# tivo premiere xl4 for $349.00



## celtic pride (Nov 8, 2005)

Just saw the tivo premiere xl4 elite on sale for memorial day weekend at amazon for $349.00at amazon com the seller is electronics expo!


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## moyekj (Jan 24, 2006)

+ $15 shipping though. Various Amazon resellers have had this price range for a while.

I'm personally waiting until:
A. Various tuning problems being reported in many threads in this forum for Elite/XL4 units are addressed by TiVo. (XL4 uses different tuners than Premiere/XL units and from various accounts appear not to be as robust as the Premiere/XL tuners)
B. Amazon is selling them directly (and I can buy via Prime)


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## Kingpcgeek (Feb 6, 2012)

moyekj said:


> I'm personally waiting until:
> A. Various tuning problems being reported in many threads in this forum for Elite/XL4 units are addressed by TiVo.


Rock solid for me after Spring update. Before the update I would randomly have channels that I would have to retune.

I have had to have Cox reauthorize the tuning adapter once before the update and once after the update.


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## MeInDallas (Jul 31, 2011)

The spring update didnt fix any of my issues. Hooked it up, downloaded the new update and tried it out for a few days . . same ole same ole. Wouldnt hold channels for more than a few hours at best. Boxed it back up until more updates are released.


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## magnus (Nov 12, 2004)

Spring update did not fix any of my issues either. Still no ATSC tuners in it.


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## aaronwt (Jan 31, 2002)

moyekj said:


> + $15 shipping though. Various Amazon resellers have had this price range for a while.
> 
> I'm personally waiting until:
> A. Various tuning problems being reported in many threads in this forum for Elite/XL4 units are addressed by TiVo. (XL4 uses different tuners than Premiere/XL units and from various accounts appear not to be as robust as the Premiere/XL tuners)
> B. Amazon is selling them directly (and I can buy via Prime)


Not as robust? The tuners in my Elites are fine. Whether I record a show from my two tuner Premieres or four tuner boxes they will be the same. I have no issues with the tuners on FiOS.


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## moyekj (Jan 24, 2006)

aaronwt said:


> Not as robust? The tuners in my Elites are fine. Whether I record a show from my two tuner Premieres or four tuner boxes they will be the same. I have no issues with the tuners on FiOS.


 I'm sure you're aware of the threads I'm talking about as you've made the same posts there. There's been enough posts on the subject by a variety of people with different cable companies and setups that work fine with Series 3 units and regular Premiere units but not the Elite/XL4 hooked up to same coax. Maybe the factors that cause the problem are less than optimal conditions, but the fact that under same conditions non-Elite/XL4 units work fine calls into question the robustness of the tuners which are the only significant difference in hardware from Premiere/XL units. For majority of Elite/XL4 owners it's likely not a problem, you included, so congrats and enjoy, but sucks to be among those that do have the problem that so far has gone unresolved by TiVo.
I'll probably end up buying one in time and hopefully through Amazon directly so that option of no-hassle/no-cost return is available in case I'm one of the unlucky ones.


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## mulscully (May 31, 2003)

From what I have read the tuner issues seem to be mostly with tuning adapters.. I was worried at first also, however I have FIOS and no tuning adapter and the "elite" I got is rock solid...


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## moyekj (Jan 24, 2006)

mulscully said:


> From what I have read the tuner issues seem to be mostly with tuning adapters..


 Doesn't explain why same setup (with same Tuning Adapter) works fine for non-Elite/XL4 units.


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## rainwater (Sep 21, 2004)

moyekj said:


> Doesn't explain why same setup (with same Tuning Adapter) works fine for non-Elite/XL4 units.


You mean tuning adapters that have never really been tested with more than 2 tuners in the real world other than the few XL4 units in the wild 

It's not hard to figure out how the same tuning adapter with the same firmware can work different on a XL2 and XL4. That doesn't mean it is all the tuning adapter's fault. But it definitely isn't a apples to apples comparison.


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## compnurd (Oct 6, 2011)

rainwater said:


> You mean tuning adapters that have never really been tested with more than 2 tuners in the real world other than the few XL4 units in the wild
> 
> It's not hard to figure out how the same tuning adapter with the same firmware can work different on a XL2 and XL4. That doesn't mean it is all the tuning adapter's fault. But it definitely isn't a apples to apples comparison.


I agree. I believe it is a tuning a adapter issue and not affecting the 2 Tuners due to the TA handling 4 tuners.

