It seems to me that Tivo is suddenly all hot and bothered to ship us new hardware. Today on my elderly Roamio I got the third sale notice for the Edge that I've seen since the first of the year. IIRC, Tivo used to do one sale a year, if that. Suddenly, it's $400 or more off once every few weeks. Are they trying to move the Edge boxes in favor of............what?
Lot of TiVo sales?
1 - 20 of 22 Posts
Joined
·
324 Posts
Carrying inventory is expensive (depending on the company, the units are manufactured with borrowed money, and warehousing is certainly not free, either). Minimal inventory is always better on the balance sheet.
In addition, every sale of a new box adds to the number of "subscribers" to the service, which also makes the numbers (of future revenue) look better.
This could all just be a reduction of costs of running the TiVo business. And both of these things can make any spin out of the TiVo consumer business look more attractive to potential investors (and such a spin out has been rumored, and suggested as likely, for years at this point).
Joined
·
3,536 Posts
I had a real need for one a few months ago. Why do they continue to bother me? The one I got wasn't as cheap as I had been led to believe, but if I have been warned that without a working fan my Roamio might quit on me, I had to act.
So far so good on the Roamio but it might be not using it for a while kept it from quitting on me without the fan.
So far so good on the Roamio but it might be not using it for a while kept it from quitting on me without the fan.
I imagine that anyone with an active non-Edge TiVo still on their account is getting these upgrade offers.
As to why - they can see the end of cablecards coming as well as anyone can, might as well get some cash out of that hardware while they can instead of just throwing them away & writing them off as a complete loss.
Joined
·
3,536 Posts
I suppose if I can't use a cable card I'll have to take my chances on an outdoor antenna, but the Edge is for cable.
I have a Bolt but it's hooked up to the indoor antenna and that one works for some channels, while the outdoor one would have to pointed in a different direction.
I have a Bolt but it's hooked up to the indoor antenna and that one works for some channels, while the outdoor one would have to pointed in a different direction.
The Edge has two versions including the Tivo Edge for OTA (over the air). They are pushing it onto Roamio owners because the Roamio was sold with the guide included for free for life. They want you to change to the Edge OTA which charges $6.99 PER MONTH (only that cheap if you pay by the year). They made a mistake income-wize with the Roamio, and now they are trying to correct it by pushing you to switch to the Edge.
Huh? I don't recall the subscription options being any different for Roamio than for any other TiVo.
And if you want a lifetime sub for the Edge OTA rather than paying monthly or yearly you can get one, but it takes over 3 years to break even compared to yearly.
And of course there is the Bolt that was released in between the Roamio and the Edge, but who's counting?
Joined
·
23 Posts
Unless i am Wrong the only Dif between bolt and Edge is the apps being in 4k And OTA on edge is only 2 tuners and that sucks for me. I got recently few months ago from weaknees got a Bolt OTA 4 tuners liftime service all for $300 then got a mini on ebay for bedroom 1/2 price all working good. I wanted the edge but was pulling plug from SAT TV and can't understand why they would go from 4 tuners on bolt to 2 on new edge should of gone from 4 to 6 tuners on OT and alot more would of switch to edge i know i would of. just my 2 cents.
Well, you are limiting your description to the Bolt vs. Edge OTA only models. The Edge for cable has 6 tuners which is the same as the Bolt (and Roamio) cable only models.
In all cases, the Bolt can do 4K (including QAM 4K).
Tivo Customer Support Community
The following TiVo devices support 4K:
- TiVo EDGE Series
- TiVo BOLT Series
- TiVo Mini VOX and Mini LUX
EDIT: I thought of another difference, I believe the Edge runs cooler based on the lack of complaints. The Bolt had tons of complaints about a noisy fan (or really the fan connection to the MB) and overheating, which caused premature hard drive failures. AAMOF, I have a fan under my Bolt Vox aimed at the cableCARD myself, because it feels too hot without it.
Joined
·
23 Posts
Thanks for info but since i was coming from SAT tv and cutting chord i wasn't going to jump in Cable Tv over prices cards that i hear are no longer even being given out by Comcast. So my reasearch brought me to OTA only and what OTA equipment and price will give to me. Since i had all 4k apps from my 2021 Sony Bravo Google TV i found the Bolt made most sense cost wize. But if the new Edge OTA only would of been 4 or 6 tuners cost aside i may have got the newer equipment.
I totally get that. It's just that others reading your post might not understand that there are other units by the same name that DO still have 6 tuners, and I'm also pointing out that all Bolts support 4K, which you mentioned might be different from the Edge.
EDIT: Also, I wanted to point out, I think you made the right call getting the Bolt from Weaknees for $300. Good deal.
Joined
·
23 Posts
Ya think when all said and done for cost i got best i can and no monthly fees and can record OTA mostly what i want. Plays pretty good on a new TV like i have.
I was spending $90 a month for Dishnet Hopper on a basic plan. Although nice My totral cost here was $300 for Bolt i got mini for $50 open box ebay and $30 for Wifi adapter and $20 extra remote. For $400 all in with liftime i think was best shopping.
The apps on all TiVo's suck. There is no doubt about it. You are better off using your ATV. The post I referred to only mentions two apps that are 4K, Netflix and Youtube, so for all I know, those are the only two that work. But, for example, I am on Fios and Fios offers some 4K content with special channels, and the Bolt works fine in 4K on those channels.
tiVo literally doesn’t have a model that works for me right now, which is kind of scary. I don’t have cable, and I’m certainly not buying a DVR with only two tuners and a tiny hard drive. I can’t believe they canceled their four tuner
models 😕.
Joined
·
23 Posts
I think if you contact the people over at weekneas They do a 4 tuner OtA edge model with lifetime. I was considering it before I bought from them the Bolt 4 tuner OTA with lifetime for $300 I think the edge 4 tuner OTA with lifetime is around 500 or it was at least two months ago hope that helps.
If you want an OTA DVR, you're better off looking at an HD HomeRun tuner (either ATSC 1.0 or 3.0) paired with a computer running either Channels DVR or Plex DVR. Either way, you'd watch live and recorded TV via the Channels or Plex app on Apple TV, Android TV and/or Fire TV. (The Plex app supports additional platforms too, like Roku and various smart TVs.)
If that's all too complicated, have a look at Tablo.
But at this point, I really wouldn't recommend a TiVo OTA DVR except maybe to someone who's very tech-challenged (like an elderly person) and needs something that's as much like a cable box as possible. Even better if they don't use any streaming apps, in which case the TiVo could be their only box (because if you use streaming apps, you're probably going to want to access them on a different device than a TiVo, which is a very sub-par streamer).
When my Bolt died and Tivo refused to sell me a replacement (because they no longer service Canada) I was forced into looking for an alternative OTA solution. I looked at the HomeRun setup but even though I'm a techie by trade and nature decided that the benefits it offered compared with a Tablo just weren't worth the extra hassle.
Started with a really cheap 2-tuner refurb Tablo and was so happy with it I replaced it with a 4 tuner model. Very pleased it and being able to use any size hard drive is a real plus. Remote access and control also works really well.
1 - 20 of 22 Posts
Join the discussion
