PVRblog

Converting HD video for TiVoGoBack on a Mac

If you have a TiVoHD or Series 3 TiVo and a Mac, you've probably read tutorials like this about enabling the hidden TiVoGoBack feature on a Mac (last October's update to HD TiVos added the long-awaited feature). If you've tried it yourself, you've probably noticed that VisualHub's default TiVo mpeg profile converts everything to standard def output.

It's a great automatic feature, but it can be a drag if you're converting HD versions of shows and movies. You lose the full use of your widescreen TV because the standard def conversion adds black bars to the sides of output as well as black bars top and bottom within that area to display video at the proper aspect ratio. Zooming in on the video will exaggerate artifacts and show a fairly poor looking picture.

When the feature was first added, I spent a couple days experimenting and researching ways to use the full screen but couldn't find the right combination of settings. Thankfully, someone did finally figure it out. This guide to downloaded video playback on a HD TiVo covers the exact steps required for proper full use of the screen.

The pertinent settings are:

1. Select the mpeg tab in VisualHub
2. DON'T select the TiVo Profile
3. Hit the Advanced button
4. set the Video bitrate to 17000
5. Add -maxrate 17M -bufsize 1024k to the Video ffmpeg extra flags field
6. Click to enable Two-pass conversion

If you're crunching down 720p or 1080p video, it will take quite a while (especially being a two-pass process) but the results are worth it. Normal 1.85 aspect ratio movies and shows playback using the entire screen and 2.35 ratio movies work as well. My tests with 1.85 720p samples yielded good results (screenshot above of a LOST episode) and converted video was 1280x720 in size. 2.35 widescreen movies looked just as good with final output at 1280x544.

If you've got a HD TiVo and a Mac, and were considering buying an Apple TV to playback downloaded content, you might want to consider this approach and save yourself the money and added hardware. Note, for those on a PC wanting to do similar things, this guide at lifehacker covers the basics but not the full-aspect ratio HD conversion details (thanks for the tips, Phil!).

Screenshots and a tour of the new Apple TV features

The Apple TV update announced last month at Macworld has finally been released to the public and I finished downloading it a couple hours ago. I ran through the options and took a few photos of the new and notable sections, which I'll describe after the jump.

TiVo spamming your Now Playing list?

I spotted something annoying today on my TiVo. In the past few weeks, TiVo has been ramping up the advertising efforts, loading ads for related shows/downloads whenever I delete a show and also on the main TiVo screen, but today I noticed something a bit more insidious:

The top item in my list shows 3 shows recorded, but when you go into the folder, you see four items. Turns out the fourth item is an advertising plug for some new off-road race series which doesn't exactly have much to do with a snowboarding/skiing/etc competition. That's kind of annoying. More screenshots after the jump.

Apple's new set-top box: the old AppleTV

At yesterday's Macworld keynote, Apple announced an update to Apple TV and the availability of standard def (720x480) and high def (1280x720) movie rentals from the iTunes Music Store. The new AppleTV software isn't out yet but promised "soon" though rentals are now available from an iTunes update (HD movies are only going to be available on AppleTV).

While I've liked my AppleTV, it's always felt like a limited-use device that could do much more. Adding rentals into the mix (along with more podcasts and photo integration) is definitely going to make me use the device more. While I've rented a few Amazon Unbox movies on my TiVo, I haven't been a fan of the low video quality. I've also bought few shows/movies for AppleTV because I rarely watch a movie more than once. I've tested out dedicated Pay-Per-View devices like the Vudu and been grossly underwhelmed (mostly due to the thin selection).

Apple TV is suddenly much more interesting because they have loads of studios on board offering thousands of movies (great selection) along with a new 720p HD option for 100 recent films (hopefully with more to come). Given these new rental options in addition to the old "plays any downloaded web video converted over" and "easily show off all photos from iPhoto" features, I'm much more hopeful for the future of Apple TV as well as the future of the iTunes Music Store becoming something big for everyone.

CES 2008

I'm not going to CES this year but as usual, the best places to see everything from afar look to be Engadget's CES page for all the general stuff and TiVoLovers' CES page for the TiVo-specific and home theater specific news.

