Scheduling Tivo over the net

[razza]

I searched all the FAQs and this forum and I can find how to access the tivo remotely via the internet. I currently have my tivo plugged into a wireless router and have an IP assigned to it. I can access tivoweb and receive updates with no porblems. Now my ISP provides me with a dynamic dns, how do I deal with this? I have an account with no-ip.com but usually there is a client running on your windows pc. Is there an app for the tivo and how do I find the tivo's current external ip?

[petestrash]

Most routers these days support no-ip or dyndns, so the client run's there instead of on your PC.

Load the latest TiVoWebPlus (http://minnie.tuhs.org/twiki/bin/view/Software/UpgradeToTiVoWebPlus) onto your TiVo which has basic password security.

This is the easist, but not very secure method of connecting from the outside.

Other more secure options are discussed in PasswordProtectedRemoteAccess (http://minnie.tuhs.org/twiki/bin/view/Howto/PasswordProtectedRemoteAccess).

Peter.

[JustinD]

I used the instructions on:
http://www.tivohelp.com/archive/tivohelp.swiki.net/83.html

It was pretty easy. You need another PC running on your home network, which you run the reverse proxy server from. Also, Orenosp is now expensive shareware. If you need an earlier freeware version you can find it at DealDatabase on this thread http://www.dealdatabase.com/forum/showthread.php?t=23894&highlight=orenosp

[razza]

Justin if you follow the setup as indicated here you don't need another PC http://minnie.tuhs.org/twiki/bin/view/Howto/PasswordProtectedRemoteAccess

[thomson]

Load the latest TiVoWebPlus (http://minnie.tuhs.org/twiki/bin/view/Software/UpgradeToTiVoWebPlus) onto your TiVo which has basic password security.
It's not too bad... you can also now limit client access which is handy if you just wish to access the TivoWeb from your workplace. It is possible to get TivoWeb to also support Digest Authentication (http://www.ietf.org/rfc/rfc2617.txt) so that somebody sniffing the traffic would have a harder time determining the password. It's not that hard to implement (just needs an MD5 TCL library - which I already have), in fact I half implemented it before deciding that Basic Authentication with a host access list is probably enough for most people. If I get bored I may look at adding it as an optional plug-in module :)


Other more secure options are discussed in PasswordProtectedRemoteAccess (http://minnie.tuhs.org/twiki/bin/view/Howto/PasswordProtectedRemoteAccess).
Actually I just read that wiki entry and it's configuring Apache to only use Basic Authentication anyway :)

[razza]

so apache is used to gain access to tivoweb or is it just for secuirty? I am not a linux guru so my understanding is limited at the moment :(

[JustinD]

Justin if you follow the setup as indicated here you don't need another PC http://minnie.tuhs.org/twiki/bin/view/Howto/PasswordProtectedRemoteAccess

razza,
unless I am mistaken (which I frequently am), the instructions are not dissimiliar to what I have linked to. Arn't you just running Apache on the PC instead of Orenosp? I mean, all orenosp is doing is running as a reverse proxy server with decent security (so I have read).

[zollymonsta]

Heck of a lot easier to setup if you are on broadband with a static IP.

Both my Tivos have a hole punched in my router for them (ports) and password protection on tivoweb. I can access both from anywhere with internet access just by entering my IP at home and the appropriate port number.

I haven't bothered with remote telnet access.. probably a bit safer to not have that available remotely.

[razza]

razza,
unless I am mistaken (which I frequently am), the instructions are not dissimiliar to what I have linked to. Arn't you just running Apache on the PC instead of Orenosp? I mean, all orenosp is doing is running as a reverse proxy server with decent security (so I have read).

Justin sorry I guess that's my lack of understanding. I was reading it as if apache was running on the tivo...obviously it is not :(
So is there anyway to access the tivo via the net with a dynamic IP without having another PC running some sort of web server?

[Darren King]

So is there anyway to access the tivo via the net with a dynamic IP without having another PC running some sort of web server?

Easy! Zollymonsta has already hinted how this is done.

1. Get a dynamic IP account (I use www.no-ip.com)
2. Set TiVoWEB to be on a port other than 80 and your desired username/password. This is in a config file.
3. In your router, port forward your TiVoWEB port you set (above) and if required the IP address your TiVo uses.
4. Point your web browser to your dynamic IP account, eg: http://yourname.no-ip.com:199/ (where "yourname.no-ip.com" is your dynamic IP account and ":199" is whatever your TiVoWEB port number is.

If you have done it right you will be greeted with a popup window asking for your username and password.

