TiVo Community Forum banner
1 - 19 of 19 Posts

· Registered
Joined
·
1,336 Posts
Discussion Starter · #1 ·
Hi all,
I haven't' been keeping up with tivo product line so i'm a bit on the clueless side

I have a Roamio with a 8TB hdd, I'm OTA & recently got a second tv.

I stream amazon/hulu/peacock & netflix. Unfortunately the second tv isn't able to add streaming services so it doesn't have all of the above services. I gather I need a dongle (amazon/roku/tivo).

I would like to control my primary tivo from my second TV so i don't have to run another antenna cable to my second TV. Is that possible?

I can run cat6 or coaxe if needed but I am able to stream
 

· Registered
Joined
·
1,336 Posts
Discussion Starter · #3 ·
I've been watching streaming (amazon, peacock & disney+) from an amazon stick
Is the mini capable of getting those services? Or for that matter is the Roamio? I didn't think Tivo's could get those streaming services.

if the tivo mini won't pull those services in, i assume i can get the tivo stream 4k dongle?

i can run a cat6 or wifi for the mini and/or streamer
 

· Registered
Joined
·
1,035 Posts
If you get a TiVo Mini, you will have Netflix and Amazon.

You will also have Hulu, but it won’t be the latest version that allows live TV.

The Mini will not have Peacock.
 
  • Like
Reactions: alyssa

· Registered
Joined
·
1,336 Posts
Discussion Starter · #5 · (Edited)
Ok
so a mini to get the tivo & live tv off my antenna
and a dongle to get
disney+ and cbsAA/Peacock (in addiiton to amazon/netflix and hulu no Live tv)

any thought on the new tivo streaming dongle? Does it play well with the Mini?

eta, wait is the 4k streaming dongle only to be used with sling?
 

· Registered
Joined
·
1,336 Posts
Discussion Starter · #7 ·
The Tivo dongle does not interact with the Mini at all. So it plays as well as a Roku, Firestick, etc. would. Just get whichever one you are most comfortable with.
so if I were to get both a mini and a dongle, I'd have to change inputs on my tv to watch my tivo & live tv?
drat
i was hoping the mini & dongle would play well together. #sigh The dongle still looks better then the amazon stick
 

· It's Just TV
Joined
·
27,236 Posts
Unfortunately there's no great or even really good solution to getting the Live TV content (via the antenna hooked to the TiVo you already have) and the streaming content. Your Roamio should support a mini, but... you'll need to get network cabling to the location where you want to use the mini and you'd have to make sure the Roamio is on the same network. Assuming you can easily run network cabling to satisfy that requirement, no big deal.

The TiVo Stream 4k is a decent device, not terribly expensive, but it has absolutely nothing to do with the traditional TiVo -- there's no TiVo client on it, no ability to access the Roamio to show content from it, etc. Instead, it simply allows you to stream content by running Android TV apps. It has a strong variety of streaming app support which is great, but again no way to get any of the content you recorded on the OTA Roamio, so you'd have to find that content on say Hulu, or some other service or only watch that content from the TV with the Roamio connected to it, or, as you were realizing you could switch inputs back and forth to get to the Stream when desired versus the mini when that was preferred.

Switching inputs sucks, but.... well, that's just kinda how it goes.

If your Roamio OTA has lifetime, you might be able to sell it off to someone else and instead replace that with an HDHomerun device. The latest of those supports 4K broadcast (where broadcasters are broadcasting with that standard) but the amount of content there is a bit weak so far. It supports standard HD TV signal as well though, and you could potentially add the HDHomerun's storage partner device to get one year free of their DVR service. Personally, I think the HDHomerun DVR service is weakened by their guide and the user interface. The Channels DVR is much nicer (my opinion) and will use the HDHomerun tuner, but Channels doesn't use the HDHomerun's own storage device and instead needs another device working as the storage server. Much more complicated, but not a bad solution if you wanted to work from the same input and device all the time as you could then just use the TiVo Stream 4K as your gateway to everything else.

If the HDHomerun's own DVR and guide don't annoy you, the per year fee for additional years of DVR service isn't too expensive, and the app is free so easily installed to use on the Stream 4K's or similar devices.

Best of luck to you regardless of how you proceed.
 

· Registered
Joined
·
1,336 Posts
Discussion Starter · #9 · (Edited)
terpfan
nice bike ;)
thx for the info about other services but i just can't swing a move at this point. Plus i've got a 8TB in my tivo ;) I doubt anything will compete with that.
I suspect i'll get the tivo dongle soon & eventually the mini when a check comes in
Thanks for everyones' help, I really apreciate it!
 

