Personally, I would try calling TiVo customer support back again and see if they will give you a deal on Lifetime, especially in view of the $600 you've already paid them the past 4 years. Yes, CSR roulette can be tiring, but it often can have positive results.
Tivo Bolt vs cord-cutting dilemma
So I recently ended my 4-yr annual subscription on a Tivo Bolt... I wasn't interested in paying the $150 annual fee anymore, and apparently Tivo wasn't interested in offering me a deal on a lifetime subscription, like I had tried to negotiate. I was ready to go full-on cord-cutting with Youtube TV but I'm finding this may not fit my needs.
But, there may be an alternative. Are there any drawbacks to buying a Premiere 4 with Lifetime service off Ebay to replace the Bolt? It seems these can be had for ~ $125. Since I'm already in the Tivo ecosystem with two Mini's in the house, is there any reason to continue paying annually?
Let me also say that we don't care much about recording capacity or show libraries, or the appearance of the box... we mainly just want the (4) live digital cable tuners (same as the Bolt) to distribute on our 3 main TVs, with the guide info. I'm assuming my existing Bolt M-Card can be used in the Premiere 4. Obviously I'd need to keep my existing cable-TV subscription for this to work (not switching to Internet-only), but it still ends up being cheaper... as long as I don't pay Tivo $150/year going forward.
Any advice is appreciated, thanks.
But, there may be an alternative. Are there any drawbacks to buying a Premiere 4 with Lifetime service off Ebay to replace the Bolt? It seems these can be had for ~ $125. Since I'm already in the Tivo ecosystem with two Mini's in the house, is there any reason to continue paying annually?
Let me also say that we don't care much about recording capacity or show libraries, or the appearance of the box... we mainly just want the (4) live digital cable tuners (same as the Bolt) to distribute on our 3 main TVs, with the guide info. I'm assuming my existing Bolt M-Card can be used in the Premiere 4. Obviously I'd need to keep my existing cable-TV subscription for this to work (not switching to Internet-only), but it still ends up being cheaper... as long as I don't pay Tivo $150/year going forward.
Any advice is appreciated, thanks.
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Not sure how much they are going for but personally I'd try to get a Roamio Plus/Pro with All-in/Lifetime for the speed improvements over the Premiere or even the Roamio Basic if you want to keep OTA open as an option.But, there may be an alternative. Are there any drawbacks to buying a Premiere 4 with Lifetime service off Ebay to replace the Bolt? It seems these can be had for ~ $125. Since I'm already in the Tivo ecosystem with two Mini's in the house, is there any reason to continue paying annually?
Let me also say that we don't care much about recording capacity or show libraries, or the appearance of the box... we mainly just want the (4) live digital cable tuners (same as the Bolt) to distribute on our 3 main TVs, with the guide info. I'm assuming my existing Bolt M-Card can be used in the Premiere 4. Obviously I'd need to keep my existing cable-TV subscription for this to work (not switching to Internet-only), but it still ends up being cheaper... as long as I don't pay Tivo $150/year going forward.
Scott
The slowness of the Premiere will drive you crazy compared to the Bolt. My Series 3 is much faster than my Premiere.So I recently ended my 4-yr annual subscription on a Tivo Bolt... I wasn't interested in paying the $150 annual fee anymore, and apparently Tivo wasn't interested in offering me a deal on a lifetime subscription, like I had tried to negotiate. I was ready to go full-on cord-cutting with Youtube TV but I'm finding this may not fit my needs.
But, there may be an alternative. Are there any drawbacks to buying a Premiere 4 with Lifetime service off Ebay to replace the Bolt? It seems these can be had for ~ $125. Since I'm already in the Tivo ecosystem with two Mini's in the house, is there any reason to continue paying annually?
Let me also say that we don't care much about recording capacity or show libraries, or the appearance of the box... we mainly just want the (4) live digital cable tuners (same as the Bolt) to distribute on our 3 main TVs, with the guide info. I'm assuming my existing Bolt M-Card can be used in the Premiere 4. Obviously I'd need to keep my existing cable-TV subscription for this to work (not switching to Internet-only), but it still ends up being cheaper... as long as I don't pay Tivo $150/year going forward.
Any advice is appreciated, thanks.
Check out my post in the buy/sell area. Maybe we can work out a deal.Not sure how much they are going for but personally I'd try to get a Roamio Plus/Pro with All-in/Lifetime for the speed improvements over the Premiere or even the Roamio Basic if you want to keep OTA open as an option.
Scott
yeah you want at least a roamio plus. Premiere won't cut it.
also free trial YTTV and Vue and the others if you haven't done so.
also free trial YTTV and Vue and the others if you haven't done so.
If you don’t use Moca and don’t need the ability to stream to the TiVo on your phone, I suggest you go with the basic Roamio, which has four tuners, can act as a host for your Minis, should be cheaper than the cable-only Pro, and only slightly lags in performance than the Bolt (with the exception of the app startup times, which are significantly slower on a Roamio compared to the Bolt, but I still find these to be acceptable).
I only found our Premier slow only when navigating streaming services. And although our Roamio is much faster, the apps are still way outdated. So, in either case I'd recommend a Fire TV Stick 4K or some other third-party solution for accessing streaming services. If you do get a Premier, stick with the 4 you mentioned because the 2-tuner models won't work with a Mini, though you probably already know that.
Yes, your Bolt's CableCARD can be swapped into a Premier, but it will need to be paired anew. Even though it may appear to be working fine at first, eventually you will notice some cable channels not working. CableCARD hotline/website thread: https://www.tivocommunity.com/community/i...
Cord-cutting can be a long discussion, and you didn't mention why YTTV won't meet your needs. Feel free to expand on that and I'm sure you'll get a ton of responses.
Yes, your Bolt's CableCARD can be swapped into a Premier, but it will need to be paired anew. Even though it may appear to be working fine at first, eventually you will notice some cable channels not working. CableCARD hotline/website thread: https://www.tivocommunity.com/community/i...
Cord-cutting can be a long discussion, and you didn't mention why YTTV won't meet your needs. Feel free to expand on that and I'm sure you'll get a ton of responses.
Are you on Comcast? Use the bolt without service to watch live tv and existing shows. Then use a Roku to watch other TV's using Xfinity app.
Mini's won't work without service to Bolt. Before canceling service disconnect the bolt from the internet.
Mini's won't work without service to Bolt. Before canceling service disconnect the bolt from the internet.
Actually, FiOS. (But I switch annually between Comcast and FiOS in my area to keep my rates down. Aren't I lucky?Are you on Comcast? Use the bolt without service to watch live tv and existing shows. Then use a Roku to watch other TV's using Xfinity app.
Mini's won't work without service to Bolt. Before canceling service disconnect the bolt from the internet.
) But that's a good point about the FiOS app. I believe Verizon has finally modernized their TV-watching-app from the awful thing they had years ago, so I'll give it a try. But I think the main drawback is that it's still intended for phone/tablet use, not for TV screens... which is a problem on my Android TV, Roku, and Fire TV setups.It's too late to disconnect my Bolt from the internet before discontinuing service. And of course, the Mini's stopped working. The Bolt still works with brute-force channel surfing, but no guide. I wonder if I activate the Bolt for another month... could I possibly get the Minis back, then disconnect the Bolt and Minis before the month is over? I guess I'd have to connect them all back together offline with an LAN-only router. It's an interesting idea... has anybody tried this, and can verify that it still works that way?
The mini's won't work after 30 days or so, not worth it. Disconnecting first only gets you a few more weeks of using the guide.
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