# Will a Premiere function as a mini?



## junesen (Jun 17, 2008)

I saw a lifetime premiere model TCD746320 on sale locally and I was wondering if it will stream programs from/to a Roamio?

I'm not familiar with the Premiere line of TiVos (having a TiVo HD, went to Media Center/Dish Hopper, and came back with a TiVo Roamio), so what does this model have?

- how many tuners? 
- can it do OTA?
- can you upgrade the harddrive? what's the limit?
- does it have TiVo stream built in?


----------



## Dan203 (Apr 17, 2000)

It can stream recordings but not live TV.

Tuners depends on the model. There are some with 2 tuners and some with 4.

Only the 2 tuner ones can do OTA.

Yes you can upgrade the hard drive, but it's not as easy as the Roamio or Bolt. There is a process to it. Easiest solution is to buy a pre-formatted drive from Weaknees.

It does noy have a Stream. You have to use a standalone Stream or a Roamio Plus/Pro to stream from a Premiere to a mobile device.


----------



## worachj (Oct 14, 2006)

TCD746320 is a two tuner, OTA and cable, no built in stream. One advantage is that you can combine both OTA & cable. Yes you can stream shows between a Roamino/Premeire.


----------



## andydumi (Jun 26, 2006)

Dan203 said:


> It can stream recordings but not live TV.


Thanks for this. I've been looking for this answer all over.

We moved from a 2 Tuner Premiere to a 4 Tuner Roamio and was considering whether to get a mini or use the premiere in its place. Tivo is willing to sell us the $99 lifetime option for the Premiere to keep it active, but Comcast will charge an arm and a leg to get a second cable card, so it's probably best to get a Mini.


----------



## jrtroo (Feb 4, 2008)

You don't need a cablecard to have it stream. I would put an antenna on that thing, go lifetime, and call it a day.


----------



## andydumi (Jun 26, 2006)

But if it's not streaming live TV there's no way of catching anything but the half dozen or so air channels I get now. Not even all the networks in our area come easily via antenna.


----------



## tomhorsley (Jul 22, 2010)

I use my old Premiere for streaming recordings from my Roamio, and together with the TiVo phone app which you can use to start recordings on the Roamio, you can sort-of watch live TV, but I wouldn't recommend channel surfing that way .


----------



## jim1971 (Oct 11, 2015)

andydumi said:


> Thanks for this. I've been looking for this answer all over.
> 
> We moved from a 2 Tuner Premiere to a 4 Tuner Roamio and was considering whether to get a mini or use the premiere in its place. Tivo is willing to sell us the $99 lifetime option for the Premiere to keep it active, but Comcast will charge an arm and a leg to get a second cable card, so it's probably best to get a Mini.


Minis make economic sense. $10/month for cablecard vs $120 to $149 for a mini unless you find a used lifetime mini for less. Very short payback period. A 2 tuner premier with lifetime makes sense in a 1 tv home.

The mini is a game changer. Even with the $599 lifetime charge, enough minis on the account make a full tivo system into almost a gift compared to comcast rental costs over a similar large configuration.


----------



## chiguy50 (Nov 9, 2009)

jim1971 said:


> Minis make economic sense. $10/month for cablecard vs $120 to $149 for a mini unless you find a used lifetime mini for less. Very short payback period. A 2 tuner premier with lifetime makes sense in a 1 tv home.
> 
> The mini is a game changer. Even with the $599 lifetime charge, enough minis on the account make a full tivo system into almost a gift compared to comcast rental costs over a similar large configuration.


I fully agree with your point, but the cost amortization rate is a little longer for the typical Comcast customer due to the $2.50 "Customer-Owned Equipment" offset. IOW, $9.95 for the additional CableCARD (excuse me, "Additional Digital Outlet") less $2.50 = $7.45 p.m.

Assuming a $120 purchase price for the Mini, that's still a payback period of under 18 months--not so shabby. I'm very pleased to have sold my second TiVo Premiere last year and replaced it with a Mini (got in on the fire sale in September for $80) in the master bedroom. Even with only a four-tuner Premiere Elite as host, we haven't missed the additional DVR. Plus there's the distinct pleasure of having thumbed our nose at Comcast for their ADO fee ploy. As they say in the ads, that's priceless.


----------



## tomciara (Dec 30, 2015)

So here is the question. New Roamio with a mini connected via moca. Old Premier is at the other end of the house and has no moca capability. Can I connect Ethernet to the premier and expect everyone to work reliably?


--- Full time professional beta tester ---


----------



## JoeKustra (Dec 7, 2012)

tomciara said:


> So here is the question. New Roamio with a mini connected via moca. Old Premier is at the other end of the house and has no moca capability. Can I connect Ethernet to the premier and expect everyone to work reliably?
> 
> --- Full time professional beta tester ---


If by "work" you mean can it transfer files and content to the Roamio the answer is yes. I have two Premieres networked to my two Roamios. I unplug one Premiere except on Saturday so it looks active to TiVo.

You can not access its tuners, as has been previous posted.


----------



## tomciara (Dec 30, 2015)

JoeKustra said:


> If by "work" you mean can it transfer files and content to the Roamio the answer is yes. I have two Premieres networked to my two Roamios. I unplug one Premiere except on Saturday so it looks active to TiVo.
> 
> You can not access its tuners, as has been previous posted.


The only issue that you didn't address specifically was the mixing of moca and ethernet networking. The new Roamio and the Mini are networked via moca, and the Premiere would be Ethernet. No prob?

--- Full time professional beta tester ---


----------



## snerd (Jun 6, 2008)

tomciara said:


> The only issue that you didn't address specifically was the mixing of moca and ethernet networking. The new Roamio and the Mini are networked via moca, and the Premiere would be Ethernet. No prob?


Ethernet and MoCA can be mixed with impunity. No problem.


----------



## Dan203 (Apr 17, 2000)

As long as you don't create a loop.


----------



## LoPan12 (Jan 31, 2014)

To piggyback on the OP, if I have a Roamio downstairs, and a Premiere 2 tuner upstairs, both with lifetime, should I keep the premiere, or try to sell it and replace it with a mini instead? Especially since we almost never watch live tv on the premiere...


----------



## ej42137 (Feb 16, 2014)

LoPan12 said:


> To piggyback on the OP, if I have a Roamio downstairs, and a Premiere 2 tuner upstairs, both with lifetime, should I keep the premiere, or try to sell it and replace it with a mini instead? Especially since we almost never watch live tv on the premiere...


It's a trade-off. The Mini will work much easier setting recordings and One Passes on your Roamio, but keeping the Premiere will retain storage space and additional tuners. If it's a current model Mini, it will have an RF remote control, which is (IMO) a significant benefit.

If you never watch TV on the Premiere, I don't see any advantage to replacing it with a Mini.


----------



## snerd (Jun 6, 2008)

ej42137 said:


> If you never watch TV on the Premiere, I don't see any advantage to replacing it with a Mini.


The Mini doesn't need a cablecard, so there is potential cost savings by going with a Mini.


----------



## ej42137 (Feb 16, 2014)

snerd said:


> The Mini doesn't need a cablecard, so there is potential cost savings by going with a Mini.


Certainly a valid point, but removing the cable card from the Premiere would have the same savings at the cost of no longer being able to create new recordings.


----------



## pdhenry (Feb 28, 2005)

Dan203 said:


> It can stream recordings but not live TV.


I've just noticed that if the remote TiVo is recording a show you can stream the show (to another Premiere or Roamio) as it is being recorded. So not quite the same as streaming live TV but less restrictive than copying a show between TiVos (which can't be started until the recording is finished).


----------

