# Remove Commercials?



## cmcfalls (Feb 6, 2006)

What is a good program to remove commercials from a tivo file? I am putting shows from my tivo onto my Ipod but i want to remove the commercials to keep the file size down. Any suggestions?


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## N2DEEP (Dec 22, 2004)

Video Redo works really good

http://www.videoredo.com/


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## jkalnin (Jan 8, 2003)

/\ agreed - Video Redo is what you want.


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## cmcfalls (Feb 6, 2006)

I like VidroRedo, but it's $50. I don't know that removing commercials is really worth $50. Are there any free programs? BTW, I prefer the term frugal to cheap.

I used to use TVHarmony Autopilot but it doesn't seem to work well with Vista (which I have now) and I can't get in contact with the developer. It squishes my videos and the comskip feature keeps crapping out on me while processing the shows.


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## jkalnin (Jan 8, 2003)

Free: http://devices.natetrue.com/cbreak/

Not sure if .tivo files are supported and program looks difficult to use. Everything is free in torrent-ville


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## jkalnin (Jan 8, 2003)

I also found this program called ChunkEdit -
ChunkEdit

None of the free methods seem that easay to use.

IN the URL replace *********** with
deal data base
(remove spaces)

I guess they don't like links to that site. Google ChunkEdit if you can't figure it out.


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## classicsat (Feb 18, 2004)

I use TyTools. Despite being made for old (non discussable) extraction methods, it works well for me and .tivo files that have been run through DSD.


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## Dan203 (Apr 17, 2000)

jkalnin said:


> Everything is free in torrent-ville


Hey now! VideoReDo is well worth the $50.

Dan

P.S. Did I mention I work as a developer for VideoReDo?


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## jkalnin (Jan 8, 2003)

No stealing!!!!
Support Dan and his family: VideoRedo is definitely worth the $50!!!

Nice work, that program rocks. I purchased my copy , no wait scratch that, the company that i work for paid for my copy:

Name:John *********

Key:********* (yeah right)

We thank you for your purchase and we hope you enjoy using VideoReDo Plus. Please check our website and discussion group at http://forums.videoredo.com for information about new releases and tips on how to maximize your VideoReDo experience.

If you have any questions about your order please contact us at:.

Please refer to the following PayPal transaction information:

Name: John *********
Email: *********
Amount: 49.99

Thanks again for your registration, VideoReDo.


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## NJ_HB (Mar 21, 2007)

Yup, VideoReDo, the way to go. I use it in conjunction with TiVo, MCE, Zen and PSP. Manual Mode only, since the 'Ad Detective' occasionally misses the start point coming out of a commercial. Great for Marathons or Mini Series, commercial free to DVD.


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## steve614 (May 1, 2006)

Try editing something with Windows Movie Maker and then edit with VideoRedo.
Once you do that, you'll easily fork over the 50 bucks.


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## jdekoven (Sep 14, 2007)

okay so I finally made "the switch" from PC to mac, but now I'm finding my favorit editing tools are not available. First off just to "transfer" video I had to purchase Roxio. For the PC the software was free. Roxio WILL NOT let you do any editing to the video at all. I had purchased video redo for my PC, but I don't see there is a version for mac. Is there anything similiar for mac? Or do I now need to go back to my PC?


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## jlb (Dec 13, 2001)

+1 to VideoRedo. Great product and great support team.

Hi Dan!


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## Puppy76 (Oct 7, 2004)

I'm just sort of curious-why would you want to remove commercials from something you're only going to watch once? It seems like a lot of hastle to mess with. (Even for stuff I'm archiving I might leave commercials just since they end up pretty interesting to see in 10 or 20 years!)


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## steve614 (May 1, 2006)

Puppy76 said:


> I'm just sort of curious-why would you want to remove commercials from something you're only going to watch once? It seems like a lot of hastle to mess with.


IMO, VideoRedo takes the "hassle" out of the equation. It's that easy. 

(Where's my check, Dan?)


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## jdekoven (Sep 14, 2007)

okay so we all know that Video Redo is awesome, but what about FOR MAC??? Does anyone have a suggestion for how to deal with that as in my earlier questions.