· Registered
Joined
·
25,637 Posts
Unfortunately there's no great or even really good solution to getting the Live TV content (via the antenna hooked to the TiVo you already have) and the streaming content.
the Mini can "get live TV" from the Tivo it's connected to.. i.e. uses a tuner, if you hit the live TV button on the remote. (so the tivo can record one fewer show simultaneously when you're doing that).

but if one has a tivo, why use live TV? (I only use it for CNN or sometimes CSPANs as background noise to go to sleep to).
 

· Guest
Joined
·
4,428 Posts
the Mini can "get live TV" from the Tivo it's connected to.. i.e. uses a tuner, if you hit the live TV button on the remote. (so the tivo can record one fewer show simultaneously when you're doing that).
True. I think terp's point is there isn't a good solution for a single device that does both live TV and streaming content.

But actually, Amazon Recast is a pretty darn good solution if you're starting from scratch (no Tivos involved). Then all you need in other rooms is a Fire stick or Fire TV, not an expensive Mini or ethernet or coax cables. The Fire devices can do all the streaming, live TV from antenna as well as recordings. That's the main reason I switched to Recast from Tivo.
 

· It's Just TV
Joined
·
27,236 Posts
Just another thought for the original poster - if you poke around a bit here, or over on eBay, you may find someone that has a spare mini and is trying to find a new home for it.

I have a couple of older mini's in storage in my basement, though I would hesitate to pass it along as I may have used them with TE4 (the newer TiVo interface) and they may not want to work with a TiVo that is still using the older TiVo interface.

If the OP is using TE4 on their Roamio and doesn't need a 4K Mini device, then what I have would likely work just fine. Upgrading the Mini from the older interface to the newer is easy enough either way, but again what I have is older TiVo mini equipment that I put on the shelf/in storage once I upgraded to a 4K mini.

In my case, selling one fairly cheaply would help clear out my electronics bin and help out another TiVo user.

There are definitely plenty of mini units of various strains up on eBay at pretty reasonable prices. Just be sure to ask the seller what version of the interface they were last working with (TE4 or TE3). If the seller is well rated you should be fine buying there. Especially if you can see some history of them selling the same type of devices.
 
  • Like
Reactions: chiguy50

· TDL shepherd
Joined
·
17,799 Posts

· It's Just TV
Joined
·
27,236 Posts
But a mini can.. at least for the services it supports..
Re-read the OP's original -- they are looking for content that won't be available via the mini -- hence the point of the potential discussion about using the Stream 4K as part of a single solution that would, unfortunately, require other components.

I like the mini's that I have for what they are, but they are not one-stop shopping for any and all streaming content. In fact, when it comes to streaming content the mini's are pretty weak. And that leads to thinking about other possible solutions.

It would be sweet if the Stream 4K had a client that could get content easily from the TiVo boxes but that hasn't come to pass, and the streaming apps for the mini (and the regular TiVo's for that matter) are all but dead in terms of any newer apps. No Peacock, no Paramount+, no Disney+, etc.

So anyone that wants to get a single input (on their TV) solution is pushed towards other options whether they love TiVo or not. Damned shame.
 
  • Like
Reactions: krkaufman

· Registered
Joined
·
25,637 Posts
So anyone that wants to get a single input (on their TV) solution is pushed towards other options whether they love TiVo or not. Damned shame.
heh, my TV is almost that solution.. since I use the TV's built in apps or use the tivo mini.. and never have to change inputs.. I only have to change inputs for the PS4. There's no HBO app, so that's on the PS4, or, AirPlay to the TV from my phone.. still no input switching.
 

· Registered
Joined
·
25,637 Posts
A distinction without a difference.
No, it is a very big difference. It takes A WHILE to switch inputs/have the new input showing.
Starting the app on the TV or turning on the mini (when the TV is already on that input) is MUCH faster.. (yes you have to wait a little bit for the app to start, but otherwise you have to switch inputs, with for it to show up THEN wait to launch the app TOO)

If switching inputs were instantaneous (which it basically was with composite/component), it's much less of a deal. On any TV I've seen, switching inputs on HDMI takes a while, and yes I know why.

It may be irrelevant to you, but it absolutely isn't to me.
 
1 - 19 of 19 Posts
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top