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Updated Feb 4, 2010 by yoav.yer...@gmail.com

F.A.Q.

Program Issues

  1. My program crashes / I get 'mencoder' errors / I get tivodecode errors
  2. iTiVo is actually a front-end for several programs written by multiple people. Many of these programs are not perfect (and iTiVo has its own bugs). If you report bugs in the interface above (under Issues), I will hopefully get around to fixing it. However, it may be related to underlying programs which I have no control over. The short version: sorry. One thing to always try is a different download format, or a different encoder (for example, HandBrake iPhone instead of iPhone).
  3. This program is buggy!
  4. I only have a tivo 3 and an intel iMac running Leopard to test with. I appreciate bug reports. But keep in mind I'm working on this in my spare time and am not charging you anything...
  5. I am getting some popup asking me to find 'GrowlHelperApp'.
  6. You have an old version of Growl installed (probably done via one of many applications you have installed in the past?). The easiest solution is to simply upgrade your installation of Growl to the newest version from http://growl.info/index.php
  7. I clicked "subscribe" but it's not downloading all episodes of CSI!
  8. Subscribing only downloads 'future' episodes that show up on the tivo AFTER you started the subscription. If you want to download all the CSI's currently on your tivo, select the table column heading 'show' (to sort all shows by name), find the first CSI and click on it. Find the last CSI and shift-click on it. Then select "Add Shows to Queue"
  9. How do I get "The Daily Show" onto my iPhone automatically?
  10. Read the documentation at http://code.google.com/p/itivo/wiki/Subscriptions
  11. I have questions about my TiVo.
  12. I'm only responsible for this front-end. If you have questions about your tivo, I highly recommend going to the tivocommunity forum here: http://tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/index.php
  13. I have shows on my TiVo that are not listed on iTiVo!
  14. Certain shows and certain channels can be marked 'copyrighted'. Any show marked as such is not available for download from the tivo, and is therefore not listed. Premium Channels (like HBO) are always marked this way. Some regular cable channels also do this. The only ones that are not allowed to be marked copyright are the off-air (networks).
  15. I managed to hide the Show Description drawer
  16. To unhide the show description drawer, click the little triangle on the top right of the main window.
  17. I chose a download format and Quicktime will not play my video
  18. Some formats are not intended for playing on your computer, and quicktime is unable to play them. Read the later subsection about download formats for advice.
  19. The reported Hard Drive size is incorrect.
  20. Tivo doesn't actually let iTiVo know the size of the hard drive. So iTiVo tries to figure it out based on how much space is taken up by shows. This generally works when you have Suggestions enabled. You can correct the size by directly editting the number, but be aware that a 20G hard drive doesn't actually hold 20G of data. So a safe guess is to go with 90% of the size of the hard drive, or enable suggestions for a while until Tivo gets a reasonable size, and then disable them again.
  21. Is it supposed to be this slow?
  22. Several things affect the speed of the download:
    • Model of Tivo. S3 is fastest, then HD then S2.
    • Size of the original program on the tivo (the more there is to transfer, the slower it will be).
    • The speed of your computer. Your CPU is used to convert the movies once they get to the computer.
    • Format you are converting to. The high resolution, high quality formats take a lot of processing power from your computer.
    • The quality of your Tivo->computer network. Wired 100Mbps will not be fully utilized, but is your best connection. Wireless will slow it down somewhat.
    Over a wired connection, from a TiVo S3, converting to iPhone, I can usually get a 1000 megabyte 30 minute show down in about 20 mins. Use those settings as a starting point to see. If you're seeing MUCH worse times, then something is wrong.
  23. What should I do if I need it to download faster?
  24. If you really need the faster downloads and are ok with using up more hard drive space, you should probably select the 'decrypt' format. And install MPlayer OSX or VLC to view the downloaded movie. It will download as fast as the tivo will allow, and do no conversion whatsoever.
  25. I am seeing some errors about looking for Growl or GrowlHelperApp
  26. While the program is supposed to correctly detect if you have growl installed and only use it then, there have been some reports that this detection is not always working. If you get such an error, the simplest thing to do is install Growl from http://growl.info/

Issues With Specific Formats

  1. The Handbrake AppleTV format is creating files that AppleTV still cannot play.
  2. It has been reported that the following may help: Open the preferences. Select the Handbrake AppleTV format. Select the Advanced Tab. Change the value
    -Z "AppleTV"
    to
    -Z "AppleTV" --rate 29.97
    Encode away.