John


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## javabird (Oct 13, 2006)

Unfortunately, there isn't any Mac software for this. I wish there was...
(An alternate solution is to save to a DVD recorder and use the recorder's A/B erase function to cut out commercials.)


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## blah238 (Jan 24, 2006)

well I'm trying to figure out how to automate directshow dump, comskip and then something to cut out the commercials... anyone have a step by step? I've got about 30GB of Walker Texas Ranger I need to cut down to size


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## joshposh (Sep 19, 2007)

Roxio has Toast... that might work?


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## Dan203 (Apr 17, 2000)

VideoReDo also has an automatic commercial detection feature. It's not automated enough to allow you point it a an entire folder of videos and have it do it all automatically. But you can load a video, scan for the commercials, verify the cuts and output an edited video in 3-5 minutes so it wouldn't take too long.

Dan


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## bmgoodman (Dec 20, 2000)

Dan203 said:


> VideoReDo also has an automatic commercial detection feature. It's not automated enough to allow you point it a an entire folder of videos and have it do it all automatically. But you can load a video, scan for the commercials, verify the cuts and output an edited video in 3-5 minutes so it wouldn't take too long.
> 
> Dan


Oh, yeah? Roxio's latest Easy Media Creator has an automatic "scene change" detection feature that quickly allows me to find hundreds of scenes in just an hour-long program. Then, after adjusting the settings repeatedly, I can get it down to dozens of scenes. Finally, twenty minutes later, I just give up and burn the entire show as one long chapter, commercials and all. Easy!


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## dlfl (Jul 6, 2006)

Dan203 said:


> VideoReDo also has an automatic commercial detection feature. It's not automated enough to allow you point it a an entire folder of videos and have it do it all automatically. But you can load a video, scan for the commercials, verify the cuts and output an edited video in 3-5 minutes so it wouldn't take too long.
> 
> Dan


For automating or semi-automating VRD processing check out free program TiVo-VideoReDo-AutoProcessor (TVAP).


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## blah238 (Jan 24, 2006)

Yes I've seen TVAP and videoredo before but it's hard for me to justify the $50 entry fee only to find I might not like it or it might not even work at all.

In the end I did manage to cut down my collection by about 75%. I used Dirmon2 to run 3 separate jobs, calling batch scripts I've written. One runs only Comskip on files I want to manually review. Another runs Mencoder on the reviewed files. And a third runs both Comskip and Mencoder on files I want handled automatically. Mencoder is particularly fast for Mpeg-4 encoding. I've got it set up to cut out commercials, deinterlace, scale to 640x480, and encode at 1400 kbps, and it runs at over 60 fps on my rather meek Pentium M 2.0 GHz. With no post processing it runs at between 80 and 120 fps. This went through 40 1-hour episodes in about 8 hours. I doubt VRD would be nearly that fast on my machine.

It's not perfect though. Comskip really struggles with Walker Texas Ranger, so I had to manually review all 40 of those episodes. It started slow, taking about 5 minutes per episode, but once I learned all the keystrokes and little tricks to speed things up I was going through them in about 1 minute. In all it took about 2 hours to manually review 40 hours of material, but most of that was waiting for the Comskip output.

For everything else I transfer Comskip is great and I'm getting very close to having it fully automated. The only thing holding me up is bugs with the only programs I know of that can automatically convert .tivo files to .mpg files (AutoDVRconvert and DirectShow Dump). Neither of these programs are being updated on a regular basis and they both have show-stopping bugs that ruins my automation.

AutoDVRconvert can't handle filenames over 62 chars (just outputs a file called "mpg" if the name is too long). DirectShow Dump's "watch folder" mode fails 90% of the time, and its command line version I have never gotten to work. I've also tried tivodecode and that was a disaster. Filled my screen with random characters, bleeped my PC speaker louder than a fire alarm for 5 minutes straight and after all that didn't produce any output. I'm afraid to try it again 

Anyone have experience with any of these programs and gotten them to automate properly? Or is there a command line converter that actually works?

edit: To answer my own question, YES, there is a much better way than any of these... at least for me. It's called srcfilter and you can get it here and read the TiVo-relevant posts here . It's a command-line app that dumps the output of running a source file through a Directshow filter. Probably what DirectShow Dump was based on, without the buggy GUI. Read the 2nd link for how to set it up. I made a few changes to the batch file to make it so you need to only drag-n-drop a file onto it to convert from .tivo to .mpg, or can be easily called by an external prog like Dirmon2. I'll post it as soon as I'm done testing it if anyone is interested.