Personally, I haven't seen anything too exciting out of CES this week (but it's early), though I'm looking forward to the new logitech remote (anyone know if it does bluetooth?).

Netflix/LG set-top box announced

After the long-rumored (from 2004) Netflix/TiVo deal fell through (in 2005), it looks like Netflix and LG are going to create their own set-top box to facilitate downloads of Netflix movies. Even better is a mention that they might just bake it into existing dual format HD-DVD/Blu-ray players.

It's interesting that Netflix found a new partner and a way to get studios on board to allow them to do it -- I suspect TiVo was seen as a hostile force for the studios a couple years ago when the Netflix/TiVo deals were first discussed. Also it's obvious that the landscape has changed since 2004. People have broadband and are willing to buy downloadable movies, and the companies that offer them aren't huge sources of problems or piracy.

Another interesting aspect is that LG is already thinking of how to add it as an added feature to their existing product line. That's a great approach because I have to admit that I've played with a Vudu box and it's incredibly dumb to think people will pay $400 for a box that only plays $2-5 rentals and holds a limited number of $10-20 movies permanently. It's good to see LG recognize this from the outset and not strive to build dedicated PPV boxes you have to pay for.

First reports of the Comcast-TiVo box

Steve Garfield, a blogger in the Boston area is one of the lucky few to get the first deployments of TiVo's software on the Comcast/Motorola boxes (reviewed here in 2005). The comcast/tivo deals were announced a couple years ago and pushed back time and time again, but it's finally becoming real.

Steve's story of signing up and receiving the software mentions that he was actually the very first customer to get it. His story mirrors a lot of my experiences with first deployments like this (I'm getting FiOS internet/TV today after waiting for two years), with customer service people confused and claiming the service isn't available.

He's also posted a bit about how fast forwarding is different and has an entire gallery of screenshots over on flickr. For comcast customers waiting the past couple years for this deal, keep an eye on his blog to hear how it works out. It just may be that the Motorola box running TiVo is a better deal than buying your own TiVoHD and paying the monthly price.

HD DVD & Blu-Ray Disc Players from $219 Shipped at Amazon

Dealnews has a roundup of HD DVD & Blu-Ray Disc Players from $219 Shipped at Amazon. The Blu-Ray players come with 5 free movies (which go for $20-30 each) and the HD-DVD players come with 5 free plus 5 more free via mail-in rebate.

For anyone looking to go upscale in their movie watching, these are some of the best prices ever seen for high-def DVDs. Unfortunately, that means you have to choose a side in the format wars. Personally, I'm still wishing to see a <$500 dual-format player come out. I know the Samsung BD-UP5000 is starting to get close to that, but the LG model is still about a grand. Hopefully by this time next year cheap dual players are abundant.

I've had a Playstation 3 playing Blu-Ray movies on my 46" 1080p LCD for about a year and I must say, movies do in fact look a lot better (especially anything in the background), but I must confess with most movies I forget about how good it looks after the first five minutes.

TiVo brings back lifetime subscriptions, plus gifting

I've been meaning to post this for the past few weeks, but TiVo finally brought back the lifetime service option:

through January 2nd, 2008 -- current TiVo owners can upgrade their Series2 to a Series3 or HD with lifetime, or simply upgrade the service on their current S3 / HD -- equipment aside, the service will set you back $399

They also added a way to give a lifetime service TiVo as a gift. The gift+lifetime option is great because one thing that has prevented me from giving anyone in my family a TiVo is that it means another $12-16 month payment for them. It makes for a very expensive gift, but it's a much better way to just give someone TiVo and not have to worry about how much extra cost it will entail for them down the road. [thanks Jon!]

TiVo finally comes to Canada

After years of waiting, it looks like TiVo is finally coming to Canada. There is also an official TiVo mini-site about Canada.

This has been a long time coming with reports going back over two years that this was "coming soon" following almost four years of hacking together some solutions for home-spun guide data.

It looks like the offering isn't HD, just the standard dual-tuner 80 hour box but after many years of waiting, at least it's better than nothing. (thanks, Iain!)