Help - Play .tivo files in Winamp - Audio, but no video.

[LetterX]

I'm trying to get files recorded on my TiVo (.tivo files) to play in Winamp. This used to work for me, but for some reason it does not anymore. When I try to play a .tivo file, I get audio, but no video. These files do play just fine in Windows Media Player. I made sure the Nullsoft DirectShow Decoder has .tivo in its extension list. Is this a codec problem? How can I fix it? Thanks.

Using WinAmp 5.581 under Win XP.

[LetterX]

Nobody has any idea about this?

[robdog2004]

if there arent any plugins in the plugin section of winamps homepage it means no one has created one yet
since i do not know what the base code is on the tivo files i cant begin to tell you which plugin you could add the tivo extension to to make it play within winamp or tell you haw to create one for other users

[LetterX]

Thanks for the reply.

I do know that Winamp can play .tivo files without a plugin, since it used to work for me. I know that .tivo files are encoded using MPEG-2, and that DirectShow usually decodes it, but for some reason it's stopped displaying the video for me.

Just wondering if anyone had any idea about the proper settings, or codecs, or whatnot, to fix the problem.

Any ideas?

[robdog2004]

cant explain why it would suddenly stopped working unless it was working before you updated to the latest version of winamp
if that is the case it is possible that your setting was lost within the directshow decoder
if not tivo may have changed their format
since i do not own a tivo personally i cant tell you what happened

[LetterX]

Yes, it may have stopped working when I updated to the latest version of Winamp. Or perhaps it was when I installed a codec package trying to fix a different problem. I'm certain TiVo didn't change anything. In any case, they still play fine in Windows Media Player, so the proper codecs are still on my system, but I can't figure out how to configure Winamp to make it work.

[robdog2004]

first thing i can reccommend is to look at the directshow decoder extentions and make sure you have added semicolon;tivo and not colon:tivo
the other thing is to check that othe plugin you said you installed and make sure its not trying to make winamp get very confused

[LetterX]

Originally Posted by robdog2004

first thing i can reccommend is to look at the directshow decoder extentions and make sure you have added semicolon;tivo and not colon:tivo
the other thing is to check that othe plugin you said you installed and make sure its not trying to make winamp get very confused

Yes, it's a semicolon. Without the "semicolon .tivo" in the DIrectShow extension list, Winamp doesn't attempt to play .tivo files at all. So, DirectShow is trying to decode the file, it's just not working for the video (only audio works). The other thing I installed that I mentioned was a codec pack. It was the latest K-Lite Codec Pack, but I think Winamp was playing .tivo files after that (although I'm not certain). Oh well, I guess I'll just have to use WMP, unless there are any other suggestions. Bummer.

[robdog2004]

i think there was a issue a while back that the video window wouldnt come into focus
if you are hearing sound it means something is working
you may have to manually click the video windows
now if you only get a video icon let me know cause i may need to talk to the devs to see whats going on

also you maybe onto something about the k-lite pack
personally i dont use the pack since i have had problems where there were viruses embedded into the software

[robdog2004]

update
from what i am reading from other users is that there is a problem with the drm (digital rights media) that winamp will play the audio but the video wont come into focus
since i believe tivo uses drm this maybe your problem

as for why it started doing this i can t say i will speak to the devs to track it down

[LetterX]

Thank you, very much appreciated.

[robdog2004]

see my personal message i sent

[JonnyMac]

@LetterX

You have popping in here from time to time and reading this thread. Are you still having an issue? It looks like robdog2004 was going to help you via PM.

[robdog2004]

what i tried didnt work
so there seems to be a deeper issue in the drm

[LetterX]

Thanks for trying though. In any case, I am still monitoring this thread in case anyone comes up with any ideas or suggestions.

[JonnyMac]

Hello, you are still monitoring this thread. Have you seen the video section of the Troubleshooters Sticky? However, if it a DRM issue as robdog mentioned, I am not sure if installing FFDShow will work in this case.

[LetterX]

Originally Posted by JonnyMac

Hello, you are still monitoring this thread. Have you seen the video section of the Troubleshooters Sticky? However, if it a DRM issue as robdog mentioned, I am not sure if installing FFDShow will work in this case.

I will look into that, thank you very much for making me aware of it. If it solves the problem, I'll post it here. Otherwise, I'll continue monitoring this thread indefinitely in case there are any future suggestions. Thanks again.