Building a Mac Media Center

On Sep 12, 2006, at 9:15 PM, Chris Pepper wrote:

> Has anyone heard anything about TiVo2Go gaining Mac
> compatibility? I had heard rumors, but it wasn't announced last week
> with the new iMacs, or this week with the new iPods & iTunes movies.
> No Mac/iPod compatibility is a showstopper for me.

Ars Technica claims that while TiVo Series 3 was released today,
TiVo2Go was deleted.

<http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20060912-7721.html>

   --John

On 9/12/06 9:15 PM, "Chris Pepper" <pepperreppep.com> wrote:

> Has anyone heard anything about TiVo2Go gaining Mac
> compatibility? I had heard rumors, but it wasn't announced last week
> with the new iMacs, or this week with the new iPods & iTunes movies.
> No Mac/iPod compatibility is a showstopper for me.

I use a Canopus ADVC100 to import TiVo into iTunes. Haven't heard anything
about the TiVo2Go for Mac, but just received a notice today about the new
TiVo Series3&#129; HD Digital Media Recorder with the ability to record two shows
at once. <http://www.tivo.com/2.0.3hdDvr.plt.asp>

..and then there is the new and upcoming iTV.

http://www.macworld.com/news/2006/09/12/itv/index.php

--
Diane Ross, Microsoft Mac MVP
Entourage Help Page
<http://www.entourage.mvps.org/>
The Entourage Blog lists the EHP as one of the top five Microsoft Entourage
resources.
<http://blogs.msdn.com/entourage/>

At 8:39 AM -0500 2006/09/13, Kevin van Haaren wrote:
>--On September 12, 2006 9:15:23 PM -0700 Chris Pepper
><pepperreppep.com> wrote:
>> According to a PDF I got from Time Warner Cable, HDTV for
>>broadcast channels is a free upgrade from DTV (which we'll be
>>getting), so I guess I'll be getting the HDTV set-top box, but I
>>don't know what outputs it provides.
>
>Hmmm, interesting. I'm on Time-Warner Cable in Kansas City at it
>cost me $5 to go from digital TV to HD cable (that might have been
>the cost of getting HBO HD added to my regular Digital subscription
>too). I'm not sure what box they were going to offer me for that,
>but for another $4 ($9 total up from DTV) I got an HD DVR. The only
>reason I went with that is the HD DVR has an HDMI output on it, the
>other box didn't.

        Yes, they offer an $8.95 DVR here too. I don't know if the
DVR is the same for DTV & HDTV, but the non-DVR cable boxes are
apparently different (free upgrade).

>The DVR I got is:
>Scientific Atlanta Explorer 8300 HD
>
>Outputs are HDMI, Component, SVideo and standard video. Note that
>the HDMI output requires HDCP (copy protection between the box and
>the TV) to work.

        I suspect nothing from Elgato handles HDMI/HDCP.

>I have a Tivo and mostly watch it. I watch some HDTV but I don't
>really use the DVR functionality on the SA box. I'm pretty much
>holding it until I can save up for the Series 3 Tivo that is finally
>shipping.
>
><http://www.tivo.com/2.0.3hdDvr.features.asp>

        Saw that, but it's a no-go w/o TiVo2Go for me. We'll stick
with our hacked S1 for upstairs, for now.

>One nice feature of the SA box is when the channel is on a HDTV
>channel it outputs standard (letterboxed) video on the SVideo port.
>This means I can record the HD channels on my tivo (without the
>awesome resolution of true HD, but that's fine for the moment).
>
>I'm on my third HDTV in the last couple of weeks (mostly due to a
>costco shipping error and a better tv being put up for sale). I ran
>into a problem with one TV (a Vizio model), when the TV was turned
>off the SA box wouldn't recognize the connection as a HDCP
>connection and every channel (to an HD channel or not) change from
>the Tivo would be ignored and it would record a black screen that
>the HDMI connection was required to be HDCP. Really annoying.
>Neither of the Scepter TVs I tried (and one I bought) has this issue.

        Interesting, but I want to use an iMac as the TV. Except that
I don't know if Elgato EyeTV hybrid can change channels -- have to
see.

