# How reliable are the Elite boxes?



## gweempose (Mar 23, 2003)

I haven't been very active on the forums lately, so I'm not really up to speed on the current status of the Elites. I'd like to buy another TiVo, and the idea of having four tuners in one box sounds like it would really come in handy. At this point, I'm pretty satisfied with my two Premier boxes. They aren't perfect, but overall I like them more than my S3s or THDs. Are the Elites as reliable as the older two-tuner Premieres?


----------



## gweempose (Mar 23, 2003)

Oops! It looks like I may have been a bit premature with this thread. I just skimmed the long "Elite user experience log" thread, and it looks like people are having all sorts of problems with their Elite boxes. I guess I'm probably better off with another 2-tuner Premiere. I'll probably just buy the cheaper one and then upgrade the drive myself. I see people have mentioned buying them for $49. Does anyone know where I can find one at this price?


----------



## aaronwt (Jan 31, 2002)

gweempose said:


> Oops! It looks like I may have been a bit premature with this thread. I just skimmed the long "Elite user experience log" thread, and it looks like people are having all sorts of problems with their Elite boxes. I guess I'm probably better off with another 2-tuner Premiere. I'll probably just buy the cheaper one and then upgrade the drive myself. I see people have mentioned buying them for $49. Does anyone know where I can find one at this price?


Some people are having major problems, many are not. People with tuning adapters seem to be more likely to have issues. I'm on FiOS and have two Elites. They are reliable in my setups.


----------



## jay_man2 (Sep 15, 2003)

aaronwt said:


> Some people are having major problems, many are not. People with tuning adapters seem to be more likely to have issues. I'm on FiOS and have two Elites. They are reliable in my setups.


Same here with FiOS and my two Elites.


----------



## moyekj (Jan 24, 2006)

There have been people on FIOS reporting issues with losing channels as well. I don't think it's unique to people with TAs. Seems that Elites are very picky with signal levels and optimal signal levels may be a different range than for prior TiVo units.


----------



## Bighouse (Sep 3, 2004)

Have had mine now up and running for a day and it's working flawlessly.


----------



## BigJimOutlaw (Mar 21, 2004)

I haven't had any major issues. No reboots, no channel tuning issues. It actually tunes better than my original Premiere, which couldn't pick up a couple of higher frequency channels no matter what I tried.

I am noticing a rather slight jitter in the video while watching something and downloading a web video at the same time, though.


----------



## aaronwt (Jan 31, 2002)

BigJimOutlaw said:


> I haven't had any major issues. No reboots, no channel tuning issues. It actually tunes better than my original Premiere, which couldn't pick up a couple of higher frequency channels no matter what I tried.
> 
> I am noticing a rather slight jitter in the video while watching something and downloading a web video at the same time, though.


That has been reported by some people when a fast download occurs.


----------



## Dr_Diablo (Nov 24, 2003)

I've had two in the past year ith problems 90% of the tiime with programing not recording, contant reboots on it's own, remoe fails to work an loss of cable channels starting with the channels in the 800's on down to the HBO, starz an encore...

have had the TA replaced three times this year alone in adition the cable cards


----------



## chiguy50 (Nov 9, 2009)

I receive Comcast digital cable via CableCARD (no TA). I replaced two S3 HD's with a Premiere and an Elite about one month ago with no major issues. Based on my user experience I would highly recommend the Elite.


----------



## gweempose (Mar 23, 2003)

chiguy50 said:


> I receive Comcast digital cable via CableCARD (no TA). I replaced two S3 HD's with a Premiere and an Elite about one month ago with no major issues. Based on my user experience I would highly recommend the Elite.


Well this is encouraging, as it's the same setup I have at my house (Comcast and no TA). If I do go the Elite route, it might make more sense to buy one locally, so I can easily return it if I need to. I live about five minutes from Abt, and they have great customer service. The only thing that concerns me is what happens if I add lifetime to an Elite unit and then exchange it for a regular Premiere unit a couple months later. Will it be a hassle?


----------



## GoEagles (Dec 2, 2006)

gweempose said:


> Well this is encouraging, as it's the same setup I have at my house (Comcast and no TA). If I do go the Elite route, it might make more sense to buy one locally, so I can easily return it if I need to. I live about five minutes from Abt, and they have great customer service. The only thing that concerns me is what happens if I add lifetime to an Elite unit and then exchange it for a regular Premiere unit a couple months later. Will it be a hassle?


If you add lifetime to any box, TiVo will let you transfer it to another box within 30 days. Some people say they have had success with it after that time, others haven't from what I read. I transferred transferring my Lifetime service on a Premiere to an Elite and was told NO.


