 |
|
![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/community.gif) tivolovers
![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) zonereyrie | |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Roxio Monday launched Toast 10 Titanium for Mac OS. This new update to Toast adds a number of features, but most significantly for Mac OS users it includes an implementation of 'TiVoToComeBack', video transfers to a TiVo, which they're calling Mac2TiVo. This has been sorely missing from any official solutions for Mac OS using TiVo owners. Toast 10 Titanium also includes AVCHD Archive, which makes it easy to burn content form HD camcorders to BD or DVD, Web Video To Go, which allows users to grab video from websites to save locally or transfer to portable devices, place-shifting support which streams content from the Mac to a Streamer application on an iPhone or iPod Touch, and a number of others. Toast 10 Titanium goes on sale today at http://www.roxio.com/ for $99.99, with special pricing at MacWorld Expo January 5-9. The High-definition/Blu-ray Disc (HD/BD) plug-in, which is required to author BD discs and is normally $19.99, is available free to those who purchase Toast 10 Titanium from http://www.roxio.com/ through February 5, 2009. Toast 10 Titanium Pro is also available for $149.99. ( Press release: )Tags: apple, mac, mac2tivo, press release, roxio, software, sonic, tivotocomeback, tivotogo, toast
Current Location: Las Vegas, NV
Current Mood:  tired
Current Music: quiet
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
tivolovers
zonereyrie | |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
I reported on the release of SuperSync 2.3 back in April, but now version 3.03 is being announced in conjunction with MacWorld. SuperSync is an iTunes library manager for PC, Mac, and iPod. SuperSync makes it easy to create a main library, and have a subset on computers and laptops around the house. By offering an easy way to visually compare and merge multiple iTunes libraries, all music, movies, and playlists can be synced across all devices. Any new content that is added on one computer can be uploaded to the master library.
Use SuperSync to:
* Keep track of all music across multiple computers - Mac OS X, Windows, and iPod
* Compare and merge any two music libraries
* Move music, videos, and playlists from one iTunes library to another
* Export all or a subset of a library as a well-organized directory of tracks
* Find partial albums, duplicates, missing tracks, corrupt files, and other common music library problems
* Intelligently import media from a hard drive, iPod, or network drive without duplicates
* Easily move a music library from Windows to Mac, Mac to Windows, or any combination
* Access a home music library from anywhere - upload/download songs, movies, and playlists
* Share a common library with multiple iTunes users on a network drive
* Access your MP3's and playlists from Tivo More information in the full release. Tags: apple, ipod, mac, pc, press release, software, supersync, windows
Current Location: Las Vegas, NV
Current Mood: tired
Current Music: quiet
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
tivolovers
zonereyrie | |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
I'm really getting tired of this. I've mentioned this before, but I just have to mention it again since I was just burned, again - TiVo Desktop is terribly buggy. Some of the bugs are annoying, but some of the bugs are serious - for example, up and losing all of the TiVo Web Video subscriptions. This has happened to me several times now, on two different computers. I won't touch TiVo Desktop for weeks, just letting it do its thing, but then I'll realize I haven't seen anything from my TiVo Web Video subscriptions for a while - and when I check, the configuration file is wiped. TiVo Desktop stores the TiVo Web Video subscriptions in files under C:\Documents and Settings\[account name]\Local Settings\Application Data\TiVo Desktop, at least on WinXP. The files concerned are RssFeeds.xml and wspc.xml - with DownloadQueue.xml of lesser concern. What seems to happen to me is every so often TiVo Desktop up and wipes out wspc.xml, which is the main file. I'll find the file back to its default 1KB state without any subscriptions. Having done my share of development and support I suspect what happens is that when the server is updating the file something goes awry and instead of the updated copy being written it is wiped out. Then the default file is recreated when the server sees it is missing. This is infuriating and frustrating. And it is a rookie bug. There are ways around this - a simple one is A/B files. Write a 'B' file then, only when you confirm the file is correct, remove the 'A' file. Then reverse that the next time. Or keep the file in memory until you do a checksum and confirm the file was written to disk successfully, and if not, try again until it is. And considering the subscriptions can only be managed from the cloud, and my TiVo still thinks I'm subscribed to these channels, in the worst case the subscriptions should be reloaded from TiVo's servers. I'm a geek, and when it stops working I know where to go looking for answers. But if this happens to an average user I'd expect them to be baffled - their TiVo would still show them subscribed