# Tivo Noob - Roamio Initial Thoughts



## macfactor (Aug 22, 2013)

The Roamio has been up and running since Friday night. This is my first Tivo and I am still getting to know how everything works but it is so superior to my TWC DVR that I already feel the high price of the Roamio is worth every penny.

Here are my initial thoughts:

*The Good:*

6 tuners - enough said.
Play button out of fast forward - I am sure that it is just a standard timing thing but some how it always seems to start playing exactly where I want it to instead of having to rewind a little like I had to with my TWC DVR.
Meta Data - Though in some cases it can take a few too many button pushes, the ways to search or alter guide filters are amazing.
Custom channel set up - On TWC every channel is duplicated about 4 times. This always drove me crazy as it made surfing very frustrating and the guide almost useless. The ability to hide all of the unused channels is a God send to me. I now have just the channels I use in my guide.
Works perfectly with my Harmony One remote - I tried the Tivo remote for a while but because it isn't backlit and we have other devices attached to the TV I wanted my H1 back. Setup took a while as I had to figure out a model number that would work (these forums provided the answer!) but finally got it and it works perfectly.

*The Bad/Not Understood Yet:*

Tivo Recommendations - I am sure this gets better over time but they were so far of base that it shook me a little. I have begun to add thumbs to help but I don't understand the algorithm yet and it concerns me.
Remote not backlit - don't understand this. Most media rooms are dark and I think it was a mistake on their part.
Exiting menus - I am sure this is something that is learned but I still am not totally sure how to exit menus and go back to live TV. Seems very nonstandard sometimes. Sometimes I can use the left arrow and other times the only way I can do it is by using the Live TV button.
No clock on the face of the box - this hurts. The only thing I liked about my TWC DVR was the clock on the front. Really wish the Tivo had one.
Networking - I am using Wi-Fi for now but I have a very fast "N" router and the Roamio seems sketchy with it. Very slow to authenticate and just doesn't seem to have a very good connection sometimes. Though this may be a result of the router, I don't experience this with other devices on the same network. I was really worried that my TWC setup was going to suck but that went really well, the biggest issues has turned out to be networking. The first night it was terrible. I was getting error messages every time I tried to access the menus. This has improved over time and things seemed much smoother after the first 24 hours but I can tell there are still issues from time to time. I will investigate my options and try to figure it out.
Menu speed - not sure how much of this is related to the network but menus can be very frustrating at times. The What To Watch menu drives me insane with how slow it is. Really hope this improves.


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## brewman (Jun 29, 2003)

*The Bad/Not Understood Yet:*

Remote not backlit - don't understand this. Most media rooms are dark and I think it was a mistake on their part.
[/QUOTE]

I don't have the Roamio (hate the name), but if this is accurate I totally agree. You can buy a generic all-in-1 remote for $10 that has backlit buttons. Incredibly short-sighted of TiVo.


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## atmuscarella (Oct 11, 2005)

brewman said:


> *The Bad/Not Understood Yet:*
> 
> Remote not backlit - don't understand this. Most media rooms are dark and I think it was a mistake on their part.
> 
> I don't have the Roamio (hate the name), but if this is accurate I totally agree. You can buy a generic all-in-1 remote for $10 that has backlit buttons. Incredibly short-sighted of TiVo.


I have TiVo back-lit and non-back-lit remotes. I personally like the non-back-lit ones better as the batteries last nearly forever and I know where all the buttons are by tough anyway. Seems like I am always changing the ones in the back-lit remote. In any event I think they should have included a back-lit remote for the Pro model, but not the others. Of course if I got around to reprogramming my Logitech Harmony One (had to replace my receiver about 2 weeks ago) I would be back to the best of both worlds back-lit with a recharging base.


