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Automated TiVo to iPod formating

Posted by CmdrTaco on Sun Oct 30, 2005 10:50 AM
from the stumbling-towards-awesome dept.
Television Media Media (Apple)
Berkana writes "PVR Wire reports that 'TVHarmony.com has released a new version of its AutoPilot software that supports converting TiVo-recorded shows into a format that's compatible with the new video iPod. It also works with Palm devices that can view video. "The software automatically transfers, converts and stores your TV programming. You can select shows to be downloaded automatically, in the middle of the night if you like, and process the transfers into popular formats. AutoPilot keeps track of the shows you've already downloaded so you can transfer an entire TV series without duplicates.' . . . in other words, one of the biggest gripes concerning the new iPod has been addressed."
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Automated TiVo to iPod formating 50 Comments More /

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  • I didn't see anything in there about trimming out the commercials... and the video iPod doesn't have a skip 30 seconds ahead button.

  • now I'll have to (Score:3, Funny)

    by platypussrex (594064) on Sunday October 30 2005, @10:56AM (#13909018)
    go buy a TiVo and a video iPod... oh wait, I don't have cable or satellite either. This is going to be really expensive!

  • DRM? (Score:4, Interesting)

    by neuro.slug (628600) <.neuro__. .at. .hotmail.com.> on Sunday October 30 2005, @10:56AM (#13909020)
    Wait, hold on a second. I'm assuming that video iPods use some derivative of Quicktime, and Quicktime AFAIK has no DRM. Even if it did--or does--can this software translate over the embedded DRM? I think I hear lawyers madly typing up lawsuits.
    • It stands to reason that quicktime can have some form of DRM, becuase otherwise ABC and other large media conglomerates would be up in arms in regards to iTunes Video Store, where one can "buy" episodes of various TV shows.

    • Re:DRM? (Score:5, Informative)

      by enrico_suave (179651) on Sunday October 30 2005, @11:15AM (#13909095) Homepage
      unless i'm mistaken... there's kinda a neat common sense approach to "DRM" at work here. They take out the annoying/retarded .tivo DRM and make a standard mpeg2 (or whatever utility you use, i.e. psp/ipod/etc) BUT they embed your tivo MAK # as a small watermark. So you'll be less likely to spread your drm-less file all over the interweb, so to speak as it has some identifiable info on it (at least somwhere in a tivo database somewhere)

      I may be mistaken though, that's how it works with tivo2mpeg, i don't have a video ipod or played with the utily for the sake of spitting out quicktime ;)

    • Re:DRM? (Score:3, Informative)

      by eobanb (823187)
      I'm assuming that video iPods use some derivative of Quicktime, and Quicktime AFAIK has no DRM

      You assume too much [wikipedia.org]

    • Re:DRM? (Score:5, Informative)

      by circusboy (580130) on Sunday October 30 2005, @12:54PM (#13909502)
      quicktime has the capability but not the necessity of DRM. I have happily encoded quite a lot of video, (from dvd's that I own) into quicktime movies that I can play without killing the battery fast.

      I can play them anywhere. No 'translation' necessary. the only time DRM enters into the discussion at all is when you purchase something in the form of a file, and the vendor wishes to prevent you from making copies of that digital file.

      It is not, and never has been, necessary to encode files for the iPod using any sort of DRM.

      Are we all clear on this?

    • Re:DRM? (Score:3, Insightful)

      by Guspaz (556486)
      Since Apple offers television shows, music videos, and other copyrighted content, I assume they must have support for some DRM.

      I don't think this program is likely to be targetted. By transferring direct from Tivo to iPod the content industry can't claim that this is helping piracy, because the content can't be distributed. Yes, I'm sure there is a way to capture it in transit, but lots of other programs can do that much easier. This is not aiding in DISTRIBUTING the content, so I see no problems.

  • it will also convert to PSP (Score:5, Informative)

    by enrico_suave (179651) on Sunday October 30 2005, @10:58AM (#13909030) Homepage
    I know the video ipod is the new hotness, but it should be noted that this will easily / automagically pull content from your tivo2go network connected TiVo and spit out PSP format video for you in batch jobs...

    E.