but they wouldn't be getting any new content. And the resolution isn't clear - you basically have to delete and re-add the subscriptions so the server recreates them. Or, if you're a geek and kept a backup copy, recreate the file manually. Of course this means it goes and re-downloads lots of old content. And that's not the only serious bug, it also fails to clean up after itself. After downloading content and transferring it to the TiVo, it is supposed to delete the downloaded file - and it does, most of the time. But it misses some and over time they build up. I've found multi- gigabytes of orphaned download files left using up space on my drive. If you subscribe to HD versions of content the 'leaking' burns space faster. Before Revision3 was added to TiVoCast I used to subscribe to many of their shows via TiVo Web Video, and they were HD versions. Just a few of those left behind can add up to a GB. You can check to see if TiVo Desktop is leaving files behind in C:\Documents and Settings\[account name]\Local Settings\Application Data\TiVo Desktop\Downloads I just removed 746MB of orphaned files from the past couple of months, and that's after I'd dropped all the Rev3 HD shows. Bugs happen, I know that, but these have gone unpatched for a while now. These are hardly the only issues, just the two that really get under my skin. But there are other changes that really need to be made. And why is it that the TiVo Web Video interface on the TiVo itself seems to be stuck in the past, rarely reflecting the current episodes on the feeds? That makes the 'Download Past Episodes' feature useless. These are RSS feeds, would it really be so hard to make the server pull in the updated list automatically? And now that HD TiVo models can decode H.264 and VC-1 it would be nice if we could skip the transcoding entirely for compatible downloads. I love the concept of TiVo Web Video, but it feels more and more like abandonware. All the attention goes to TiVoCast where TiVo can make business deals, and TiVo Web Video just rots on the vine. I know there are third party solutions to replace TiVo Desktop, but the point is this is what most TiVo owners will be aware of and use. TiVo needs to fix this issues if they're serious about this as a product feature. Tags: pc, software, tivo desktop, windows
Current Location: 42.308929N 71.795328W
Current Mood: tired
Current Music: TiVoCast: Underground Sound
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
tivolovers
zonereyrie | |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Coming just two months after the release of 2.5.3, Galleon 2.5.4 was released Tuesday. According to the release notes: This version includes the following:
Version 2.5.4:
----------------------
* Fix ToGo looping bug on null recording date (1811137)
* Added user-selectable range for local radar image (100, 300, 600 miles) in Weather
* auto-subdirectory publishing for GoBack, avoids the need to do it yourself and also avoids bugs in TiVo folder navigation in older TiVo service releases (Series 3 and HD should be OK without this).
(Probably needs some work to handle DOS shortcuts; should be OK on UNIX and OS X.)
* XML parsing of recording meta-data for non-Galleon-created video files in GoBack areas. e.g. if you post-process .TiVo files into .mpg, just put the XML output containing the show details, in the same format as it comes from the TiVo, into a .xml file with the same prefix. If you use tivodecode to unwrap .TiVo files, the metadata are in the -02-0002.xml file generated with the -D (dump-metadata) option.
* Enabled store-by-show handling in GoBack server (available on GoBack preferences pane).
* Fix for linux Makefile (1815568) and init script for distro independence
Known problems:
* not all galleon skins in HD cover the screen--use tivo skins
* still some layout glitches in HD
* still some HD menu highlights are too big for text Versions for Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux can be downloaded from SourceForge. Galleon is one of the, if not the, longest running TiVo HME applications, actually stemming from pre-HME days as JavaHMO. It packs a lot of features into one application and really enhances the TiVo experience. Tags: galleon, hme, software
Current Location: 42.308929N 71.795328W
Current Mood:  sick
Current Music: TiVo: Rush: R30
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
tivolovers
zonereyrie | |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
EngadgetHD has reviewed a pre-release copy of the Nero Liquid TV | TiVo PC software announced recently. (Nero has promised me a review copy of the final release.) The review is a mixed one, which isn't too surprising. The main issue is the cost, which is what I expect. I too think the $99/year service fee (after the first year) is far, far too high in a market full of products with low guide fees, or even free. I don't think the $99 software-only or $199 with-hardware purchase pricing is too bad, especially as it'll probably see discounts, but the ongoing fee is just too high. That's the same yearly fee as a standalone TiVo, and you don't get all the features of a standalone box with the PC software. I think they could probably get away with $49 a year, even the free MythTV has a $20 year fee for the guide data license. A little more to enjoy the TiVo interface