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## monkeydust (Dec 12, 2004)

Tivo Recommendations - They work great. Just give it some time. When I got my new Tivo, I went though a bunch of my favorite channels and gave 1-3 thumbs up on my favorite shows.
Remote not backlit - Yeah, I look my old glo remote better that came with my Elite. So, that's the one I am using with my Plus.
Exiting menus - Either Live TV or Zoom button if video is diplayed in corner.
No clock on the face of the box - Yup, I loved the clock and OLED display on my S3 (although it was too dim).
Networking - Wireless added to some of the slowness on my Elite so I ran ethernet wire though my whole house. Much better now.
Menus speed - Haven't noticed any slowness. Guess those of us who had older models are giddy that they are so much faster than what we were used to.


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## Tico (Dec 10, 2002)

If you want an on screen clock:

Select-Select- Play - Select- 9 -Select

Recommendations do take time to get to know you.


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## kemajor (Jan 2, 2003)

The issues I've come across so far (1 days use) I do not like are:

1) Wishlists are always set to auto-record. Ugh!
2) There is no longer an option to browse podcasts, you have to just use the standard search. I found some of my podcasts doing a search on the word "Podcast" but several didn't show up that way. The "old" Premeire search for podcasts/downloads was far superior IMHO.

Comparing my new Roamie Pro to my Premiere 4XL the things I like so far:

1) General menu speed. The Premiere 4XL was painfully slow IMO. The Roamie Pro seems to have resolved this.
2) Fonts. I like the menu fonts on the Roamie Pro better.
3) The obvious: 6 tuners vs. 4, etc.

- Kelly


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## jfh3 (Apr 15, 2004)

Your good #2 - this is a function of the TiVo patented trick play functions.


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## BigJimOutlaw (Mar 21, 2004)

macfactor said:


> [*]Menus speed - not sure how much of this is related to the network but menus can be very frustrating at times. The What To Watch menu drives me insane with how slow it is. Really hope this improves.
> [/LIST]


Yep, I think the WTWN speed is related to the wireless speed issue you're having. It pulls those images off the network connection, so if that is slow for some reason, this section will be slow too. It works pretty well with my wired connection. Sounds like something is less than ideal with the wireless.


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## CoxInPHX (Jan 14, 2011)

macfactor said:


> [*]Menus speed - not sure how much of this is related to the network but menus can be very frustrating at times. The What To Watch menu drives me insane with how slow it is. Really hope this improves.[/list]





BigJimOutlaw said:


> Yep, I think the WTWN speed is related to the wireless speed issue you're having. It pulls those images off the network connection, so if that is slow for some reason, this section will be slow too. It works pretty well with my wired connection. Sounds like something is less than ideal with the wireless.


Could also be a DNS issue, try Google servers > 8.8.8.8 & 8.8.4.4 and see if that helps.


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## aaronwt (Jan 31, 2002)

I would switch there being no clock on the front to the Plus column. Most devices already have a clock and all I need to do is press one button to see it. With the TiVo I can press the info button and the time pops up. Much better than having some clock constantly glaring at you from the front. Of course everyone has their own preference, but I've always had a clock in every room anyway. So adding more clocks to the front of STBs is just redundant for me.


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## ss-stingray (Aug 25, 2013)

Just found something unexpected. In TiVo central scrolled all the way down and found my premiere xl recordings. I can watch them and not change source. That makes me ask if I have more than 4 shows scheduled in Roamio will they record on premiere xl with not setting up?


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## tatergator1 (Mar 27, 2008)

ss-stingray said:


> Just found something unexpected. In TiVo central scrolled all the way down and found my premiere xl recordings. I can watch them and not change source. That makes me ask if I have more than 4 shows scheduled in Roamio will they record on premiere xl with not setting up?


In multiple Tivo homes, Tivo has listed other networked Tivo's at the bottom of the My Shows list for a long time. As you mention, you can easily access all of the content of the XL via the Roamio. However, there is no communication regarding recording scheduling or conflict resolution between the two. If you are already recording 4 shows on the Roamio, it will not tell the Premiere XL to record anything the Roamio might be unable to record.


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## ss-stingray (Aug 25, 2013)

Oh thanks . This is only my second Tvio and seeing both dvr's was unexpected.


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## mdscott (Jun 26, 2002)

tatergator1 said:


> If you are already recording 4 shows on the Roamio, it will not tell the Premiere XL to record anything the Roamio might be unable to record.