  • Good consumer! (Score:4, Funny)

    by NineNine (235196) on Sunday October 30 2005, @10:59AM (#13909032) Homepage
    A Tivo AND an IPod? Anyobdy who both isn't keeping up with the Joneses, they ARE the Joneses! Does owning both of those also require that one also own a Volkswagen?

  • I'm still not satisfied... (Score:3, Funny)

    by bennomatic (691188) on Sunday October 30 2005, @10:59AM (#13909033) Homepage
    Until the damn thing cooks, cleans, and can do basic maintenance on my car, I think the iPod is missing essential features! All I want is for it to do those simple things. COME ON, APPLE!!! GET A CLUE!

  • Sounds cool, but I use.. (Score:5, Informative)

    by Winckle (870180) <mwinckle&gmail,com> on Sunday October 30 2005, @11:00AM (#13909034) Homepage
    Videora ipod converter [videora.com]

    Easy to use and very useful, free as in beer, check it out.

  • Windows only (Score:5, Informative)

    by mccalli (323026) on Sunday October 30 2005, @11:02AM (#13909049) Homepage
    Blatent plug for me: v3 of my Tivo Podcast [versiontracker.com] software is planned to do this too. Tivo Podcast software is Perl/Java and uses two support binaries available on both Linux, OS X and Windows, so this will run on any platform. At the moment it just handles audio, as it was written before the video iPods came out. I've got a v2.1 release planned, which will be an efficiency release and still audio, then 3.0 is going to go for for video.

    Cheers,
    Ian

    • Both Linux, OS X, and Windows? I'm so confused!!!

      Keep up the good work, though. I may just get a TiVo someday with gadgets like thsi coming into being. :)
    • This still requires a series 1 Tivo with modified software on it. When you get it working with TiVo2Go files, then you'll have something worth plugging.
      • When you get it working with TiVo2Go files, then you'll have something worth plugging.

        Not its purpose - I actually did this so that I could listen to BBC radio programmes on my iPod whilst commuting into work. To do offline conversion, look into ffmpegx and mencoder. You'll still need the descrambling hack for certain models installed as far as I'm aware though.

        Cheers,
        Ian

  • Anyone know of any good software to convert .tivo files on the Mac nativley? I currently use VirtualPC to start an XP VM on my G5 then strip off the DirectShow stuff with a filter. It's a real pain...
    • It appears the upcoming version of the software described in the post directly above yours [slashdot.org] should be exactly what you need.
    • If you're using a TIVO series 2 box, then this is what you want to try: TIVO Desktop [versiontracker.com]. The Mac support has ended, but the software is supposed to work very well under the latest incarnation of Tiger.
    • You're looking for TivoTool [tivotool.com], an excellent OS X conversion utility. Will handle conversion to MPEG-2 in various varieties (.mpeg, .vob etc.), XViD MP4 and will also integrate well with iTunes.

      For offline conversion (ie. you already have the .ty or .tivo), it includes a pre-compiled vsplit binary which will do the conversion on the command line. ffmpegx will also convert a .ty to a DiVX AVI.

      Cheers,
      Ian

    • From what I can tell, both of the above-linked apps rely on your TiVo already being hacked, with software installed on it.

      It's annoying, that nobody's bothered to crack the format, probably because it's too easy to workaround on Windows. It's gotta be some tweak to MPEG2 that relies on the MAK.

      Hopefully when Mac moves to Intel someone will come up with something that can do the same DirectShow filtering without actually having to use Windows.

  • Formatting. Formatting. FORMATTING!

    Formating? As in mating 'fore the sunrise?

  • Ugly video conversion (Score:3, Informative)

    by toupsie (88295) on Sunday October 30 2005, @11:08AM (#13909070) Homepage
    From the website:

    Caveats

    To prevent copyright validations and to be consistent with Tivo's usage policy, these applications imprint your Tivo Media Access Key as a a watermark on your video which can be tracked back to your account in case of illegal duplication. To validate your media access key, the software must communicate with your Tivo prior to conversion.

    So the tiny little screen on your iPod will be filled up with a legible Media Access Key because the author's don't trust end users. No thanks...

    • well replayTV has always been easier / more straightforward for doing this sort of thing... which is kinda how it got sue to brink of non-existance/relevence.

