Which TiVo to get

First thing I would do is make sure you receive enough OTA channels to make it worthwhile to buy a Tivo. Connecting an antenna directly to a TV and doing a channel scan is the best way to do it.

If you're satisfied with your OTA reception, Tivo has boxes labeled for OTA -- the newest one is the Tivo Bolt for OTA.

The streaming service is tricky. Tivo has Netflix, Amazon Prime and Hulu apps but I don't believe the Tivo apps have live TV streaming support. You would need another device for that, like a cheap Roku or Amazon Fire TV.

Most of the live TV streaming services have free trials. Playstation Vue (doesn't require a playstation), Sling TV, Hulu Live TV, DirectTV Now, Youtube TV, Philo all vary in price and channels so you'll have to do some research on what works best for you. Here's a recent review piece:

Best live TV streaming services: Compare our top picks for July 2019 - Clark Howard

Depending on the streaming service you choose, it may come with the OTA channels you care about and provide adequate cloud DVR service, making the antenna connection and Tivo unnecessary. You may end up being perfectly happy with a Roku + Youtube TV, for example.

 

Tivo is good at recording cable or OTA programming. But their app support is rather poor.

If everything absolutely must be on one device, you'll want a streaming device like a Roku and a streaming TV service with cloud DVR support, such as Youtube TV. Check with the above services to see if they provide the local channels you need to record.

 

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You also have other options... like Amazon's RECAST or other products that do NOT charge for service. TiVo makes a great DVR, but the cost is higher than anyone else. Take a look at the total cost of ownership and make your call.

 

Is making a 6 tuner OTA that difficult?
I can imagine there are households where a 6 tuner box would be welcome.
Tivo sells a 6 tuner cable box, but I've never seen anyone sell a 6 tuner OTA DVR.

 

Different tuner hardware, the 6-tuner cable tuner is a common part, the common OTA part is only 4-tuner and the OTA is already a niche for Tivo in a niche market, there's no way it's worth it financially for them.

 

Tivo Bolt can only output to one TV at a time, so to use one box in two rooms you either need a TiVo mini (best experience), some sort of device to split the output and new wiring, or stream to a mobile device (phone, tablet).

TiVo Roamio OTA can output to two devices, but you still need to wire the house properly. Can still work with a mini.

You cannot record streaming services, you must stream them.

 

In my market (Indianapolis) most of the local channels stream their news. As an example WRTV right now is streaming their noon news live and I can stream last night's evening news along with any number of other related newscasts and or stories such as Local News, Hiring Hoosiers, Weather, Top Stories, Working for You, Call 6 and Sports. Bottom line with their free app the video quality is actually higher than OTA and the majority (all?) of their local content can be streamed...

 

There are some other options with 4 tuners, but most of them work a bit different than Tivo does in that they do not connect directly to your TV, but require a "client" of some type, usually an app on streaming device like a AppleTV, Chromecast, Roku, Firestick/TV, SmartTV, or other device. Options include:

Amazon Fire TV Recast: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B...7d5-9e76-31f72bfa4d56&pf_rd_i=8521791011&th=1

Tablo: https://www.tablotv.com/products/tablo-quad-ota-dvr/

AirTV: Stream Local TV in HD | AirTV (4-tuner model due out any day now)

 

You can record the network’s TV Everywhere Streaming content with the latest Beta Channels DVR App.

Don’t forget the Silicon Dust HDHomerun with the Channels App, which with the latest Beta app can record streaming TV Everywhere content, recreating a normal “cable” experience with guide, live pause, DVR/record, etc.

Channels — Live TV, everywhere

NEW: TV Everywhere Support (BETA)

 

Um, that app is not available on TiVo, which is clearly what I was talking about.

 

One of the easier ways to record streaming services, is PLAYON. I use the desktop version and it works ok, but with gotchas and limitations. The main gotcha is that you get a little video clip at the beginning and end of the recording identifying as coming from your streaming account, this can be clipped out with some other software but takes a couple minutes for each show. The other restriction is that you get a max resolution of 720p, which is fine for me but if you are a pixel counter it could be a deal killer. Playon can usually be found "on sale" a couple times a year. They also have a cloud DVR, as an alternative to the Desktop software, and regularly offer sales on packages of a show.
PlayOn

 

There are more out there w/ 4-tuners (Fire TV & Recast, Tablo TV, HD Homerun), but I wouldn't buy any of them until I was sure you had good reception at your house for all of the local channels you need.

Roku sticks are still on sale for $34 each. If you've got 2 TVs, I would buy two of those. YouTube TV is $50/mo and includes the local channels in most markets along w/ unlimited DVR. Punch in your zipcode here to see the channels it has. My parents are also ditching DirecTV this week and that's what I'm setting them up on. They can't get all of their local channels with a regular antenna, so an OTA DVR wasn't a good fit.

 

I had a 6 tuner Ceton ETH6 years ago. Worked fine. Used it with Windows Media Center DVR. Ceton also had 4 tuner models back then. You can probably still get them for next to nothing on ebay. I still have a couple sitting in my closet. I later replaced mine with HD Homeruns, then ultimately 4-tuner Recasts.

But realistically, there are only 4 major OTA networks. I find it hard to imagine needing more than 4 tuners. I only had 6 or 10 or 12 at one point because I used it for hundreds of cable channels. OTA has nowhere near those requirements. I can't imagine more than a handful of people willing to buy a 6-tuner OTA device. So it makes no financial sense for manufacturers to develop and try to sell such a thing.

 

Yes sorry. I was just offering an alternative that may fit his needs. I wasn’t trying to correct you or anything.

 

Each of the local stations broadcast 2 to 4 channels of programming. In addition to ABC, NBC, CBS, Fox, WB, and PBS, there is Grit, WE, myTv, AntennaTv, Bounce, and a couple of others, all OTA local.
I'm watching one channel, my son is watching something else on another TV, and my daughter is on another TV with another channel. Now there is only 1 tuner available for recording. If a movie I want to record happens to overlap with a show my wife wants to watch later, I'm SOL. I can easily imagine needing more than 4 tuners on occasion.

 

I'm a 1-person household, and there are times when I could use more than 4 tuners.

 

What kind of streaming are we talking about? If you are wanting to spend the $50 for streaming TV, then skip Tivo and get YouTube TV. It provides the locals already so no need for Tivo. Consider what the Tivo will cost you PLUS the Tivo service costs (monthly or a huge one time payment). Tivo boxes are expensive as is the service. It's not free. And many streaming services include the local channels now. There is no point in a Tivo if your plan is to pay for a streaming TV service anyways. Plus, a service like YouTube TV has UNLIMITED tuners and dvr space. Keeps everything for 9 months. Vue is decent, too, but only keeps your recordings 28 days.

Since you have 2 rooms, with Tivo, you would need a Tivo AND a second Tivo Mini. With streaming, this isn't necessary. A couple cheap Roku's will do the trick. Better experience than Tivo overall, too. It's kind of a no brainer. YouTube TV is simply better and much cheaper.