Benefits of NoCSO patch in multi tivo house.

[pdd]

Hi All,

Just wanted to get some opinions from people here about the NoCSO patch to tivoapp. (I hope I am not confusing it with the CCI one)

Anyway with this patch recordings are stored unencrypted on the tivo's hard drive. To extract these shows you pull them off via mfs_ftp then run them through s3tots (or have this running on tivo with mfs_ftp) then you have an mpeg stream to do what you want with.

Without the patch you need to can extract the show from the tivo using mfs_ftp then run it through tivodecode with your MAK key. Then you have a mpeg to do what you want with.

Is the above correct for a non patched tivoapp? Mine is patched so I don't know. Also does anyone know if tivodecode works with Australian .tivo files? I know the author of s3tots had to modify his code slightly as our recordings contained extra streams.

The primary reason I ask these questions is that I have 3 TivoHD's in my house. 2 not chipped and 1 chipped. I would like to be able to transfer shows bettween these tivos but I am aware that this is not possible if a tivo has NoCSO patch applied. I would still like to be able to archive shows though from the chipped tivo so don't want to interfere with that.

So the question is in my situation.... is the NoCSO patch important or really just there for convenience?

Thoughts?

[tivo4mevo]

Just wanted to get some opinions from people here about the NoCSO patch to tivoapp. (I hope I am not confusing it with the CCI one)

Anyway with this patch recordings are stored unencrypted on the tivo's hard drive. To extract these shows you pull them off via mfs_ftp then run them through s3tots (or have this running on tivo with mfs_ftp) then you have an mpeg stream to do what you want with.

Without the patch you need to can extract the show from the tivo using mfs_ftp then run it through tivodecode with your MAK key. Then you have a mpeg to do what you want with.You have it correct. The so called "NoCSO" patch is distinct from the "CCI" patches as they serve different purposes.


Is the above correct for a non patched tivoapp? Mine is patched so I don't know.Have you tried removing the patch to see? ;) but yes that's correct.


Also does anyone know if tivodecode works with Australian .tivo files? I know the author of s3tots had to modify his code slightly as our recordings contained extra streams.I can't say definitively, but if you use the same version of TiVoDesktop as US folks, then I would wager it would be the same. Additionally, I would think that irrespective of the stream content, the encryption might remain the same. Try it and report back your results.


The primary reason I ask these questions is that I have 3 TivoHD's in my house. 2 not chipped and 1 chipped. I would like to be able to transfer shows bettween these tivos but I am aware that this is not possible if a tivo has NoCSO patch applied. I would still like to be able to archive shows though from the chipped tivo so don't want to interfere with that.

So the question is in my situation.... is the NoCSO patch important or really just there for convenience?

Thoughts?There is discussion on this very topic in this thread: link (http://www.dealdatabase.com/forum/showthread.php?t=60607)

I believe that the consensus was that for those running a mixture of hacked and unhacked units, many of them do not apply the NoCSO patch so that MRV works, and they then tackle extraction (which is only possible with mfs_ftp if NoCSO is applied) using TTG/tivodecode (I'm not sure if tivodecode will work with the raw TS streams obtained from mfs_ftp, as you seemed to suggest).

[StanSimmons]

I have several S2/S3 boxes and I DO NOT run the NoCSO patches. TTG/TivoDecode works fine for me, it isn't as fast, but it works well.

I do use the CCI patch on my S3 boxes.

[pdd]

I believe that the consensus was that for those running a mixture of hacked and unhacked units, many of them do not apply the NoCSO patch so that MRV works, and they then tackle extraction (which is only possible with mfs_ftp if NoCSO is applied) using TTG/tivodecode (I'm not sure if tivodecode will work with the raw TS streams obtained from mfs_ftp, as you seemed to suggest).

I just removed the NoCSO patch and the results are


I can pull shows from the unmodded TivoHD to the modded TivoHD
I cannot pull shows from modded TivoHD to unmodded TivoHD that were recorded while the NoCSR patch was in place (plays back as grey screen as expected)
I have not tested moving shows recorded on modded TivoHD AFTER patch removed to an unmodded TivoHD (will update this post when I have but confident it will work)
It appears you are correct I cannot seem to use mfs_ftp anymore :( It fails when trying to get the directory listing from the ty directory.

Is there are tweak I can make to mfs_ftp to at least be able to pull off .tivo files??? I am aware I will still need to decode them.

