How do I copy videos FROM my PC TO my TiVo?

March 31, 2006 10:53 PM

How do I copy videos FROM my PC TO my TiVo???? I see plenty of ways to copy video the other way, including TiVo's own TivoToGo, but what I'd like to do is copy videos I have on my computer (in various formats) TO the TiVo. Is this possible?

(For background, I have a networked TiVo running 7.2.2 or whatever the newest vers is, and have Macs, Windows machines, and Linux boxen on my network - so if software does exist, I should be able to run it. I'd really rather avoid any kind of "crack the case and..." solutions.)

posted by John Kenneth Fisher to computers & internet (6 comments total)

dealdatabase

search for "insertion"

everything you ever wanted to know. in short i think it is possible to create tivo-legal mpeg now, but i've never tried it myself.
posted by joeblough at 12:09 AM on April 1, 2006

Because of the whole TiVo-formatted MPEGs are large and not pleasantly compressed thing, I've found it an absolute nightmare, really. (On a wireless connection, anyway.)

If you're running the latest version of TiVo Desktop (2.2), and have the server turned on, any TiVo shows on your local machine should be accessible on your TiVo, under Now Playing. (A folder with your computer's name will appear, and you can transfer shows back to the TiVo this way.)

Basically, all you need to do is convert your source video into a TiVo-friendly file.

Instructions on how to do just this are here and here.

(Search for "tivoback" or "tivo back" or "GoToTiVo")
posted by disillusioned at 1:42 AM on April 1, 2006

The Videora Tivo converter is a freel tool based on ffmepg to convert videos to a tivo friendly format. Works like a champ. They also have a version to make iPod videos.

If you have a Series2 Tivo with the latest firmware and tivo desktop then you can copy these files to your tivo and watch away.
posted by beowulf573 at 4:54 AM on April 1, 2006

A quick followup, here's a helpful thread on adjusting widescreen videos for viewing on 4:3 TVs.
posted by beowulf573 at 5:41 AM on April 1, 2006

thanks all - I'll try these today and report back. :-D
posted by John Kenneth Fisher at 6:27 AM on April 1, 2006

I never did report back. Sorry. For the record, i currently serve it from my Mac's TivoDesktop (using the tivotogo enabler for mac to turn that on) and my PC using TivoToGo, and use VisualHub for Mac to convert things to the proper format.
posted by John Kenneth Fisher at 1:05 PM on January 1, 2007 [1 favorite has favorites]