[wombat94]

Well,

I'm cancelling my Tivo subscription after nearly 20 years.

I got my first DirecTivo (a series 1 Hughes GXCEBOT) in mid 2000 after switching to DirecTV from DishNetwork.

I stuck with DirecTV and upgraded to a couple of HR10-250s along the way. I was a very early adopter of Fios - before Verizon offered TV service and I didn't switch to FiosTV until I could get two TivoHDs - four cable cards initially.

Over the 10+ years since then, I have been happy with a litany of Tivo equipment. Premieres, a stand-alone stream box. The current Roamio Pro and three minis (one original, two Mini Vox), but for our use, the industry has just passed Tivo by.

I started looking at alternatives in September when the pre-roll ads appeared. It quickly became apparent that I wasn't going to be hit by the ads themselves as I was still on TE3, but the train had left the station and I was seriously looking at Tivo alternatives for the first time in many years.

I first tried Channels DVR with HDHomeRun Connect Quatro and Fios TVEverywhere log in. It was good - very good - but a bit clunky and fiddly for the WAF to be good enough.

After that, I decided to try YouTubeTV and found that it fits well for us (family of 4 - two teenagers) and the experience on AppleTV - while different from Tivo - was satisfying.

When Verizon announced their new plans last week and I realized I could drop my current Fios TV contract without getting hit by an ETF, the time was ripe.

I canceled FiosTV service and will do the same to Tivo before this last month of service is up.

I'm now saving about $30/month vs. last week and we have all the TV we used to watch - freed up to stream in home or on the go very easily.

I'm not storming out as a disgruntled customer. I'm just kind of glad and kind of sad that Tivo's actions made me re-evaluate what we are actually watching and how we are watching it. I'm certainly glad to be sending less money to Verizon each month - but I will miss some things about the Tivo Experience.

I think it is sad that the home-based cable DVR system that served me well for 14 years is looking like the end is in sight, but if Tivo would open up their new Stream 4K to YouTubeTV and provide a way to put the Tivo guide experience on top of YTTV, I might be back.

You never know

 

[tazzmission]

Well,

I'm cancelling my Tivo subscription after nearly 20 years.

I got my first DirecTivo (a series 1 Hughes GXCEBOT) in mid 2000 after switching to DirecTV from DishNetwork.

I stuck with DirecTV and upgraded to a couple of HR10-250s along the way. I was a very early adopter of Fios - before Verizon offered TV service and I didn't switch to FiosTV until I could get two TivoHDs - four cable cards initially.

Over the 10+ years since then, I have been happy with a litany of Tivo equipment. Premieres, a stand-alone stream box. The current Roamio Pro and three minis (one original, two Mini Vox), but for our use, the industry has just passed Tivo by.

I started looking at alternatives in September when the pre-roll ads appeared. It quickly became apparent that I wasn't going to be hit by the ads themselves as I was still on TE3, but the train had left the station and I was seriously looking at Tivo alternatives for the first time in many years.

I first tried Channels DVR with HDHomeRun Connect Quatro and Fios TVEverywhere log in. It was good - very good - but a bit clunky and fiddly for the WAF to be good enough.

After that, I decided to try YouTubeTV and found that it fits well for us (family of 4 - two teenagers) and the experience on AppleTV - while different from Tivo - was satisfying.

When Verizon announced their new plans last week and I realized I could drop my current Fios TV contract without getting hit by an ETF, the time was ripe.

I canceled FiosTV service and will do the same to Tivo before this last month of service is up.

I'm now saving about $30/month vs. last week and we have all the TV we used to watch - freed up to stream in home or on the go very easily.

I'm not storming out as a disgruntled customer. I'm just kind of glad and kind of sad that Tivo's actions made me re-evaluate what we are actually watching and how we are watching it. I'm certainly glad to be sending less money to Verizon each month - but I will miss some things about the Tivo Experience.

I think it is sad that the home-based cable DVR system that served me well for 14 years is looking like the end is in sight, but if Tivo would open up their new Stream 4K to YouTubeTV and provide a way to put the Tivo guide experience on top of YTTV, I might be back.