would be reasonable, I think. But pricing aside, EngadgetHD also found some real issues with the product. Some of them are minor issues, nits really, but some seem much more major to me. The software apparently only works with tuners that have Broadcast Driver Architecture (BDA) drivers, and not all tuner/capture cards do. Notably it seems CableCARD tuners do not, so the software does not recognize CableCARD tuners in PCs that have them. That's really unfortunately, IMHO, and I think that should be a priority for TiVo and Nero to fix. EngadgetHD also reports that the software didn't support Clear QAM tuning, despite the included hardware being QAM-capable. That compounds the problem with being unable to use CableCARDs. At least if Clear QAM worked users would be able to tune a few digital cable channels, generally their locals. I'm kind of hoping this was an issue with the pre-release software, because if the production software is missing any QAM support that's a major oversight in my opinion. There are some other issues which sound like 1.0 syndrome, things that could be fixed with relatively minor updates to the software. Issues in this category include the lack of a grid style EPG (only the TiVo Guide is available), not showing episode titles while browsing content on other TiVos, and some usability issues with setup and configuration. But those sound minor to me compared to the lack of CableCARD, or any QAM, support and the crazy pricing. On the plus side it has nearly all of the DVR features of a standalone TiVo. You of course get Season Passes and WishLists, but it can also record the Live TV buffer if you decide to keep a show you're watching - something Windows Media Center doesn't do. And it will auto-convert recordings to other formats, which is a more direct version of TiVo Desktop Plus's auto-transfer and auto-transcode feature for standalone TiVos. And recordings are standard MPEG-2 files with the .mpg extension, so they should be readily usable in other software. And, of course, being on a PC, and the software coming from Nero, you have additional features such as being able to burn your recordings to DVD. I'm looking forward to getting my hands on it to get my own impression, but from the EngadgetHD review it sounds like it might be worth waiting for an update to the software to correct some of these issues. Or at least waiting to see if any of them are fixed before the consumer release. And, of course, seeing if they get a little more sane about pricing. Tags: engadgethd, liquid tv | tivo pc, nero, pc, software, windows
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
tivolovers
zonereyrie | |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Lifehacker has an article today about a TiVo tool called KMTTG. KMTTG, which apparently stands for Kevin Moye (the author) TiVoToGo, is a Perl/Tk program that... well, I'll let Kevin explain it: kmttg is a Perl/Tk program I wrote to facilitate TivoToGo (TTG) transfers that can download, create metadata, decrypt, run comskip & comcut (commercial detection and removal) and re-encode multiple shows you select from your Tivos all in 1 step. The program also has the capability to transfer and process shows automatically from your Tivos based on titles and keywords you setup. In slightly less geeky speak that means kmttg can download content from your TiVo via TiVoToGo. Parse out the program information and description, the metadata, and save it. Decrypt the TiVoToGo .tivo file into a standard MPEG-2 file. Run an application called 'comskip' which analyzes the video and marks where it believes the commercial breaks are. Then call 'comcut' which takes the information comskip provided and removes the commercial breaks from the video. And finally it can then take that video and transcode it into other formats, such as H.264 for your portable device. Now, it doesn't do all of this itself. In fact kmttg is really a wrapper of scripts written in Perl with a user interface written in Tk which automates and abstracts several other applications such as curl, TiVoDecode, mencoder, ffmpeg, comskip, etc. So you could do all of these steps manually and individually, but kmttg makes it much simpler and easier. Installing and using kmttg is probably not for the technophobe. You need to have Perl and Tk installed on your system, and neither is standard on Windows. You'll need to install a Perl distribution, such as ActiveState ActivePerl, and possible manually install Tk as well. kmttg is available for Windows and Linux, though since it is Perl and the prerequisites, or their equivalents, exist for Mac I bet a technically savvy Mac user could produce a working Mac version as well. Going by the kmttg discussion thread at TiVoCommunity, it looks like it has been tried. kmttg looks like a nice tool for those who want to extract video from their TiVo and use it elsewhere. It is a free alternative to TiVo Desktop Plus on Windows, and it has features like commercial removal which TDP lacks. If you have, or know of, a TiVo-related application I've missed, let me know. Tags: kmttg, lifehacker, software, tivocommunity, tivotogo
Current Location: 42.308929N 71.795328W
Current Mood: exhausted
Current Music: rain
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
tivolovers
zonereyrie | |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