--
Chris Pepper: <http://www.reppep.com/~pepper/>
                             <http://www.reppep.com/weblog/pepper/>
Rockefeller University: <http://www.rockefeller.edu/>

On Sep 13, 2006, at 12:15 AM, Chris Pepper wrote:
> How about a pointer to real info on TWC's cable boxes, with
> output information? The TWC rep I spoke to was without clue, but I'm
> going to check the TiVo/AV forums next. I assume they're much less
> concerned about outputs, though, since TiVos come with a full suite
> of inputs.

It might be a better to check directly with Scientific Atlanta or
Motorola, depending upon which box you have (TW uses both, depending
upon which services you buy from them). I'm not anything resembling a
programmer, but if you want to manage what you see on the head end,
I'm guessing you'll need to communicate directly with the box itself
rather than with the server. I could be totally wrong, though.

Marilyn

--On September 12, 2006 9:15:23 PM -0700 Chris Pepper <pepperreppep.com>
wrote:
> According to a PDF I got from Time Warner Cable, HDTV for
> broadcast channels is a free upgrade from DTV (which we'll be
> getting), so I guess I'll be getting the HDTV set-top box, but I
> don't know what outputs it provides.

Hmmm, interesting. I'm on Time-Warner Cable in Kansas City at it cost me $5
to go from digital TV to HD cable (that might have been the cost of getting
HBO HD added to my regular Digital subscription too). I'm not sure what box
they were going to offer me for that, but for another $4 ($9 total up from
DTV) I got an HD DVR. The only reason I went with that is the HD DVR has
an HDMI output on it, the other box didn't.

The DVR I got is:
Scientific Atlanta Explorer 8300 HD

Outputs are HDMI, Component, SVideo and standard video. Note that the HDMI
output requires HDCP (copy protection between the box and the TV) to work.

I have a Tivo and mostly watch it. I watch some HDTV but I don't really use
the DVR functionality on the SA box. I'm pretty much holding it until I
can save up for the Series 3 Tivo that is finally shipping.

<http://www.tivo.com/2.0.3hdDvr.features.asp>

One nice feature of the SA box is when the channel is on a HDTV channel it
outputs standard (letterboxed) video on the SVideo port. This means I can
record the HD channels on my tivo (without the awesome resolution of true
HD, but that's fine for the moment).

I'm on my third HDTV in the last couple of weeks (mostly due to a costco
shipping error and a better tv being put up for sale). I ran into a problem
with one TV (a Vizio model), when the TV was turned off the SA box wouldn't
recognize the connection as a HDCP connection and every channel (to an HD
channel or not) change from the Tivo would be ignored and it would record a
black screen that the HDMI connection was required to be HDCP. Really
annoying. Neither of the Scepter TVs I tried (and one I bought) has this
issue.

>On Sep 12, 2006, at 9:15 PM, Chris Pepper wrote:
>
>> Has anyone heard anything about TiVo2Go gaining Mac
>>compatibility? I had heard rumors, but it wasn't announced last week
>>with the new iMacs, or this week with the new iPods & iTunes movies.
>>No Mac/iPod compatibility is a showstopper for me.
>
>Ars Technica claims that while TiVo Series 3 was released today,
>TiVo2Go was deleted.

        Tivo2Go never worked on Macs, anyway. No loss.
--
-- Marshall

Marshall Clow Idio Software <mailto:marshallidio.com>

It is by caffeine alone I set my mind in motion.
It is by the beans of Java that thoughts acquire speed,
the hands acquire shaking, the shaking becomes a warning.
It is by caffeine alone I set my mind in motion.

At 1:32 PM -0700 2006/09/13, Kevin van Haaren wrote:
>--On September 12, 2006 9:15:23 PM -0700 Chris Pepper <pepperreppep.com>
>wrote:
>> According to a PDF I got from Time Warner Cable, HDTV for
>>broadcast channels is a free upgrade from DTV (which we'll be
>>getting), so I guess I'll be getting the HDTV set-top box, but I
>>don't know what outputs it provides.

>I have a Tivo and mostly watch it. I watch some HDTV but I don't really use
>the DVR functionality on the SA box. I'm pretty much holding it until I
>can save up for the Series 3 Tivo that is finally shipping.
>
><http://www.tivo.com/2.0.3hdDvr.features.asp>
>
>One nice feature of the SA box is when the channel is on a HDTV channel it
>outputs standard (letterboxed) video on the SVideo port. This means I can
>record the HD channels on my tivo (without the awesome resolution of true
>HD, but that's fine for the moment).