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## dlfl (Jul 6, 2006)

blah238 said:


> Yes I've seen TVAP and videoredo before but it's hard for me to justify the $50 entry fee only to find I might not like it or it might not even work at all.
> .............
> edit: To answer my own question, YES, there is a much better way than any of these... at least for me. It's called srcfilter and you can get it here and read the TiVo-relevant posts here . .............
> I'll post it as soon as I'm done testing it if anyone is interested.


VideoReDo can be free-trialed uncrippled for 15 days after a trial registration.

Your link to "TiVo-relevant posts" doesn't work -- the host portion of the URL shows as "***********".

I am interested in what you're doing (as long as it's legal that is).


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## jkalnin (Jan 8, 2003)

replace the ********** with the following
d-e-a-l-d-a-t-a-b-a-s-e

remove the dashes


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## blah238 (Jan 24, 2006)

jkalnin said:


> IN the URL replace *********** with
> deal data base
> (remove spaces)
> 
> I guess they don't like links to that site.


^ he explained the ****** issue before me 

I'm essentially just making a set of glorified batch files that can either take multiple files (via drag n drop) as input and process them one at a time, or use something like Dirmon2 to automate them. It utilizes srcfilter, comskip and mencoder.

Basically goes like this:
batch 1) input tivo file -> srcfilter -> output mpg -> move mpg to specified folder or auto-organize based on show title or channel

batch 2) run comskip and mencoder (for shows you don't want to manually review) -> place output in specified folder or auto-organize

batch 3) run comskip only (so you can review its cuts)

batch 4) run mencoder only, using reviewed cuts -> place output in specified folder or auto-organize

Only batch (1) is truly generic, meaning it would be easily adapted to anyone's setup/preferences/workflow. batch 2, 3 and 4 are pretty heavily customized to my particular setup so I won't be releasing those for the moment.

But here's the first version of what might perhaps become a free, no-frills, stripped-down alternative to VRD.

For now I'm just calling it simply "TiVo Desktop Automator":


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## blah238 (Jan 24, 2006)