You never know

Like you I tried channels DVR but with two HDHR Primes with 2 cable cards. The experience for "Me" was fantastic. My wife hated it and refused to use it. My two kids don't watch any tv really. They watch what they want on my Plex server of YouTube and or online in general. The only issue I had was farmer forwarding and commercial skipping is not as good at TiVo but not bad.

Like you I also am on Fios and I tried YouTube TV. IMO it is not good "for me" there are just too many commercials. There are even commercials on the "DVR'ed" shows. When I fast forward a YouTube TV recording I get ads, a lot of them. If I mess up and fast forward by accident on my iPad I again get another set of commercials. This to me is a huge dealbreaker. I have TiVo so that I don't have to watch commercials except for live tv. If I know I much find an alternative and walk away from TiVo.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

 

[wombat94]

Like you I also am on Fios and I tried YouTube TV. IMO it is not good "for me" there are just too many commercials. There are even commercials on the "DVR'ed" shows. When I fast forward a YouTube TV recording I get ads, a lot of them. If I mess up and fast forward by accident on my iPad I again get another set of commercials. This to me is a huge dealbreaker. I have TiVo so that I don't have to watch commercials except for live tv. If I know I much find an alternative and walk away from TiVo.

Interesting... I haven't seen any additional forced commercials except in the "on demand" episodes in the Library. If it is a DVRed show from a channel after I set up the recording, I get the regular broadcast commercials - which I can FF through with ease.

 

[tazzmission]

Interesting... I haven't seen any additional forced commercials except in the "on demand" episodes in the Library. If it is a DVRed show from a channel after I set up the recording, I get the regular broadcast commercials - which I can FF through with ease.

Hmm, maybe that is what I'm getting with my recordings. I recorded WWE Raw and the second it started playing I tried to fast forward a bit and boom, ads.

Also there is no lifetime network on YouTube TV so that does not help my WAF either. I forgot that part.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

 

[trip1eX]

I tried YouTube TV. there are just too many commercials. There are even commercials on the "DVR'ed" shows. When I fast forward a YouTube TV recording I get ads, a lot of them. If I mess up and fast forward by accident on my iPad I again get another set of commercials. This to me is a huge dealbreaker.

Don't know what you're talking about here. I can skip all the ads on all YTTV recordings. Works good.

Perhaps you chose to watch the on-demand version of a show aka didn't record the show first. In that case, you do have to watch some commercials afaik. These are not skippable afaik.

 

[tazzmission]

Don't know what you're talking about here. I can skip all the ads on all YTTV recordings. Works good.

Perhaps you chose to watch on-demand versions aka didn't record the stuff first. In that case, you do have to watch some commercials afaik.

I'll have to look at how I set up my shows to record. That might be my issue.

Anyone know if YTTV is getting lifetime anytime soon?

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

 

[trip1eX]

I'll ha e to look at how I set up my shows to record. That might be my issue.

Well you have to actually record the show. That's the issue.

Gotta click the + button to add to library in order to record it.

A show will say "added to library" with a checkmark in front if you have chosen to record it.

Your recorded stuff is everything under the Library tab.

And basically if you haven't chosen to record the show first then you're watching on-demand with unskippable commercials.

 

[jrtroo]

Goodbye. Too bad you did not go with lifetime and saved a bundle.

 

[mattack]

If I know I much find an alternative and walk away from TiVo.

There are plenty of commercial free alternatives... netflix, hulu, amazon prime, cbs all access, etc..

I *still* have cable and Tivo, largely for things that I wouldn't get there *and* the inability to watch faster than realtime (esp with the now known extra trick to get it up to 1.9x).... But *when* the show I want is on Hulu or CBS all access (I also have Amazon but rarely use it), I will watch it there without commercials.

 

[tenthplanet]

Well you have to actually record the show. That's the issue.

Gotta click the + button to add to library in order to record it.

A show will say "added to library" with a checkmark in front if you have chosen to record it.

Your recorded stuff is everything under the Library tab.

And basically if you haven't chosen to record the show first then you're watching on-demand with unskippable commercials.

Similar to the way Hulu Live TV, Sling TV, and ATT TV Now work, you'll get used to it. The good thing about these systems if you forget to record a show, or a show fails to record (it can happen with the cloud too), you can usually get the show on demand without leaving the app. That you'll like.

