[gary smith]

I just recently purchased a new Vizio E70-E3 4k tv and since it doesn't have an integral tuner I purchased the Roamio OTA to act as the tuner. I am new to Tivo and but since we cut cable I thought this would be a good option. The roamio works great with my 2 year old HTDV but won't display correctly on my new 4k tv no matter what resolution output I try or what HDMI input I use on the tv. All i get is the picture blinking on and off. I contacted Tivo today and they convinced me to return the roamio and buy a bolt. Has anyone else experienced this and will the bolt solve the problem? I can't find information on the web regarding this issue anywhere....

 

[thyname]

Since your TiVo works with your older tv, by common sense, the issue is with your new tv. It seems like you have tried everything, other than swapping for a new HDMI cable? Do you own other HDMI devices to test with your new tv? Such as Roku, Apple TV, etc?

 

[gary smith]

Since your TiVo works with your older tv, by common sense, the issue is with your new tv. It seems like you have tried everything, other than swapping for a new HDMI cable? Do you own other HDMI devices to test with your new tv? Such as Roku, Apple TV, etc?

I was getting ready to return the TV but everything else works great. My blueray player functions perfectly in the new vizio 4k with the same cable I tried on the Tivo. Its a little bit of a head scratcher because the Vizio seems to work with everything else I plug into it except for the Roamio. But the Roamio works great in my 2 year old non-4k hdtv. Vizio support told me that since other devices are working it must be the Roamio. Tivo support says Roamio doesnt support the new 4k tv's so I need to upgrade to the bolt which seems wierd because the tv should be able to accept whatever resolution is plugged into it. I was hoping someone else could tell me if they have a Roamio OTA plugged into a newer 4k tv.

 

[thyname]

Tivo support says Roamio doesnt support the new 4k tv's so I need to upgrade to the bolt which seems wierd because the tv should be able to accept whatever resolution is plugged into it. I was hoping someone else could tell me if they have a Roamio OTA plugged into a newer 4k tv.

What TiVo people told you is completely BS. Another idiot you had the "luck" to encounter.

My Roamio OTA works perfect with my new 65" 4K Samsung KS8500 tv.

A couple of recommendations I can think of:

1 - Turn off the UHD Color for the input you are using Roamio on your Vizio tv. Don't know if Vizio has this feature, but both my Samsung TV and my Sony tv (x850c from last year) have it. This feature is only for HDR content. Since Roamio does not support HDR, you don't need it activated on your Vizio Roamio input , as it often messes up with display.

2 - keep playing with Roamio output resolution. Try both Native (tv does the upscaling) or Tivo presets:

https://support.tivo.com/articles/I...ow-to-Set-the-Video-Output-Format-on-Your-DVR

 

[dianebrat]

I was getting ready to return the TV but everything else works great. My blueray player functions perfectly in the new vizio 4k with the same cable I tried on the Tivo. Its a little bit of a head scratcher because the Vizio seems to work with everything else I plug into it except for the Roamio. But the Roamio works great in my 2 year old non-4k hdtv. Vizio support told me that since other devices are working it must be the Roamio. Tivo support says Roamio doesnt support the new 4k tv's so I need to upgrade to the bolt which seems wierd because the tv should be able to accept whatever resolution is plugged into it. I was hoping someone else could tell me if they have a Roamio OTA plugged into a newer 4k tv.

They're full of it, (CSRs frequently are) the Roamio is perfectly capable of connecting to older AND newer 4K TV's, the odds are an HDMI cable issue.

 

[Barnstormer]

So, what does a Roamio unit do when it receives a 4K signal either over the air, through cable or via streaming such as Netflix? Does it just convert it all to 2K before passing it on to the TV or saving the show on the HD?

 

[thyname]

So, what does a Roamio unit do when it receives a 4K signal either over the air, through cable or via streaming such as Netflix? Does it just convert it all to 2K before passing it on to the TV or saving the show on the HD?

There are no 4K broadcasts via OTA or cable. Zero.

Roamio does NOT do 4K via streaming . Only Bolt does

 

[gary smith]

What TiVo people told you is completely BS. Another idiot you had the "luck" to encounter.

