# Tivo Roamio OTA Reception Problems



## Rex the Pup (Feb 23, 2015)

I recently dropped the ripoff also known as Comcast and switched to an OTA. I used the antenna displayed through the link below and received over 50 channels downtown Jersey City. Then I purchased the Tivo Roamio OTA-- enter the problem. When I connected the TIVO to the antenna I went down to 20 channels. Has anyone else had this problem? If so, how did you correct it? A tivo rep recommended an amplified antenna but since I am 5 miles or less from the broadcasting stations I think that may make things worst. Again, any suggestions?

Thanks!

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Winegard...r-HDTV-Antenna-FL5000H/203972854?N=5yc1vZc64p


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## cosmicvoid (Oct 13, 2013)

You could try an attenuator inline with the antenna cable. You might even need 2 or 3.

http://www.amazon.com/Parts-Express--Line-Signal-Attenuator/dp/B0002ZPIT6


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## heifer624 (Jul 12, 2009)

Whats your signal strength before you try an attenuator. Look here to see what you should be getting http://www.antennaweb.org/Address.aspx


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## Aero 1 (Aug 8, 2007)

Let me take a guess and say you probably lost WABC, WPIX, WNET, and probably WWOR and WNYW? 

That's a piece of crap antenna. You need something with VHF elements. Some like the Antennas Direct C2V or plain old rabbit ears with a UHF loop. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## connie_w (Jan 10, 2015)

So, you haven't moved the antenna or used a different cable for it? Have you disconnected from the Tivo and reconnected to tv and now get 50 again?

I have a similar looking antenna (the Mohu 30) and have as many if not a few more when I moved my cable from the tv and into the Tivo Roamio OTA. I'm 24 miles from the towers. I must say that I piddled around with different placement of the antenna over a couple of days both on the tv and with the Tivo when I got it to find the absolute best placement for my antenna. My flat antenna cannot be place flat against the wall. I had to place it at the very top of the wall with the bottom of the antenna angling out about 1 inch. Then I get perfect reception on over 60 channels. So, silly things like the slightest placement changes can make a difference.


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## Rex the Pup (Feb 23, 2015)

Thanks all for the responses. I will try an attenuator. However, I still do not understand why I get less channels when I attach the antenna to the tivo box, opposed to the tv. I have not changed the location of the antenna or used a different cable -- shouldn't the reception be just as good?

Also as per the link above my signal strength should be someone what strong and I should/could receive the following channels, most within 4-5 miles.

Stations Antenna
WABC-DT 7.1 ABC
RF Channel: 7
4 miles at 50° Yellow
WCBS-DT 2.1 CBS
RF Channel: 33
4 miles at 50° Yellow
WFUT-DT 68.1 TFA
RF Channel: 30
4 miles at 50° Yellow
WJLP-DT 33.10 IND
RF Channel: 3
4 miles at 44° Yellow
WNBC-DT 4.1 NBC
RF Channel: 28
4 miles at 50° Yellow
WNET-DT 13.1 PBS
RF Channel: 13
4 miles at 50° Yellow
WNJN-DT 50.1 PBS
RF Channel: 51
13 miles at 321° Yellow
WNJU-DT 47.1 TEL
RF Channel: 36
4 miles at 50° Yellow
WNYE-DT 25.1 IND
RF Channel: 24
4 miles at 44° Yellow
WNYW-DT 5.1 FOX
RF Channel: 44
4 miles at 50° Yellow
WPIX-DT 11.1 CW
RF Channel: 11
4 miles at 50° Yellow
WPXN-DT 31.1 ION
RF Channel: 31
4 miles at 50° Yellow
WWOR-DT 9.1 MNT
RF Channel: 38
4 miles at 50° Yellow
WXTV-DT 41.1 UNI
RF Channel: 40
4 miles at 50° Yellow
WDVB-CD 23.1 IND
RF Channel: 23
4 miles at 50° Green
WKOB-LD 2.1 DAY
RF Channel: 2
5 miles at 55° Green
WMBC-DT 63.1 IND
RF Channel: 18
13 miles at 321° Green
WNYJ-DT 66.1 IND
RF Channel: 29
12 miles at 294° Green
WASA-LD 24.1 EST
RF Channel: 25
4 miles at 44° Red
WNJB-DT 58.1 PBS
RF Channel: 8
25 miles at 255° Red
W41DO-D 60.1 HSN
RF Channel: 41
5 miles at 49° Blue
WEBR-CD 17.1 IND
RF Channel: 17
4 miles at 50° Blue
WPXO-LD 34.1 ION
RF Channel: 34
4 miles at 50° Blue
WBQM-LD 51.1 CTV
RF Channel: 50
5 miles at 55° Violet
WMUN-CD 45.1 IND
RF Channel: 45
5 miles at 55° Violet
WNYZ-LP 6 IND
RF Channel: 6
5 miles at 66° Violet
WPXU-LD 12.1 MNT
RF Channel: 12
5 miles at 49° Violet


