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TiVo Video Extraction with Mac OS X

Posted by pudge on from the extract-me-with-the-network-of-love dept.

Arf4 writes "I recently published an article that describes extracting video from a TiVo Series 1 digital video recorder. I have been searching the boards for info on a Mac OS X solution, but came up blank. After experimenting with my iBook I figured out a way to do it. Using nothing more than a TiVo and Mac OS X (plus a few other free goodies), you can start backing up the latest Alias or Simpsons." Well, and a network card.

18 of 59 comments (clear)

  1. Build your own by Fished · · Score: 5, Interesting
    I looked at the whole Tivo thing, and came to the conclusion that I would be better served to build my own using a linux box and either mythtv or freevo. The box also doubles as my household server, uses a WinTV card and a Geforce 2 to do video, plays cd's, plays arcade games, plays dvd's, rips cd's, burns vcds, etc. Still working on the integration a bit, but so far it is very nice. And all for about the same price as the tivo hardware without the monthly service fee. (Although I could definitely use a larger hard drive at this point.)

    Think different, oh thou geekish ones!

    --
    "He who would learn astronomy, and other recondite arts, let him go elsewhere. " -- John Calvin, commenting on Genesis 1
    1. Re:Build your own by micromoog · · Score: 2, Insightful
      And all for about the same price as the tivo hardware without the monthly service fee.

      And without the monthly service, which is what makes Tivo worthwhile in the first place for many people.

    2. Re:Build your own by Fished · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Yeah, I can get tv schedules (using xmltv). I can record. Does it automatically record stuff it thinks I want? No - but it does many nicer things.

      --
      "He who would learn astronomy, and other recondite arts, let him go elsewhere. " -- John Calvin, commenting on Genesis 1
    3. Re:Build your own by Piquan · · Score: 4, Insightful

      I keep hearing this from different people. I do a lot of replacing stuff with alternatives. For example, I don't have Windows, I have FreeBSD w/ OpenOffice, etc. But as a TiVo user, I don't think that I could switch to a computer-based solution.

      There's just something about sitting down at the TV with a remote that can't be replaced. Also, there's something about the TiVo user interface that I think would become a lot more difficult in the translation to a computer.

      It's not just about recording shows. It's about changing the way you watch TV.

  2. There's a reason for this... by OneFix · · Score: 4, Insightful

    TiVo has been very good to the hacking community...they have supported efforts to add broadband functionality (including adding support to new software revisions), recompile of kernels, ftp and http support, extra harddrive, etc...

    But the reason why they have been hesitant to support the reading (and backup) of the recorded video is that they are concerned with implications of distribution. The first and most obvious reason is that if someone can distribute commercial free recordings of TV shows recorded directly from a TiVo it could be argued that it is helping to facilitate piracy. The other reason would be that it would hurt sales...if you can get new episodes from your TiVo owning friend, why buy a TiVo???

    As such, most respectable members of the hacking community will not encourage this hack...which is really a testament to the advantages of a company working with the hacking community.

    1. Re:There's a reason for this... by duggy_92127 · · Score: 3, Informative
      As such, most respectable members of the hacking community will not encourage this hack.

      I must disagree. Just as ripping a CD to a bunch of OGG files doesn't mean you're putting them up on Kazaa, ripping your saved shows onto a computer doesn't mean you're putting them up on Kazaa.

      I understand TiVo not wanting anything to do with it, which is why discussion about it is banned on the TiVo forums. But that doesn't make the practice bad, or hurtful to TiVo if we do it ourselves.

      The other taboo subject, replacing TiVo's program guide with one from a free source, falls squarely into the catagory of things respectable members of the hacking community should avoid. That takes money directly from TiVo's pocket, from a company that's been very good to us.

      Doug

  3. ReplayTV has a java based program for extracting.. by Scyber · · Score: 5, Informative

    http://dvarchive.sf.net Only for the newer models with built in ethernet. 2.0 should be released soon (next week) which will add some new features.

  4. Re:Series 2? by jspayne · · Score: 4, Informative
    Will this not work with the Series 2?

    This will not work because you cannot install any hacker tools on the S2. All the files are digitally signed, and the TiVo will blow away anything on root that doesn't check out (either modified or not supposed to be there) on boot up.