----------



## gweempose (Mar 23, 2003)

GoEagles said:


> If you add lifetime to any box, TiVo will let you transfer it to another box within 30 days. Some people say they have had success with it after that time, others haven't from what I read. I transferred transferring my Lifetime service on a Premiere to an Elite and was told NO.


This is what worries me. I am quite confident that Abt would let me return or exchange the box 2-3 months down the road, but TiVo may give me a hassle with transferring the lifetime. Perhaps I should just go monthly on it until I am sure I am going to keep it.

One of the main things I am hoping to achieve from the Elite is streaming from my other Premiere boxes. It sounds like some people are having issues with this. Given how much the Elites cost, I think I may just buy another Premiere.


----------



## aaronwt (Jan 31, 2002)

Why not try it out? It's certainly better than having two Premieres if you have no issues. My two Elites are working well. And I would not want to go back to using four, two tuner Premieres in their place.


----------



## ScaryMike (Aug 23, 2002)

My elite has been nothing but a pleasure. Knock on wood.

Edit: charter cable with tuning adapter.


----------



## ligand (Jun 20, 2010)

Mine as well... FiOS in NY and it has been rock solid.


----------



## chiguy50 (Nov 9, 2009)

gweempose said:


> This is what worries me. I am quite confident that Abt would let me return or exchange the box 2-3 months down the road, but TiVo may give me a hassle with transferring the lifetime. Perhaps I should just go monthly on it until I am sure I am going to keep it.
> 
> One of the main things I am hoping to achieve from the Elite is streaming from my other Premiere boxes. It sounds like some people are having issues with this. Given how much the Elites cost, I think I may just buy another Premiere.


The streaming feature has been a real joy! It's such a vast improvement over having to transfer a recording from one box to another.

Any electronics purchase could entail glitches, but I think you are being overly skittish. If your box (whether S3, Premiere or Elite) has a defect, or if there are compatibility issues in your set-up, you should be able to detect it within the first 30 days. Abt is an excellent retailer; if you live close by that's a great option.

BTW, I've got PLS on all my boxes.


----------



## sirfracas (Apr 5, 2006)

gweempose said:


> I haven't been very active on the forums lately, so I'm not really up to speed on the current status of the Elites. I'd like to buy another TiVo, and the idea of having four tuners in one box sounds like it would really come in handy. At this point, I'm pretty satisfied with my two Premier boxes. They aren't perfect, but overall I like them more than my S3s or THDs. Are the Elites as reliable as the older two-tuner Premieres?


It's locked up one time since I bought it when it came out.

I'm on Comcast with no tuning adapter. I couldn't be more happier with it.


----------



## Mgalin (Jan 7, 2002)

sirfracas said:


> It's locked up one time since I bought it when it came out.
> 
> I'm on Comcast with no tuning adapter. I couldn't be more happier with it.


First one i had with 14.2 on it, worked like crap.. had trouble activating and would continually reboot if a cablecard was plugged in... Once it got replaced, the replacement (which was new) -came right up, activated immediately, software updated and has worked great.

I think i've come across quirky crap with the HDUI.. e.g. wierd cases not being able to tune a channel... but nothing big that hasnt' resolved itself..

I do think they have a long way to do with the HDUI... while pretty, it's only 70% implemented and not the fastest.


----------



## gwsat (Sep 14, 2006)

My daughter and her family surprised me for my birthday with a Premiere Elite weekend before last. I installed it and got its CableCARD configured last Monday. At first, every channel I expected to receive was there but some time late Monday night or early Tuesday morning all of the HBO, Showtime, and Cinemax Plus Pack channels that I was getting on Monday were no longer available. Those channels were:

812 HBO Signature
814 HBO Comedy
814 HBO Zone
823 Thriller MAX
826 5 Star MAX
834 Showtime Extreme
848 The Movie Channel eXtra

After working with Cox OKC for the rest of the week, they said that my missing channels were MPEG-4 channels, that their tuning frequency had been changed, and TiVo had told them that the Elites would not be able to receive the channels with the new frequency until a software update was rolled out, probably in late April or early May. I have not yet called TiVo about the problem but that's next. I am running version 20.2.0a-01-2-758 of the TiVo software.

Other than the mysterious disappearance of Cox OKC's Plus Pack premium movie channels, my Elite hasn't missed a beat since I got it up and running. As others have noted, the HD user interface is a little slow but I don't consider that a disqualifying defect.