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## heifer624 (Jul 12, 2009)

I'm counting 27 and not the 50 you stated...

WABC-DT 7.1 ABC	RF Channel: 7	4 miles at 50° Yellow
WCBS-DT 2.1 CBS	RF Channel: 33	4 miles at 50° Yellow
WFUT-DT 68.1 TFA	RF Channel: 30	4 miles at 50° Yellow
WJLP-DT 33.10 IND	RF Channel: 3	4 miles at 44° Yellow
WNBC-DT 4.1 NBC	RF Channel: 28	4 miles at 50° Yellow
WNET-DT 13.1 PBS	RF Channel: 13	4 miles at 50° Yellow
WNJN-DT 50.1 PBS	RF Channel: 51	13 miles at 321° Yellow
WNJU-DT 47.1 TEL	RF Channel: 36	4 miles at 50° Yellow
WNYE-DT 25.1 IND	RF Channel: 24	4 miles at 44° Yellow
WNYW-DT 5.1 FOX	RF Channel: 44	4 miles at 50° Yellow
WPIX-DT 11.1 CW	RF Channel: 11	4 miles at 50° Yellow
WPXN-DT 31.1 ION	RF Channel: 31	4 miles at 50° Yellow
WWOR-DT 9.1 MNT	RF Channel: 38	4 miles at 50° Yellow
WXTV-DT 41.1 UNI	RF Channel: 40	4 miles at 50° Yellow
WDVB-CD 23.1 IND	RF Channel: 23	4 miles at 50° Green
WKOB-LD 2.1 DAY	RF Channel: 2	5 miles at 55° Green
WMBC-DT 63.1 IND	RF Channel: 18	13 miles at 321° Green
WNYJ-DT 66.1 IND	RF Channel: 29	12 miles at 294° Green
WASA-LD 24.1 EST	RF Channel: 25	4 miles at 44° Red
WNJB-DT 58.1 PBS	RF Channel: 8	25 miles at 255° Red
W41DO-D 60.1 HSN	RF Channel: 41	5 miles at 49° Blue
WEBR-CD 17.1 IND	RF Channel: 17	4 miles at 50° Blue
WPXO-LD 34.1 ION	RF Channel: 34	4 miles at 50° Blue
WBQM-LD 51.1 CTV	RF Channel: 50	5 miles at 55° Violet
WMUN-CD 45.1 IND	RF Channel: 45	5 miles at 55° Violet
WNYZ-LP 6 IND	RF Channel: 6	5 miles at 66° Violet
WPXU-LD 12.1 MNT	RF Channel: 12	5 miles at 49° Violet*

Suggest you get the amplified Mohu here:
http://www.amazon.com/Mohu-Leaf-Amplified-Indoor-Antenna/dp/B00APPDX86


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## heifer624 (Jul 12, 2009)

I bought one of the amplified moho like I posted about to go in a 1st floor beach rental condo that is about 32 miles from all the transmitters. Unfortunately it didn't work for me too well so it now sits in my closest unused. I had to get cable since the condo assoc would not allow a outside antenna. Anyone interested in the antenna just PM me.


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## jth tv (Nov 15, 2014)

I get the same reception with a roamio basic as with my tv. I am ten miles from the towers. I used a splitter to the tv and the roamio and switched between the two when testing antennas and amps. Bad reception on the roamio meant bad reception on the tv and vice versa, same with good. 

I use the largest outdoor antenna that would fit in the inside hallway of my apartment, a HBU22 $33 on sale at Radio Shack, ship to store. It gets slightly more reliable reception withOut an preamp. 

