is the thing to install if you're not willing to use kmttg.

The only improvement listed in the readme for 2.8.3 over 2.8.2 is DirectTV support. 2.8.2 added a PS/TS file download choice and a file conversion enhancement for Plus only.


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