My Roamio OTA works perfect with my new 65" 4K Samsung KS8500 tv.

A couple of recommendations I can think of:

1 - Turn off the UHD Color for the input you are using Roamio on your Vizio tv. Don't know if Vizio has this feature, but both my Samsung TV and my Sony tv (x850c from last year) have it. This feature is only for HDR content. Since Roamio does not support HDR, you don't need it activated on your Vizio Roamio input , as it often messes up with display.

2 - keep playing with Roamio output resolution. Try both Native (tv does the upscaling) or Tivo presets:

https://support.tivo.com/articles/I...ow-to-Set-the-Video-Output-Format-on-Your-DVR

I tried the "test resolution" feature on the tivo and none of the settings seem to work. What makes it worse is when plugged into the vizio the damn picture keeps blinking in and out making it almost impossible to go through the setup procedures on the tivo so i have to keep my old tv on the floor and adjust the settings on that then plug it back into the visio to see if it works. I will try all of the other settings you suggested and see if I can get it to work. I already bought the bolt from tivo and was going to send the roamio back to amazon but I can keep whichever one works and send the other back at this point. Or I can still return the Vizio to Costco if need be for another 20 days

 

[gary smith]

They're full of it, (CSRs frequently are) the Roamio is perfectly capable of connecting to older AND newer 4K TV's, the odds are an HDMI cable issue.

I bought a brand new high speed uhd hdmi 2.0 cable to plug it in with but that didnt solve the problem. I have a couple more coming from amazon and i will try those too but somehow I dont think that will resolve the issue

 

[thyname]

I tried the "test resolution" feature on the tivo and none of the settings seem to work. What makes it worse is when plugged into the vizio the damn picture keeps blinking in and out making it almost impossible to go through the setup procedures on the tivo so i have to keep my old tv on the floor and adjust the settings on that then plug it back into the visio to see if it works. I will try all of the other settings you suggested and see if I can get it to work. I already bought the bolt from tivo and was going to send the roamio back to amazon but I can keep whichever one works and send the other back at this point. Or I can still return the Vizio to Costco if need be for another 20 days

Did you try turning off UHD color on Vizio input? It is called "enhanced" on Sony.

You have a 90-day return policy on Costco.

 

[gary smith]

What TiVo people told you is completely BS. Another idiot you had the "luck" to encounter.

My Roamio OTA works perfect with my new 65" 4K Samsung KS8500 tv.

A couple of recommendations I can think of:

1 - Turn off the UHD Color for the input you are using Roamio on your Vizio tv. Don't know if Vizio has this feature, but both my Samsung TV and my Sony tv (x850c from last year) have it. This feature is only for HDR content. Since Roamio does not support HDR, you don't need it activated on your Vizio Roamio input , as it often messes up with display.

2 - keep playing with Roamio output resolution. Try both Native (tv does the upscaling) or Tivo presets:

https://support.tivo.com/articles/I...ow-to-Set-the-Video-Output-Format-on-Your-DVR

Btw...I greatly appreciate the time and feedback being a holiday w

Did you try turning off UHD color on Vizio input? It is called "enhanced" on Sony.

You have a 90-day return policy on Costco.

I can't find a similar setting on the Vizio unfortunately. Going to try the video settings here this afternoon or evening. the TV just installed a firmware update so I am hoping that helps. thanks for all your input on a holiday weekend!

 

[thyname]

Btw...I greatly appreciate the time and feedback being a holiday w

I can't find a similar setting on the Vizio unfortunately. Going to try the video settings here this afternoon or evening. the TV just installed a firmware update so I am hoping that helps. thanks for all your input on a holiday weekend!

No problem. My pleasure.

My bad about the UHD color suggestion. I just realized that Vizio E series does NOT do HDR, so any wide color gamut settings would not apply to your tv.

Don't know about your budget, but if you bought a 4K tv now, I would highly recommend one with HDR capabilities. In my opinion, HDR makes a bigger difference (coming from just HD) than 4K. HDR (if done right) combined with 4K make for a stunning experience.