    On the other hand, you can still yank the drive from the TiVo, mount it in Linux, and run some extraction tools from there...but that wouldn't go in the "Apple" section.

    Jeff

  5. No different... by duggy_92127 · · Score: 5, Interesting

    This is no different from how I've been doing it for a goodly while now on my Linux box. They've just compiled the tools for OS X, that's all.

    I'm working on a version of the tools that will show you the listing in your console, let you select a show, and will stream the .ty, translate to .mpeg on the fly, and then either save that stream or use something (mplayer, perhaps) to recode to another codec (DivX, anyone?).

    And it's written entirely in Perl, so it should run anywhere Perl does. If anybody's interested in looking at it, pop me an email; I'd be especially interested in hearing from people with knowledge of the MPEG2 format.

    Doug

  6. Re:um... by LordNimon · · Score: 2, Informative

    They mean a network card on the TiVo, not the Mac.

    --
    And the men who hold high places must be the ones who start
    To mold a new reality... closer to the heart
  7. Re:How about upgrading TiVo with a Mac? by Battal+Boy · · Score: 5, Informative

    It is possible. VersionTracker has a freeware utility for formatting and blessing a Tivo drive on Mac OS X, if you want to upgrade your Tivo drive(s). Also almost all tutorials for doing such things on LINUX will work for OS X as well, as they use the"dd" utility.

    Also check out TiVoFerkey, an interesting remote Tivo interface for controlling Tivo from your Mac.

    --

    A cynic is what an idealist calls a realist...
  8. Mirror! by Arf4 · · Score: 2, Informative

    My friend, Joe, kindly posted a mirror for this site in case it becomes unreachable...

  9. Re:Tivo 2 has Rendezvous by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Informative

    But TiVo Series2 Rendezvous support is all about bringing content from the Mac into the TiVo, not extracting video from the TiVo into the Mac. I'm sure they'll try their best to keep that direction of data transfer restricted.

  10. Formac StudioDV/TV by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Informative

    Formac has a device that will turn your Mac into a TiVo-equivalent. It's pricey, $399. Here's the product description from their website:

    Formac studio dv/tv turns your Mac into a fully functional TV and a high-quality digital VCR. Watch up to 125 channels in a scalable window or full-screen. The studio tvr software* allows you to record your favorite TV shows at any time and day, even if you are not at home (via remote scheduling). Use TitanTV's website to receive an up-to-date online program guide for your region, and use the one-step scheduling feature to record your favorite shows. Movies can also be recorded from and to any video device with RCA or S-VHS connectors, such as a standard VCR, Camcorder or DVD player. All movies are captured in high quality digital video (DV).

  11. if anyone has a replayTV by zephc · · Score: 4, Informative

    and OSX (or windows or linux) I suggest getting the command line program replayPC.

    Basically, ReplayTV has its own little web server, and you can browse the contents of the drive with correct arsg to the httpfs cgi

    All the video is stored in the /Video directory, and is named by the timestamp (though doing an 'ls' via httpfs lets you view the date in human readable form, so u can guess which show is which.

    The only downside I've found in limited experimenting: after recording an episode of MST3K (2 hours) at lowest ('Standard') quality, it was a 2 GB xfer over the network. You'll have to reencode these movies yourself, to divx or whatever.

    Something else i noticed: replay TV will report it's IP with prepended zeros, eg. 123.234.120.012 rathaer than 123.234.120.012, and that seems to make a difference in whether or not I can connect to it (explanations anyone?)

    --
    "I would say that 99 per cent of what my father has written about his own life is false." - L. Ron Hubbard Jr.
  12. Re:How about upgrading TiVo with a Mac? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

    I have upgraded my Series 1 with MacTivo (http://www.weaknees.com/mactivo.html). Unbelieveably easy. Plugged the HD into the G4, ran MacTivo(30sec.), put the HD in the Tivo, all done!

  13. Re:TiVo is dying by berniecase · · Score: 2, Informative

    http://news.zdnet.co.uk/story/0,,t269-s2129912,00. html

    The digital video recorder company will no longer manufacture new devices for the UK, but will continue to support existing customers.

  14. Far more complicated than necessary by vincent99 · · Score: 3, Interesting

    That's how I extracted stuff 2 years ago, but it's far more complicated than necessary today; Get the MFSStream module for TiVoWeb, you click on a show and your browser downloads the tystream.

    --
    -- V