        Thanks, all, for advice.

        I think I'm going to reverse my plans. The EyeTV boxes just
seem incomplete compared to a real TiVo (no direct support for
changing channels on the cable box, to start).

        For upstairs, I'll go with the $9/month DVR. If that stinks,
an 80gb S2 TiVo (prepaid for 3 years) costs only $50 more.

        Downstairs, we'll use our old hacked S1 TiVo, feeding analog
into the EyeTV hybrid. We can either watch in realtime, using the
EyeTV to make the 24" iMac a TV, or (what I've been doing for the
past few years), download the .ty files, convert to .mpeg, and watch
them in QuickTime, or convert to smaller files for Palm or iPod.

        No HDTV (although I may have to tell TWC we're going to get
an HDTV, so I can get HDTV boxes up front). Video quality will be
lower than a pure digital path, but I can get video out, Amy can
watch TV without dealing with file-format conversions, and Julia can
watch TV with a real remote-controlled DVR.


                                                Chris
--
Chris Pepper: <http://www.reppep.com/~pepper/>
                             <http://www.reppep.com/weblog/pepper/>
Rockefeller University: <http://www.rockefeller.edu/>

--On September 13, 2006 1:32:21 PM -0700 Michael Krzyzek
<michaeltactile.com> wrote:

> TiVo2Go has been missing in action for years on the Mac. As far as I can
> tell the main sticking point is the DRM. To use it on the PC and actually
> burn out DVDs (and I assume VCDs but I have not done this) you need to
> download and I think purchase the Sonic CD/DVD software.

Doesn't specifically need to be Sonic software (although that's what Tivo
recommends), it just needs to support Microsoft's DirectShow (current Tivo
DRM uses this) and MPEG2 videos. Nero's software supposedly works too.

Not sure if either can burn DVD's when running on Parallels or Boot Camp.

Kevin

On 12 Sep 2006, at 22:15 , Chris Pepper wrote:
> So we're moving in about 3 weeks (staying in Park Slope), and
> we'll need a second TV & audio system, in our bedroom. I want
> something I can extract video from, for the Treo (now) and iPod (once
> a full-screen model ships).

I've been thinking about this a lot, recently. I'm starting to not
feel the love for TiVo like I once did. There's so many thing they
have not done will, or at all, and I'm kind of annoyed at how
cumbersome some things are. But that's not the main reason, the main
reason is I want to be able to dump shows off the TiVo easily. I am
also not that happy about being tied to DirecTV in perpetuity. Yes,
I like DirectTV and don't plan on going to cable, but it would save
me about $25/month, so I might not have a choice.

Right now, I am leaning toward converting my PC to a linux machine,
dropping a couple of large-ish drives in it, and using it as a MythTV
server.

I already have a 20" Dell Flat Panel in the bedroom, so I would
probably set up a mini as the controller for the MythTV and connect
it to the Dell if I can find the DVI cable (grmbl grmbl).

> Has anyone heard anything about TiVo2Go gaining Mac
> compatibility?

Not a peep officially, and TiVo demoed a Series 3 machine recently
without mentioning the Mac. Another reason I am frustrated with Tivo.

--
You may be anti anti-spam-kook if: Despite having invented the FUSSP,
you not only don't know the difference between the SMTP envelope and
SMTP headers; you doubt there is such a thing as the SMTP envelope
because email doesn't involve paper.

At 12:15 PM -0700 2006/09/14, Marshall Clow wrote:
>>On Sep 12, 2006, at 9:15 PM, Chris Pepper wrote:
>>
>>> Has anyone heard anything about TiVo2Go gaining Mac
>>>compatibility? I had heard rumors, but it wasn't announced last week
>>>with the new iMacs, or this week with the new iPods & iTunes movies.
>>>No Mac/iPod compatibility is a showstopper for me.
>>
>>Ars Technica claims that while TiVo Series 3 was released today,
>>TiVo2Go was deleted.
>
> Tivo2Go never worked on Macs, anyway. No loss.

