Download TiVo Recordings to your Mac

April 30, 2008

TiVo has been a great thing over the past year since we’ve had it. It’s been great to be able to watch the shows/movies we want on our own schedule without the commercials. While I was skeptical that we were actually saving any time when we first got TiVo (because there was so much more to watch now!), I think it has helped in that regard as well. But I just found out today (thanks to Andrew) that there is a Mac OS X Dashboard Widget you can download that connects TiVo to your Mac and you can even download your TiVo recordings to your Mac. They are pretty big files, but it could still be pretty handy. If you want to try it out, here is what you need to do:

1. Download the TiVo NowPlaying widget here
2. Install the widget and follow the instructions for getting your TiVo’s IP address and MAK (Media Access Key)
3. Try downloading a show (e.g. a 30min Colbert Report took up about 500mb)
4. In order to play the downloaded file, you’ll most likely need to download a different media player. I suggest downloading the VLC media player here
5. Open up your downloaded TiVo show in VLC (one thing you’ll probably have to change is the Video Aspect-ratio; under the Video Menu, select the Aspect-ratio that looks the best)

Posted in Technology

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