So has the Tivo Stream Software Improved in the Last Few Months?

4509 Views 50 Replies 12 Participants Last post by Old Roamio 0, Nov 9, 2020

omelet1978

Discussion Starter · Aug 2, 2020

I returned the Tivo Stream a few months ago disappointed in the software but thinking that after a few updates it would be good.

The major issues I had was random re-starts, the tv turning on by itself, and My Shows not really having any sort of reason for displaying the shows that it had recorded. Any of these issues been fixed? If so I'd like to come back.

I did a brief review of this forum before asking and it does not appear so but just thought I'd post anyway.

Thanks!

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Jamesc713

· #2 · Aug 3, 2020

I have only been using TS4K for a short time, but random restarts could be other issues. Have you done the normal troubleshooting, like restarting router, then the TV, and the TiVo device?

Sounds to me like it power supply related, try switching the cords. Maybe software or hardware incompatibilities, try unplugging additional items like USB stuff, disable/uninstall apps that are not required.

Take everything down to bare bones, even do a hard reset if needed. Basically we want to get to a working machine, if we can get to that point then we can add devices and applications back until we find the offending party.

rczrider

· #3 · Aug 3, 2020

omelet1978 said:
I returned the Tivo Stream a few months ago disappointed in the software but thinking that after a few updates it would be good.

The major issues I had was random re-starts, the tv turning on by itself, and My Shows not really having any sort of reason for displaying the shows that it had recorded. Any of these issues been fixed? If so I'd like to come back.

I did a brief review of this forum before asking and it does not appear so but just thought I'd post anyway.

Thanks!

I was in the same boat - bought the first day or two of release, was disappointed, returned 30 days later - and just now bought another one last week from Amazon when it was still $49.99. Figured if it still sucks, dealing with Amazon is way better than dealing with TiVo directly.

I'm not impressed. HDR is still mandatory (though other users will tell you that if you don't like it it's because you didn't spend $2k on a TV and that's the real problem), and the black flashes while using Kodi and Plex are still present.

But my device hasn't gotten the "big" update that TiVo is rolling out right now, either. And, if I'm being totally fair, I haven't had any freezes / lock-ups that plagued my first unit.

I'm fully prepared to return this one, too, but I'm giving this update a shot, and also giving TiVo a chance to fix the PIN requirement on developer options that they accidentally put in this update. If they can't fix that before my return window closes with Amazon, I'm returning it, leaving another bad review, and holding out for the Google Sabrina device. If that's the route I go, I'll consider an extra $20-30 to be the cost of stability and a competent software team.

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dbpaddler

· #4 · Aug 3, 2020

rczrider said:
I was in the same boat - bought the first day or two of release, was disappointed, returned 30 days later - and just now bought another one last week from Amazon when it was still $49.99. Figured if it still sucks, dealing with Amazon is way better than dealing with TiVo directly.

I'm not impressed. HDR is still mandatory (though other users will tell you that if you don't like it it's because you didn't spend $2k on a TV and that's the real problem), and the black flashes while using Kodi and Plex are still present.

But my device hasn't gotten the "big" update that TiVo is rolling out right now, either. And, if I'm being totally fair, I haven't had any freezes / lock-ups that plagued my first unit.

I'm fully prepared to return this one, too, but I'm giving this update a shot, and also giving TiVo a chance to fix the PIN requirement on developer options that they accidentally put in this update. If they can't fix that before my return window closes with Amazon, I'm returning it, leaving another bad review, and holding out for the Google Sabrina device. If that's the route I go, I'll consider an extra $20-30 to be the cost of stability and a competent software team.

Ha... Competent developer team? Do you even use other Google products? They've broken so many things with updates over the past few years with regards to Google home, groups and such. And even better, they discontinue good products to push crap people don't want. They aren't really much better than tivo, and they do the same thing tivo does, mine your data for $$$.

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rczrider

· #5 · Aug 3, 2020

dbpaddler said:
Ha... Competent developer team? Do you even use other Google products? They've broken so many things with updates over the past few years with regards to Google home, groups and such. And even better, they discontinue good products to push crap people don't want. They aren't really much better than tivo, and they do the same thing tivo does, mine your data for $$$.

The Google ecosystem is the only I'm invested in. Not heavily, but it's the only ecosystem I have experience with.

So between my Pixel 3, 6x Home/Nest Minis, 2x full-sized Home/Nest units, and Nest thermostat...I've had zero problems. Admittedly, I only have moderate integration with all of these, but I'm not sure what I'm supposed to hate about Google's development so far. Can you give me an idea of what sort of problems I'm supposed to have had so far? Because right now, my experience is that TiVo has screwed up time after time and my pure Google products have been totally fine.