*TiVo Desktop Automator v0.1*

This batch script helps automate the process of converting .TiVo files to mpgs and organizing them into your library. It is currently in a very early stage so be on the lookout for upcoming additions!


```
@echo off
:LOOP
setLocal ENABLEDELAYEDEXPANSION
IF [%1]==[] GOTO :EOF

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
::                   TiVo Desktop Automator                 ::
::                      v0.1 (pre-alpha)                    ::
::  Author: blah238                                         ::
::  blah238 (at) gmail (dot) com                            ::
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

::::::::::::::::::::::::: IMPORTANT ::::::::::::::::::::::::::
:: This has only been tested on Windows XP SP2. Other OS's  ::
:: may require adjustments. This batch file, srcfilter.exe, ::
:: TiVoDirectShowFilter.dll and the input .tivo file MUST   ::
:: all be in the same folder. 				    ::
::							    ::
:: Srcfilter.exe can be found at:			    ::
::       http://outflux.net/software/pkgs/srcfilter/        ::
::							    ::
:: If calling this batch file via the command line or	    ::
:: another program, you MUST fully qualify the input file's ::
:: path.			    			    ::
:: e.g. "C:\Videos\MyVideo.tivo" (Including double-quotes!) ::
:: 							    ::
:: These requirements allow you to simply drag and drop the ::
:: input file(s) onto the batch icon, or alternatively, use ::
:: Dirmon2 to automate the process.			    ::
:: Get Dirmon2 free here: 				    ::
::  http://www.dragonglobal.org/forums/showthread.php?t=312 ::
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

:: CONFIGURATION ::
Rem 	If you want the original file to be deleted upon successful conversion, change the below value from 0 to 1.

		set DelOrig=0

Rem 	If you'd like to have the file be output to another location, type the output path below, e.g. "c:\Videos\Output\" (Including double-quotes & trailing backslash!)
Rem 	Otherwise, leave blank.

		set OutDir=

:: AUTO-ORGANIZE ::
Rem	You can even have the output files be automatically placed in different folders based on the show title, channel, etc. Feel free to un-Rem any of these lines, experiment, and add your own favorite shows!
Rem	For info on extracting substrings from variables, read: http://www.ss64.com/ntsyntax/varsubstring.html
		
		set showname=%~n1

Rem	Big 12 Instant Replay
Rem		set B12=%showname:~0,21%
Rem		if /i "%B12%"=="Big 12 Instant Replay" (
Rem		set OutDir="C:\Video\Big 12 Instant Replay\"
Rem		echo Detected Big 12 Instant Replay -- auto-set output directory to:
Rem		echo !OutDir!
Rem		GOTO MAIN
Rem		)

Rem	Walker, Texas Ranger
Rem		set wtr=%showname:~0,20%
Rem		if /i "%wtr%"=="Walker, Texas Ranger" (
Rem		set OutDir="C:\Video\Walker Texas Ranger\"
Rem		echo Detected Walker, Texas Ranger -- auto-set output directory to:
Rem		echo !OutDir!
Rem		GOTO MAIN
Rem		)

Rem	The Sopranos
Rem		set spr=%showname:~0,12%
Rem		if /i "%spr%"=="The Sopranos" (
Rem		set OutDir="C:\Video\The Sopranos\" 
Rem		echo Detected The Sopranos -- auto-set output directory to:
Rem		echo !OutDir!
Rem		GOTO MAIN
Rem		)

Rem	The Discovery Channel
Rem		set disc=%showname:~-4,-1%
Rem		if /i "%disc%"=="DSC" (
Rem		set OutDir="C:\Video\Discovery Channel\" 
Rem		echo Detected The Discovery Channel -- auto-set output directory to:
Rem		echo !OutDir!
Rem		GOTO MAIN
Rem		)

:MAIN
Rem Begin Processing
setLocal DISABLEDELAYEDEXPANSION

cd /D %~dp1

set stime=%time%
set sdate=%date%

Rem This runs srcfilter in a new minimized window. Replace /MIN with /B to make it run in the original window.
START "Srcfilter - %~nx1" /BELOWNORMAL /WAIT /MIN "srcfilter.exe" -f TiVoDirectShowFilter.dll -c {A65FA79B-2D2C-42BD-BAB2-D474B8F01248} -x mpg "%~nx1"

IF NOT EXIST "%~dpn1.mpg" GOTO ERROR1

IF DEFINED OutDir (
	echo Moving converted file to output directory...
	move "%~dpn1.mpg" %OutDir%
	set OutDir=%OutDir:"=%
	IF NOT EXIST "%OutDir%%~n1.mpg" GOTO ERROR2
) ELSE set OutDir=%~dp1

set errorlevel=0

Rem Gather file sizes and show post-run stats:

for %%R in ("%~f1") DO set /a orsz=%%~zR/1024
for %%S in ("%OutDir%%~n1.mpg") DO set /a nwsz=%%~zS/1024
IF NOT %errorlevel%==0 GOTO ERROR3

setLocal ENABLEDELAYEDEXPANSION

echo.
echo =============================================================
echo Start:	%stime% %sdate%
echo End:	%time% %date%
echo Input:	!orsz! kilobytes
echo Output:	!nwsz! kilobytes
echo =============================================================
echo.

IF NOT %DelOrig%==1 GOTO LOADNEXT ELSE GOTO CLEANUP

:CLEANUP
Rem Compare file size. Output file should be at least 90% the size of the input file.
set /a chsz=(9 * (!orsz! * 10)) / 100
IF !nwsz! GEQ !chsz! (
	echo Deleting original file...
	del %1
	GOTO LOADNEXT
) ELSE GOTO WARNING

:LOADNEXT
SHIFT
GOTO LOOP

:ERROR1
echo ERROR: No file was generated, exiting.
GOTO :EOF

:ERROR2
echo ERROR: Unable to move file, make sure your OutDir path is fully qualified including drive, trailing backslash and surrounding double-quotes.
GOTO :EOF

:ERROR3
echo ERROR: Unable to calculate file size, make sure your OutDir path is fully qualified including drive, trailing backslash and surrounding double-quotes.
GOTO :EOF

:WARNING
echo WARNING: Output file size smaller than expected, original file will be kept.
GOTO LOADNEXT

:EOF
```
In lieu of a full readme, here's what you need to know to get it going:

1.) Copy and paste the above code into Notepad
Do File->Save As:
Navigate to your TiVo Recordings folder, or wherever you keep your .tivo files.
Name it whatever you want just change the extension to .bat and enclose it in quotes so it doesn't get renamed to a txt file.