If not I assume now leaves me with

Install TTG (I don't want to install this HOG)
Use the built in webserver https://the.tivo.ip.address/ with username:tivo and password: MAK
Some other 3rd party app that uses step 2


Hmmm decisions decisions...

[tivo4mevo]

Is there are tweak I can make to mfs_ftp to at least be able to pull off .tivo files??? I am aware I will still need to decode them.Not that I'm aware of, though I thought that mfs_ftp should still be able to pull the (scrambled) shows off. Perhaps others, more knowledgable can comment more.


If not I assume now leaves me with

Install TTG (I don't want to install this HOG)
Use the built in webserver https://the.tivo.ip.address/ with username:tivo and password: MAK
Some other 3rd party app that uses step 2
All three of these options draw videos from tivo's builtin httpd (download) server, aka TTG. TTG requires tivo to remux the S3 native TS to MPEG and also sprinkle in some DRM, which accounts for the TTG's slower download speed (as compared with mfs_ftp).

[jjjones]

How do I remove the NoCSO patch from a 11.0d tvapppatches patched TivoHD?

[ScanMan]

How do I remove the NoCSO patch from a 11.0d tvapppatches patched TivoHD?I assume it's already been patched. Simply restore your original virgin tivoapp - you did make a backup copy didn't you? Then delete the line(s) from the tvapppatches.tcl for the NoCSO and reapply.

What you didn't save a virgin copy of tivoapp. Well you can get it from the MFS db. Here (http://www.dealdatabase.com/forum/showthread.php?p=278333) is a link on how to export the whole root filesystem. Here (http://www.dealdatabase.com/forum/showpost.php?p=277654&postcount=47) is another that describes just how to export GZCore which tivoapp is located in.

[jjjones]

Thanks. That's really helpful. I'm a newbie still figuring it all out. I'm only a few days past getting a bash prompt in telnet.

I ftp'ed over to /tvbin and found the file tivoapp with the date of the applied hack and the file tivoapp.foo which was created as a backup when I applied tivoapppatches. So yes, thanks to Mike S, I have a backup of tivoapp.

Maybe I'm off base but is there a way I can undo the NoCSO code using dd at the bash prompt?

From the 11.0d sitting in MFS thread (http://dealdatabase.com/forum/showthread.php?t=61245), I found the following "disable enc" code which I believe is the NoCSO hack:

echo -ne "\x10\x00\x00\xaa" | dd conv=notrunc of=tivoapp bs=1 seek=1915412

If I run the above code with 1915412 replaced by some new numbers, it would revert me back to CSO.

It would be great if I could switch CSO on and off. Keep it off generally for networking, but switch to NoCSO for tytool pulls.

[jt1134]

echo -ne "\x10\x00\x00\xaa" | dd conv=notrunc of=tivoapp bs=1 seek=1915412

If I run the above code with 1915412 replaced by some new numbers, it would revert me back to CSO.

yup. 100000aa is the new data. replace it with the original data.

[jjjones]

Thanks. How do I find the original data?

Also, thanks for all your useful posts. Whenever I hit an obstacle, chances were that one of your posts cleared the way.

[jt1134]

from psxboy's post:


0x005d3a14 "104000aa 100000aa"

patch format is : VMA offset "original data | new data"

[jjjones]

To be sure, I would:

echo -ne "\x10\x40\x00\xaa" | dd conv=notrunc of=tivoapp bs=1 seek=1915412

Thanks

[newbie]

It would be great if I could switch CSO on and off. Keep it off generally for networking, but switch to NoCSO for tytool pulls.

Unless something has changed the NoCSO patch prevents newly recorded shows from being encrypted. Turning it off won't let you use a tool like tytools for shows that were recorded prior to the use of the NoCSO patch.

[jjjones]

Unless something has changed the NoCSO patch prevents newly recorded shows from being encrypted. Turning it off won't let you use a tool like tytools for shows that were recorded prior to the use of the NoCSO patch.

True.

I figured that I would turn on NoCSO and use tytool only at times when I was not recording anything for which I would use tytool.

Also if the switch required a reboot, it would be unwieldy.

[pdd]

Unless something has changed the NoCSO patch prevents newly recorded shows from being encrypted. Turning it off won't let you use a tool like tytools for shows that were recorded prior to the use of the NoCSO patch.

Also mfs_ftp no longer works too :(

However there are plenty of other ways to get the shows off.