      I kinda wish I bought a replaytv instead of a tivo back in the day =(

      e.
  • Is there any way to do this on OS X? I have no PCs in the house, and I'm not about to buy a Windows box just to be able to convert video from my TiVo...

    • Re:What about OS X? (Score:5, Informative)

      by HebrewToYou (644998) <samuelNO@SPAMbraff.us> on Sunday October 30 2005, @11:35AM (#13909182)
      You don't need a Tivo.

      Go talk to your cable company and get them to provide you with an HD box, specifically the Motorola DCT6200. It has a FireWire port on the back of the box. It can be connected to your Mac and with one simple application (iRecord) you're able to record television to your hard drive with less compression (AFAICT) than a TiVo.

      My favorite part: there is no DRM. You can use another application (VLC) to open the files and save them in whatever format you like, including the new iPod format. It's one of the most slick integrations of technology that Apple has yet to publicize. All you need is a firewire-enabled cable box, a recently-made Mac, a FireWire cable and you're good to go.
      • "Go talk to your cable company and get them to provide you with an HD box, specifically the Motorola DCT6200. It has a FireWire port on the back of the box. It can be connected to your Mac and with one simple application (iRecord) you're able to record television to your hard drive with less compression (AFAICT) than a TiVo.

        My favorite part: there is no DRM.        "

        This is true to a point... BUT no DRM, you must not have come up against any 5c flagged material on your cable box. Try firewiring some Pay Per View o
      • I have, as Clark Howard [clarkhoward.com] calls it, the poverty package. I am not interested in spending more than 4x the money just so I can get a DVR from my cable company... I already have a TiVo, so I'd rather just be able to get at the video stored on that unit.
      • Go talk to your cable company and get them to provide you with an HD box, specifically the Motorola DCT6200.

        What if your cable company doesn't use Motorola boxes? What if they like Scientific Atlanta? Are suitable boxes available under that brand?
  • From the site:

    "The current version of TVHarmony AutoPilot is 1.0 Beta 1, v05 and will expire on 12/31/05."

    Stunts like this are why I like open source.

    Their ploy means that without giving users any ability to rely on the functionality in the future, they effectively dissuade any competitor from offering a similar product.

    This wouldn't be so annoying if it weren't for the fact that this is exactly the kind of software that could be banned by some future BigCo lawsuit. If the company gets sued out of business,

    • Re:Halo effect (Score:2, Insightful)

      by Anonymous Coward
      Yes, because unquestionably the lack of this program on Mac OS will prevent would-be buyers from purchasing a Macintosh.

      There will be a Mac equivalent in no time - almost certainly from a different source.

      You shouldn't say something just because you think it sounds good, you know?

      • Re:Halo effect (Score:5, Informative)

        by alphakappa (687189) on Sunday October 30 2005, @01:13PM (#13909570) Homepage
        You can use ffmpegx [mac.com] on the Mac to convert your Tivo togo files to iPod ready MPEG-4. It's free (as in beer) and is a great GUI for the ffmpeg [sourceforge.net] app.

        Here's a tutorial [diveintomark.org] on using ffmpegx to create iPod ready videos (Link is not worksafe!)
        • They dropped firewire due to the lack of a single-chip implementation and the lack of space in the new ipods.
          As for mac-formatting, having a single ipod model is simpler for the consumer. Although, with the new video ipods, how long will it be until the fat32 4gb file-size-limit becomes an issue?

    • Re:Why are Mac people buying Tivos? (Score:4, Informative)

      by macslut (724441) on Sunday October 30 2005, @01:16PM (#13909579)
      Keep in mind that up until TivoToGo was released, TiVo offered full Mac support, and did it very well. There was, and still is compatibility with the latest version of Mac OS and Tivo Desktop which works great with iTunes and iPhoto. Maybe the fact that the CEO of TiVo is a Maccie has and the amount of support TiVo has had, as well as all the buy-out rumors through the years, may have lead many Mac users to consider buying a TiVo...as well as the fact that TiVos weren't compatible with *any* computer without hacking for quite some time.

      I have eyeTV as well as eyeHome, and they work well for what they are, but there are huge advantages to TiVo, and what Mac users are complaining about is that the final bridge to compatibility is not something that would be that hard for TiVo to do. Of course, the blame may be just as much directed at Apple as to TiVo.

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