2.) Download Srcfilter from: http://outflux.net/software/pkgs/srcfilter/
You'll probably need WinRAR or similar to open it.
Extract Srcfilter.exe to your TiVo folder (same as the .bat file and all your .TiVo files)

3.) Navigate to C:\Program Files\Common Files\TiVo Shared\DirectShow
Copy TiVoDirectShowFilter.dll to the same folder as Srcfilter and your .bat file.

4.) Open the .bat file and configure it to your liking.

5.) Drag-and-drop one or many .TiVo files onto the .bat file to have them processed, OR automate it with Dirmon2.

Note that this is only the first and most basic part of the workflow that I am currently using. All it will do is convert .TiVo files to MPGs and put them where you specify.

Also note that on my machine at least, Dirmon2's service component has to be run under a user's login with password (as opposed to the default Local System service), otherwise it won't have the necessary permissions to run the TiVoDirectShowFilter through Srcfilter. This has the side effect of hiding any program windows Dirmon runs. Good for not interuppting your desktop, but bad for debugging 

To do:
- (Soon) Release complete processing workflow and instructions on automating with Dirmon2.
- (Soon) Update/improve scripts with better error catching, logging, more configurability
- (Distant future) Debug and recompile Srcfilter so that it doesn't have to reside in the same folder as the input files or the DirectShow filter.
- (Distant future) Write a GUI front end and more robust backend program for better integration and compatability


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## callinmackenzie (May 22, 2008)

http://code.google.com/p/etv-comskip/

this is a plugin for eyetv 3.
horray mac users!


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## BiloxiGeek (Nov 18, 2001)

I've edited TiVo files with Roxio's software, and personally I think a nice white hot steel rod embedded in my cranium would feel better.

VideoReDo is the way to go.


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## Puppy76 (Oct 7, 2004)

BiloxiGeek said:


> I've edited TiVo files with Roxio's software, and personally I think a nice white hot steel rod embedded in my cranium would feel better.
> 
> VideoReDo is the way to go.


Did you use Toast on the Mac, or whatever the Windows equivalent is? (Easy Media Creator or something like that?)

What was wrong with it out of curiosity? I was really hoping those programs would work well and get the job done...


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## BiloxiGeek (Nov 18, 2001)

Puppy76 said:


> Did you use Toast on the Mac, or whatever the Windows equivalent is? (Easy Media Creator or something like that?)
> 
> What was wrong with it out of curiosity? I was really hoping those programs would work well and get the job done...


Roxio on WinXP was slow as molasses in January in Nome Alaska. When you wanted to take a TiVo file and edit out the commercials prior to burning a DVD here's the process as I remember it anyway:

* Start new DVD project

* Import the Tivo file
* Cut of the portion at the beginning that you don't want
* Find the start of the first commercial break and cut off that all the way to the end of the .tivo file

* Import the Tivo file again
* Cut the portion from the beginning to the end of the first commercial break
* Find the start of the second commercial break and cut off that all the way to the end of the .tivo file

* Import the Tivo file again
* Cut the portion from the beginning to the end of the second commercial break
* Find the start of the third commercial break and cut off that all the way to the end of the .tivo file

* Import the Tivo file again
* Cut the portion from the beginning to the end of the third commercial break
* Find the start of the fourth commercial break and cut off that all the way to the end of the .tivo file

* Import the Tivo file again
* Cut the portion from the beginning to the end of the fourth commercial break
* Find the end of the show and cut off from there to the end of the .tivo file

(Repeat the chorus for each commercial break. I pity anyone trying to do this with a 6 hour regular broadcast network miniseries.)

Then you have to save the project and wait for Roxio to transcode the whole thing which takes longer than actually watching the show unless you got some fairly stout hardware in your computer.

Then you might actually get to the burning a DVD.