TiVo and RIM are teaming up to bring TiVo-related software to the Blackberry platform, the two companies announced today at CTIA. At first it sounds like this will resemble the TiVo scheduling solution from Verizon, simply providing a pretty, TiVo-like UI on the Blackberry that allows users to remotely schedule recordings. Personally I'd love to see TiVo exploit the XMPP support they've added to the units since the Verizon application launched and support real real-time scheduling on the unit and not the store-and-forward system used by TiVo Central Online web-based scheduling, which is what the Verizon system goes through. Past the initial scheduling capability, the future sounds interesting: The new relationship brings TiVo and RIM together to develop a variety of mobile entertainment services that marry RIM's leading BlackBerry® smartphones with the content delivered to consumers through the Emmy-winning TiVo® service. Initially, BlackBerry smartphone users will gain the convenience of being able to discover what shows are on and schedule television recordings while away from the living room and on the go. Future collaboration between the companies will focus on software applications that further simplify mobile access to video content. The first interpretation people are likely to make is place-shifting of content from the TiVo to the Blackberry. However, the current TiVo hardware doesn't have the transcoding capabilities to support this, to the best of my knowledge. And improved TiVoToGo support doesn't sound like it would fit with 'mobile access' - not to me anyway. Pre-synced content is not 'mobile access'. TiVo is developing content partnerships for TiVoCast, maybe it is access to that kind of content through a TiVo-ish client? I don't know, but I'm certainly curious. It sounds like it'll be a while before we find out. The first software to arise out of this partnership will be available later this year. See the press release for more details. Tags: blackberry, press release, rim, software
Current Location: 42.308929N 71.795328W
Current Mood: exhausted
Current Music: quiet
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
tivolovers
zonereyrie | |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Roxio Easy Media Creator 10 is being updated and it is now known simply as Roxio Creator 2009. This is Roxio's premier media creation and authoring package for Windows. Creator 2009 has a new UI and supports HD content from AVCHD camcorders and transfers from HD TiVos for Blu-ray discs with a free HD/Blu-ray plug-in, a $29.99 value (a limited time offer). You can also easily share your content online via a free, secure Roxio web page or via YouTube. Roxio Creator is the only officially endorsed authoring tool for TiVoToGo on Windows. Through September 30, 2008 you can buy Creator 2009 for $79.99 (after $20 Mail-in Rebate) and receive the High-Def/Blu-Ray Disc plug-in (a $29.99 value) free. So that's a $129.98 for $79.99. Roxio issued a press release to detail all of the changes and improvements in Creator 2009: ( The press release... )Tags: blu-ray, creator, easy media creator, press release, roxio, software, tivotogo, windows
Current Location: 42.308929N 71.795328W
Current Mood:  busy
Current Music: TiVoCast: MediaBytes with Shelly Palmer
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
tivolovers
zonereyrie | |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
I received a tip from Harmonium's creator, Charles Perry, including a press release (below). Harmonium looks like a fairly nice music player, and it is nice to see some new HME working being done these days, despite the dearth of support from TiVo. It supports HD display on the TiVo Series3 and TiVo HD with an HD UI on those systems, as well as displaying album art from ID3 tags in HD, and the screenshots look quite nice. It uses the information in the ID3 tags to automatically sort your collection. It also supports M3U playlists and, nicely, it supports the creation of playlists from within the player itself. It is free and open source, released under the GNU AGPL license, and it is cross platform, running on pretty much any platform with a Java VM. There are also builds designed to run as a service under Windows or Linux. Unfortunately, I can't use it. I have over 14,500 tracks in my digital music collection, and all but a handful are AAC (unprotected). Harmonium currently only plays MP3 files via TiVo, so it won't handle my music. If Charles ever adds AAC support to Harmonium, I'd definitely give it a try. I'm hopeful, since it is only up to release 0.3.1 at this point, still early days. If you have an MP3 collection and a TiVo, you might want to check out Harmonium for your TiVo music streaming. If you do, leave a comment letting me, and other readers, know what you think. ( The press release: )Tags: harmonium, hme, press release, software
Current Location: 42.308929N 71.795328W
Current Mood: sleepy
Current Music: quiet
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
tivolovers
zonereyrie | |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