 

[Teledatageek]

Add me to the list of users saying goodbye to Tivo. Took me a long time to get there - it's been 18 years I think. I tired of the network disruptions and the flakiness of the cable card. We decided on YTTV as they had all of our local channels and a nice interface - still wasn't happy with the Apple remote using Apple TV so bought Roku's and their remote is pretty good. Definitely miss the auto commercial skip. You have to press the forward button multiple times as it is 15 seconds per press. That's the downside for us.

Lots of upside - less stuff, no cable card, ability to watch on any device - anywhere. We are actually paying about the same overall for service as we had a 20 channel custom bundle with Spectrum - $35 vs. the $50 with YTTV. I paid annually for Tivo service (2nd year of it) as I was not optimistic about Tivo's future. I did lifetime in the past.

Of course more channels with YTTV, not sure we need them all though since we picked exactly what we wanted with Spectrum. Selling off my Tivo gear on eBay - already sold two mini's. Turning in the Spectrum gear this afternoon...

Sad that Tivo didn't evolve fast enough with the times.

 

[ncsercs]

They did evolve - in the wrong direction (hydra, pre-roll ads, etc).

 

[BillyClyde]

Add me to the list of users saying goodbye to Tivo. Took me a long time to get there - it's been 18 years I think. I tired of the network disruptions and the flakiness of the cable card. We decided on YTTV as they had all of our local channels and a nice interface - still wasn't happy with the Apple remote using Apple TV so bought Roku's and their remote is pretty good. Definitely miss the auto commercial skip. You have to press the forward button multiple times as it is 15 seconds per press. That's the downside for us.

Lots of upside - less stuff, no cable card, ability to watch on any device - anywhere. We are actually paying about the same overall for service as we had a 20 channel custom bundle with Spectrum - $35 vs. the $50 with YTTV. I paid annually for Tivo service (2nd year of it) as I was not optimistic about Tivo's future. I did lifetime in the past.

Of course more channels with YTTV, not sure we need them all though since we picked exactly what we wanted with Spectrum. Selling off my Tivo gear on eBay - already sold two mini's. Turning in the Spectrum gear this afternoon...

Sad that Tivo didn't evolve fast enough with the times.

You can try Channels DVR. That will integrate with your YTTV subscription by allowing you to record the channels available via TV Everywhere (TVE) and your YTTV sign on. You can also drop in an HD Homerun tuner, either OTA or Cable, and get your local channels and some that aren't available via TVE (A&E, etc.) if you wish.

The reason I suggest this is because it works extremely well on the AppleTV and also has the automatic commercial skip feature.

Were you saying that you swapped your AppleTVs out for Rokus, or just use the Roku remotes on your AppleTVs (which yes, can be done)?

 

[Teledatageek]

You can try Channels DVR. That will integrate with your YTTV subscription by allowing you to record the channels available via TV Everywhere (TVE) and your YTTV sign on. You can also drop in an HD Homerun tuner, either OTA or Cable, and get your local channels and some that aren't available via TVE (A&E, etc.) if you wish.

The reason I suggest this is because it works extremely well on the AppleTV and also has the automatic commercial skip feature.

Were you saying that you swapped your AppleTVs out for Rokus, or just use the Roku remotes on your AppleTVs (which yes, can be done)?

That's pretty interesting about Channels DVR, appreciate the tip. We do miss the automatic skip. Sadly, where we live (a valley apparently) precludes us from getting local channels without a rooftop antenna. YTTV gives us locals and one of the big reasons we picked it. I switched out one TV to a Roku - works pretty nice and controls the Sonos. The other TV though.... I could not make the Roku control the volume on the receiver so back to using Apple TV for that location. Using a Roku remote on Apple TV - did not realize one could do that, maybe I'll try and figure that out. I wonder if it would solve my receiver control issue...

 

[Teledatageek]

That's pretty interesting about Channels DVR, appreciate the tip. We do miss the automatic skip. Sadly, where we live (a valley apparently) precludes us from getting local channels without a rooftop antenna. YTTV gives us locals and one of the big reasons we picked it. I switched out one TV to a Roku - works pretty nice and controls the Sonos. The other TV though.... I could not make the Roku control the volume on the receiver so back to using Apple TV for that location. Using a Roku remote on Apple TV - did not realize one could do that, maybe I'll try and figure that out. I wonder if it would solve my receiver control issue...