Contrast that with VideoReDo:

* Open the .tivo file in VideoReDo
* Click the Ad-Detective button, an hour show takes about 15 minutes for this to finish
* Verify the commercial breaks were properly detected. Changing the cut points in VRD are VASTLY easier.
* Save As... (This also runs much quicker if you're outputting mpeg files)

From there do whatever you want with it, VRD will let you burn to a DVD, with a pretty damned accurate looking TiVo theme for the menu. (That just plain rocks!)

Personally, I take about a minute or less to generate a text file using MetaGenerator to accompany the mpeg. Then copy it to my media server (Fedora 9 x86_64 running pyTivo). Now that show is available to my TiVo with all the metadata intact and all the commercials killed with extreme prejudice.

The Ad-Detective isn't 100% accurate, but it's damned close depending on the show. I've found that it finds commercials in South Park episodes nearly perfectly. Regular live action TV it will miss a commercial, or throw a false positive occasionally. But when you verify it's really easy to find those and correct them.


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## Jamisohn (Apr 4, 2008)

BiloxiGeek said:


> I've edited TiVo files with Roxio's software, and personally I think a nice white hot steel rod embedded in my cranium would feel better.
> 
> VideoReDo is the way to go.


I SO have to agree with you one this! I just purchased VideoReDo, and it is well worth the money. I hated the Roxio. I thought I was just stupid and couldn't figure it out.


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## msmart (Jan 3, 2007)

Jamisohn said:


> I SO have to agree with you one this! I just purchased VideoReDo, and it is well worth the money. I hated the Roxio. I thought I was just stupid and couldn't figure it out.


Now that you have VideoReDo, search this forum for "TVAP" (TiVo Auto Processor), it will help automate your editing workflow.


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## stoneharry (May 7, 2008)

It is hard to imagine a product better than VideoRedo


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## Jamisohn (Apr 4, 2008)

msmart said:


> Now that you have VideoReDo, search this forum for "TVAP" (TiVo Auto Processor), it will help automate your editing workflow.


Thanks for the tip. I will definitely check that out!


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## greg_burns (May 22, 2004)

BiloxiGeek said:


> ...burn to a DVD, with a pretty damned accurate looking TiVo theme for the menu. (That just plain rocks!)


Which theme is that?

All I have are the BlueBackground titled ones. Can you download different ones?


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## BiloxiGeek (Nov 18, 2001)

greg_burns said:


> Which theme is that?
> 
> All I have are the BlueBackground titled ones. Can you download different ones?


When you get to the Create DVD window look at Menu Options. There's a Template pull down, one of them is a Tivo Style template. I didn't do anything special to get it so it must be part of VRD.

Since you're burning DVD's already I'm guessing you have the VideoReDo TV Suite. For others out there that's where you get the DVD burning functions and the cool TiVo template. VideoReDo Plus doesn't seem to have any of that.


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## steve614 (May 1, 2006)

greg_burns said:


> Which theme is that?
> 
> All I have are the BlueBackground titled ones. Can you download different ones?


Maybe he's talking about a template that Dan203 posted on this forum back when VRDTVS first came out.
It's a menu that resembles a Tivo's NPL.


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## steve614 (May 1, 2006)

BiloxiGeek said:


> When you get to the Create DVD window look at Menu Options. There's a Template pull down, one of them is a Tivo Style template. I didn't do anything special to get it so it must be part of VRD.


Maybe it's included now. It wasn't there when TV Suite first came out.


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## greg_burns (May 22, 2004)

steve614 said:


> Maybe it's included now. It wasn't there when TV Suite first came out.


Hmmm. I have the latest build, but no Tivo template. I do recall Dan talking about it before.

Care to post it? I don't have it on my system.

C:\Program Files\VideoReDoTVSuite\DVDTemplates


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## BiloxiGeek (Nov 18, 2001)

Check in Documents and Settings\<username>\My Documents\VideoReDo\DVDTemplates\ for "NTSC 4x3 TiVoStyle 1x4.DT.xml"

Maybe I did download it since it's not in the template folder under Program Files but I sure don't remember having to do that. Couldn't attach a zipped copy of the xml file, exceeds the attachment size limit.

Post with link to template

Actual zip file with the template


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## greg_burns (May 22, 2004)

Thanks!