Since you are still on your return period, and if you wish to stay with Vizio, go with M series, and better yet, P series.

I did quite a bit of research before buying my Samsung tv a couple of weeks back, and ended up buying the 65" Samsung KS8500. Could not be happier! Night and day difference on HDR 4K content with my Sony 65" x850c tv I bought last year (different room).

At a lower budget, Samsung KU series would be OK (same league as Vizio M series), but will not give you the picture and color "pop" that KS does.

A bit off topic here, bought I thought I'd give you my input for such a large purchase as big screen 4K tv.

 

[gary smith]

No problem. My pleasure.

My bad about the UHD color suggestion. I just realized that Vizio E series does NOT do HDR, so any wide color gamut settings would not apply to your tv.

Don't know about your budget, but if you bought a 4K tv now, I would highly recommend one with HDR capabilities. In my opinion, HDR makes a bigger difference (coming from just HD) than 4K. HDR (if done right) combined with 4K make for a stunning experience.

Since you are still on your return period, and if you wish to stay with Vizio, go with M series, and better yet, P series.

I did quite a bit of research before buying my Samsung tv a couple of weeks back, and ended up buying the 65" Samsung KS8500. Could not be happier! Night and day difference on HDR 4K content with my Sony 65" x850c tv I bought last year (different room).

At a lower budget, Samsung KU series would be OK (same league as Vizio M series), but will not give you the picture and color "pop" that KS does.

A bit off topic here, bought I thought I'd give you my input for such a large purchase as big screen 4K tv.

Great advice...and I took it. I was able to get the vizio working for about 10 minutes with great picture then it started popping in and out again (although greatly reduced). However I hated the

No problem. My pleasure.

My bad about the UHD color suggestion. I just realized that Vizio E series does NOT do HDR, so any wide color gamut settings would not apply to your tv.

Don't know about your budget, but if you bought a 4K tv now, I would highly recommend one with HDR capabilities. In my opinion, HDR makes a bigger difference (coming from just HD) than 4K. HDR (if done right) combined with 4K make for a stunning experience.

Since you are still on your return period, and if you wish to stay with Vizio, go with M series, and better yet, P series.

I did quite a bit of research before buying my Samsung tv a couple of weeks back, and ended up buying the 65" Samsung KS8500. Could not be happier! Night and day difference on HDR 4K content with my Sony 65" x850c tv I bought last year (different room).

At a lower budget, Samsung KU series would be OK (same league as Vizio M series), but will not give you the picture and color "pop" that KS does.

A bit off topic here, bought I thought I'd give you my input for such a large purchase as big screen 4K tv.

That's great advice...and I took it. Sooo...I was able to get the Roamio OTA to work with the Visio briefly this morning. I don't know what I did but it worked for about 10 minutes. This was after a firmware update on the tv. But the reality was that I have hated the tv since I bought it and discovered it didn't have a tuner (the main reason I bought the Roamio in the first place). What I hated most was that I needed to download a special app for my phone just so that I could change the settings on my tv. I am not normally tech averse but that is a little too much for me. So, I decided to take advantage of Costco's very liberal return policy and took it back and got the Samsung UN70KU630D you mentioned (that Costco also had on sale). It's a little more expensive than the Vizio but man is the picture better and the remote/settings are much easier to use. When I started this little adventure all I really wanted was an entry level 4k 70" tv that I could use in the Family room where we all watch movies so I could take the older 60 LED HDTV upstairs in the kids game room. I think that the Samsung fits the bill a little better than the Vizio so thanks for the advice!

Now on to the Samsung. So I am now having trouble getting the Roamio OTA to play on the Samsung and I was wondering what settings you were using on yours (tv settings, roamio resolution setting, which HDMI port, or anything helpful) (but just what's easy...please don't make it a project on my account)? I do have the UHD color turned off but I still can't get the picture from the Roamio to show up at all. I tried a firmware update on the tv and tried running through the automatic setup and individual resolutions on the Tivo box and I can't even get the picture to blink in and out like it was with the Vizio.