An in any case, you just said "aren't really that much better" which implies that they are, in fact, better. Of course they mine our data; only an idiot thinks cheap hardware and free software come without some sort of trade-off. I'm simply pointing out that what I get out of Google for my data is worth it, while TiVo (so far) is not.

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Johnny Dancing

· #6 · Aug 3, 2020

rczrider said:
The Google ecosystem is the only I'm invested in. Not heavily, but it's the only ecosystem I have experience with.

So between my Pixel 3, 6x Home/Nest Minis, 2x full-sized Home/Nest units, and Nest thermostat...I've had zero problems. Admittedly, I only have moderate integration with all of these, but I'm not sure what I'm supposed to hate about Google's development so far. Can you give me an idea of what sort of problems I'm supposed to have had so far? Because right now, my experience is that TiVo has screwed up time after time and my pure Google products have been totally fine.

An in any case, you just said "aren't really that much better" which implies that they are, in fact, better. Of course they mine our data; only an idiot thinks cheap hardware and free software come without some sort of trade-off. I'm simply pointing out that what I get out of Google for my data is worth it, while TiVo (so far) is not.

I think what bugs people about google products is that they create them then discontinue them and send them to the Google graveyard. Some of these services were very good and had lots of happy users that get burned. The latest to effect me is Google Play Music being discontinued and moving everyone to Youtube music which is currently not a very good streaming service.

Google graveyard Killed by Google

dbpaddler

· #7 · Aug 3, 2020

rczrider said:
The Google ecosystem is the only I'm invested in. Not heavily, but it's the only ecosystem I have experience with.

So between my Pixel 3, 6x Home/Nest Minis, 2x full-sized Home/Nest units, and Nest thermostat...I've had zero problems. Admittedly, I only have moderate integration with all of these, but I'm not sure what I'm supposed to hate about Google's development so far. Can you give me an idea of what sort of problems I'm supposed to have had so far? Because right now, my experience is that TiVo has screwed up time after time and my pure Google products have been totally fine.

An in any case, you just said "aren't really that much better" which implies that they are, in fact, better. Of course they mine our data; only an idiot thinks cheap hardware and free software come without some sort of trade-off. I'm simply pointing out that what I get out of Google for my data is worth it, while TiVo (so far) is not.

You're not even a current tivo owner. You even returned your TS4k, a brand spanking new product. Yet you continue to linger, post, bash and complain.

Again, shocking, a newly launched product has bugs and issues. Google's products were mature, and groups constantly break, disappear and what not. Go on their support forums and there is a laundry list of issues. And as I posted before, Roku had major issues last year with an update that made their devices completely unusable. Mature products that took a long while to fix.

For someone that was never vested in the ecosystem and not currently in it with any product, you're by far the most vocal. Especially peculiar because it doesn't sound like you've been an early adopter of anything or have beta tested anything tech related because you have no tolerance for a newly launched product with bugs. "Newly launched" and "bugs" tend to go hand in hand.

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dbpaddler

· #8 · Aug 3, 2020

Johnny Dancing said:
I think what bugs people about google products is that they create them then discontinue them and send them to the Google graveyard. Some of these services were very good and had lots of happy users that get burned. The latest to effect me is Google Play Music being discontinued and moving everyone to Youtube music which is currently not a very good streaming service.

Google graveyard Killed by Google

That's why I stocked up on chromecast audios. Still have five or six left I'm reserving for future use.

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Johnny Dancing

· #9 · Aug 4, 2020

dbpaddler said:
That's why I stocked up on chromecast audios. Still have five or six left I'm reserving for future use.

I wish I heard they were discontinuing before it was too late. I would have bought at least 10 of them at $25 or $35 each, now they sell on eBay new for $100+. It might even be worth picking up a few used ones at around $70 each as backups or for future use.

dbpaddler

· #10 · Aug 4, 2020

Johnny Dancing said:
I wish I heard they were discontinuing before it was too late. I would have bought at least 10 of them at $25 or $35 each, now they sell on eBay new for $100+. It might even be worth picking up a few used ones at around $70 each as backups or for future use.

I cleared out a couple Targets for about $18. It's probably cheaper now to buy a regular chromecast and a hdmi audio extractor.