Which Download Format to use?

  1. I want the original mpeg-2 from the tivo.
  2. The tivo encrypts your show with your MAK. If you want to simply decrypt, choose the 'Decrypt' format. However, keep in mind that quicktime can't play such a file. You will need to install VLC or MplayerOSX (free) to view it. Media managers like Plex can also read it.
  3. I want the original mpeg-2 but without commercials.
  4. Decrypt/Copy will cut up the file appropriately. However, you will most likely end up with horrible audio/video sync issues.
  5. Why isn't the DVD format making a burnable DVD image?
  6. The DVD format simply creates an mpeg-2 file with specifications appropriate for DVD burning software. It will not make a DVD image, nor burn one for you. If you plan on making a DVD, you should then load up the resulting movie into another program like Burn.
  7. What is iphone super-res?
  8. The iphone can play movies up to 720x480, although its display is only 480x320. You can hook up a video cable to hook up your iphone to a TV, and that's the main reason for super-res.. It also uses a much higher bitrate for people who think the iphone setting isn't of a high enough quality.
  9. Audio-only?
  10. The audio only re-encodes the video stream, throwing away ALL the movie, and just keeping the soundtrack. Useful for people who plan on listening but not viewing, as it takes up a LOT less memory, and uses less battery life to play back.
  11. PSP ?
  12. Aimed at the Sony PSP handheld: Connect your PSP via usb or insert the memory stick into a reader. Create a folder named "VIDEO" at the toplevel, and copy the movie into it. Your PSP will now play your movie for you.
  13. I want to keep my movies as a library on my hard drive... What settings?
  14. I'd personally use H.264 at 5mbps. If you want to get the best quality AND the fastest download, you can simply keep whatever tivo encoded by using the 'decrypt' format, but then to view it you will have to install a viewer like VLC or MPlayer OSX. If you later decide you prefer h.264, you can always re-encode your movie with a tool like [HandBrake.
  15. What is HandBrake?
  16. A popular mac encoding tool that is an alternative to mencoder. Some people prefer the speed or the quality of handbrake. (Even though a lot of code is shared between the two encoders). If you are seeing a lot of mencoder crashes, it's worth trying out HandBrake instead.
  17. I use HandBrake, but I want to use different options from what you chose.
  18. Go into the Advanced tab after selecting your handbrake encoder, and add options to the encoder video options. You can read up on all the options on the handbrakeCLI config page.
  19. What is ElGato Turbo.264?
  20. It's a hardware encoder. If you own an old mac, or just want to keep your mac from using a lot of processing power to encode, you can buy the elgato USB stick, and use that to encode shows instead. As I don't own one, I can't vouch that it will work or do the right thing, although I will try to fix bugs if people tell me about them.
  21. I want to make a custom download format.
  22. Select Prefs / Downloading tab. Select a format that is the most similar to the format you wish to create. Then select the 'advanced' tab, and make changes to the encoder options. Save the format via the button, and give it a unique name. The format config is saved in ~/Library/Application Support/iTiVo/formats/ (in case you want to give it to others, or delete it).
  23. I chose the right download format but it's not working.
  24. Submit a bug report under 'Issues' above. Keep in mind I don't have all these devices, so I appreciate any encoder suggestions you may have. Also keep in mind that if it's because 'mencoder' or a similar subtool crashes, there is really not much I can do.

