install

Additional install commands

macOS

Homebrewverified · 100%

brew install tivodecode

local Homebrew formula metadata

MacPortsverified · 94%

sudo port install tivodecode

MacPorts ports tree · multimedia/tivodecode/Portfile · source: api.github.com

Linux

Nixverified · 92%

nix profile install nixpkgs#tivodecode

nixpkgs package indexes · pkgs/by-name/ti/tivodecode/package.nix · source: api.github.com

overview

Package summary

Convert .tivo to .mpeg

Project links

Commands and aliases

tdcat
tivodecode

history

Project history and usage

tivodecode is a portable command-line decoder for TiVoToGo recordings. Its official project page describes it as converting a .TiVo file into a normal MPEG file when given the Media Access Key for the TiVo that recorded it.

Project history

The project grew out of the TiVoToGo era, when TiVo provided Windows-oriented access paths but users on Unix-like systems wanted a file-and-pipe friendly tool. The official site positions tivodecode as providing the same kind of access as TiVo's DirectShow-based Windows path, but in portable C and on the command line.

SourceForge lists the project as registered on 2006-11-30 and categorized as a video converter written in C. The project remained small and specialized, but its 0.1.4 release added support for reading the MAK from ~/.tivodecode_mak, matching its common batch-conversion usage.

Adoption history

Adoption was concentrated among TiVo hobbyists, Linux and Mac users, and people building personal DVR export workflows. The official site points users to related TiVo tools such as Galleon for downloading recordings and to third-party tools or GUIs built around tivodecode.

The supplied package-manager facts show the tool packaged by Homebrew, MacPorts, and Nix, which fits its long-tail role as a niche media utility kept available for users with old .TiVo archives or TiVoToGo workflows.

How it is used

The typical use case is decoding a downloaded .TiVo program stream to MPEG after obtaining the file from the TiVo's built-in web server or another TiVo transfer tool. The official documentation notes that the valid MAK is still required and that the tool is not intended to bypass TiVo protection.

For package users, tivodecode is mostly a scriptable terminal utility: it can run on files or pipes, can read the MAK from ~/.tivodecode_mak, and is useful when a GUI media stack is too heavy for a conversion job.

Why package nerds care

tivodecode matters to package collectors because it is a classic example of a small, legally constrained interoperability utility that survived through package managers long after its original consumer-device moment passed.

Its appeal is not broad media conversion, but preserving access to a particular proprietary container in reproducible Unix workflows.

Timeline

2006-11-30: SourceForge project registered.
0.1.4: Current release documented on the official site, adding ~/.tivodecode_mak support.
2017-11-16: SourceForge project page lists the last update date.

Related projects

TiVoToGo is the TiVo feature that produced the .TiVo files tivodecode targets.
Galleon is recommended by the official tivodecode site as an open-source SourceForge tool for downloading recordings on non-Windows platforms.
DirectShowDump and TiVo's DirectShow DLL are cited by the official site as the Windows-oriented functional counterpart.

Sources

https://sourceforge.net/projects/tivodecode/ SourceForge registration date, category, language, operating systems, and project activity
https://tivodecode.sourceforge.net/ official description, MAK note, 0.1.4 config-file note, and TiVo/Galleon usage notes
source_facts.package-manager for Homebrew, MacPorts, and Nix packaging

security posture

Risk level: green

narrow executable package without higher-risk signals.

Risk classifier

green risk · low confidence · appliance

Why

narrow executable package without higher-risk signals

Signals

metadata:no-higher-risk-signals

Install behavior

No Homebrew post-install hook is recorded in formula metadata.
Homebrew bottle metadata is available for 13 platform targets.

Recommended review

Before unattended agent use, check whether the tool reads plaintext credentials, writes remote state, publishes artifacts, or shells out to plugins.

local files

Configuration and credential file locations

These source-backed paths show where this package keeps local settings or durable credentials. Automic Vault can use them as review targets for secret scanning, migration, and command approval.

Configuration files

Config paths the tool may read or write during local use.

Unix: ~/.tivodecode_mak

Credential files

Credential-bearing paths to review before unattended agent runs.

Unix: ~/.tivodecode_mak

executables

Installed executables

Command	Kind	Exposure	Note
`tdcat`	cli	global executable
`tivodecode`	cli	global executable

freshness

Version and freshness

These signals separate page generation age, package-manager activity, and upstream release comparison. Version lag is warned only when an evidence URL and comparable versions are present.

page generated2026-07-08

manager version0.2pre4

manager updated

local dataok

upstreamnot checked

latest detectednot detected

https://tivodecode.sourceforge.net/

infoNo package-manager update timestamp was available.low confidence
infoRelease/tag comparison is only available for GitHub repositories.https://tivodecode.sourceforge.net/none confidence

install metadata

Package metadata

Package key	brew:tivodecode
Version	0.2pre4
Package manager	Homebrew
Package manager page	https://formulae.brew.sh/formula/tivodecode
Homepage	https://tivodecode.sourceforge.net/
Repository	https://sourceforge.net/p/tivodecode/code/HEAD/tree
Upstream docs	https://sourceforge.net/projects/tivodecode
License	BSD-3-Clause AND LicenseRef-Homebrew-cannot-represent
Source archive	https://downloads.sourceforge.net/project/tivodecode/tivodecode/0.2pre4/tivodecode-0.2pre4.tar.gz
Bottle	available (on arm64_big_sur, arm64_linux, arm64_monterey, arm64_sequoia, arm64_sonoma, arm64_tahoe, arm64_ventura, big_sur, catalina, monterey, sonoma, ventura, x86_64_linux)
Homebrew post-install	not defined
Service	none declared

registry facts

Source database details

Source Database	Homebrew formula API
Tap	homebrew/core
Full Name	tivodecode
Version Scheme	0
Revision	0
Bottle Stable Root URL	https://ghcr.io/v2/homebrew/core
Deprecated	no
Disabled	no
Keg Only	no
URL Keys	stable

source database matches

Other package-manager records

Matches are pulled from external package-manager indexes and kept separate from local Automic Vault package links.

Nix95%

tivodecode

nix profile install nixpkgs#tivodecode

normalized package name match
Matched by: Tivodecode

nixpkgs package indexes · api.github.com · nixpkgs package indexes: pkgs/by-name/ti/tivodecode/package.nix from https://api.github.com/repos/NixOS/nixpkgs/git/trees/master?recursive=1

MacPorts95%

tivodecode

sudo port install tivodecode

normalized package name match
Matched by: Tivodecode

MacPorts ports tree · api.github.com · MacPorts ports tree: multimedia/tivodecode/Portfile from https://api.github.com/repos/macports/macports-ports/git/trees/master?recursive=1

package graph

Links come from deterministic package relationships, av.db category and tag curation, ecosystem matches, and package hub membership.

source trail

Generated from repository data

This page is generated by av-web from the private package SQLite artifact built by scripts/generate-pkg-sqlite.py.

Combined YAML source

View the package source record on GitHub.

combined/tivodecode.yml

Used sources

Geiger risk classifier
Nucleus package database
av.db category and tag curation
cross-ecosystem install command graph
curated configuration and credential file locations
curated package history
external package-manager database matches
package relationship graph
package version freshness
package-page enrichment

Install tivodecode with Homebrew, MacPorts, Nix