[JOHN WEIDENFELLER]

I have an older Tivo Romio OTA and 3 Minis spread across the house.
I haven't been happy with the development to support new Apps like HBO, Disney etc

My minis I need to reboot before I use netflix or it locks up, and in my office I can watch DVR bit not TV unless I reboot. I've read some users put their minis on timers to reboot each night to solve this issue as a workaround.

I thought all this would be fixed when the new Roku, Apple TV app came out which we know was put on hold indefinitely so now I'm wondering if its time to move onto something else.

the cost of replacing Tivo Hardware and service fees doesn't seem like a cost effective option with all the new streaming apps.

kind of curious of others thoughts. I still like the TV and DVR option of the Tivo and using netflix and standard/older apps on the Romio are fine, would be nice to have HBO and newer stuff but not a show stopper, the other bedrooms and office is where the main usability issues are.

have anyone figured out a workaround the minis without buying new Minis at $200 each? or is it time to just goto streaming 100%?

Thanks in advance
John

 

[dbpaddler]

I moved on a few months ago. If you want to cling, ebay, Craigslist, let go can be your friend for used mini vox's. No need to pay $200. And you can still get $50 give or take for old mini's.

Your roamio OTA is probably still the most solid OTA DVR out there unless you want to get into the network tuner side of things be it an hdhomerun + apps (channels dvr being the leading candidate) with a NAS or server pc (much simpler than the old wmc days) or go the recast, sling airtv anywhere or tablo route with the built in network tuner and dvr in one box. As far as I know, they all transcode and some are limited to stereo. So depending on how much of a stickler you are, you might not be happy.

Once you go the network tuner side of things you are using streaming devices all around and have more ease of use bouncing back and forth between live TV and streaming apps. Tivo is attempting integration of the two via its stream app on the TS4k, but it is a long long way off of being nearly as integrated (or as useful) as their dvr side was with TV and the few streaming apps it did support.

Also with that, you get much better out of home streaming so going on Vaca, visiting somewhere and so on makes bringing your service with you much much easier. And on the channels DVR side, if you have a friend or family member's cable credentials, you can add TV Everywhere to your channel lineup and pretty much have cable and OTA on an integrated channel guide. That's pretty slick, and while I've been fine with OTA, it's been great for sports mainly as well as dvr'ing a few syndicated shows I can't easily get on demand.

And also, once you go with a network tuner, you can pretty much bounce to whatever you think is the best solution as the tuner is pretty much universal and apps will come (hopefully not go) and continue to improve their dvr functionality and interface. And when atsc 3.0 hits, you just buy hdhomerun's tuner, plug and play and keep on rolling. If you invest in recast, tablo or sling, you are at their mercy when they decide to make a new box hdhomerun's atsc 3.0 tuner already exists and has already been tested to work seamlessly.

Or you just add a cheap streamer like the TS4k or Google's chromecast with Google TV coming out this week for $50 and swap inputs when you want to stream. If you're harmony based it's a simple button press.

My 2 cents on it all as I've been OTA for 5+ years and was all in on tivo since the Toshiba SD whatever dvd/series 2 combo that was.

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[302481]

New Mini doesn't run streaming apps any better than the old ones. So that's a dead end.
(EDIT: Mini Vox is more stable per response below)

Workaround is to use a Roku or other streaming device for streaming apps.

Since you're OTA only, there are lots of OTA DVR alternatives that consolidate all your content on one device and give you direct access to all the latest apps. I personally use Amazon Recast. I've had more complex systems in the past that use network tuners, NAS's, PC's, etc. But I prefer the simplicity of having everything in one box.

I've been Tivo-free for almost 3 years now. Yes, there are some things I miss (fast playback, commercial skip), but the overall experience is better given the tighter streaming integration. I also supplement with Youtube TV for cable TV channels. But sounds like you've already weaned yourself off cable.

 

[dbpaddler]

New Mini doesn't run streaming apps any better than the old ones. So that's a dead end.

Workaround is to use a Roku or other streaming device for streaming apps.

Since you're OTA only, there are lots of OTA DVR alternatives that consolidate all your content on one device and give you direct access to all the latest apps. I personally use Amazon Recast. I've had more complex systems in the past that use network tuners, NAS's, PC's, etc. But I prefer the simplicity of having everything in one box.

I've been Tivo-free for almost 3 years now. Yes, there are some things I miss (fast playback, commercial skip), but the overall experience is better given the tighter streaming integration. I also supplement with Youtube TV for cable TV channels. But sounds like you've already weaned yourself off cable.

Actually, it does run them better, especially prime. The Mini vox has more horsepower and is a much better streaming experience than the og Mini's. It doesn't get you more streaming options, but the ones it has run much smoother. Prime was the bane of many on the og mini's, and I think all that upgraded to the Vox agree it runs much smoother and more stable.

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[302481]

Actually, it does run them better, especially prime. The Mini vox has more horsepower and is a much better streaming experience than the og Mini's. It doesn't get you more streaming options, but the ones it has run much smoother. Prime was the bane of many on the og mini's, and I think all that upgraded to the Vox agree it runs much smoother and more stable.