Tips and Tricks

  1. I have it automatically add it to itunes, and itunes manages my library. So every time the download finishes, I have two copies of the movie.. one in the download location, and one in the iTunes library!! HELP!!
  2. Go to your advanced preferences, and under run when download completes put:
      mv "$file" ~/.Trash
    (That is a tilde next to the word trash: ~ , NOT a minus sign.) This will put the file into the trash AFTER itunes copies it out. (the quotes around the $file are important, since there may be spaces in the show name).
Comment by saund...@gmail.com, Aug 3, 2011

Anyone had any luck with a Premiere? Any reason to think it wouldn't work?

Comment by deaconbl...@gmail.com, Aug 11, 2011

OK, where do the files go? They are not downloading to the folder I have set, they do not appear when searching the entire computer, they do not appear when set to auto export to iTunes... It just downloads them all like it's doing it then poof they are gone like it downloaded a great big huge invisible file???

Comment by travelle...@gmail.com, Aug 19, 2011

The program works very nicely, thank you (several minor bugs, however with clickable buttons on the control page). However, I had expected the converted format (DVD: mpeg-2) to be importable to iMovie. However, iMovie stalled on this format even though iMovie claims to recognize mpeg-2.

Comment by ianju...@gmail.com, Sep 1, 2011

I'm running iTiVo with a Premier and it's working fine. Just like it did with my Series 2.

Comment by konat...@gmail.com, Sep 25, 2011

Should I be able to download from my Tivo when I am not in my house? It worked fine in my house, but now I am traveling longterm, and it's not working.

Comment by werl...@yahoo.com, Sep 26, 2011

I am also experiencing the invisible file issue. I'm watching my hard drive space drop but I cannot locate the files, even searching for all files created on a specific date.

Comment by seth.hol...@gmail.com, Nov 12, 2011

Biggest problem I'm running into is stalled downloads. The current file has been at .3% since last night. I've really had very little success.

Comment by vancl...@gmail.com, Nov 24, 2011

I can't encode anything using the ffmpeg encoders, and so far all the other encodings I've tried (especially the QT ones) look terrible - massive strobing and what appear to be interlacing problems.

When I choose one of the ffmpeg encoding methods, the process goes through of downloading, comskip, etc. But the final converted file is never generated. I end up with just an xm l and a txt file, and nothing else.

ffmpeg is installed in the iTivo package, but just seems to ignore it or something. I've tried installing ffmpegX but that didn't do anything either, as iTivo is internally set up to use its own copy of ffmpeg. Even tried altering the paths to my own copy of ffmpeg but the structure isn't the same and I can't figure out how to make that work either.

So, what am I missing? How can I get iTivo and ffmpeg to work together?

Comment by dschapi...@gmail.com, Dec 27, 2011

The program seems to be working great. It finds my TiVo?, it downloads, it appears in the folder I've specified. But whether I choose for it to automatically add to iTunes, or if I ADD TO LIBRARY manually, the file looks like it's copying into iTunes (the bar at top shows the name of show copying for about 2 seconds), but it does not appear in the movies or TV sections (checked songs, podcasts, and wherever else I could think, but no luck). Any idea what is happening. If I just open the file in Quicktime, it looks and plays fine. I just can't seem to get it to play or import correctly into iTunes...

Comment by richfi...@comcast.net, Mar 7, 2012

I'm rather confused. I downloaded and installed, but the application takes a while to start up. I never get a window, or any menu items other than a basic application menu, which has no usable application specific actions. If I choose "Quit" I get a system beep, and am forced to force quit.

I don't know if it's related, but I just updated my computer (10.5.8), and now the NowPlaying? 2.51 dashboard widget seems dead too. It looks like it's communicating with the TiVo?, but never shows a list. Could there be an underlying program that both rely on that has failed? I can't make ANY version of ANY software work to get files off my TiVo? and onto my mac. Before updating my OS, NowPlaying? 2.51 worked fine, but I still used it because I could never make iTiVo or any other downloader software work.

I'm pulling out my hair here. Any suggestions?

