Proven Concept: Tivo Stream Importing

[AlphaWolf]

Originally posted by olaf_sc
Do you know if there is a lib that has functions to parse a tar file? I would be pretty nice if we could read the tystreams directly in the tar files. It would aviod the unpacking and I could e.g. demux directly from the tar file.

Cheers Olaf

PS: Yes it's open etc but I rather not code the parser if I can avoid it

Understood completely I don't know myself, might ask mbm, or look on gnu.org. I anticipate that your 0.5.0 release could use this as part of the DVD features though.

[kshep]

Originally posted by AlphaWolf
Well, bear in mind its also not realy intended as an archive. The intent is that one file holds all of the information relavent to one recording...

Gotcha. But even if it's just one program I still think you could (and many folks will) call it an archive, particularly when one common use will be for people to archive shows off their TiVos. I honestly don't mean to argue symantics, I just think you've come up with a format that could be pretty conventient for a number of extraction/insertion/archiving tasks and you might want to position it that way.

Besides, it's a tar file. I suspect many people will be using tar to create and extract from the file, so it might be a good idea to carry along that "heritage" in the naming and choice of extension (ala .jar)

[AlphaWolf]

For any dev'ers looking at this, I might add that there are also some not so obvious specifics to this format, the most important being that the XML file must come first in the tarball, then each tystream part comes one after the other in their origional order as stored on the tivo. The reason the file order is important is for re-inserting on the fly without the use of temporary files.

[sting0r]

Hi --

Anyone willing to help a newbie out. I see there is so many version of scripts etc... Anyone have a step by step or would be willing to point me in the right direction to get insertion working? I am interested in inserting media I have on my PC for watching on the Tivo, instead of burning to a dvd and watching on a dvd player. Any help would be appreciated..

Sting0r

[AlphaWolf]

Originally posted by kshep
Just to clarify...

By "multi-part downloading" are you talking about taking chunks from different tivos and combining them into a single program? I assume you're not suggesting a tarball created by combining the results of a "Get Parts" extration using TyTool couldn't be downloaded/inserted.

They *possibly* can, all of the streams I have exported with tytool seem to have a mangled master chunk, I thus haven't tried reinserting them because its my expectation that they wont work. Since I haven't tried it, I can't say. If they do work however, that just means there are a lot of extra steps involved. Anything you have extracted using the classic mfs_export should work fine, just need to separate the tystream parts is all.

[SR712]

As far as a name goes.... how about... TyBall ?

[AlphaWolf]

Well, if you have a lot of time, you could write software that runs on the tivo which on command would basicaly duplicate a tystream, only the new copy has no commercials.

[OvitivO]

I have noticed that rc-insert is relatively "polite" when it comes to resources on the Tivo, and I have yet to notice any major problems with using the Tivo during an insertion, but rc-xtract is quite the opposite. rc-xtract will basically use up enough resources to effectively stop any additional interaction with the Tivo during the extraction process.

Would anyone have any suggestions or is this an inherent side effect of pulling the streams out of the Tivo?

(I'm using v1.10a of the insert script and the v.1.0 of the extract script. 1.10a adds a few features that help out with my set up.)

[mpauley]

RC3105,

Do you know why I would have an issue downloading a file over 3.99GB? The file I am currently trying a show that is 4.6GB and it just hangs @ 3.99GB. I have Windows XP Build 5600 extracting to a 128G drive formated to NTFS.

Thanks for any insight....

--mp

[compwiz312]

If you are running FAT32, there is a 4GB limit. Switch to NTFS, that should solve your problems. If not, don't shoot the messenger.

[AlphaWolf]

Finalizing the standard...

http://alt.org/forum/index.php?t=msg...140#msg_num_10

[wheelbarrow]

Hi Guys,

I've been reading though the thread and have a simple question. My upgraded uk Tivo is now playing up and i need to get some programs from it.

I don't need to watch the then now, and can wait for code to be relased before trying to put them back on to the machine when i have put a new disk in.

All i need to know is which tool and what version i should use to get the shows out in such a format that i will be able to put them back at a later date.


keep up all the great work.

Thanks

Paul