Good to know. Does it run the newer Prime app with profile support? How about Hulu app, profiles there as well?

 

[dbpaddler]

Good to know. Does it run the newer Prime app with profile support? How about Hulu app, profiles there as well?

That I don't know. Sold mine two months ago. At the time it wasn't updated to profiles. I'm down to a Roamio Pro that I have to watch a bunch of things, reset and sell. Haven Y used Hulu in years. Even did the cheap $1/mo trial pre pandemic and never used the app once. Pretty much told me I could pair down to just the basics. Did the same with spotify and haven't used it. Kind of funny what you realize you won't use once you forget about it.

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[Adam C.]

I have a Roamio OTA and a Recast. The Recast is great but I still prefer the Roamio as my primary DVR. I only use the Roamio for watching recordings. I use a Firestick for watching Hulu, Prime, HBO, etc. as well as live TV from the Recast. That minimizes the number of times I have to switch inputs on my TV, which really isn't a big deal anyway.

 

[pfiagra]

Good to know. Does it run the newer Prime app with profile support? How about Hulu app, profiles there as well?

Prime has profiles on my Edge, but not on my Mini Vox (obviously running TE4).

 

[dbpaddler]

Prime has profiles on my Edge, but not on my Mini Vox (obviously running TE4).

Gotta love that cohesiveness across the system. I could understand not updating the original mini's, but not the Vox? Wonder if the Lux is in the same boat. Can't imagine they are on different software being they're the same box.

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[trip1eX]

Assuming you want OTA still, you can:

a) keep using TiVo for everything

b) use TiVo for the dvr and use a separate streaming box for streaming

c) use a Non-TiVo OTA/streaming solution like Recast for example.

 

[Barnstormer]

I have two Tivo Roamio OTA units. I find them very adequate for my current setup. Perfect? No. But, they are fully paid for units complete with the Guide for Life (All-In in today's vernacular). Streaming apps are a bit disappointing, but I can easily make up for that with a Roku stick.

At some point I will probably upgrade, probably when I get a new 8K TV with all sorts of features the Roamios no longer support. Until then, I am a happy camper.

 

[241705]

It's really going to depend on what you want. The TiVo DVR is a mostly great DVR experience, and I'd have probably kept mine for a while longer if I still had cable TV. If that TiVo experience is important to you and you don't mind the limitations, especially with streaming apps, stick with it. Otherwise, there are some very good alternatives out there. I'm no longer using the TiVo DVRs and instead view my OTA through an app on the TiVo Stream4k.

I will say that it's been nice to not have to reboot the box (or have it reboot itself) when I use Netflix, Prime or other apps.

 

[dbpaddler]

It's really going to depend on what you want. The TiVo DVR is a mostly great DVR experience, and I'd have probably kept mine for a while longer if I still had cable TV. If that TiVo experience is important to you and you don't mind the limitations, especially with streaming apps, stick with it. Otherwise, there are some very good alternatives out there. I'm no longer using the TiVo DVRs and instead view my OTA through an app on the TiVo Stream4k.

I will say that it's been nice to not have to reboot the box (or have it reboot itself) when I use Netflix, Prime or other apps.

What reboots? Outside of the og mini, I never had reboot issues on the roamio, bolt or mini vox. Thought the old mini was just low brow hardware that had issues mainly with prime.

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[241705]

Amazon and Netflix apps go to Black Screen

Happened quite often on my Bolt and Roamio. I didn't use my MiniVOX much for streaming since it was attached to a Roku TV, but can confirm it happened at least once there, also.

 

[mattack]

You want to get rid of a Mini? It has the Roamio remote, right? I know it's kind of silly, but I'd like to get a mini for my 2nd TV (when I get it, yeah I have been saying this for years), so that I don't have to use Roamio on one TV and Premiere 4 (without quick mode) on another..

While things have gotten worse over time -- e.g. worse guide data, I still think the Tivo experience (OLD UI) is far far far far better than anything else -- including the "extras" like quick mode (esp since we found out about the backdoor to make it much faster) and downloading shows off of Tivo to expand storage, etc.. WHEN shows are avail on the streaming I already pay for (I pay for the commercial free versions), then I watch there.. But TiVo them as backup.

 

[dbpaddler]

I remember when I had cable I would just plow through the premium channels and record everything under the sun I'd possibly want to watch.

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[Pokemon_Dad]

Is it time to move on from TiVo? Yes. It is no longer the company that made your Roamio.

 

[mattack]

Is it time to move on from TiVo? Yes. It is no longer the company that made your Roamio.

But with the caveat I already gave, it still works as well as it did the day you bought it.

 

[dbpaddler]

But with the caveat I already gave, it still works as well as it did the day you bought it.

There's really no reason to upgrade anything if you're fine using a separate streaming device to do all your streaming. Might as well ride it until atsc 3.0 actually becomes a thing. Unless you actually want to make some money back when you sell and move on.

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[Pokemon_Dad]

But with the caveat I already gave, it still works as well as it did the day you bought it.

A good percentage of old electronics starts failing after five years. Best to start on a transition plan now.