If you have a Tivo and a Shadow you will be happy to know that you can take your recorded shows with you easily. Tivo offers desktop software that will connect your computer to your Tivo, allow you to share media from your PC to your Tivo, transfer shows to your PC and automatically convert them to watch on your Shadow Smartphone (or other Windows Mobile Standard phone).
If you are ready to get started just click on read more
First, you will need a couple of things in normal operating condition:
- A Tivo (mine is a Series2, and this walk through is written from that perspective)
- A PC (preferably Windows XP/Vista, again what I am writing this on)
- A Smartphone like the Shadow! (Pocket PC’s, Portable Media Players, Treo’s and iPods will work as well…)
- A home network with the Tivo and PC connected
- Tivo Desktop (FREE) or Tivo Desktop Plus ($24.95) you can get it at www.tivo.com/desktop Â
Ready?
Setup your Tivo according to the Tivo setup instructions. Make sure to get your Media Access Key from the ‘My Account’ page on tivo.com . Download and install Tivo Desktop and set it up with your Media Access Key and get your Tivo and PC talking to each other. These are Tivo supported features so if you run into some big problems give them a call, they get paid a lot of money to help you out :DÂ .
Before transferring anything make sure you setup your folders correctly. Click on File > Preferences and set your Transfer and Portable recordings folders similar to what I have above.
 
Next you will want to select the file type you want the transferred recordings to be converted to. If you have TCPMP then it shouldn’t matter too much but if you want deluxe service (read: Automatic Conversion) then pay the $24.95 for Tivo Desktop Plus. I did and I haven’t regretted it. For the Shadow Smartphone (or a Pocket PC) choose mpeg-4 for the file type.
Once you are set and able to transfer shows from the Tivo to Desktop you should see a screen like the one above when you click on the ‘Pick Recordings to Transfer Button’ (I have to click mine twice, so don’t give up!)
Once you have begun transferring shows you can see a screen like the one above. When the transfer reaches 100%, Tivo Desktop Plus will automatically begun converting the file (Free version users might have to manually begin the conversion).
 
Your task bar will also show an icon and display percent done.
After the conversion is done (usually 30 to 60 mins depending on your PC) you will see the newly converted show in the folder you designated. Using Activesync or Windows Mobile Device Center you can transfer this smaller file to your Shadow (or other Smartphone, Pocket PC, iPod, etc…)
Other features of Tivo Desktop Plus include the ability to automatically transfer and convert shows that you specify. For Example, you can set the Season Pass on your Tivo to record Lost, and your PC to auto-transfer and it will be ready to go when you are. Easy!
ENJOY!
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February 1st, 2008 at 2:39 am
What file type did you select to convert to, that works? MPEG4?
February 1st, 2008 at 1:15 pm
Yes mpeg4 is what I use
April 10th, 2008 at 11:42 am
Once the file has been converted to mpeg-4, can I just copy and paste it to the “TV” folder on my Shadow storage card? Or do I need to use activesync?
I tried getting my Tivo progams onto my Shadow, but Tivo Desktop was set to transfer the files for windows media player. I then used media player to transfer the video, but it did not work. When I went to play the video on my shadow, I just got a blank, silent screen. Hopefully, the mpeg-4 setting will work
thanks.