[David Z]

We just bought a new media setup including Apple TV 4K, Sony x900f, Sony receiver, etc. and have Spectrum TV and internet with HBO and Showtime (Silver package). My wife asked me, do we really need to hook back up our Tivo Roamio with the tuning adapter and cable card? Is there any use for a physical cable anymore? Can't we still stream all the channels we normally view on our Spectrum TV app through our Apple TV and iPads, etc? Is the only thing we'd miss being able to record shows that we could otherwise obtain on demand?

I know, sounds like a silly question.

 

[Scott9mm]

I think it depends on your entertainment preferences and reliability of your ISP. I don't care for many of the current TV programs. We tend to watch reruns so I record all such episodes on TiVo whenever they happen to be broadcast. Then I download the unprotected programs to a PC, transcode to compact MP4 files, and store them on my NAS. This is all automatic using KMTTG. We still stream a lot from Netflix, Acorn, and Britbox (via RoKu or FireStick; TiVo is too Sloooow). But it's great to stream (from the NAS) any of hundreds of stored movies and programs that we actually like any time we want. TiVo has the best replay interface but Plex and DSVideo replay are OK too. Local streaming was also handy during an ISP outage, like when installers cut through the internet coax last week.

 

[Pokemon_Dad]

We just bought a new media setup including Apple TV 4K, Sony x900f, Sony receiver, etc. and have Spectrum TV and internet with HBO and Showtime (Silver package). My wife asked me, do we really need to hook back up our Tivo Roamio with the tuning adapter and cable card? Is there any use for a physical cable anymore? Can't we still stream all the channels we normally view on our Spectrum TV app through our Apple TV and iPads, etc? Is the only thing we'd miss being able to record shows that we could otherwise obtain on demand?

I know, sounds like a silly question.

Spectrum's streaming app is probably not going to sound or look as good as Netflix streaming. Cable can include 5.1 surround sound, but the streaming version gives you only stereo. The color on cable is usually better than the same channel via streaming, and cable is also more likely to offer some 4K content (though a Roamio doesn't support 4K).

 

[302481]

Commercials

 

[Pokemon_Dad]

Commercials

Oh right! How could I have left that out??? @David Z is skipping commercials important to you folks? I assume you already know you can't skip commercials when streaming cable content. (Unless you want to experiment with something like Channels DVR with TV Everywhere, though that doesn't cover every cable channel. On second thought, maybe forget I mentioned that.)

 

[Headford]

Get one of these $1 skins for your new Apple TV remote.

It gives it some needed heft and solves the problem of not immediately knowing by feel which side is the trackpad in the dark.

Remote Control Case Silicone Protective Cover Skin For Apple TV 4th Gen Siri

Remote Control Case Silicone Protective Cover Skin For Apple TV 4th Gen Siri | eBay

 

[thefisch]

For us, we still record shows as there is a delay in when available for on demand. Sometimes we watch the same night or next day to avoid any spoilers. Also, for live sports, you can't beat cable. I can record a football game, wait until halftime and then be done by the time the game ends.

I have Spectrum silver also and agree the TA is a pain. But there are a lot of channels you can watch without the tuning adapter. Just unplug the TA and see what can you still get in. If none of the missing channels matter to you or you can replace them with on demand or hbogo, then by all means send back the TA.

 

[Curt]

We just bought a new media setup including Apple TV 4K, Sony x900f, Sony receiver, etc. and have Spectrum TV and internet with HBO and Showtime (Silver package). My wife asked me, do we really need to hook back up our Tivo Roamio with the tuning adapter and cable card? Is there any use for a physical cable anymore? Can't we still stream all the channels we normally view on our Spectrum TV app through our Apple TV and iPads, etc? Is the only thing we'd miss being able to record shows that we could otherwise obtain on demand?

Try without it for a while. I found TiVo to be more of a hinderance than anything. Biggest obstacle was getting over the notion that everything had to be recorded since most of it is available on demand. For the things I do record, I use PlayOn desktop which dumps the recordings into Plex. It automatically strips the commercials and I can delete it once watched. I believe Philo can record Spectrum directly (it lists Charter Spectrum) along with HBO and Showtime. I was worried the wife would balk at it, but surprisingly figured it out pretty quickly. I took out TiVo about a year after getting everything set up and never said anything to the wife. It's been 2 years and she's never brought up the missing TiVo. I kept it, just in case - it's collecting dust in the attic.