No, that isn't a redundant subject line, the full name of the new TiVoCast channel is 'The Watcher On TiVo'. The Watcher On TiVo carries videos from Chicago Tribune TV Critic Maureen Ryan, and would seem to be the content promised in the May announcement of TiVo's partnership with the Tribune. At the time it sounded like the videos would only be available to Chicago locals, and I wondered in comments on some other blogs why they wouldn't make them available to all subscribers as it would help promote the Tribune. And it looks like that's what they've done, since Worcester, MA isn't exactly in the Chicago, IL area. You can subscribe online or on your TiVo via Find Programs & Downloads -> Download TV, Movies, & Web Video -> Browse Other Videos -> All -> The Watcher On TiVo And I was right about it being basically a TiVoCast with a corresponding Guru Guide. The Guru Guide is available under You can subscribe online or on your TiVo via Find Programs & Downloads -> KidZone Recommendations & Guru Guides -> Featured -> Best Bets from The Watcher The Guru Guide is also available online. On a different note, I finally got 9.4 this evening and I've had a little time to explore. I tried the YouTube feature and was vastly amused to discover the today's 'Most Viewed' video is a ~10 minute clip from the hentai anime New Angel (aka Shin Angel). Not too graphic, looks like it was edited with a meat cleaver, but still amusing. Ah, YouTube. But I have to say, poking around and playing different videos, it looks surprisingly good on my 61" DLP. Much better than I was expecting actually, giving the normal resolution of YouTube videos. Well done TiVo. I hope they make the streaming H.264 generic so other sites can use it. Being able to Review Thumbs is interesting, but I wish it allowed me to sort it alphabetically. That would make it easier to find a specific program. It looks like it is sorted by some ranking system, since there is no discernible order. There are also odd duplications in the list, with the same program or movie appearing twice. Everything seems to work as I'd expect, I think 9.4 is a nice update. Tags: 9.4, guru guides, software, the chicago tribune, the watcher on tivo, tivocast, youtube
Current Location: 42.308929N 71.795328W
Current Mood: busy
Current Music: TiVo: Speed Grapher
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
tivolovers
zonereyrie | |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
While the Windows TiVo Desktop is up to version 2.6.2 and it has long had native support for TiVoToGo file playback, and more recently transcoding for TiVo Web Video, and more, the Mac TiVo Desktop has languished at version 1.9.3, lacking most of the newer features. Mac users looking for TTG playback have needed to purchase Roxio products, or use 3rd party applications such as TiVoDecode Manager or TiVo Butler. However, TiVoCommunity user Dennis Wilkinson spotted a new version. 1.9.4, up for download a couple of weeks ago. It was pulled and the download reverted to 1.9.3, but he did find some interesting additions to the files included in 1.9.4. /Library/Application Support/TiVo/BindTiVoFileToQTPlayer
/Library/Frameworks/mcac3dec.framework
/Library/Frameworks/mcmpegin.framework
/Library/Frameworks/mcmpgdec.framework
/Library/QuickTime/TiVo File Support.component
/Library/StartupItems/TiVoDesktop/TiVoHDPhotoServer
And the output of "strings /Library/Application\ Support/TiVoDesktop/TiVoDesktop" shows some interesting new strings:
StartHDPhotoServerAtBoot
VideoLibraryName
VideoDirectory While the features don't appear to be enabled in 1.9.4, it isn't uncommon for future additions still in development to find their way, disabled, into releases. These additions seem to indicate the HD Photo Server, which has been part of the Windows TiVo Desktop for a while, will finally find its way into the Mac TiVo Desktop. And the 'BindTiVoFileToQTPlayer', QuickTime 'TiVo File Support.component' and MPEG encode and decode frameworks certainly seem to point toward native TiVoToGo file playback, and possibly transcoding to support TiVo Web Video and other file transfers to TiVo. 1.9.4 does fix TiVoToComeBack transfers, which was broken in 1.9.3. On Friday user Lannister80 talked to a TiVo support person who said 1.9.4 was pulled due to a problem and that a new build would be available for download in "1 to 2 weeks". Picked up from TiVo Blog. Tags: apple, mac, software, tivo butler, tivo desktop, tivodecode manager
Current Location: 42.308929N 71.795328W
Current Mood: busy
Current Music: TiVoCast: The Onion
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
tivolovers
zonereyrie | |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Roxio sent out an email today with a new set of coupon codes. Since Roxio makes the only officially sanctioned software with TiVoToGo support, they could be useful for TiVo users picking up the software. Through 9/30/08 save 10% site wide on Roxio.com: SAVE10ROX Through 8/15/08 save $20 on Roxio Easy Media Creator 10: C10SAVE20 Through 9/30/08 same $20 on MyDVD 10 Premier: MDVDSAVE20 And a couple of non-coupon deals: While supplies last buy Popcorn 3 and get a free T-shirt. Through 9/30/08 save $20 when you buy Toast 9 and the HD/Blu-ray Plug-in together. Tags: apple, easy media creator, mac, mydvd, pc, popcorn, roxio, software, toast, windows
Current Location: 42.308929N 71.795328W
Current Mood: busy
Current Music: TiVo: Naruto Movie: Legend of the Stone of Gelel
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Previous
hungry
relaxed