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#1 2007-04-16 11:12 pm
- redchef
- Member
- From: deep inside the internets
- Registered: 2004-10-20
- Posts: 59
TiVo and Mac- not so much...
So i finally got TiVo, and I haven't seen a commercial in 2 weeks. I feel smarter already.
Naturally, I'd like to start pulling some stuff off of TiVo and onto a computer, but the free TiVo desktop software for Mac appears to only support photo/music streaming? If I want to pull stuff from the tivo, it looks like I have only 2 choices:
1) Shell out $100 for Toast 8
2) Use a Windows PC
Seems like kind of a lose-lose situation no? Whats the deal? Why does it seem like Mac users have to pay for a level of functionality that Windows users can have for free? Is there a workaround?
Somebody set me straight.
PS- everyone should play ultimate frisbee, its even more fun than your mac...
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#2 2007-04-16 11:47 pm
- paxswill
- Mmmmm...
- From: Where the "N" is for knowledge
- Registered: 2001-12-05
- Posts: 431
Re: TiVo and Mac- not so much...
Yay for open-source! TivoDecode Manager is a utility that downloads shows and then re-encodes them to other formats. Works for me. Just be prepared to sit for a while with older computers, it takes 1.5x the length of the show on a 1.5GHz mac mini with a gig of RAM for me for medium quality shows.
Mac mini: 1.5GHz G4, 80GB, BT/Airport, 1GB RAM, Leopard
MacBook Pro: 2.4GHz Core 2 Duo, 15" matte, 120GB, BT/802.11n, 2GB RAM, Leopard
iBook G4: 1.0GHz G4, 14", 40GB, Airport, 1.25GB RAM, Leopard
20GB 4G iPod, Apple OS
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#3 2007-04-17 1:43 am
- Aqua OS X
- Shark Sandwich
- From: Oakland, CA
- Registered: 2000-06-05
- Posts: 12534
Re: TiVo and Mac- not so much...
If you ask me, Toast is a utility worth having around.
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#4 2007-04-17 8:52 am
- redchef
- Member
- From: deep inside the internets
- Registered: 2004-10-20
- Posts: 59
Re: TiVo and Mac- not so much...
I do own Toast 6, and it's alright, but honestly I barely use it, and I certainly don't use it enough to shell out $100 for Toast 8.
I'll look into the TiVo decode Manager, thanks.
PS- everyone should play ultimate frisbee, its even more fun than your mac...
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#5 2007-04-17 12:32 pm
- Mr. Happypants
- Member
- Registered: 2001-11-14
- Posts: 1178
Re: TiVo and Mac- not so much...
You might want to poke around www.tivocommunity.com too, lots of Mac people there and a ton of great information.
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#6 2007-04-17 1:23 pm
Re: TiVo and Mac- not so much...
redchef wrote:
I do own Toast 6, and it's alright, but honestly I barely use it, and I certainly don't use it enough to shell out $100 for Toast 8.
I'll look into the TiVo decode Manager, thanks.
If you use it for Tivo, too, then you will get your moneys worth. 
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#7 2007-04-18 6:18 pm
- brainiac_7
- % rm -r brainiac_6
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- From: CT Shoreline
- Registered: 2000-10-09
- Posts: 7243
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Re: TiVo and Mac- not so much...
Thanks for the TiVo Decode Manager tip!!!
related-but-off-topic: I sprang for the TiVo-Toshiba DVR, so I have access to my movies on disk. Toast copies them fine, if I require backups. The experience has been mixed.
The DVR's burner crapped out about six months after the warranty did. It took awhile to get in contact with someone who could actually help. A few calls to TiVo to find out I had to call Toshiba. A few calls to Toshiba to find out I had to ship the device to them; no Tosh-authorized repair centers are allowed to touch 'em.
Toshiba repair central set up a repair and shipped the device back. Shipped it back with a still-non-functional burner, that is. Luckily, I'd included my email in the paperwork, and was thus contacted by Tosh's actual repair guys. This was key.
Toshiba call center told me I could just begin at the beginning, and wait another four to six weeks all over again. The guy at the email addy took a different approach, and got the job done ASAP.
Conclusions:
1. I find TV unwatchable without TiVo; something I found out the hard way during my month or so waiting for the DVR to come back.
2. God bless Turner Classic Movies!
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#8 2007-04-18 10:49 pm
Re: TiVo and Mac- not so much...
brainiac_7 wrote:
Conclusions:
1. I find TV unwatchable without TiVo; something I found out the hard way during my month or so waiting for the DVR to come back.
Did you find yourself trying to pause and rewind live tv? 
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#9 2007-04-20 10:27 am
- brainiac_7
- % rm -r brainiac_6
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- From: CT Shoreline
- Registered: 2000-10-09
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Re: TiVo and Mac- not so much...
justine wrote:
brainiac_7 wrote:
Conclusions:
1. I find TV unwatchable without TiVo; something I found out the hard way during my month or so waiting for the DVR to come back.Did you find yourself trying to pause and rewind live tv?
Totally! Our other tube upstairs is non-digital and has no TiVo; we're always trying to pause to build up an anti-commercial buffer to no avail. We mostly watch TiVo-burned DVDs upstairs.
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