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## Puppy76 (Oct 7, 2004)

BiloxiGeek said:


> Roxio on WinXP was slow as molasses in January in Nome Alaska. When you wanted to take a TiVo file and edit out the commercials prior to burning a DVD here's the process as I remember it anyway:
> 
> * Start new DVD project
> 
> ...


Sounds like less of a pain. All I want is to be able to take the MPEG2 files I get from my Tivo, chop out some commercials or extra stuff on there (so there's less space on the DVD taken up), put a few shows together on one disc (to use up the full disk), and burn the disc with a simple menu of some sort...sounds like this would do that for me!

Anyone know where you buy it from, or if they accept like Google Checkout or Amazon Payments or something (I'm not crazy about giving out credit card numbers to new companies if I don't have to).


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## msmart (Jan 3, 2007)

HERE, they accept PayPal.


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## Puppy76 (Oct 7, 2004)

Darn, I wish they accepted Amazon or Google or something


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## msmart (Jan 3, 2007)

> or something





> or something


Paypal is not "or something"?


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## Puppy76 (Oct 7, 2004)

msmart said:


> Paypal is not "or something"?


Err...I suppose it is. Okay then, I wish it accepted Amazon or Google, just something reputable. Paypal's not something I want to mess with, nor is dealing with a small company. I've lucked out so far, but...


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## greg_burns (May 22, 2004)

Why do you think Paypal is not reputable?

How many transcactions happen per day on eBay using Paypal I wonder?


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## Puppy76 (Oct 7, 2004)

We've all heard the constant complaints about it, and how they side with sellers over buyers, regardless of how absurd the situation is. I'd rather take my chances with my credit card company, who at least will have my back. That's why I'd much rather they process with Google or Amazon. I don't know how their cut compares to Pay Pals, but that's no big deal, they can just charge the few extra dollars or whatever if you want to go through one of them.


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## mattack (Apr 9, 2001)

So there are NO programs that will allow you to *edit* the recordings on a Mac, right?

mplayer will play them.. but nothing will let me edit them (without converting them).

I'd probably pay $50 for VideoReDo, if it worked on a Mac. (I'd pay $20 for a program JUST for editing Tivo recordings in a minute, if the UI was even halfways decent.)


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## xboard07 (Dec 16, 2007)

I am having a problem with Video ReDo. As I am cutting out commercials I keep getting an error "TN Video Thread: Video Dimensions Changed".

Anyone know why this is happening an dhow to get rid of it?

Also, after I am done cutting commercials, can I save the file to an Xvid?


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## msmart (Jan 3, 2007)

xboard07, see if this *TN Video Thread: Video Dimensions Changed* or this *Video Dimensions Changed* thread helps.

No, VRD does not output Xvid files.


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## xboard07 (Dec 16, 2007)

Thanks, the quick stream fix worked


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## lrhorer (Aug 31, 2003)

Dan203 said:


> But you can load a video, scan for the commercials, verify the cuts and output an edited video in 3-5 minutes so it wouldn't take too long.


Uh, not if it's HD, at least not on my PC. A 2 hour, 18Mbps 1080i movie took a lot longer than 5 minutes when I tried it.


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## lrhorer (Aug 31, 2003)

stoneharry said:


> It is hard to imagine a product better than VideoRedo


I don't know, I've got a pretty vivid imagination. For starters, a Linux version would be really great, and a scripting language would be terrific.


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## BiloxiGeek (Nov 18, 2001)

lrhorer said:


> I don't know, I've got a pretty vivid imagination. For starters, a Linux version would be really great, and a scripting language would be terrific.


Yeah, a Linux version would freakin rock! Come VRD authors, port that program!!


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## Dan203 (Apr 17, 2000)

lrhorer said:


> Uh, not if it's HD, at least not on my PC. A 2 hour, 18Mbps 1080i movie took a lot longer than 5 minutes when I tried it.


HD has to be transcoded to SD for DVDs, so that's why it took so long. If the video is already SD then it can be copied to the DVD as-is so the process if very quick.

FYI: We are currently working on adding our own credit card processing system, so soon you'll be able to buy without having to use PayPal or any other 3rd party.

