# What Video Formats Can Tivo HD Play without conversion?



## tivoq (Dec 1, 2002)

I'm unclear on what video formats the Tivo HD can play without conversion. Is it just mpeg2?

I use Galleon not the Tivo desktop, and most of the Tivo documentation muddies up what the Tivo desktop is converting on the PC side as opposed to what is supported on the DVR side.

In particular can the Tivo Hd handle mpeg4? It seems like I remember reading it had some hardware support for mpeg4 decode.


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## ZeoTiVo (Jan 2, 2004)

mpeg2 only for now.

the hardware for mpeg4 is in series 4 only but software updates would be needed to enable it and it has impacts on TivoToGo and MRV and trick play that are far reaching in the TiVo DVR. Not a trivial task to enable the software


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## CuriousMark (Jan 13, 2005)

ZeoTiVo said:


> the hardware for mpeg4 is in series 4 only...


Series 4 ?



Gotta record it for posterity before you edit and fix your typo


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## tluxon (Feb 28, 2002)

My wife wanted me to take a shot at getting a 1+ hour YouTube video onto one of the TiVoHDs so she can play from the TiVo whenever she wants. I used SUPER © (if you haven't tried it yet, I highly recommend this free converter that'll handle dozens of filetypes) to convert the 320 x 240 x 378 kbps flash video to a VCD format MPEG-1. It plays just fine in the TiVoHD (but it is a considerably larger file than the original flash video as VCD is 352 x 480 x 1150 kbps).

So, MPEG-1 is also playable on a TiVo. I may try some other formats just for grins (I've already confirmed that MP4 doesn't work).

Of course, at this point the best option is to use pyTiVo for on-the-fly transcoding, but you'll probably have less control over filesizes.


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## deVries (Mar 29, 2008)

When sending/uploading a video file onto the Tivo HD, is .AVI, DivX, etc. all converted/transcoded into an .mpg2/.tivo file as it's sent onto the Tivo HD itself???

If yes, then this is a huge space waster on the Tivo... expanding compressed files into the larger .mpg2 on the Tivo right???


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## wrecklass (Dec 3, 2005)

tluxon said:


> So, MPEG-1 is also playable on a TiVo. I may try some other formats just for grins (I've already confirmed that MP4 doesn't work).


Wait, what? I have MP4's that I have transferred to the TiVo with TiVo Desktop plus, and they play fine.


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## CuriousMark (Jan 13, 2005)

wrecklass said:


> Wait, what? I have MP4's that I have transferred to the TiVo with TiVo Desktop plus, and they play fine.


TiVo Desktop Plus converts those to MPEG-2 on the fly as it sends them to the TiVo.


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## TexasGrillChef (Sep 15, 2006)

deVries said:


> When sending/uploading a video file onto the Tivo HD, is .AVI, DivX, etc. all converted/transcoded into an .mpg2/.tivo file as it's sent onto the Tivo HD itself???
> 
> If yes, then this is a huge space waster on the Tivo... expanding compressed files into the larger .mpg2 on the Tivo right???


TiVo Desktop, pyTiVo will Transcode (Convert) any & *ALL* video files that are *NOT *MPG2.

The TiVo HD & TiVo S3 will *only* play *MPG2*. They have the capability to play MPG4. However that _FEATURE_ is *NOT* yet inabled in 9.3a. Maybe someday in future update.

TGC

P.S. TD+ & pyTiVo converts (Transcodes) any other video format to MPG2 on the fly. That is why it takes *LONGER *to transfer a _NON-MPG2 _file to your TiVo then it does a MPG2 file.


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## TexasGrillChef (Sep 15, 2006)

deVries said:


> When sending/uploading a video file onto the Tivo HD, is .AVI, DivX, etc. all converted/transcoded into an .mpg2/.tivo file as it's sent onto the Tivo HD itself???
> 
> If yes, then this is a huge space waster on the Tivo... expanding compressed files into the larger .mpg2 on the Tivo right???


Depends on HOW you want to define wasting space.

Keep in mind that an MPG4 honestly does NOT have the SAME quality level as a MPG2.

On the *NEW* blu-ray discs... there is a reason why DTS-HD/Dolby Digital HD is a big deal. Dolby Digital HD & DTS-HD are _UNCOMPRESSED_ surround sound audio. It can be in 5.1, 6.1 or 7.1.

If you have the proper system. *YOU CAN *telll the difference between _UNCROMPRESSED _DTS-HD/Dolby Digital HD and normal or _COMPRESSED_ DTS/DD sound.

So would you consider having DTS-HD/Dolby Digital HD uncompressed audio on your *BLU-RAY* disc a *WASTE *of space?

Now when you compare MPG2-HD to MPG4-HD you probably _CAN'T_ tell the differnce on a 27" HD TV or even your Ipod. I *CAN* tell the difference on my 65" plasma. MPG4 is *not* as good as MPG2.

One other Note... there is also a reason *WHY* Blu-ray discs are using MPG2-HD format in the form of a transport stream (M2TS) instead of MPG4 format. Also keep in mind that a Blu-ray player is capable of providing up to 40mbps data flow. At least twice as much if not more in some cases than the bitrate capability of cable/ota as well.

TGC

P.S. I only point this out for one reason. I personally want the *BEST* Picture & Sound quality possible. If space is a problem, I just increase my Hard drive space via eSATA, or TTG my shows to one of my several 3TB (Raid 5) NAS devices. I do know that for some people PQ/SQ is of less concern to them as space is.