Just be aware this may not work from within your network. It does not for me but works fine from outside (ie the Internet). If you want local connection from witin your network simply point your web browser to your TiVo's IP address with the ":<portnumber>" added to the end.

Also be aware to set each of your TiVo to a different port number so you can access different units. And also remember that as per your signature when you eventually get that second one fitted with a network card to ensure you set a different MAC address otherwise weird things will happen like intermittent guide data downloading and so on.

[razza]

Thanks for the reply Darren!
I'm assuming your router would have to support the dynamic IP account as Peter mentioned in his first post?
Also can you expand on step 2 a little more? The user name and pass, is that of your dynamic IP account or one that you make up to access tivoweb? And are you referring to the tivoweb that comes with the oztivo image or tivoweb plus?
Also where is this config file you are referring too?

[Darren King]

I'm assuming your router would have to support the dynamic IP account as Peter mentioned in his first post?

It can, or you can download the small client program that synchronises your dynamic IP to point to your no-ip account. I find that dynamic IP's don't change that often if your modem is always connected so you should only have to re-sync now and then.


Also can you expand on step 2 a little more? The user name and pass, is that of your dynamic IP account or one that you make up to access tivoweb?

Your TiVoWEB config. You do not need to enter your dynamic IP password to do this.


And are you referring to the tivoweb that comes with the oztivo image or tivoweb plus? Also where is this config file you are referring too?

TiVoWEB, the one on the image. However I do not think the file is much different on TiVoWeb Plus. All the settings are located in the file tivoweb.cfg which should be in the TiVoWEB directory on the TiVo.

[Darren King]

More info lifted from this site: http://www.steveconrad.co.uk/tivo/airnet2.html



Using your FTP program, connect to Tivo and navigate to /var/hack/tivoweb-tcl. Inside this file you should see a file called tivoweb.cfg. Download this back to your PC.

You need to edit this file. I would strongly suggest using a good text editor such as ultra-edit so as not to disrupt the linefeed characters that can happen if you use Notepad. Under no circumstances use a word processor on this file !

If you look at the file, you'll see something like the following:

UserName =
Password =
Port = 80
Prefix =
Theme =
DescriptionHover = 1
MulitDelete = 1

Here you can add a userid and password to access Tivoweb.

UserName = fred
Password = itsn0thard

If you want Tivoweb to run off a non-standard port, you can change the following line:

Port = 200

Changing the port number means you have to type http://192.168.1.200:200 in your browsers address box.

You might also like to give your address a prefix by changing the prefix value.

Prefix = tivo

This has the effect of requiring you to enter http://192.168.1.200:200/tivo/ in your browser to access tivoweb.

You can change the appearence of your Tivoweb by downloading a customised 'skin' and placing the resulting file (normally a CSS file) inside the /var/hack/tivoweb-tcl folder. You can then specify Tivoweb to use this skin when it starts up by placing the name of the skin on the Theme line of the tivoweb.cfg file. e.g.

Theme = redbook

Once complete, save the file and FTP it back to Tivo, replacing the original file.

You'll need to restart Tivoweb - the quickest method is just to restart Tivo itself. Ensure you're not already recording something important before you restart it!

You don't have to FTP the config file. You can use JOE ir VI text editor on the TiVo to do it locally via a bash prompt if you like.

[razza]

answers all my questions, will have to test it out tonight when I get home. Cheers Darren.

[JustinD]

Thanks for the reply Darren!
I'm assuming your router would have to support the dynamic IP account as Peter mentioned in his first post?

Just an FYI - my Linksys WRT54G router has the dynamic IP client built-in. I am sure some of the other manufacturers probably have this also although my old D-link 624 didn't.

[Darren King]

I am sure some of the other manufacturers probably have this also

Yes. Billion 7402VGP does too.

[razza]

Thanks guys I have followed all the instructions and its working perfectly! cheers.

[Darren King]

Good stuff! Enjoy :)

[daggo]

Or you could leave a PC on in your network and use VNC to control it thru a SSH tunnel.

[catdog]

A bit late now since you already have it working, but I compiled the no-ip client to run on the tivo itself and it has been working great since last year. It means you can use a router which doesn't have dynamic IP support, and you do not need a PC running.
http://minnie.tuhs.org/twiki/pub/Uploads/WebHome/noip-tivo-build0.1.zip

No-ip can also be configured to do a "port 80 redirect" to another port, so once configured (in this case to port 199) you just enter:
http://yourname.no-ip.com/
instead of:
http://yourname.no-ip.com:199/