        But TiVo announced they were working with Apple on it a year
or so ago. I hoped this would ship on the S3.


                                                Chris
--
Chris Pepper: <http://www.reppep.com/~pepper/>
                             <http://www.reppep.com/weblog/pepper/>
Rockefeller University: <http://www.rockefeller.edu/>

You could also set up MythTV on an Intel Mac. It supports a client/
server architecture and a fairly lightweight Mac (Intel or PPC) or PC
can serve as a client and play media for you. It is rather techical
to set up and administer, but does fabulous work.

<http://www.mythtv.org/wiki/index.php/Myth_on_Mac_x86>

--Nik

On 19 Sep 2006, at 06:27 , Nik wrote:
> You could also set up MythTV on an Intel Mac. It supports a client/
> server architecture and a fairly lightweight Mac (Intel or PPC) or PC
> can serve as a client and play media for you. It is rather techical
> to set up and administer, but does fabulous work.
>
> <http://www.mythtv.org/wiki/index.php/Myth_on_Mac_x86>

You can use the CLIENT on the Mac, but you still, as far as I know,
need a Linux (x86 Linux) machine to run as the server.


--
if you ever get that chimp of your back, if you ever find the thing
you lack, ah but you know you're only having a laugh. Oh, oh here we
go again -- until the end.

On Sep 20, 2006, at 4:21 AM, Google Kreme wrote:

> On 19 Sep 2006, at 06:27 , Nik wrote:
>> You could also set up MythTV on an Intel Mac. It supports a client/
>> server architecture and a fairly lightweight Mac (Intel or PPC) or PC
>> can serve as a client and play media for you. It is rather techical
>> to set up and administer, but does fabulous work.
>>
>> <http://www.mythtv.org/wiki/index.php/Myth_on_Mac_x86>
>
> You can use the CLIENT on the Mac, but you still, as far as I know,
> need a Linux (x86 Linux) machine to run as the server.

Read the link above, you will find that you can, in fact, build
MythTV under MacOS X on Intel Macs.

And I cannot even begin to tell you how excited I am by the prospect
of a MythTV-running Mac Mini. :)

--Nik

On 21 Sep 2006, at 12:14 , Nik wrote:
> On Sep 20, 2006, at 4:21 AM, Google Kreme wrote:
>> On 19 Sep 2006, at 06:27 , Nik wrote:
>>> <http://www.mythtv.org/wiki/index.php/Myth_on_Mac_x86>
>>
>> You can use the CLIENT on the Mac, but you still, as far as I know,
>> need a Linux (x86 Linux) machine to run as the server.
>
> Read the link above, you will find that you can, in fact, build
> MythTV under MacOS X on Intel Macs.
>
> And I cannot even begin to tell you how excited I am by the prospect
> of a MythTV-running Mac Mini. :)

I did read the link and I must be missing something because all the
information on capturing video for MythTV is for Linux on x86 machines.

So how does one get the video to the Mac?


--
I've always had a flair for stage directions.

I have tried to get TIVO to work the way I want. I use my son's Window's computer to pull shows off the box using TIVO2go or Galleon. I use Directshowdump to strip the DRM (this can be done automatically in the background). And then all the Macs on the network have access to the show by way of your Network.---(like if you had no life and wanted to record every single world cup game to an external hard drive including every single worldcuplive episode including the one with Julie Foudy showing how to celebrate a goal)

Even if you use DirectShowDump, you can't necessarily watch the show or burn the show to a DVD on a mac with Toast--my laptop does it--but my G5iMac does not (I don't know what software I have that lets my laptop do it--and sometimes I have to use a video player other than quicktime).

The best software that I have seen is a freeware program called Galleon. It allows real flexibility in tranferring programs to a disk on a Windows machine -- and even allows you to control it from the TV--or to program it to do the transfers in the background based upon the shows you want to transfer. The weak point of this system is the slow ethernet port on the TIVO machine and of course dealing with the DRM. If I didn't have the TIVO already, I'd get the one with the DVD burner built in. Apparently it works and it is easier keeping a stack of DVDs by the machine than screwing around trying to beat the DRM. I realize this is a Mac site, but I'm giving the example as the best I could do with limited programing skill.