I am using a new high speed UHD HDMI cable but I also have a new one coming (more expensive, different manufacturer) just in case that is the problem, and I still have the bolt being delivered on Thursday. Sigh, at the end of the day at least I now have a TV with a tuner so I can just plug the antenna into that and send the bolt and the Roamio back for a refund, but the wife is kind of hooked on the Tivo after recording the Thanksgiving Day Parade so I was hoping I could get it working.

So how was that for a long way around saying thanks for the advice and can you help me one more time?

 

[thyname]

Congrats on your new tv! It will definitely be better than your previous E series Vizio. I have the KS series though, but at least you can get some form of HDR.

I would first recommend getting acquainted with HDR:

1 - easiest way to do so is from built in YouTube app. Do a search for "chess HDR demo LG". Play the first video that comes up with most views, then the subsequent "suggested videos"

2 - if you subscribe to Amazon Prime, on Built in app, there a separate category named "4K". Plenty of HDR shows in there from Amazon Originals such as Man in the High Castle, Grand Touring, Mozart in the Jungle

With regards to Roamio, it should work out of the box. I have the Bolt+ and Roamio OTA in the same room with my Samsung KS8500 connected to a non-4K receiver (with a bunch of other devices) then HDMI out from receiver to HDMI 4 0n Samsung (ARC). Then the Samsung k8500 4K UHD player and Xbox One S connected directly to tv (HDMI ports 3 and 2). UHD Color turned on only for 2 and 3, and off for 4.

Roamio OTA I have checked only 1080i and 720p, thus letting the tv doing the upscaling. I do use HDR+ on tv for broadcasts but this is a personal preference. You will be fine with Standard.

One thing to notice is that for some reason TiVo is not recognized from Samsung Smart remote (or whatever they call it). So you will have to manually pick whatever HDMI port you are hooking up the Roamio by going to sources. My suggestion is to keep both tv in the same room for testing. Once Roamio is up and running on old tv, swap the HDMI cable to the new tv , select the relevant HDMI input under Sources on tv, and it should work.

If not, post here and maybe somebody else may come up with a solution, as I would have ran out of one. Sometimes, it can be a very simple thing not done right, and the challenge is figuring it out. Good luck!

 

[gary smith]

Congrats on your new tv! It will definitely be better than your previous E series Vizio. I have the KS series though, but at least you can get some form of HDR.

I would first recommend getting acquainted with HDR:

1 - easiest way to do so is from built in YouTube app. Do a search for "chess HDR demo LG". Play the first video that comes up with most views, then the subsequent "suggested videos"

2 - if you subscribe to Amazon Prime, on Built in app, there a separate category named "4K". Plenty of HDR shows in there from Amazon Originals such as Man in the High Castle, Grand Touring, Mozart in the Jungle

With regards to Roamio, it should work out of the box. I have the Bolt+ and Roamio OTA in the same room with my Samsung KS8500 connected to a non-4K receiver (with a bunch of other devices) then HDMI out from receiver to HDMI 4 0n Samsung (ARC). Then the Samsung k8500 4K UHD player and Xbox One S connected directly to tv (HDMI ports 3 and 2). UHD Color turned on only for 2 and 3, and off for 4.

Roamio OTA I have checked only 1080i and 720p, thus letting the tv doing the upscaling. I do use HDR+ on tv for broadcasts but this is a personal preference. You will be fine with Standard.

One thing to notice is that for some reason TiVo is not recognized from Samsung Smart remote (or whatever they call it). So you will have to manually pick whatever HDMI port you are hooking up the Roamio by going to sources. My suggestion is to keep both tv in the same room for testing. Once Roamio is up and running on old tv, swap the HDMI cable to the new tv , select the relevant HDMI input under Sources on tv, and it should work.

If not, post here and maybe somebody else may come up with a solution, as I would have ran out of one. Sometimes, it can be a very simple thing not done right, and the challenge is figuring it out. Good luck!

It works! Thank you my friend...now I just need to install a better antenna!

So now comes the million dollar question. Since you mentioned you have both...do you prefer the bolt or the Roamio? At this point I can cancel the delivery of the bolt and keep the Roamio or I can send the Roamio back and use the Bolt.

