Can I edit Tivo recordings?

[Clement]

Hello all.

I'm having a problem with the files I'm downloading from my TiVo via Tivo To Go. The program that came with the new Toast let me download a ".tivo" file from the TiVo, but this file can only be viewed with the bundled TiVo player, which looks like something developed by El Gato. The files won't play with VLC or QuickTime.

Then I discovered a program called TiVo Decode Manager. This program allows me to get an mpeg2 file out of the TiVo. This file will play in VLC, but, NOT in QuickTime. When I try to open it in QuickTime, I get sound, but no picture: just the first frame of the file that doesn't change or move. Sound, however, plays fine.

I want to be able to edit commercials out of the TiVo files, but Mpeg Streamclip seems to be QuickTime based, and can't play the files. I've tried fixing timecode breaks and exporting the files as mpeg2 files with and without headers, but to no avail. Neither Quicktime player nor Streamclip can play the file, so editing is out of the question.

Does anybody know how to either fix the TiVo mpeg so it can be played/edited with Quicktime or is there an alternate Mac-based mpeg editor that can handle these kinds of files. I've been playing with this questions for days and it's driving me crazy, so any help would be appreciated.

Many thanks,
Clement

[meatwad666]

do you have the quicktime mpeg2 component?

[Frobozz]

Set Toast's Custom Encoder preference to Never Re-encode. Then choose Save as Disc Image from the Toast File menu. When the disc image is complete, mount it (an easy way is the control-click on the image file in the Finder and choose Mount It). You now can drag a VTS title (such as VTS_01_1.VOB) to MPEG Streamclip which has the ability to cut and trim the video. Choose Export to MPEG when you've completed your edits. Toast can burn that MPEG to video DVD.

By the way, in the Tivo-to-go forum in the Roxio Toast 8 forums Roxio has pinned a post asking for feedback from users who choose to never re-encode the out-of-spec Tivo files rather than have Toast re-encode them within the DVD spec.

[ddcubed]

I am in a similar situation as the opening poster. I do have the Quicktime MPEG-2 Component installed. However, whenever I try to play a video, I can only see the opening frame. I can, however, hear the full sound. Even when I try to import the video into MPEG Streamclip, I have the same problem. I even tried Frobozz's suggestion, and I'm still have the same problems. Any ideas on what the issue may be?

[Clement]

Clement here again,

Still no solution on my end. The only way I can find to do it is to have Toast re-encode the video to DVD spec, which loses quality and takes forever. There has to be a more elegant solution, but I'll be damned if I can find it.
Very frustrating.
There's got to be something about the TiVo file that confuses QuickTime. Does anybody here really know QuickTime well?
Or can anybody think of another mpeg editor that doesn't use QuickTime like Streamclip does? That might work.

Ugh.

Till later,
Clement

[gzhawk]

I've been having the same problem and stumbled across this nice page today:

http://www.zatznotfunny.com/2006-12/tivotogo-on-your-mac/

This article includes a link to a FAQ for the Quicktime MPEG-2 Component:

http://www.apple.com/quicktime/mpeg2/faq.html

Within this FAQ is part of the answer we're looking for:

Can transport streams be played?
The MPEG-2 specification defines two forms of data streams, program streams and transport streams. Each is optimized for a different set of applications and environments. The QuickTime MPEG-2 Playback Component will play program streams, which combine audio and video streams that share a common timeline and are suited for applications with software processing. Playback of transport streams, which combine audio and video with independent time bases, is not supported.

I believe the problem we're having is that these MPEG-2 files from TiVo are transport streams, and therefore cannot be edited or viewed using any player/editor that uses Quicktime to do its job, like MPEG Streamclip.

It seems the only solution is to use ffmpegx to convert the video to some other editable format (e.g. MPEG-4, DV, etc.), and then edit out the commercials. I think that's the best we can do at this point. Please post if anyone finds a better solution.

[Slydude]

gzhawk

Tour suggestion about converting the video to another editable format is essentially what I am doing. I use Tivo Decode manager to download the files. I usually save them in mp4 format which can be edited in MPEG Streamclip. If I save as an mpeg I tend to use Visual Hub to do the conversion.

[toyuniverses]

I use iTivo to download files from my Tivo as mpeg2 transport streams (no conversion with loss of quality, just decrypt). VLC can always play these. MPEG Streamclip can usually play these as well (make sure you have the latest version of the Quicktime mpeg component -- redownload it from apple). But even when MPEG Streamclip can't play the audio correctly it still edits the transport stream correctly -- the edited stream plays fine with VLC. MPEG Streamclip can also convert edited transport streams to mp4 audio and video that will play fine with Quicktime.

[Slydude]

Thanks for that tip toyuniverses. Since I made my previous post, I too have been using iTivo for the download and conversion. I discovered it by accident on one of the TiVo forums and started using it because I was having more and more problems with keeping TiVo Decode manager.