It still boggles my mind why they discontinued it. Like if it was a push to get me to buy your crap speakers, it pretty much backfired. Not sure why anyone would want those pimples littered around your house when you can have much nicer sound setups attach to a CCA. I have a 50's stereo console gutted and updated with one attached as well as two other setups with my amp/speaker setups for my tv's. All of which trounce even their max speaker on their worst day.

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Johnny Dancing

· #11 · Aug 4, 2020

dbpaddler said:
I cleared out a couple Targets for about $18. It's probably cheaper now to buy a regular chromecast and a hdmi audio extractor.

I thought of that but from what I read, you can add the Chromecast with HDMI to your google home music group, it would be more of a single point solution. I have 3 google home speakers and two stand alone speakers systems with chromecasts dongles which allow me to control music through most of my home from my phone via wifi.

It would work with a single speaker though. But then I think the echo dot would be the better choice.

You go me thinking about these so I put a few bids on chromecasts on ebay

dbpaddler

· #12 · Aug 4, 2020

Johnny Dancing said:
I thought of that but from what I read, you can add the Chromecast with HDMI to your google home music group, it would be more of a single point solution. I have 3 google home speakers and two stand alone speakers systems with chromecasts dongles which allow me to control music through most of my home from my phone via wifi.

It would work with a single speaker though. But then I think the echo dot would be the better choice.

You go me thinking about these so I put a few bids on chromecasts on ebay

They actually added regular chromecast support as well as android TV support to groups about two years ago. Initially you had to opt in to their preview, but it should have rolled out to everyone by now, considering the time that's passed.

I haven't tested it because I haven't had a need. Of course you'd have to have your TV on if it's fed directly to it. But if you have it going to a receiver you should be good to go. Or you can use something like this to use it standalone.
https://www.amazon.com/J-Tech-Digital-Extractor-Converter-JTDAT5CH/dp/B00BIQER0E?ref_=fsclp_pl_dp_1

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rczrider

· #13 · Aug 4, 2020

dbpaddler said:
You're not even a current tivo owner. You even returned your TS4k, a brand spanking new product. Yet you continue to linger, post, bash and complain.

Again, shocking, a newly launched product has bugs and issues. Google's products were mature, and groups constantly break, disappear and what not. Go on their support forums and there is a laundry list of issues. And as I posted before, Roku had major issues last year with an update that made their devices completely unusable. Mature products that took a long while to fix.

For someone that was never vested in the ecosystem and not currently in it with any product, you're by far the most vocal. Especially peculiar because it doesn't sound like you've been an early adopter of anything or have beta tested anything tech related because you have no tolerance for a newly launched product with bugs. "Newly launched" and "bugs" tend to go hand in hand.

If you're going to post-stalk, try to keep up. I have a TS4K right now.

I like how you think a person has to be "vested in the ecosystem" to have a valid opinion on the functionality of a product they actively use. That's the problem with you old folks. You don't realize that the target demographic has shifted to include people who aren't interested in DVRs because it's 2020.

Johnny Dancing

· #14 · Aug 4, 2020

dbpaddler said:
I cleared out a couple Targets for about $18. It's probably cheaper now to buy a regular chromecast and a hdmi audio extractor.

It still boggles my mind why they discontinued it. Like if it was a push to get me to buy your crap speakers, it pretty much backfired. Not sure why anyone would want those pimples littered around your house when you can have much nicer sound setups attach to a CCA. I have a 50's stereo console gutted and updated with one attached as well as two other setups with my amp/speaker setups for my tv's. All of which trounce even their max speaker on their worst day.

FYI for anyone interested in getting one while they are still around. Today someone just started selling Chromecasts Audios on eBay for $49.99, the lowest price for new (open box) I have seen in a long time. I ordered 2 and should be all set.

omelet1978

Discussion Starter · #15 · Aug 4, 2020

rczrider said:
I was in the same boat - bought the first day or two of release, was disappointed, returned 30 days later - and just now bought another one last week from Amazon when it was still $49.99. Figured if it still sucks, dealing with Amazon is way better than dealing with TiVo directly.

I'm not impressed. HDR is still mandatory (though other users will tell you that if you don't like it it's because you didn't spend $2k on a TV and that's the real problem), and the black flashes while using Kodi and Plex are still present.

But my device hasn't gotten the "big" update that TiVo is rolling out right now, either. And, if I'm being totally fair, I haven't had any freezes / lock-ups that plagued my first unit.

