# what video format does tivo desktop support for free?



## 747pilot (May 21, 2002)

So without paying the extra 25 bucks or so, just what video format does tivo desktop support for free? Apparently none I have on my machine


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## Dan203 (Apr 17, 2000)

.tivo and .mpg. All other formats require the upgrade.

Dan


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## dlfl (Jul 6, 2006)

If you want to transfer almost any format for free try *pyTivo*. Start with the Wiki and this post.

This transcodes and transfers to the Tivo. To go the other way and encode to any format other than MPEG2 you need Desktop + $25. Or do your own encoding to MPEG4 formats with free and easy to use programs such as Handbrake.


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## 747pilot (May 21, 2002)

dlfl said:


> If you want to transfer almost any format for free try *pyTivo*. Start with the Wiki and this post.
> 
> This transcodes and transfers to the Tivo. To go the other way and encode to any format other than MPEG2 you need Desktop + $25. Or do your own encoding to MPEG4 formats with free and easy to use programs such as Handbrake.


I do use Handbrake to make things for the kids iTouch's and I will look at pyTivo. As for the .mpg's, even within those I am finding that some work and some don't. I'm guessing that to be a codec issue?

I do have to say that there advertising of the media features is pretty misleading by not telling you that you are going to have to spend another $25 to make it completely useful.


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## dlfl (Jul 6, 2006)

747pilot said:


> ...... As for the .mpg's, even within those I am finding that some work and some don't. I'm guessing that to be a codec issue?..............


Have you seen this TiVo web page ? At the bottom you see a table of specs for mpeg2's that TTCB supports. This table used to be there just for Series 2 TiVo's and now they are saying it applies to the HD models. However I believe many S3 and HD users report they can TTCB a much wider variety of mpeg2's than this table shows.

I find this page a confusing hodge-podge. It seems to imply the only way you can TTCB mpeg2's without paying $25 is with old Desktop version 2.3, which I'm pretty sure isn't correct. I'm still using (free) 2.3 with my Series 2 and it works fine, but it is limited per the table. pyTivo transcodes to formats you specify or to a default format (544x480 for series 2) that is in the table.

This recent post has interesting info about Desktop 2.3a, which might be worth considering if you have a Series 2.


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## 747pilot (May 21, 2002)

dlfl said:


> Or do your own encoding to MPEG4 formats with free and easy to use programs such as Handbrake.


Does Handbrake put out a video format that the basic tivo can use? I got Videora up and running before succeeding with pyTivo. That seems a bit over my level.

I still think it is a rip that I spent around 600 bucks for this machine and now they want to nickel and dime me for 25 more. The industry wonders why there is so much pirate stuff and hacks going around!


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## dlfl (Jul 6, 2006)

747pilot said:


> Does Handbrake put out a video format that the basic tivo can use? I got Videora up and running before succeeding with pyTivo. That seems a bit over my level.......


Handbrake encodes mpeg4 formats which are 2-4 times more compressed than mpeg2 formats that Tivo normally uses and which are found on SD DVD's. (.vob is a special form of mpeg2)

What kind of TiVo do you have? If it's an HD (including S3) model, a great source of information on what can be transferred to/from it is this sticky thread in the HD section of the forum. I believe it has to be mpeg2 to go back to an HD/S3 tivo though.

If it's an SD model (e.g. S2) the answer is simple: its either got to be .tivo or an mpeg2 formatted per the specs in the TiVo link I posted before.

The Desktop Plus software will automatically convert some mpeg4 formats to tivo-compatible and send them back to the TiVo:

Windows Media Video (.wmv) 
QuickTime Movie (.mov) 
MPEG-4/H.264 (.mp4,.m4v,.mp4v)
DivX and Xvid (.avi, .divx)

pyTivo will do these and more. Neither is perfect however. (There are so many encoding parameters that can vary in a video file.)

Don't hesitate to give pyTivo a try. You can get plenty of help on the pyTivo forum.. Videora seems to be popular although I haven't used it. The installation instructions are in the Wiki.


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