[sjhotz]

Whenever I attempt to play my .TY files (extracted from a DTiVo) using the Windows build I get the multiple error failure. They play fine using my Xbox XBMC but I assume the mplayers are different. Any .TY support planned for the windows version?

Failing that is there a codec work around I might drop into the windows version? (assuming that is even possible).

[waldo22]

As far as I know, the Linux port (and all derivatives, including MacOS and Win32) ONLY use DVDPlayer, which doesn't support loading of 3rd party DLLs.

I'm sure they are working on it.

Based on this info, loading of 3rd party codecs/DLLs in DVDPlayer has to be an important goal in order to achieve broad codec/container support.

Anyone else want to chime in?

[spiff]

there's no binary codec involved with playing .ty's, however there is no such demuxer in ffmpeg afaik (which is what dvdplayer relies on)

[Gamester17]

http://wiki.multimedia.cx/index.php?title=Tivo

• Extension: .ty, .ty+, .tmf, .tivo
  
• Company: TiVo Inc.
  
• Samples: http://samples.mplayerhq.hu/TiVo/

Seems odd to me if FFmpeg would not be able to demux the TiVo formats, ...I mean, it has been around so long now.

Are you sure spiff?

[sjhotz]

Why did my post get moved? It is specifically about the media player in the Windows version of XBMC, the reason I posted here was because my old (Xbox) XBMC plays .TY files fine, but the Windows version (which is the one I would prefer for Higher Definition) will not, again I am specifically asking why the Windows version fails and the old one does not, is there a different version of FFmpeg in windows VS. the Original Xbmc?

[Gamester17]

The reason that the Xbox version of XBMC plays it is because it uses MPlayer (not DVDPlayer) to play those files, MPlayer is only available in the Xbox version of XBMC, all other platforms of XBMC only uses DVDPlayer (XBMC's own in house developed video player based on FFmpeg).

So I moved this topic-thread because it is not Windows specific, the request is DVDPlayer specific (and DVDPlayer is available in all XBMC platforms, DVDPlayer is platform-independent), and since DVDPlayer does not actaully support this container format I moved it to the feature suggestion forum where it belongs. Please read this: http://wiki.xbmc.org/?title=Codec_and_Format_requests

[sjhotz]

My sincerest apologies, makes perfect sense.

That being said is there any hope for my TB+ collection of .TY files

It is possible to trans code them to standard mpeg2 but I loose significant picture quality unfortunately.

Unless someone knows a high quality method to trans code?

[kraqh3d]

How could you lose quality? TiVo recordings are encrypted mpeg2 streams. I've personally used tivodecode (tivodecode.sourceforge.net) to convert them into standard mpeg files.

[Gamester17]

It is possible to trans code them to standard mpeg2 but I loose significant picture quality unfortunately.

There is no need to transcode them, it is not the audio and video stream that is not supported in FFmpeg, (TiVo video streams are just standard MPEG-2), it is the container, a container is what incapulates the video and audio streams (if you do not understand what we mean then you will need to do some research about that is the difference betweeen a audio/video stream, a container, decoder codec, and a encoder codec, and what muxing audio/video streams into a container and demuxing audio/video streams out from a container means). Hint; many video containers can hold just about every possible audio and video streams, yet the video container alone tell you nothing about the audio and video streams that it contains (file containers like AVI, MKV, OGM, MOV, etc. can can contain a loads of different encoded video and audio streams, and there is no telling from the file extension which codecs those have been encoded with):
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Video_container

The only thing you need to do is demux the TY file to seperate the audio and video stream from the container, then you mux the audio and video stream back together into a container format that is supported by FFmpeg (this can be done with a software like the TiVo File Decoder which kraqh3d meantions above).

[spiff]

quite certain

[waldo22]

PS demuxing and re-muxing is very fast. It's not nearly like transcoding

[waldo22]

... but it would still be nice to have native ffmpeg/DVDPlayer support

[sjhotz]

Many thanks gentlemen, I will have to get up to speed on my Ubuntu install so i can install "Tivo File Decoder" and play around with it. If I understand correctly demuxing and re-muxing is not trans coding so there no video degradation? If so that would solve my issue once and for all.

[kraqh3d]

Yup. The stream data remains unchanged. It's just "repackaged"
You don't necessarily need linux. There is a windows version of tivodecode.

[sjhotz]

Did I mention you guys ROCK! Did I also mention how silly I feel not knowing that after 4 years plus tinkering with my Tivo?

Anyway, to sum up, that is fantastic news, i'm gonna start demuxing and remuxing asap!