The flat antennas seemed to be okay at times, but it turns out they apparently were more susceptible to sometimes busy (rush hour) street traffic. With at large outdoor antenna indoors there is almost perfect primetime reception for the stations I am interested in.


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## ncted (May 13, 2007)

Rex the Pup said:


> Thanks all for the responses. I will try an attenuator. However, I still do not understand why I get less channels when I attach the antenna to the tivo box, opposed to the tv. I have not changed the location of the antenna or used a different cable -- shouldn't the reception be just as good?


I'd second the need for an antenna with VHF reception elements. I use the Clearstream 2v with great success, but I could not get one of those flat antennas to work well with the Roamio, especially for VHF. Perhaps it is the fact that the Roamio is splitting the signal 4 ways when it enters the box while your TV is not splitting the signal at all?


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## sarantube (Jan 21, 2015)

I use a Mohu Sky60 antenna. I am 85 miles from the broadcast towers in Los Angeles. Because I live in the mountains, I have a clear line of sight to the towers. I receive the same number of channels (>75) whether I connect directly to my TV or through the Roamio OTA.


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## deasnealy (Dec 10, 2005)

I have the same problem. I have ours in the RV. My Tv will scan a number of channels and pick up fairly well.. Then I scan with the tivo ota and get only about 50% of the channels unless I am in a major city. I see below someone said the signal is split by Tivo 4 ways and I expect maybe that is the issue. I have an amplifier so I wonder if I need a better amp closer to the Tivo?


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## jerryez (May 16, 2001)

I get 35 channels with my TiVo OTA. But when I added a 20Mhz amp. I got the same 35 channels and had pixilation on several programs, so_ disconnected the amp and _have great reception again. My Dish OTA dongle gets 35 channels also.


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## MacBrian (Feb 24, 2002)

deasnealy said:


> I see below someone said the signal is split by Tivo 4 ways and I expect maybe that is the issue.


I'm curious about this too. I have two different brands of TVs that can lock in and stabilize just fine on a weaker channel that my TiVos can't. I added an amplifier and now the TiVos can lock in on that channel, but for years my experience has been that the built-in TV tuners do a better job with marginal signals than the TiVos. Two of my TiVos are Premiere's with their notoriously picky tuners and one is a Roamio, but it exhibits the same pickiness when it comes to one specific (weaker) channel in my area. In my case an amplifier solved the problem and made the signal strong enough for the TiVo's tuners.


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## TeamPace (Oct 23, 2013)

If you look around there are numerous posts about reception issues with nearly all of the TiVo models. TiVo tuners definitely seem to be more finicky than some other devices but peoples experiences vary widely. Personally I have found the older series 3 units (HD model) and the Roamio basic/ota models to give the best reception for my application although the Roamio (which I use currently) seems just a tad more touchy. I have also worked with a few TiVo BOLT installs and have personally found them tougher still than the Roamio. The Premier model has the worst reputation for OTA reception. For you situation I would try out some different antennas and antenna locations. With one of the BOLT installs I did it was the third antenna that finally did the trick. Being so close to the stations can cause some issues. I also set up a BOLT for my daughter who lives in DC within a few miles of the towers and it took trying out a couple of different antennas and quite a bit of placement experimenting. An amplifier will likely just make things worse. You can try the attenuators which could help. But I think trying some different antennas and locations would be the place to start.


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## lcasteix (Oct 8, 2016)

I had a reception problem with a UHF station (PBS) only 13 miles away and with an outdoor antenna pointed right at it. I could get it with the TV but not Tivo. I took the antenna amp off the system, and it came in just fine. I know—defies logic.


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## TeamPace (Oct 23, 2013)

lcasteix said:


> I had a reception problem with a UHF station (PBS) only 13 miles away and with an outdoor antenna pointed right at it. I could get it with the TV but not Tivo. I took the antenna amp off the system, and it came in just fine. I know-defies logic.


Doesn't defy logic at all. I've tried amps a number of times with various TiVos I have owned and the amps nearly always just made things worse. Being that close to a station with a good antenna likely means your signal was too strong or you were having multipath problems. OTA signals especially with TiVo can be very finicky. It can take a good bit of trial and error. Amps mainly help when you have too much signal loss between the antenna and the TiVo due to long cable runs or splitters.


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