Sure would be nice though.


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## andyw715 (Jul 31, 2007)

macfactor said:


> .
> [*]Play button out of fast forward - I am sure that it is just a standard timing thing but some how it always seems to start playing exactly where I want it to instead of having to rewind a little like I had to with my TWC DVR.


I think TiVo has a patent on that.

I'm sure much testing of people reaction times have been done to determine how much rewind needed to be done in order start viewing at the precise time.

Enjoy!...

oh and those suggestions will get better with time.


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## tatergator1 (Mar 27, 2008)

mdscott said:


> Sure would be nice though.


I should have known someone would say that.  It would have been great 5 years ago. Unfortunately, with 4/6 tuners in the Roamios, conflicts are significantly reduced, and people are much more likely to have a hub and spoke setup with Mini's at other TV's as opposed to another DVR. I think conflict resolution/cooperative scheduling is totally dead since the Series 5 boxes will serve to eliminate many multi-DVR households and further limit the amount of Tivo users who would benefit from the functionality.

I mean, how many people complain endlessly about the unfinished HDUI, yet Tivo can't dedicate any more development time to that. We have no hope of them spending time on cooperative scheduling now that the Roamios exist.


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## Series3Sub (Mar 14, 2010)

brewman said:


> *The Bad/Not Understood Yet:*
> 
> Remote not backlit - don't understand this. Most media rooms are dark and I think it was a mistake on their part.


I don't have the Roamio (hate the name), but if this is accurate I totally agree. You can buy a generic all-in-1 remote for $10 that has backlit buttons. Incredibly short-sighted of TiVo.[/QUOTE]

I would think TiVo will later offer a backlit for the Roamio as a great way to get MORE MONEY, now that the Roamios have WiFi and TiVo won't have the source of revenue any longer. I say we'll see a Roamio backlit in about 6 months or so.


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## aaronwt (Jan 31, 2002)

Series3Sub said:


> I don't have the Roamio (hate the name), but if this is accurate I totally agree. You can buy a generic all-in-1 remote for $10 that has backlit buttons. Incredibly short-sighted of TiVo.


I would think TiVo will later offer a backlit for the Roamio as a great way to get MORE MONEY, now that the Roamios have WiFi and TiVo won't have the source of revenue any longer. I say we'll see a Roamio backlit in about 6 months or so.[/QUOTE]
I think even the new Slide remote is not backlit. I thought that was what I read?


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## oosik77 (Nov 22, 1999)

macfactor said:


> [*]Tivo Recommendations - I am sure this gets better over time but they were so far of base that it shook me a little. I have begun to add thumbs to help but I don't understand the algorithm yet and it concerns me.


Allow me to give you and other new Tivo users some tips on getting Suggestions up to snuff more quickly.

First off anything you enter a seasons pass for automatically gets one thumbs up. You might not want that to always be the case. For example I record the local news from 4:30am to 6:00am but if I leave the thumbs up set I start getting other news programs in suggestions. I'm not interested in that so just hit 1 thumbs down to reset those seasons passes to nothing.

On other shows where you really like them:

Use 3 thumbs up if it's one of the best shows you have ever seen and you really really can't live with out it.

Use 2 thumbs up if it's a favorite but your not totally gaga over it like you would be when using 3 thumbs.

Use 1 thumb for anything that you find interesting.

Early on go through the recorded suggestions and for programs that get recorded that you have no interest in give them 1 thumbs down. But just 1! If you do more than one it could bite you. For example if it starts recording talk shows and you don't like that and you give it more than one thumbs down and say one of your favorite actors was a guest on that episode. Tivo now thinks you might not like not only that program but any actors that are listed on the program information.

I never use 2 thumbs down.

I use 3 for things like infomercials and only informercials.

There ya go. If you apply that for a few days you'll find your Tivo is giving you stuff you really like.

In fact if you want to go one step further go into the program search and start with letter 'A' and scroll down the list of programming and apply a thumbs up to any movies you have seen that you liked or any old re-runs that you like etc. Even if you don't want to see them again. It will help your Tivo learn what you like and don't like.

Enjoy!


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