# Tivo-to-Go on Windows 8



## omelet1978 (Mar 7, 2006)

I did a serach and didn't really see anything on this. I'm thinking about upgrading to Windows 8 and was just wondering if anyone had actually installed Tivo-to-Go on it?

I know it's not officially supported yet, just wondering if it worked anyway.

Thanks


----------



## windracer (Jan 3, 2003)

It's only been two days since I put Windows 8 on my daughter's laptop, but I haven't had any issues with TD 2.8.3 as of yet.


----------



## lrhorer (Aug 31, 2003)

TTG does not get installed on a PC. TTG is a secure html server installed on the TiVo. To make use of TTG on a PC, one simply runs a secure html app, such as a web browser. Most people, however, prefer TTG specific applications such as kmttg or Galleon, or even pyTivo. Some people even use TiVoDeskTop, although I have never figured out why.


----------



## justen_m (Jan 15, 2004)

lrhorer said:


> TTG does not get installed on a PC. TTG is a secure html server installed on the TiVo. To make use of TTG on a PC, one simply runs a secure html app, such as a web browser. Most people, however, prefer TTG specific applications such as kmttg or Galleon, or even pyTivo. Some people even use TiVoDeskTop, although I have never figured out why.


So when I get .tivo files on my desktop, what single app allows me to play them without TiVoDeskTop? In Linux I use tivo_decode to convert .tivo to .mpg, but I'd like to be able to play .tivo files without having to convert them. I can play .tivo files on my pc with Windows Media Player, but how does that work? Somehow it must be using my MAK and decoding them on the fly. VLC won't correctly play .tivo files. If I uninstall TDT, will WMP still play .tivo files? It doesn't seem to know anything about my MAK. I'm unclear how this works on windows. Is WMP accessing some library installked with TDT?

Linux, I understand. Windows is obsure.


----------



## lrhorer (Aug 31, 2003)

justen_m said:


> So when I get .tivo files on my desktop, what single app allows me to play them without TiVoDeskTop? In Linux I use tivo_decode to convert .tivo to .mpg, but I'd like to be able to play .tivo files without having to convert them.


If you have the video codec from TDT installed, then players like WMP can play .TiVo files. This can be done by installing TDT and then partially uninstalling it. Alternately, you can employ a TTG app like kmttg, pyTivo, and I think perhaps Galleon to run a decoder like tivodecode on the fly while saving to disk. All three run fine under Linux, and passing the video through tivodecode while saving won't slow down the transfer.



justen_m said:


> I can play .tivo files on my pc with Windows Media Player, but how does that work? Somehow it must be using my MAK and decoding them on the fly.


Well, sort of. WMC (or VLC, or whatever) always decodes the video. Otherwise it could not be viewed. When installed, TDT makes its codec available to other applications.



justen_m said:


> VLC won't correctly play .tivo files.


Hmm. I thought it would. Perhaps not. It is certainly possible for it to be written to do so, although they may not have licensed the TiVo decoder from TiVo, Inc.



justen_m said:


> If I uninstall TDT, will WMP still play .tivo files?


Not if you uninstall TDT entirely, no. One can partially uninstall it, leaving the codec and its configuration behind.



justen_m said:


> It doesn't seem to know anything about my MAK.


No, that is below the level of the application. The decoder uses the MAK internally to unencrypt and then decode the file.



justen_m said:


> I'm unclear how this works on windows. Is WMP accessing some library installked with TDT?


Yes, specifically the codec.



justen_m said:


> Linux, I understand. Windows is obsure.


I think you mean "obscure". Yeah, you bet.


----------



## windracer (Jan 3, 2003)

Drifting a bit off-topic, aren't we? The OP was only asking about using TiVo Desktop on Windows 8 specifically.


----------



## justen_m (Jan 15, 2004)

lrhorer said:


> Hmm. I thought it would. Perhaps not. It is certainly possible for it to be written to do so, although they may not have licensed the TiVo decoder from TiVo, Inc.


Thanks for all the info! Everything you said makes sense. Perhaps VLC doesn't work because I'm using an ancient version... 2.0.2... that doesn't know how to access the tivo codecs?

[edit] I just downloaded the latest 2.0.4 and it doesn't work either, on the same machine where I have TDT and WMP installed and .tivo files play fine. Based on the playback, it looks like a decryption issue.

[edit] audio plays fine, but video is a total jumble using vlc


----------



## ggieseke (May 30, 2008)

VLC doesn't use DirectShow codecs - it does everything internally. AFAIK it has never had the ability to decrypt .TiVo files.

When you install Desktop it installs the TiVo DirectShow Source Filter, which decrypts the file and passes it on to the demuxer & codecs so that programs like WMP or VideoReDo can play the file.


----------



## Dan203 (Apr 17, 2000)

We've had a few reports from people who upgraded to Win8 who had problems with TiVo files after the upgrade. They had to uninstall and reinstall TiVo Desktop to get them working again. I'm guessing that TiVo uses something specific to the OS in the way they encrypt the data in the registry and doing an upgrade somehow breaks that.