----------



## johnmsch (Mar 5, 2004)

Just bought an Elite on Friday and am very happy so far. Also, the iPad app kicks butt! The amount of work they did on that App is incredible! 

I had moved my old Series 2 to the bedroom, but the fans (main fan and twin breeze for the second internal hard drive) are just too noisy. Just ordered the replacement fans for them, but if that doesn't quiet it down, I may just have to retire that old unit. Its been rock solid since 2004, but the more I get used to the Elite, that old one is beginning to look like a dinosaur!


----------



## Number528 (Oct 6, 2011)

gweempose said:


> The only thing that concerns me is what happens if I add lifetime to an Elite unit and then exchange it for a regular Premiere unit a couple months later. Will it be a hassle?


I'm also a happy user with no bad things to report. FiOS with no TA.

Can you just put month-to-month on the Elite and if it works, switch to Lifetime?


----------



## gweempose (Mar 23, 2003)

Thanks for all the great information, guys! I think I'm going to head over to Abt today and pick up an Elite. I just have one last question. Will I be able to take advantage of the discounted MSD price of $400 if I buy the unit from Abt? I'm pretty sure the answer is yes, but I'm not really up to date on TiVo's current policies.


----------



## minimeh (Jun 20, 2011)

The answer is indeed yes. That's exactly what I have done.


----------



## Mr. E (May 18, 2008)

I've had an Elite on Cox running for a month or so and it's been working great, including the tuning adapter.


----------



## gweempose (Mar 23, 2003)

Well, I went ahead and picked up an Elite from Abt today. The cablecard pairing went smoothly, and I believe I am receiving all of the channesl I subscribe to. All of the online services are working as well, such as Hulu, Netflix, etc ...

The only problem I am having at this point is with MRV. It works with some of my boxes, but not with others. There doesn't appear to be any rhyme or reason as to which boxes don't work:

Premiere #1 - YES
Premiere #2 - NO
S3 #1 - YES
S3 #2 - NO
THD - NO

I'm hoping this is something that will work itself out over the next few days, but I am a little worried.


----------



## rifleman69 (Jan 6, 2005)

My Elite box works just fine on Frontier FiOS, same with my Premiere.


----------



## BigJimOutlaw (Mar 21, 2004)

gweempose said:


> The only problem I am having at this point is with MRV. It works with some of my boxes, but not with others. There doesn't appear to be any rhyme or reason as to which boxes don't work:
> 
> Premiere #1 - YES
> Premiere #2 - NO
> ...


Sometimes it can take a day or so. Or you can have the 'No's' force a connection or two to get the authorization to share.


----------



## gweempose (Mar 23, 2003)

BigJimOutlaw said:


> Sometimes it can take a day or so. Or you can have the 'No's' force a connection or two to get the authorization to share.


Thanks! I completely forgot that they sometimes have to contact the mothership to get the authorizations. I had rebooted them all, but not forced a connection. They are all working as they should now. I can finally watch the HBO shows that I have recorded in the basement upstairs in the family room. Gotta love streaming!


----------



## larrs (May 2, 2005)

My Elite is about 6 weeks old and I have had about 2 or 3 reboots while doing something, which is not too bad since I have never had a recording interrupted. 

However, I think a lot of people are hoping for some stabilization with the new spring update. That seems to be the pattern in the past generations.


----------



## pL86 (Oct 11, 2009)

I'm personally not a fan of the substitution of a second digital tuner in place of the OTA tuner since I prefer to record the OTA signal and the negative experiences some Elite buyers are having has made me even more wary. It may be a small minority of folks who are having these problems but it would stink to buy it and find I'm in that group. There are times when being able to record more than two channels would be useful but I'm always able to finesse the situation now with my Tivo HD given that so many programs repeat soon after airing. For me, the Elite's compelling feature was the 2tb hard drive but I can order a Premiere outfitted with a 2tb drive from Weaknees for the same price as the Elite. I don't get the 4 tuners and THX certification - no big deal for the latter - but I get the OTA tuner back as well as the large drive. It seems like the consensus is the Premiere is less finicky with cable signals than the Elite although apparently its OTA tuner is not as good as the Tivo HD. Win some, lose some.


----------



## bareyb (Dec 1, 2000)

Mine's a couple of months old and it does exactly what I wanted it to. Records four things at once. I was a little worried there might be a lot of glitches, but it records them the same as my S3 did. Works great.


----------



## gweempose (Mar 23, 2003)

I've only had mine for a short time, but so far so good. I keep on expecting to wake up any day now and have half of my channels gone.


----------