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## mrgreen4242 (Dec 6, 2002)

TexasGrillChef said:


> Depends on HOW you want to define wasting space.
> 
> Keep in mind that an MPG4 honestly does NOT have the SAME quality level as a MPG2.
> 
> ...


I know this is an old thread, but I stumbled on it searching for something else and I had to dreg it up. This is an absurd argument. Without getting into the technical details, you are comnpletely and utterly wrong about MPEG2 vs 4. Bit for bit, MPEG4 is a much better format.

I don't know why you bring up uncompressed audio in the discussion, it has nothing to do with comparing these video formats.

BRD encoded in MPEG2 almost always looked far, far worse than the HDDVD versions of the movies using MPEG4-family encodes. If you have source material in MPEG2 and try to convert it to MPEG4, sure, you will lose quality (lossy to lossy is always bad). Same goes the other way, MPEG4 source to MPEG2 for playback, which is of course the point of the question - keeping files in their original format is always preferable.


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## SonyTiVoLover (Feb 27, 2002)

I have two TiVo Premiere XL devices and a Netgear ReadyNAS storage device. I've tried converting (ripping) my DVDs to MP4 (.m4v) format so I can view them on my iPad. I can see the rips through the TiVo devices on the ReadyNAS device, but they show up as (0). Do I need to convert them to some other format so I can retrieve and play them through my TiVo boxes?

I've read about TiVo Desktop to Go, but don't think adding a PC front end should be necessary. Would appreciate help to get set up correctly. Thanks!


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## lrhorer (Aug 31, 2003)

SonyTiVoLover said:


> I have two TiVo Premiere XL devices and a Netgear ReadyNAS storage device. I've tried converting (ripping) my DVDs to MP4 (.m4v) format so I can view them on my iPad. I can see the rips through the TiVo devices on the ReadyNAS device, but they show up as (0). Do I need to convert them to some other format so I can retrieve and play them through my TiVo boxes?


I presume the ReadyNAS supports pulls from the TiVo using a native GoBack server. In order to serve anything other than .mpg or .TiVo files to a TiVo, you will need a server that supports the format in question. PyTivo supports just about every video format there is, and probably can run on the ReadyNAS server. There are some caveats, however:

1. The TiVo only supports either MPEG-II video or h.264 video in an MP4 container with very specific coding. Nothing else is supported.

2. PyTivo has the ability to transcode incompatible video on the fly to MPEG-II for transfer to a TiVo, but recoding takes a lot of horsepower. That means if the video is not compatible, it may take a very long time to transfer. It also may not wind up as 1080p24, in which case the TiVo will downscale it to 1080i.

3. While h264/MP4 video is supported by the TiVo, it is only supported for pushes, not for pulls. This means even if you do have the file in a compatible h.264/MP4 format, you won't be able to pul the video from the NPL (My Shows) menu without it taking a fair amount of time.

If you recode the video to MPEG-II, then it will transfer natively via any GoBack utility, but it will be considerably slower and take up more space on the NAS.

If the video is properly coded as h.264/MP4, then in order to push the video I recommend pyTivo plus vidmgr. Alternately, you can push videos from any web browser with pyTivo.



SonyTiVoLover said:


> I've read about TiVo Desktop to Go, but don't think adding a PC front end should be necessary. Would appreciate help to get set up correctly. Thanks!


It is not called "TiVo Desktop to Go", it is just TiVoDesktop. I definitely don't recommend it. PyTivo is a much better solution.


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## SonyTiVoLover (Feb 27, 2002)

Thanks for the quick reply. Sounds like I should try coding something in the h.264/MP4 format, then use the pyTivo plus vidmgr on the NAS. 

I appreciate your including the specifics. I'll give this a try over the weekend.

Thanks!


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## lrhorer (Aug 31, 2003)

SonyTiVoLover said:


> Thanks for the quick reply. Sounds like I should try coding something in the h.264/MP4 format, then use the pyTivo plus vidmgr on the NAS.
> 
> I appreciate your including the specifics. I'll give this a try over the weekend.
> 
> Thanks!


Surely. I hse Handbrake to recode my BluRay rips. The handbrake options I use are:

*Output Settings*
Container: MP4 File (check "Large File Size")

*Picture*
Size: 1920x1080 (uncheck "Keep Aspect Ratio")
Anamorphic: None
Cropping: Automatic

*Video*
Video Codec: H.264 (x264)
Framerate (FPS): 24
Constant Framerate
Constant Quality: RF:17

*Audio*
Audio Codec: AC3 (ffmpeg)
Mixdown: 6-channel Discrete
Samplerate: 48
Bitrate: 384
DRC: 0
Gain: 0

The other options I leave all at default from "Universal"


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## SonyTiVoLover (Feb 27, 2002)

I use Handbrake as well. Thank you for providing the settings you use. 

I figured this could be done. I just need to get all the pieces in place.


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## lrhorer (Aug 31, 2003)

If you need help getting pyTivo, HME for Python, or vidmgr working on your NAS, please post a query here. Also, please post any tips or tricks you run across or any issues you figure out yourself there.


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## lrhorer (Aug 31, 2003)

OH, I had it in my head you were ripping BluRay discs, but I looked back and I see you are ripping DVDs. The DVD, of course, is only 480i, not 1080p, and the native DVD format is a subset of MPEG-II. You can rip directly to the NAS with no recoding necessary. Indeed, if you care to use the DVD plug-in, the DVD can be ripped in native format. I'm not sure if you will need to keep a second copy laying around for your iPad or not. VLC might be able to stream to the iPad from native DVD format.


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