[lrhorer]

Is there are tweak I can make to mfs_ftp to at least be able to pull off .tivo files??? I am aware I will still need to decode them.
Not if the files are encrypted, no. The mfs_ftp utility knows noting about encryption, and no one has yet broken the TiVo encryption, to my knowledge.


If not I assume now leaves me with
[LIST=2]
Install TTG (I don't want to install this HOG)
TTG is not a program. Do you perhaps mean TiVo Desktop? I agree TDT is a pig.


Use the built in webserver https://the.tivo.ip.address/ with username:tivo and password: MAK
If you aren't doing much in the way of transfers, this might be practical. It isn't very useful if you are doing any significant amount of transfers. It's going to be much slower than TyTool or mfs_ftp transfers, and of course it won't work on protected content unless you have the CCI byte hack in place.


Some other 3rd party app that uses step 2
Galleon is the best choice for unprotected transfers, in my estimation. I'm using NoCSO, but Galleon is certainly a solution. It is the only app which can initiate transfers from any TiVo in the house, and it has plenty of automation features. It's also available as a Linux (or just about any other OS) app, can easily run as a service, and provides lots of other great features. I'm running Galleon and pyTivo on a Linux server, although I am not generally using Galleon for either TTG or TTCB.

[lrhorer]

Anyway with this patch recordings are stored unencrypted on the tivo's hard drive. To extract these shows you pull them off via mfs_ftp then run them through s3tots (or have this running on tivo with mfs_ftp) then you have an mpeg stream to do what you want with.
Well, s3tots produces a .ts file, although a transport stream is a type of mpeg stream. The tytompg utility produces a .mpg file. I use TyTool / tserver to transfer the recording and then s3tots to create a transport stream in an automated script running under cron.



So the question is in my situation.... is the NoCSO patch important or really just there for convenience?
It depends upon what one is trying to do and what one's needs and priorities are. I don't do much MRV at all, so the CCI hack is not particularly useful for me. Anything I want off a TiVo, I transfer using TyTool on one of my hacked TiVos onto the video server. If I want to transfer a program, I don't record it on the unhacked TiVo. TTG transfers are slow and clumsy. MRV transfers are much faster, but one cannot MRV to anything but another TiVo.

[lrhorer]

True.

I figured that I would turn on NoCSO and use tytool only at times when I was not recording anything for which I would use tytool.

Also if the switch required a reboot, it would be unwieldy.
In practical terms, it's going to require a reboot. Shutting down tivoapp is likely to be prblematical, although it is certainly possible. Realistically, you probably need to decide on one path or the other, although of course nothing prevents you from employing both the CCI hack and the NoCSO hack. The sticking point is one cannot transfer from a NoCSO TiVo directly to a TiVo without the NoCSO hack.

[philhu]

I have 2 TivoHD units, no CSO patch (so still encrypted on the Tivo HD).

MFS_FTP is running fine, 1.2.9p will the rollup patch and 64-bit apps

I can grab the ty and ty+ or TMF files as still encrypted without problem.

Does TivoDecode work with TY, TY+ or TMF files?

TMF is the best choice, since it includes the Tivo Information about the show at the top of the archive.

-EDIT- Also, I cannot transfer programs from a std TivoHD to one with the NOCSO patch. As expected, they transfer, but show black screen
and no progress when you try to play them.

-edit- So, if I apply the noCSO patch to both TivoHD's, will the old, encrypted shows, still transfer and play ok? I know new ones, unencrypted will transfer and play, but how about older ones?

-EDIT- No TivoDecode does NOT work with these files, and no other tools do either. The files I can pull with MFS_FTP and
encrypted output transfer fast and come over, but NOTHING can decrypt them. They end up stored in the RID h/w encryption
not based upon your MAK key.

The Tivo Desktop unencrypts the hw encryption and throws on DRM encryption. This is why it is so slow.

AFAIK, there in NO tool out to decrypt the h/w encrypted files.

[philhu]

Ok, so if I apply the noCSO patches to both TivoHDs, will it allow transfer of older encrypted shows between Tivos? I know the unencrypted newer shows will transfer ok, but what about older ones?

[pdd]

Ok, so if I apply the noCSO patches to both TivoHDs, will it allow transfer of older encrypted shows between Tivos? I know the unencrypted newer shows will transfer ok, but what about older ones?

From recollection you can't transfer old shows as they are already encrypted.