PC to TiVo AKA GoToTiVo AKA TiVoBack

FAQ
• What is Go To TiVo?
• So how do I send video to my TiVo?
• How do I convert my content to MPEG2?
• How do I build a massive DVD library for my TiVo?
• Why doesn't it work?
• This is a good start, what's next?

What is Go To TiVo?
TiVo system software 7.2 in conjunction with TiVo Desktop software 2.2 transfers video files from your PC to your TiVo. The GoToTiVo feature, also known as TiVoBack, means you can use your PC as a video library for TiVo - unlimited ripped DVDs, archived .tiVo content, home movies, etc! The technology itself works like multi-room viewing, in that the TiVo records the content and you can begin watching as soon as the transfer starts or save it for later.

So how do I send video to my TiVo?
First, all video files should be stored in My Documents\My TiVo Recordings on your PC. Also on your PC the TiVo Server needs to be running, as indicated by the little TiVo icon in your system tray. If it is not running, you can enable it through the TiVo Desktop by clicking Server > Start/Resume. Once that's taken care of, head on over to your TV and navigate to TiVo's Now Playing screen. You'll notice an icon at the very bottom listing your computer name and user account. Inside that virtual folder will be all TiVoToGo shows you originally transferred to the PC as well as any video you've placed there. Once you begin transferring video you can watch it as it arrives or wait until the download completes to watch at another time. Depending on your network setup, you may have to wait a few minutes to build up a large enough cache to allow interuption-free playback. You obviously also have the option of transferring a show and watching it at another time.

So far only original .tivo files and MPEG2 (.mpg or .mpeg) content are supported. So the question is where does one get MPEG2 files? For the most part you'll be converting DVDs or your preexisting video files, such as .avi, .divx, or QuickTime, to MPEG2. Believe it or not, there is also free MPEG2 content to be found across the Internet! For example the Internet Movie Archive contains all sorts of public domain movies which you can download.

5/3/06 Update Using the TiVo Desktop for Mac 1.9.3 client and a little hacking, you can now transfer video files from a Mac to your TiVo for playback.

How do I convert my content to MPEG2?

Perhaps you've already converted all your .tivo files to DivX .avi's or maybe your digital camera records QuickTime .mov's. Regardless of the source, you're going to want to move video onto your TiVo. There are many software applications, some of which you may already have, that will reencode a variety of video formats as MPEG2. VLC, TMPGEnc, QuEnc and its predecessor FFMPEG are all examples of free programs which can convert a variety of video formats into MPEG2. WinAVI Video Converter seems to be best of the bunch - especially in terms of speed. It'll cost you 30 bucks, but they do offer a free demo.

How do I build a massive DVD library for my TiVo?
To prepare DVD's for TiVo you will need to rip the content to hard drive and then convert it to MPEG2. But I'm going to let you in on a quick hack that will work for most DVDs. By changing the DVD output file extensions from .vob to .mpg you can bypass a true conversion. Both DVD Shrink and DVD Decrypter are free apps that allow you grab the content off of DVD. When using these, be sure to simplify the source material as much as possible - dump subpicture info, extra language tracks, etc. and limit output to one .vob file. Once the .vob is produced, rename it .mpg, drop it into the My TiVo Recordings folder, and you're set for most DVDs! Check out my DVD Shrink conversion tutorial here.

Why doesn't it work?
There are a few reasons why you might be experiencing problems with TiVoBack. 7.2 TiVo system software has caused an instability on some units using the Netgear WG111 wireless adapter as seen here. GoToTiVo transfers fail and the network connection is lost. TiVo is aware of this problem, so hopefully we'll see a fix shortly. Until then, your only real option is to use another adapter as I have.

Another problem you may encounter is incorrectly formatted or incompatible MPEG2 files which either look off during playback or won't play back at all. You will very likely encounter this issue if you plan on ripping many DVDs. Video Help is a great reference for software and tools. Additionally, some more complex steps are described here which should prepare your more difficult DVDs. A description of problems due to aspect ratio, resolution, and bitrate can be found in this thread. DVD Patcher is a very nice tool for analyzing and modifying your MPEG2 header information.

Be aware not all TiVo's will be able to do anything with extra surround sound info - only the DVD models will properly process AC3. For more technical details, check out TiVo's support article.

This is a good start, what's next?
What about the future, you ask? If you're crafty you can look into automating the download and playback of Internet content here almost bypassing local storage on your PC. I'm hopeful we'll see some sort of helper application, third-party or via TiVo, to automate this process by the end of the year. And ideally future TiVo software will provide for direct Internet downloads, shortcuts and mappings to other drives or folders, allowing subfolders to categorize your video, and adding TiVo meta-data to video files. I expect to see kinks related to resolution and aspect ratio worked out with the next TiVo software release.