Transfer video to your TiVo

Well would you look at that—all those busy hands at work over at Tivo have produced yet another ehhh-kinda-useful feature. If yours is one of the TiVo boxes out there with the 7.2 software you can use TiVo Desktop v2.2 or later to move MPEG-2 encoded video files to (as in, not from) your TiVo box. Truly fun for all you home movie buffs out there who'd rather just transfer the stuff over WiFi to your box than play it back from your camcorder edited, or dump it via FireWire (if your TiVo has that), but is anyone else curious to know whether TiVo DRMs your own content when you try and get it back from the box?

[Via NoDRM]

[Jay @ Dec 19th 2005 1:05AM]

Rename .vob DVD rip to .mpg and play on Tivo. Anyone know if this would work? May be the only Netflix+Tivo combo we actually see anytime soon.

[Jeff @ Dec 19th 2005 1:05AM]

It's about time something like this happened but... meh. Very anticlimactic.. It's nice to finally be able to move video TO the tivo but wouldn't you just want to stream it from your computer a'la multi-room viewing?

I suppose this is to prepare for the netflix rollout which would be a Good Thing for tivo, as long as it doesn't cost the same amount as just receiving DVDs in the mail with free return mailers from Netflix.

It's a shame that the Tivo doesn't use something like DivX to record. A quadrupling of recording time would be nice but I doubt the CPU could handle the recording and I'm not aware of a hardware DivX encoder.

[Permanent4 @ Dec 19th 2005 1:05AM]

Plextor has had a hardware DivX encoder out there for a while now.

http://www.divx.com/hardware/detail.php?p=29

I'm a little surprised that more people aren't using it, actually.

[OJDIDIT @ Dec 19th 2005 1:05AM]

How do you get Tivo Desktop 2.2? The link provided here (http://customersupport.tivo.com/knowbase/root/public/tv251080.htm?)
which says Tivo Desktop 2.2 directs you to Tivo Desktop 2.1

[Jon Maddox @ Dec 19th 2005 1:05AM]

Once again, tivo is too little too late.. MMMMM Mpeg2.. Don't all of you guys keep all your videos archived in a 10 year old codec? I know I don't.

Get Xbmc and call it a day.

[Jeff @ Dec 19th 2005 1:05AM]

"is anyone else curious to know whether TiVo DRMs your own content when you try and get it back from the box?"

It had damn well better not. TiVo has zero right to DRM your own copyrighted home movies, for example. In fact, you could probably legitimately sue them for doing so, and you'd probably win.

[etc @ Dec 19th 2005 1:05AM]

"How do you get Tivo Desktop 2.2?"

It's not yet available.

[OJDIDIT @ Dec 19th 2005 1:05AM]

RE: DRM - you don't actually put your files on the Tivo box- you just stream it from your PC to the box - so there should be no DRM encoding.

RE: MPEG2 - Agree 100% perhaps sometime in the future Divx and Xvid will be supported in a simular way that Orb.com handles it... let your PC do the encoding and stream it to the Tivo.

[Joshua Ochs @ Dec 19th 2005 1:05AM]

I'll place bets now that even though there's no technical reason you can't do this on a Mac, Tivo won't support us. Hell, they can't be bothered to fix their broken installer, which would take all of 30 seconds (I know, I've done it myself).

[Noel W. Clarke @ Dec 19th 2005 1:05AM]

I just got off the phone with Tivo Technical Support. The rep that I spoke to told me that a new version of the Tivo DVR software (version 7.2) is also required along with Tivo Desktop 2.2. To allow the transfer of content back to the Tivo. She said that the support note mentioned in the blog is really meant for Beta Testers and not the general Tivo using public.

She told me that Tivo is rolling out this software and that "there at the office they all have it". I'm glad they're enjoying this feature --- when can we have it?

This is the only thing stopping me from upgrading the hell out of my Tivo (more HD space) and buying more of them (Basement, Bedroom).

[StuBee @ Dec 19th 2005 1:05AM]

"is anyone else curious to know whether TiVo DRMs your own content when you try and get it back from the box?"

Why would you want to get it back? You copied it to the Tivo box from your pc in the first place...now need to get it back? What a waste of time.
I'm looking forward to this Tivo feature. It would be even handier if you could select divx files to transfer on your pc and it autoconverts to mpeg2 and copies in one step.

[Tidal @ Dec 19th 2005 1:05AM]

yup i love all the series 1 support.

how about showing us some love since we believed in you from the beginning

[John @ Dec 19th 2005 1:05AM]

Nice! i Love my TiVo and can't wait to upgrade. TiVo just gets better and better.

[David Ziemlak @ Dec 19th 2005 1:05AM]

I agree with all of the previous comments, but also, is 7.2 being released to all TiVo's yet? I say this because only 1 of my two TiVo's has it, and if so, are screenshots requested?

[Brad @ Dec 19th 2005 1:05AM]

I just got off the phone with support, nice guy but didn't know anything, after putting me on hold for 5 minutes he let me know that 7.2 will distributed over the next "several weeks". I then asked about Tivo Desktop 2.2 and he first said that it should already be available, I told him it wasn't, he put me on hold for another five minutes. He came back to say that the software should be available in the "next few weeks or sooner since it was needed to take advantage of the upgrades in 7.2." I sure wish they would hurry up!

[Logan @ Dec 19th 2005 1:05AM]

Link here guys: http://www.tivo.com/4.9.4.1.asp ---- TiVo Desktop 2.2