I'm fully prepared to return this one, too, but I'm giving this update a shot, and also giving TiVo a chance to fix the PIN requirement on developer options that they accidentally put in this update. If they can't fix that before my return window closes with Amazon, I'm returning it, leaving another bad review, and holding out for the Google Sabrina device. If that's the route I go, I'll consider an extra $20-30 to be the cost of stability and a competent software team.

Isn't it August now in regards to the July update lol? I'm still using the Roku Ultra. The grid is kind of boring and it takes longer to find shows but beyond that it's a real solid device.

Alex_7

· #16 · Aug 4, 2020

omelet1978 said:
Isn't it August now in regards to the July update lol? I'm still using the Roku Ultra. The grid is kind of boring and it takes longer to find shows but beyond that it's a real solid device.

The update has been out for a few days now, if you haven't automatically got the update, you need to manually check for the firmware update then it will start downloading

dbpaddler

· #17 · Aug 4, 2020

rczrider said:
If you're going to post-stalk, try to keep up. I have a TS4K right now.

I like how you think a person has to be "vested in the ecosystem" to have a valid opinion on the functionality of a product they actively use. That's the problem with you old folks. You don't realize that the target demographic has shifted to include people who aren't interested in DVRs because it's 2020.

Was just going off our prior interactions where I thought you said you returned yours. Guess you picked up another one.

Anit wasn't about having a valid opinion, it's about hanging around a Tivo forum where you have no skin in the game. Like me hanging around an iPhone forum giving my negative two cents because I keep an iPhone SE around to troubleshoot for our iPhone owners when I really don't give two ****s about Apple. Or hanging around the Acura mdx forums after I traded in my mdx.

But you disregarded the other point and what's missed by many. Apparently it's OK for other companies with established products to have glitches and issues because why? But when tivo has a brand new product, they're not allowed to have issues or kissed deadlines and all that because they're Tivo, and it's envogue to rag on Tivo just because. Heck, Apple intentionally cripples devices to entice people to buy new phones, but that's OK because it's Apple. They willingly did that, and the sheep still follow. If tivo did that, the company would probably fold (revenue from the IP/software side of things aside) due to the outcry. But we're Apple, can't hate us.

But it's a forum, it's easy to whine and threaten to return if they don't do x, y and z. Maybe it makes you feel better to vent here. I don't know. Just feel like there's better things to do than constantly complain about the issues in every thread that pops up. It gets old.

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rczrider

· #18 · Aug 5, 2020

dbpaddler said:
Was just going off our prior interactions where I thought you said you returned yours. Guess you picked up another one.

You thought wrong. Maybe you don't know as much as you pretend to?

dbpaddler said:
Anit wasn't about having a valid opinion, it's about hanging around a Tivo forum where you have no skin in the game. Like me hanging around an iPhone forum giving my negative two cents because I keep an iPhone SE around to troubleshoot for our iPhone owners when I really don't give two ***** about Apple. Or hanging around the Acura mdx forums after I traded in my mdx.

Well, now, you can't have it both ways. I am active on a forum for which I have and use the product. Please, old wise one, tell me in which ways I must use the product for my direct experience regarding its functionality (or lack thereof) and opinion on its value compared to other products to be valid in your mind. Go ahead, I'll wait.

dbpaddler said:
But you disregarded the other point and what's missed by many. Apparently it's OK for other companies with established products to have glitches and issues because why? But when tivo has a brand new product, they're not allowed to have issues or kissed deadlines and all that because they're Tivo, and it's envogue to rag on Tivo just because. Heck, Apple intentionally cripples devices to entice people to buy new phones, but that's OK because it's Apple. They willingly did that, and the sheep still follow. If tivo did that, the company would probably fold (revenue from the IP/software side of things aside) due to the outcry. But we're Apple, can't hate us.

Whew, boy, you're making some awfully big leaps there. I guess that's the best way you can come up with to justify your responses?

I never defended any particular company - certainly not Apple (I own none of their products, nor do I have accounts on any boards dedicated to discussion of their products) - in any way that indicated that I think they can do no wrong.

I know it hurts your narrative for me to point out the facts, but all I did was explain how my direct experiences with Google products are what make me think Sabrina will be better than the TS4K, and launched with fewer (and less major) bugs.

I don't "rag on TiVo just because". I (correctly) point out the issues with the product I own and express my opinion that these bugs are directly related to the talent pool TiVo employs to work on said product. Just because you feel the need to white knight for a company doesn't make the experiences and opinions of others less valid.

dbpaddler said:
But it's a forum, it's easy to whine and threaten to return if they don't do x, y and z. Maybe it makes you feel better to vent here. I don't know. Just feel like there's better things to do than constantly complain about the issues in every thread that pops up. It gets old.