OK so checked out Channels - pretty nice. Sadly my WD NAS isn't compatible because it has an ARM processor. A new compatible NAS is @$500 + of course the monthly/annual service for Channels. If I needed a new NAS, might make sense but I think I'll deal with not having commercial skip with YTTV. Appreciate the tip though.

 

[reneg]

OK so checked out Channels - pretty nice. Sadly my WD NAS isn't compatible because it has an ARM processor. A new compatible NAS is @$500 + of course the monthly/annual service for Channels. If I needed a new NAS, might make sense but I think I'll deal with not having commercial skip with YTTV. Appreciate the tip though.

And Channels DVR & Roku do not play together so that would be another expense.

 

[trip1eX]

Add me to the list of users saying goodbye to Tivo. Took me a long time to get there - it's been 18 years I think. I tired of the network disruptions and the flakiness of the cable card. We decided on YTTV as they had all of our local channels and a nice interface - still wasn't happy with the Apple remote using Apple TV so bought Roku's and their remote is pretty good. Definitely miss the auto commercial skip. You have to press the forward button multiple times as it is 15 seconds per press. That's the downside for us.

Lots of upside - less stuff, no cable card, ability to watch on any device - anywhere. We are actually paying about the same overall for service as we had a 20 channel custom bundle with Spectrum - $35 vs. the $50 with YTTV. I paid annually for Tivo service (2nd year of it) as I was not optimistic about Tivo's future. I did lifetime in the past.

Of course more channels with YTTV, not sure we need them all though since we picked exactly what we wanted with Spectrum. Selling off my Tivo gear on eBay - already sold two mini's. Turning in the Spectrum gear this afternoon...

Sad that Tivo didn't evolve fast enough with the times.

Did you know you can lightly tap (not press) the Apple remote touchpad on the right or left side to skip foward/backward 15 seconds in YTTV? It went from a showstopper in YTTV to works good for me when I discovered that.

I also frequently hold down the voice button down on the remote to skip commercials by saying "skip 3 minutes" or "skip 4 minutes." You can practically whisper into it and it will skip the commercials within a couple of seconds. It has a very high reliability.

 

[Teledatageek]

Did not know that about the light tap on the Apple Remote. Have done the voice route - tricky to know how far to go.

Not sure yet which interface I like better - Apple TV (have a couple of them) or Roku. Pressing the fast forward button on the Roku 12 times for the typical commercial break is a bit annoying. I returned one of the Roku's I purchased as I could not get it to control my receiver volume - annoying to have to go to a separate remote for that. I was able to control the Sonos OK in the other room, but it works a little wonky and seems to sometimes put the Sonos in mute mode.

 

[dlfl]

Did not know that about the light tap on the Apple Remote. Have done the voice route - tricky to know how far to go.

Not sure yet which interface I like better - Apple TV (have a couple of them) or Roku. Pressing the fast forward button on the Roku 12 times for the typical commercial break is a bit annoying. I returned one of the Roku's I purchased as I could not get it to control my receiver volume - annoying to have to go to a separate remote for that. I was able to control the Sonos OK in the other room, but it works a little wonky and seems to sometimes put the Sonos in mute mode.

With the Fire TV app, single forward taps advance 15 seconds. However if you hold the button down it advances very rapidly, and the rate accelerates the longer you hold it. In either case it's showing thumbnails. You develop a feel for how long to hold the button.

 

[OrangeCrush]

OK so checked out Channels - pretty nice. Sadly my WD NAS isn't compatible because it has an ARM processor. A new compatible NAS is @$500 + of course the monthly/annual service for Channels. If I needed a new NAS, might make sense but I think I'll deal with not having commercial skip with YTTV. Appreciate the tip though.

If you have an older PC or laptop, Channels DVR will run fine on it. It doesn't require a particularly powerful system since the client device does most of the heavy lifting. You might not want that to be your permanent solution should you decide to keep it, but it would be fine for the 30-day trial to check it out. No Roku support, but it'll work fine on the Apple TVs.

For mine, I ended up buying a small desktop on ebay that came from a corporate leasing program for about $80. i5 Gen 4, 8 gigs ram. I put a big hard drive in it and installed linux, channels & plex and it lives behind my entertainment center.