Comment by mhoyl...@gmail.com, May 15, 2012

Hello, anyone experienced/experiencing issues with incomplete downloads? The download never actually begins--it just errors out each time until it reaches the retry count (3 here) and then stops. I'm running v1.7.7b3 on MacOS 10.6.8 but was experiencing the issue with the stable release, too.

Comment by rainb...@gmail.com, Jul 16, 2012

I am having trouble downloading a show from my TiVoS2?. It's not locked. But every time I try, it just says "couldn't download..." I delete the 0 byte file it creates, but it doesn't help. I've rebooted the TiVo?. I've rebooted the Mac (and tried it on two Macs.. a MBP and a MacMini?). Any ideas?

Comment by project member tony1ath...@gmail.com, Jul 16, 2012

Folks, a better place to report issues is on the issues page.

Comment by edlo...@gmail.com, Jan 21, 2013

There is a check box titled "List Protected". What does that do/mean?

Comment by edlo...@gmail.com, Jan 21, 2013

Another Q: there is a round yellow icon with an exclamation point to the left of some shows. What does that mean? iTivo works great with my Premiere by the way! Much better than Desktop Plus, in my opinion.

Comment by i...@mansfieldviewvermont.com, Feb 15, 2013

The red, green and yellow icons are the same as appear on you TiVo?'s Now Playing list. For more info - page down here http://www.scribd.com/doc/89380344/63/TiVo%E2%80%99s-Now-Playing-list

Comment by dafireho...@gmail.com, Feb 16, 2013

Up until a couple of days ago my itivo was working fine with my Tivo Premiere. Now on every show I get the error message Couldn't Download (Showname). Any ideas on what's happening and how to get it working again?

Comment by Brent.Wa...@gmail.com, Feb 16, 2013

I just started getting the same "couldn't download.." error, I tried rebooting each tivo (Premiere), rebooting computers, even tried the beta version of iTivo. I would assume Tivo pushed an update to me tivos', which has caused this issue, but I'm still searching for info.

Comment by sparkyss...@gmail.com, Feb 20, 2013

Just wanted to add that my setup was working great until a few days ago and now I also am getting the "Incomplete Download" error with three attempts and then quits trying. Tried restarting the program, the computer, and the Tivo to no avail. I haven't made any changes to the system, so it must be something that got pushed out.

iTivo 1.7.6 (which it tells me is the latest version when I do "Check Updates") running on a Core 2 Duo Mac Mini under 10.5.8.

Comment by jordan.f...@gmail.com, Feb 21, 2013

I have the "Couldn't Download" error too. It only started recently.

Comment by project member tony1ath...@gmail.com, Feb 21, 2013

I'm pointedly ignoring all comments here. Please use the issues list.

Comment by michael....@gmail.com, Mar 1, 2013

For anyone here having issues with "file not found", "incomplete download", or "bad request, session id missing" errors, see this thread:

http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?t=387725&page=159

Seems there was (is, as of this posting) an issue with expired cookies.

Comment by melywri...@gmail.com, Mar 2, 2013

I still can't download. It worked fine for months. I have changed routers and reconnected under the new network. I have reentered or checked IP address and MAK. now it wont download??? what else do I do.?

Comment by jchan2...@gmail.com, Mar 26, 2013

The solution is dug in a little deeper in this thread. It's related to a bad cookie that Tivo sends over during its "handshake" process that returns an expired cookie (Feb 16, 2013 00:00:00 GMT). Hence results in a bad request. Tivo uses the http protocol.

http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?p=9528670#post9528670

I've updated my cookies.txt and copied it over to ~/Documents/cookies.txt using Epoch time 1577750400 (Dec 31, 2019 00:00:00 GMT) and updated the Perl script ... it worked great!

Comment by mertz...@gmail.com, Mar 30, 2013

I am now able to download files with the Mountain Lion OSX using the suggested fix and the Apple TV output setting, however it appears as an mp4 file on my desktop (that cannot be copied into iTunes) and does not automatically transfer to iTunes even though the iTunes transfer box is checked. Any suggestions?

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