If you do a clean install it should work fine.

Dan


----------



## ggieseke (May 30, 2008)

Desktop uses Microsoft's standard cryptology API (CryptProtectData) to store the MAK in the registry. Reading it uses CryptUnprotectData, and can only be done by that unique user on that unique PC.

I'd guess that upgrading blows up one or both of those unique IDs.


----------



## fairsider (Dec 20, 2008)

I upgraded from Win 7 Ultimate to Win 8 Pro (Media Centre), and find that Tivo desktop 2.8.3 is longer to start, the Tivo Server won't load automatically at login (despite being enabled in Services), and that although I can select and transfer shows from the Tivo box, the application hangs and has to be shut down via Task Manager.

I checked with Tivo, and they are coming out with an update for Windows 8, but no estimate as to how long that will take...


----------



## unitron (Apr 28, 2006)

fairsider said:


> I upgraded from Win 7 Ultimate to Win 8 Pro (Media Centre), and find that Tivo desktop 2.8.3 is longer to start, the Tivo Server won't load automatically at login (despite being enabled in Services), and that although I can select and transfer shows from the Tivo box, the application hangs and has to be shut down via Task Manager.
> 
> I checked with Tivo, and they are coming out with an update for Windows 8, but no estimate as to how long that will take...


Have you tried uninstalling and re-installing TiVo Desktop?


----------



## murgatroyd (Jan 6, 2002)

lrhorer said:


> Some people even use TiVoDeskTop, although I have never figured out why.


Because I haven't gotten around to installing anything else yet. Do you really want me pestering you with questions? If so, just wait a bit and I can make that happen. 

(Sorry for the hijack -- carry on.)


----------



## unitron (Apr 28, 2006)

murgatroyd said:


> Because I haven't gotten around to installing anything else yet. Do you really want me pestering you with questions? If so, just wait a bit and I can make that happen.
> 
> (Sorry for the hijack -- carry on.)


----------



## fairsider (Dec 20, 2008)

unitron said:


> Have you tried uninstalling and re-installing TiVo Desktop?


Yup. I tried that - and used the install cleaner from Tivo as well. Same result with the fresh install. Tivo themselves are saying that there are incompatibilities, so I'm not losing much sleep over it. At least in the mean time I can still copy over shows to the computer - even though I have to shut down TD via Task Manager afterwards...


----------



## lrhorer (Aug 31, 2003)

murgatroyd said:


> Because I haven't gotten around to installing anything else yet.


My recommendation is to do so.



murgatroyd said:


> Do you really want me pestering you with questions? If so, just wait a bit and I can make that happen.


Surely. That is the main reason for the existence of this website, and by a wide margin main the reason I visit it.


----------



## fairsider (Dec 20, 2008)

fairsider said:


> Yup. I tried that - and used the install cleaner from Tivo as well. Same result with the fresh install. Tivo themselves are saying that there are incompatibilities, so I'm not losing much sleep over it. At least in the mean time I can still copy over shows to the computer - even though I have to shut down TD via Task Manager afterwards...


An update on this for the sake of others on this forum. I've discovered that the problem is actually being caused by a Samsumg software utility (SWAgent) that nukes the Tivo Server service from the startup list. It is overly aggressive in preventing programs from loading automatically - even legitimate ones, and I hadn't notice that it had done so. I repaired the Tivo application and have prevented the utility from monkeying around with the startup files, and now all seems fine. No other incompatibilities noticed. Hope this is helpful to others...


----------



## unitron (Apr 28, 2006)

fairsider said:


> An update on this for the sake of others on this forum. I've discovered that the problem is actually being caused by a Samsumg software utility (SWAgent) that nukes the Tivo Server service from the startup list. It is overly aggressive in preventing programs from loading automatically - even legitimate ones, and I hadn't notice that it had done so. I repaired the Tivo application and have prevented the utility from monkeying around with the startup files, and now all seems fine. No other incompatibilities noticed. Hope this is helpful to others...


is it there because it's a Samsung computer, or for some other reason?

What is it actually supposed to do for you?


----------



## larrs (May 2, 2005)

When I ran the upgrade advisor one of this issues found was that it said Win8 was not compatible with Bonjour, which TDT uses. Anyone confirm this?


----------



## Dan203 (Apr 17, 2000)

If that's the case there is a way to switch TiVo Desktop back to using the old TiVo Beacon protocol instead.

Dan


----------



## fairsider (Dec 20, 2008)

unitron said:


> is it there because it's a Samsung computer, or for some other reason?
> 
> What is it actually supposed to do for you?


It's because it's a Samsung computer. The same software package that checks for bios, driver, and system software updates also kindly offers to nuke startup programs in an effort to speed up boot times. I should probably have uninstalled it, but I am too lazy to keep checking Samsumg's web site for updates.

In any event, once circumvented, there appear to be no issues with Windows 8 and the current version of Tivo Desktop.


----------



## qtheking (Aug 27, 2007)

I just tested it out too and have no issues at all


----------

