Newbie asking how to remotely download recorded shows

Archived from groups: alt.video.ptv.tivo (More info?)

harpster wrote:
> I'm an American who spends a lot of time overseas. I have no experience
> with Tivo, but I do know a bit about computers. I have an apartment in
> Germany with a home network (running XPSP2) and broadband internet
> access, and cable TV at home in the USA. I'm returning to the states
> for a brief visit soon, and would like to set up a device to record
> shows off my cable at my home in the USA. Then I want to be able to
> access this device remotely once I return to Europe in order to program
> it as well as to be able to download the recorded shows to my European
> PC. I don't care about watching the shows at the same time that they
> air in the USA, all I care about is being able to download them once
> they've been recorded on (whatever) device in the USA to my PC in
> Europe. My questions (please don't roll your eyes if they're too dumb):
>
> 1) Is a broadband connection required at BOTH ends of this setup? I'm
> assuming the answer is yes, but at the moment there is no broadband
> connection on the USA side of this - I only have it in Europe. Nor is
> there (yet) a computer in the USA, just a cable connection.

Your transfer speed is limited by the slowest link.
Two-hour show = 2 GB to 500 MB, depending on video compression.
2 GB at 56Kbps = 100 hours.

I certainly would not want to rely on 24-hour access to an unattended
remote computer that connects to the Internet via dialup. Either
DSL or cable modem, and using a decent firewall.

> 2) If it can be done, what is the least complicated way to do it? MUST
> I have a computer on the USA side as well, or is there a device that
> will do what I want without an additional computer in the USA? I don't
> mind spending a bit (not too much) $$$ to make it work, but I'd like it
> to be as streamlined (and reliable) as possible.

TiVo is not robust enough to connect to wild and hostile Internet
directly; it needs good firewall protection, and that limits its
ability to be an internationally accessible server. On the other
hand, a TiVo-like do-it-yourself solution based on a modern Linux
could fend for itself.

> 3) I've set up a home network before and accessed my home network
> remotely, through what was at that time considered a broadband
> connection. The transfer rates were fairly abysmal. Of course this was
> way back in the 20th century, so I assume things have come a way since
> then. Is this the only way to do this?

Transferring full-motion video (720x480x30fps) is always slow.
-Joe

Archived from groups: alt.video.ptv.tivo (More info?)

The other posts were correct, but I think perhaps a bit incomplete.
My responses inline:

> 1) Is a broadband connection required at BOTH ends of this setup? I'm
> assuming the answer is yes, but at the moment there is no broadband
> connection on the USA side of this - I only have it in Europe. Nor is
> there (yet) a computer in the USA, just a cable connection.

Technically, the answer is no, it is conceivably possible to transfer
over 56K. HOWEVER:

- 56K connections aren't designed to be 24x7 and you'd need some sort of
software or device that will automatically redial and connect if it
drops. Typically this is not a very robust solution.

- Transferring *anything* over 56K is painful, transferring *video* over
56K is basically like trying to shove a watermelon down a straw. It's
just not really feasible. You're trying to transfer Gigabits of data
over a pipe that can only handle 1000's of bits at a time. It's likely
that you'll be recording video faster than you can transfer it, even if
you are transferring 24x7.

>
> 2) If it can be done, what is the least complicated way to do it? MUST
> I have a computer on the USA side as well, or is there a device that
> will do what I want without an additional computer in the USA? I don't
> mind spending a bit (not too much) $$$ to make it work, but I'd like it
> to be as streamlined (and reliable) as possible.

You'll need a pc or other device (see below). A Tivo DVR is not
designed (at least at this point and time) to be accessible from the
internet, it's more setup for LAN applications (hacked Tivos are an
exception). It *is* possible to remote schedule shows from the Tivo web
site, you won't need anything special to do that. That's because Tivo
is setup to retrieve schedule updates on it's own.

> 3) I've set up a home network before and accessed my home network
> remotely, through what was at that time considered a broadband
> connection. The transfer rates were fairly abysmal. Of course this was
> way back in the 20th century, so I assume things have come a way since
> then. Is this the only way to do this?

Yes and no. Broadband transfer rates are better, but you're talking
about the biggest bandwidth hog there is, i.e. video. Plus, the Tivo
blessed methods of transferring video have an additional slow-down due
to encryption issues (hacked tivos get around this). Bottom line is
video is a lot of data, and takes a lot of time even on the best
networks (unless you've got gigabit ethernet, something you're not going
to be doing over the Internet).

>
> I would appreciate any cogent advice on this as I've not yet found the
> exact answers I've been seeking in my searches of various forums.
> Thanks in advance!
>

My advice would be to take a look at what another post already
mentioned, the Slingbox. It sits in between your Tivo and your TV and
will let you see and remote control whatever it is displaying. It also
compresses the video appropriately for the available bandwidth. You
won't actually be transferring the video, you'll be streaming your video
from the Tivo through the Slingbox. It's a good idea for your
situation. The biggest problem would be that you won't be able to watch
the video off-line, you'll have to be on-line to see it.

Randy S.

Archived from groups: alt.video.ptv.tivo (More info?)

On 5 Sep 2005 11:09:54 -0700, harpster wrote:

> I'm an American who spends a lot of time overseas. I have no experience
> with Tivo, but I do know a bit about computers. I have an apartment in
> Germany with a home network (running XPSP2) and broadband internet
> access, and cable TV at home in the USA. I'm returning to the states
> for a brief visit soon, and would like to set up a device to record
> shows off my cable at my home in the USA. Then I want to be able to
> access this device remotely once I return to Europe in order to program
> it as well as to be able to download the recorded shows to my European
> PC. I don't care about watching the shows at the same time that they
> air in the USA, all I care about is being able to download them once
> they've been recorded on (whatever) device in the USA to my PC in
> Europe. My questions (please don't roll your eyes if they're too dumb):
>
> 1) Is a broadband connection required at BOTH ends of this setup? I'm
> assuming the answer is yes, but at the moment there is no broadband
> connection on the USA side of this - I only have it in Europe. Nor is
> there (yet) a computer in the USA, just a cable connection.
>
> 2) If it can be done, what is the least complicated way to do it? MUST
> I have a computer on the USA side as well, or is there a device that
> will do what I want without an additional computer in the USA? I don't
> mind spending a bit (not too much) $$$ to make it work, but I'd like it
> to be as streamlined (and reliable) as possible.
>
> 3) I've set up a home network before and accessed my home network
> remotely, through what was at that time considered a broadband
> connection. The transfer rates were fairly abysmal. Of course this was
> way back in the 20th century, so I assume things have come a way since
> then. Is this the only way to do this?
>
> I would appreciate any cogent advice on this as I've not yet found the
> exact answers I've been seeking in my searches of various forums.
> Thanks in advance!

You might look at this: www.orb.com

combined with a Media Center Edition PC at home in the US.

And Yes, you would want a high speed connection at each end.

brad houser