Dan


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## Puppy76 (Oct 7, 2004)

Add Amazon or Google if ya can! Feel free to charge whatever the difference is so you end up making the same amount...or maybe I'm the only one who prefers buying stuff that way for safety's sake. (Though I'm sure you guys are fine since you're even a MOD here for crying out loud  )


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## lrhorer (Aug 31, 2003)

Dan203 said:


> HD has to be transcoded to SD for DVDs, so that's why it took so long.


I didn't say anything about transcoding, and we weren't talking about copying, we were talking about scanning for commercials and saving an edited video. I'm not copying to DVD, so I don't transcode in any case. I tried out the commercial scan, and quite in contrast to the OPs message, it took much more than 3 - 5 minutes to complete. No offense, but I also was unhappy with the results. I find it much easier and more accurate to do the commercial cuts manually.



Dan203 said:


> FYI: We are currently working on adding our own credit card processing system, so soon you'll be able to buy without having to use PayPal or any other 3rd party.


I'm already a registered user.


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## jim111 (May 17, 2007)

I've been looking for something to do the following things. Does VideoReDo do them?

1. I want to be able to take a TV show that's been transferred to my PC from my TiVo Series 2 DVR, and cut, say, a 10 minute segment from the 30 minute show. Then, I want to be able to save just that 10 minute segment/clip back to my PC as a .tivo file so I can transfer it back to my TiVo Series 2 DVR and watch just the 10 minute segment/clip on my TV/DVR.

2. I want to take a few of the segments in (1) above and combine them with 3-4 other 10 minute segments into one 30-40 minute segment, save as .tivo files, and do the same thing.

3. I want to be able to name those segments with descriptive names that will show both on TiVo desktop on my PC as well as on my TiVo DVRs after I transfer them to those DVRs.

4. I want to take the files in (1) and (2) above, and burn them to CD's or DVD's in a format that will me to watch on DVD players at friends houses, etc. Again, I want them named in a way that makes sense to me, perhaps with DVD chapters that I create and name myself based on the original source program.

5. I want to do the above quickly, easily, and without a lot of hassle or extra features and options that will confuse my tired brain.

Let me know if you know whether it does all this. If it does, it's worth much more than $50 for me. This would really be revolutionary. 

Thanks for any insights. 

Jim


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## steve614 (May 1, 2006)

jim111 said:


> I've been looking for something to do the following things. Does VideoReDo do them?
> 
> 1. I want to be able to take a TV show that's been transferred to my PC from my TiVo Series 2 DVR, and cut, say, a 10 minute segment from the 30 minute show. Then, I want to be able to save just that 10 minute segment/clip back to my PC as a .tivo file so I can transfer it back to my TiVo Series 2 DVR and watch just the 10 minute segment/clip on my TV/DVR.


Yes.


> 2. I want to take a few of the segments in (1) above and combine them with 3-4 other 10 minute segments into one 30-40 minute segment, save as .tivo files, and do the same thing.


Yes. With exception. If you save as a .Tivo file, the program name will be whichever program you first edited. Work arounds are possible.


> 3. I want to be able to name those segments with descriptive names that will show both on TiVo desktop on my PC as well as on my TiVo DVRs after I transfer them to those DVRs.


Yes, but with exception. In order to rename and have that show up on the Tivo, you have to 'save as' to a format other than .Tivo (.mpg for instance) so that the Tivo metadata will be dumped.
I believe there are other ways to edit Tivo metadata, but that's too involved for my tastes.



> 4. I want to take the files in (1) and (2) above, and burn them to CD's or DVD's in a format that will me to watch on DVD players at friends houses, etc. Again, I want them named in a way that makes sense to me, perhaps with DVD chapters that I create and name myself based on the original source program.


I'm fairly certain this is possible. VideoReDo TVSuite only does title menus, though.
I use Nero Vision Express 3 when I need chapter menus.



> 5. I want to do the above quickly, easily, and without a lot of hassle or extra features and options that will confuse my tired brain.


IMO, VideoReDo will pay for itself in NO time if you plan on doing alot of archiving.



> Let me know if you know whether it does all this. If it does, it's worth much more than $50 for me. This would really be revolutionary.
> 
> Thanks for any insights.
> 
> Jim


My only other "insight" is: unless you have decent DVD authoring software, you should splurge the extra $25 and get VideoReDo TV Suite.
Here is a comparison chart for VRD Plus and VRD TVSuite.


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