Of course it makes me (and others) feel better to vent here. You know why? Because TiVo's customer service sucks. Great, they have a single presence in the reddit sub whose sole value is to say "No, really, guys, an update is coming!" and "Oh, sorry that's broken, I'll look into it and get back with you." Yes, it's better than nothing but if we're being honest, the rep literally says what a rep would say on the phone. That doesn't make the TS4K bugs magically disappear.

I would be thrilled for the TS4K to be a raging success. A $50 dongle that isn't Amazon or Roku? And Android TV? Yes, please! The problem is that Amazon and Roku are both more stable than the TS4K. There are pros and cons to all of the options, which I fairly acknowledge despite your weird belief that I'm just here to trash the TS4K.

Part of your problem is that you're wrapping up all of my complaints from months ago into one package and assuming I'm complaining about things I'm no longer complaining about. TiVo has fixed some of the bugs I experienced with my first TS4K and that's why I got another to try out. But the product is still buggy and I don't owe TiVo any sort of pass for not fixing those bugs. They're a company and I'm a customer.

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dbpaddler

· #19 · Aug 5, 2020 (Edited)

rczrider said:
You thought wrong. Maybe you don't know as much as you pretend to?

Well, now, you can't have it both ways. I am active on a forum for which I have and use the product. Please, old wise one, tell me in which ways I must use the product for my direct experience regarding its functionality (or lack thereof) and opinion on its value compared to other products to be valid in your mind. Go ahead, I'll wait.

Whew, boy, you're making some awfully big leaps there. I guess that's the best way you can come up with to justify your responses?

I never defended any particular company - certainly not Apple (I own none of their products, nor do I have accounts on any boards dedicated to discussion of their products) - in any way that indicated that I think they can do no wrong.

I know it hurts your narrative for me to point out the facts, but all I did was explain how my direct experiences with Google products are what make me think Sabrina will be better than the TS4K, and launched with fewer (and less major) bugs.

I don't "rag on TiVo just because". I (correctly) point out the issues with the product I own and express my opinion that these bugs are directly related to the talent pool TiVo employs to work on said product. Just because you feel the need to white knight for a company doesn't make the experiences and opinions of others less valid.

Of course it makes me (and others) feel better to vent here. You know why? Because TiVo's customer service sucks. Great, they have a single presence in the reddit sub whose sole value is to say "No, really, guys, an update is coming!" and "Oh, sorry that's broken, I'll look into it and get back with you." Yes, it's better than nothing but if we're being honest, the rep literally says what a rep would say on the phone. That doesn't make the TS4K bugs magically disappear.

I would be thrilled for the TS4K to be a raging success. A $50 dongle that isn't Amazon or Roku? And Android TV? Yes, please! The problem is that Amazon and Roku are both more stable than the TS4K is not. There are pros and cons to all of the options, which I fairly acknowledge despite your weird belief that I'm just here to trash the TS4K.

We can go back and forth as much as you want. You don't have to like what I say about the TS4K and I would encourage you to ignore me if you don't like for the facts to be brought up in every thread that discusses them. And if you can't ignore me, then keep white knighting for TiVo; heaven knows, they need it.

No **** they're more stable. They've been around for years and years. They've had their own issues along the way too with more issues at the jump if you can go back that far. You want to get an new product cheap, you're a beta tester at this point. If you can't accept that, then stick with the more stable well established products. That's the point. Just like many people avoid buying new design years on cars. That first model year is often plagued with bugs and annoyances that get smoothed out in subsequent years. The people that know better avoid it. They don't buy it and then chronically complain.

And it's not championing tivo. It's championing a newly introduced product where it's quite normal to have bugs and issues that ultimately get fixed. They're just not on your time line, they're on their own. A point you keep ignoring especially when you talk about well established mature products being more stable. You either want to ride out the new product bugs or you don't.

Happy to ignore.

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rczrider

· #20 · Aug 5, 2020

dbpaddler said:
No **** they're more stable. They've been around for years and years. They've had their own issues along the way too. You want to get an new product cheap. You're a beta tester at this point. If you can't accept that then stick with the more stable we'll established products. That's the point. Just like many people avoid buying new design years on cars. That first model year is often plagued with bugs and annoyances that get smoothed out in subsequent years. The people that know better avoid it. They don't buy it and then chronically complain. Happy to ignore.

Haha, okay.

"You knew what you were getting when you bought a TiVo product! You can't start complaining now!"

Noted.

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