Roamio Very Line-of-Sight Sensitive

Yes, IR can bounce.

 

Maybe the IR receiver is slightly out of place? I have two Roamio BAsics and one Romaio Pro. With all of them I can point an IR remote in any direction and the TiVos will respond to it.

 

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Mine is virtually unusable with my Harmony. And I have three roamios, and all are the same. Even on a shelf 2.5ft off the floor with no other equipment or glass doors in front of roamio, terrible.

 

My 2009-vintage Samsung LCD TV floods the room with heavy IR for 30 secs or so after turn-on OR if a completely black screen is displayed. Under those conditions my old TiVo HD (IR) remote had to be held about 6 inches in front of the TiVo sensor to get a response. It's nice to avoid that with the RF remote with my new Roamio.

 

I would also pull the cover and check the alignment of the clear plastic light pipe from the front cover to the IR receiver on the motherboard. Sometimes they get jarred out of place.

 

Not really related, but I've found the rf to be pretty sensitive as well. Dropping a mini behind a dresser was problematic for instance.

 

I've wondered about that. With the RF remote and my Roamio basic, if I get about 25 feet away I see line-of-sight effects similar to an IR remote. I have to hold the remote so there is nothing blocking the line of sight. Yet I can go into an adjacent room with an interior wall blocking line of sight, but probably a distance of only 5 feet, and it responds. I guess it makes sense that RF response depends both on distance and what's in the line of sight.

 

The IR sensitivity in the ROAMIO is HORRIBLE. It's because they use a piece of plastic like a fiberoptic material and the IR sensor is sitting 3-5 inches on the board behind the display. The angles are poor as well. Tivo made a USB based IR extender - that works GREAT.. It was intended for the Mini's if someone wanted to hide them in a cabinet, but I can't find a link to it though.

 

RF on the SlidePro seems to require pretty much the same line of sight as IR, dunno why that would be the case.

 

Of course a possible cause is a weak RF link, either in the remote or at the Roamio. That's why I was somewhat concerned. Too bad the equipment to diagnose an RF link probably costs thousands of $$.

Here is a busy related thread that might be of interest:
http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?t=508587

The problems discussed in that thread also could be the result of a weak RF link, and several posters assert that replacing the remote doesn't help -- which implies the problem in their cases was not the remote itself.

 

Something must be wrong if it does. For me, with my Roamio Pro and two Roamio basics, whether I use an RF remote or an IR only remote, I can pretty much point the remote in any direction and the Roamios will respond to it. Even from behind the couch, a TiVo IR only remote will work with my Roamios.

 

What kind of TV do you have?

I have a Samsung plasma that interferes with dang near any IR anywhere near it. Frustrating as all getup. Made me replace it with an LED 4k TV.