 

[krkaufman]

It works!

For the benefit of other holiday shoppers who may follow in your footsteps, were there specific changes you made to your TV or Roamio to finally reach satisfaction?

 

[thyname]

It works! Thank you my friend...now I just need to install a better antenna!

So now comes the million dollar question. Since you mentioned you have both...do you prefer the bolt or the Roamio? At this point I can cancel the delivery of the bolt and keep the Roamio or I can send the Roamio back and use the Bolt.

Awesome! I am very glad you got it working! I knew you would (eventually)

To answer your question: I use Bolt+ for cable (Verizon FIOS ), and I use Roamio OTA for antenna only.

I have a big family of six, four TVs and a bunch of Minis. Cut Directv to minimum, and most likely cancel in May when my contract ends.

If you are using the Roamio for OTA only, there is no reason to get Bolt. Maybe I missed this, but don't remember what Roamio you have. I have Roamio OTA 1 TB (with the extender at 1 TB making it 2 TB). Got it for $360 when on sale with Tivo service included, so that I don't have to pay TiVo fees ever. Bolt has fees, and all-in is very expensive. I like Bolt+ (Six tuners and 3 TB of space, does not do OTA though), but regular Bolts do both OTA and cable.

Again, my suggestion is to keep Roamio (if lifetime service included in purchase price). Bolt may be marginally better (as in snappier and some updated interface, fonts, menus etc), but not better enough to justify the pricing structure.

 

[gary smith]

Awesome! I am very glad you got it working! I knew you would (eventually)

To answer your question: I use Bolt+ for cable (Verizon FIOS ), and I use Roamio OTA for antenna only.

I have a big family of six, four TVs and a bunch of Minis. Cut Directv to minimum, and most likely cancel in May when my contract ends.

If you are using the Roamio for OTA only, there is no reason to get Bolt. Maybe I missed this, but don't remember what Roamio you have. I have Roamio OTA 1 TB (with the extender at 1 TB making it 2 TB). Got it for $360 when on sale with Tivo service included, so that I don't have to pay TiVo fees ever. Bolt has fees, and all-in is very expensive. I like Bolt+ (Six tuners and 3 TB of space, does not do OTA though), but regular Bolts do both OTA and cable.

Again, my suggestion is to keep Roamio (if lifetime service included in purchase price). Bolt may be marginally better (as in snappier and some updated interface, fonts, menus etc), but not better enough to justify the pricing structure.

Great...thanks! We are cord cutters and get all our entertainment from signal, netflix, and amazon prime. The only thing I miss is the sports but I am normally too busy to watch anyway. I have the Roamio OTA (1Tb) which is working now thanks to your advice. When I talked to the support folks prior however they told me I needed a bolt to support 4k and they offered me a lifetime contract and a bolt (500g) for $100 more than I paid for the Roamio. Since the bolt already shipped I will likely just turn it around and send it back. God bless my friend...

 

[gary smith]

For the benefit of other holiday shoppers who may follow in your footsteps, were there specific changes you made to your TV or Roamio to finally reach satisfaction?

I wish I knew really...I just followed the advice of Thyname and eventually the tv started picking up the signal. I set the Tivo resolution to 720p and 1080i and plugged the HDMI cable into my HDMI port 2 on the Samsung TV and it started working. Once It started working I unplugged the HDMI from the TV and plugged it into the HDMI video in port on the back of my Sony Home Theater receiver (so I could get sound through the speakers instead of the tv) and it still worked. My receiver is 4k capable and it is plugged into the Samsung tv through the HDMI 1 (ARC) port. So now the Roamio OTA, my blue ray player, and the kids xbox all go through the Home theater setup and are working fine.

 

[Daddio1949]

I recently purchased the Vizio E70-E3 theater display and connected it to my Tivo Roamio OTA. The identical setup that Gary Smith initially tried. For the last 2 weeks the setup has worked fine, no problems are at all. There is also a Roku, DVD player, and sound bar attached to the Vizio, and they work fine.