# Does this replace a Tivo Mini?



## JOSHSKORN (Aug 27, 2015)

I'm having trouble understanding what this device does. Can it essentially replace a TiVo Mini and connect to a TiVo Bolt+? Are you able to install other apps on it as well?


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## pfiagra (Oct 13, 2014)

JOSHSKORN said:


> Can it essentially replace a TiVo Mini and connect to a TiVo Bolt+?


no



JOSHSKORN said:


> Are you able to install other apps on it as well?


yes


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## dbpaddler (Sep 25, 2004)

No. It has zero to do with the dvr ecosystem. It's just a streaming device with sling integration running Android TV with Tivo's layered in UI and aggregated search.

And it's literally a chromecast running the Android TV OS you see in tv's. So you have access to all the apps in the Android TV Play store. 

Sent from my SM-N975U1 using Tapatalk


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## rczrider (May 16, 2020)

To add to the above, the aggregated search app that TiVo includes is like a less useful version of ReelGood (which is free). The purpose of the TS4K - and the reason it's so cheap - is for data mining so that TiVo can refine the algorithms that they already license out to other companies.

It's the cheapest Android TV dongle available at the moment, but in saving $20-30 you get unfixed software bugs and agree to give your information to TiVo when you use their app. Don't get me wrong, Google does the same thing, but their products are usually a bit more refined so you feel like you're getting a better value selling your information.


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## jonw747 (Aug 2, 2015)

rczrider said:


> To add to the above, the aggregated search app that TiVo includes is like a less useful version of ReelGood (which is free). The purpose of the TS4K - and the reason it's so cheap - is for data mining so that TiVo can refine the algorithms that they already license out to other companies.
> 
> It's the cheapest Android TV dongle available at the moment, but in saving $20-30 you get unfixed software bugs and agree to give your information to TiVo when you use their app. Don't get me wrong, Google does the same thing, but their products are usually a bit more refined so you feel like you're getting a better value selling your information.


These kinds of bugs are never acceptable, they're just a result of mismanagement. The introductory price is something plenty of vendors have used to build up interest in the product and get the ball rolling so they can get in to a new market. They're paying the price for their mistake by having to deal with product returns.

It's also not the cheapest Android TV dongle, but it would have been the next best thing to the Shield in the market if not for the bugs and a reasonable alternative to the cheaper Fire TV devices for those who need Android Apps but don't want to be bothered with side-loading.


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## dbpaddler (Sep 25, 2004)

Gotta love it. Roku has a firmware update that causes tons of issues and makes the device practically unusable, but that's OK. And that's an established product, and was a firmware update last year.

This is a brand new product, and a couple months in people are vehemently over the top negative and have already deemed it forever junk due to its always going to be a train wreck because of bad management and support.

Gotta love the logic. I must've missed all the tech articles proclaiming Roku dead last year after one of the 9.3 updates. And they even closed forum threads because the problems were all over the place, and they couldn't keep them all straight. And that's a very mature product line with a very mature OS.

I really don't want to be a cheerleader, but if this was any other company introducing a new product, the venom would be so minimal in comparison. The ship left dock and isn't even out of the harbor yet.

And for those who are disgruntled dvr owners like I am/was, you should want to see this succeed. I think it's the ultimate justice that their little streamer combined with an HD Homerun can make it a viable DVR replacement (at least on the OTA side). No all in money. No big hardware money. Here's my $50, and I'm done with your dvr ecosystem, and I'll make some money back selling all that hardware that's paid for itself and then some over the years. Thanks for the memories, bye. 

Already sold a mini vox for more than I paid for it. Must thank them for discontinuing it because I have two more to sell soon when I get done clearing some copyright protected material on my Roamio Pro. 



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## compnurd (Oct 6, 2011)

dbpaddler said:


> Gotta love it. Roku has a firmware update that causes tons of issues and makes the device practically unusable, but that's OK. And that's an established product, and was a firmware update last year.
> 
> This is a brand new product, and a couple months in people are vehemently over the top negative and have already deemed it forever junk due to its always going to be a train wreck because of bad management and support.
> 
> ...


It is comical Amazon has had some pretty big bugs on the Fire Series over the years also that took months to resolve


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## dbpaddler (Sep 25, 2004)

compnurd said:


> It is comical Amazon has had some pretty big bugs on the Fire Series over the years also that took months to resolve


Yep. My Samsung Note 10 has had bugs that lasted for 6+ months. They actually broke things that worked well, refused to acknowledge via Twitter and support forums. I finally bombarded them with pre and post videos and pics and finally got acknowledgement and it quietly got fixed. Heck, you couldn't even copy to clipboard for quite a while on many apps.

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## convergent (Jan 4, 2007)

JOSHSKORN said:


> I'm having trouble understanding what this device does. Can it essentially replace a TiVo Mini and connect to a TiVo Bolt+? Are you able to install other apps on it as well?


Its not at all associated with prior Tivo products, and you can't even use them together. This is Tivo's way to compete with Roku, Apple TV, etc. They could leverage some of their tech and experience to do well here if they get their crap together. I just don't see how they make money with this, but maybe they haven't revealed that yet. Its probably going to be selling ads.



dbpaddler said:


> Gotta love it. Roku has a firmware update that causes tons of issues and makes the device practically unusable, but that's OK. And that's an established product, and was a firmware update last year.
> 
> This is a brand new product, and a couple months in people are vehemently over the top negative and have already deemed it forever junk due to its always going to be a train wreck because of bad management and support.
> 
> ...


People are just frustrated and Tivo isn't helping themselves. I'm guessing they are wrapped in some thing with the maker of the hardware that makes it difficult to fix stuff that is in the firmware... who knows. Some of the things that are broken are also kind of odd. The issues with the remote for example. I spent a LOT of time trying to get the remote to work with a Sony Bravia X900 series, trying every hack in this forum. This is a very popular TV for years. And its even an Android TV. Via CEC "it just works" with just about anything... except the TS4K. Tivo has been making remotes that connect with TVs for audio for years. Yet here they have made it near impossible to get it to work on a common current TV. The HDR stuff is a little more understandable because even the glorious Apple TV 4K has HDR problems. For example, if you set the ATV for HDR, the Disney+ channel looks like crap. If I set it so that Disney+ looks good, then stuff on Netflix doesn't. The HDR world and competing standards is just a mess in general. You shouldn't have to dive into settings and make numerous changes when you switch from one movie to another.


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