tivoweb

tivoweb

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TivoWeb Installation Instructions

This page assumes that you have already installed a Turbonet or Tivonet network card in your Tivo and have it working properly. If not, see the network section. You must also have tivoftpd, the tivo ftp server, installed and working. It is installed by default during the Turbonet installation process.

Step 1: Download the latest version of tivoweb.

The latest version is available from http://tivo.lightn.org/. Make sure you download the "new branch TCL version" if you're using Tivo software 2.0 or later.

Step 2: Decompress the downloaded file.

The compressed file can be sent directly to the TiVo and decompressed there using a command line decompression utility. If you know how to do that, you probably don't need these instructions. To decompress the files on a PC, WinZip can be used. First, TAR file smart CR/LF conversion must be disabled (it is enabled by default). This is accomplished by going to the Options menu and selecting Configuration and then Miscellaneous. Uncheck the TAR file smart CR/LF conversion button.

The downloaded file is a TAR (Tape Archive) file that is compressed using gzip or equivalent. Open the tivoweb file (sample name: tivoweb-tcl-1.9.3.tar.gz) in WinZip. You will be prompted that the arcive contains only one file (sample name: tivoweb-tcl-1.9.3.tar). Hit OK and the TAR file contained within the GZ file will be opened by WinZip.

Extract the files to a convenient location, such as a directory called tivoweb-tcl-1.9.3 on your Desktop. Be sure the Use folder names box is checked as shown below.

If the files have be extracted properly, you can open the copyright file in notepad and there will be a square box character at the end of the text (disable text wrapping.) If you do not see the square box character, the files have been converted from UNIX format to DOS format. Make sure that TAR file smart CR/LF conversion has been diabled.

Note: do not edit any of the files using a Windows PC! If for some reason the directory structure (a sub-folder named "modules") is not maintained, move the module files into the module sub-directory. If you do not have a folder under the tivoweb folder called "modules", create one and move the files names .itcl and.res into it.

If you don't have any .itcl files or a modules subdirectory, you've download an older version of the software. Go back and download the TCL version.

Step 3: Create the directory structure on the Tivo using telnet.

Go to the windows start menu and find command prompt. In windows 9x, this is called the MS-DOS prompt.

Type the following: telnet 192.168.xxx.xxx (use the IP address of your TiVo)
You will receive a bash prompt. Bash is the name of the command shell that runs inside of Tivo. Type the following commands (listed in the command column) to create the directory structure required for tivoweb.

Command	Comments
bash-2.02# pwd	this command will respond with the current directory. The expected response is /var/tmp
bash-2.02# cd ..	this will move up one directory level to the var directory. Note the space between cd and ..
bash-2.02# echo	this command will list of subdirectories and files inside the var directory
bash-2.02# mkdir hack	this will create a hack directory if it does not already exist

bash-2.02# cd hack	this will make hack the current directory
bash-2.02# mkdir tivoweb-tcl	this will create a directory for tivoweb files
bash-2.02# cd tivoweb-tcl	this will make tivoweb-tcl the current directory
bash-2.02# mkdir modules	this will create a directory for the tivoweb-tcl modules
bash-2.02# cd modules	this will make modules the current directory.
bash-2.02# pwd	This will show current directory location. The response should be /var/hack/tivoweb-tcl/modules if all directories were created properly
bash-2.02# exit	this will exit out of the telnet session

Step 4: Modify ui module name
If your are using tivoweb-tcl version 1.9.3, you will need to rename the ui module file in the modules sub-directory from ui.itcl to 0ui.itcl. This will cause the ui module to load first because modules are loaded in numberical and then alphabetical order. Loading the ui module first should stop tivoweb from crashing due to an improper module load sequence.

Step 5: Transfer the files to your Tivo using an FTP client. See the ftp section for detailed instructions.

Navigate to the /var/hack/tivoweb-tcl directory on your Tivo. Transfer all of the files in the tivoweb-tcl-1.9.3 directory on your PC to the /var/hack/tivoweb-tcl directory on the Tivo.

Move into the modules subdirectory on both the Tivo and your PC. Transfer all files in the modules directory to the Tivo.

Step 6: Run tivo web
Start a telnet session as described above. Type the following command at the bash prompt:
tivosh /var/hack/tivoweb-tcl/httpd-tt.tcl &

Notes: tivoweb-tcl is written entirely in tcl script. tivosh is what executes the tcl script. Following the command with an & causes tivoweb-tcl to keep running after it loads and returns the terminal to the command prompt. If the & is not used, you will not be able to get back to the command prompt until tivoweb-tcl exits (will not normally exit).

Step 7: Make tivoweb autostart with each boot. telnet to the tivo as described above. Type the following command at the bash prompt:

echo "/var/hack/tivoweb-tcl/httpd-tt.tcl >> /dev/null &" >> /etc/rc.d/rc.sysinit "

The command to run tivoweb-tcl will be entered into the rc.sysint file. This is a script file that is similar in nature to the autoexec.bat file on DOS machines. The contents of the file are loaded everytime the machine boots.

Step 8: Enjoy
Open a broswer window. In the address bar, type http://192.168.xxx.xxx (use the acutal IP address of your Tivo). You should only be able to access this web page from your local network. Opening your Tivo to the internet is not a safe thing to do. To access your Tivo from the internet via a secure connection, see the lan section.

Corrections or updates for this page:
Note: Do not post questions, unrelated comments, or information of which your are uncertain. This section is reserved for corrections and updates only.

for 1.9.4 follow the readme and unpack the files from the tivo
please do not post any tivoweb errors to avs unless you've explicitly followed the instructions.

embeem

Something is wrong with Step 7... The echo command only contains 3 double quotes. That would be impossible to do from a prompt. I think the LAST doublequote should be removed in order for it to work.