I dont think 1 person with an XL4 and a Non TA set up has had an issue


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## moyekj (Jan 24, 2006)

compnurd said:


> I agree. I believe it is a tuning a adapter issue and not affecting the 2 Tuners due to the TA handling 4 tuners.
> 
> I dont think 1 person with an XL4 and a Non TA set up has had an issue


 Here's a thread from a FIOS user (i.e. no TA) with multiple Premiere units that worked fine but Elite had lots of pixelation. He ended up returning Elite and got an XL which worked fine with same coax:
http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?t=483987
I've seen other threads of tuning related issues with Elite where user specifically said they did not have TA.

If Tuning Adapter also comes into the picture that's no comfort to me as I have Tuning Adapter as well, but haven't had any trouble with TAs for all 3 of my TiVo units.

For those considering buying an XL4 I would say go ahead and try it, but make sure you buy from somewhere with good return policy just in case.


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## mulscully (May 31, 2003)

The pixelation issue has been around for FIOS users since the tivohd and most of them can be solved by either the signal strength/ SNR fix (usually with an attenuators). I fixed my with a filter that blocked the moca signal to the tivos.

The TA situation seems to be the TA interacting with the CC in some odd way causing the CC to loose authorization on channels..

My opinion FWIW is if you have TAs then be careful.. But as was suggested to me, you do have a 30 day return.. If no TAs then your odds are very good..

I was debating XL2 or XL4 for a while but glad I did the XL4. I am surprised how often 3 or 4 red lights are on on the front panel...


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## Lrscpa (Apr 20, 2003)

I have a premiere elite with a tuning adapter from Cablevision, and have never had a single problem tuning or holding a specific channel.


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## BetaMark (Jan 24, 2008)

Kingpcgeek said:


> I have had to have Cox reauthorize the tuning adapter once before the update and once after the update.


I'm surprised that this machine still needs a TA. Being that the Elite is entirely cable-centric, I would've thought it would have Tru2way support internally.


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## Teeps (Aug 16, 2001)

moyekj said:


> I'm personally waiting until:
> A. Various tuning problems being reported in many threads in this forum for Elite/XL4 units are addressed by TiVo. (XL4 uses different tuners than Premiere/XL units and from various accounts appear not to be as robust as the Premiere/XL tuners)


As am I.
I have a S3 that worked with near perfection, from purchase in '07, until Time Warner turned on SDV last June/July.
My luck I would have the same problems as others' have had with XL4/Elite.

So I continue to wait.


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## SullyND (Dec 30, 2004)

BetaMark said:


> I'm surprised that this machine still needs a TA. Being that the Elite is entirely cable-centric, I would've thought it would have Tru2way support internally.


Tru2way is dead.


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## BetaMark (Jan 24, 2008)

SullyND said:


> Tru2way is dead.


I guess I misspoke. I was referring to whatever technology it is that allows the Cable Co's DVR to operate without a TA.


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## GoEagles (Dec 2, 2006)

SullyND said:


> Tru2way is dead.


I wouldn't say that. The new DVR from Comcast uses Tru2way


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## CoxInPHX (Jan 14, 2011)

SullyND said:


> Tru2way is dead.


Retail Tru2way is most likely dead, true...

But, Cox uses Tru2way for their Whole Home DVR, and most every market has deployed Tru2way.

Cox uses Cisco hardware in all markets with both Cisco and Motorola CableCARDs running their Trio IPG. Although the product has suffered from many delays, low customer acceptance, and many, many bugs.


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## MJHoltorf (Dec 23, 2001)

I activated an XL4 on 5/12 with Cox in Orange County, CA. I am using a Motorola M-Card/TA combo. It took a few hours and a couple of reboots for the activation to stick. Once it did, I have had 0 problems. Tivo Suggestions is on, and it has recorded hundreds of programs during that time, often using all tuners concurrently. I received the 20.2.1.1 update right after, and it survived the reboot just fine. This is definitely one of those YMMV situations. If I had the problems that some others had mentioned, though, I would be wary as well. Right now (knock-knock), I am very happy with the XL4 and the Premiere I am using.


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## moyekj (Jan 24, 2006)

MJHoltorf said:


> I activated an XL4 on 5/12 with Cox in Orange County, CA. I am using a Motorola M-Card/TA combo. It took a few hours and a couple of reboots for the activation to stick. Once it did, I have had 0 problems. Tivo Suggestions is on, and it has recorded hundreds of programs during that time, often using all tuners concurrently. I received the 20.2.1.1 update right after, and it survived the reboot just fine. This is definitely one of those YMMV situations. If I had the problems that some others had mentioned, though, I would be wary as well. Right now (knock-knock), I am very happy with the XL4 and the Premiere I am using.


 That's encouraging to hear as you are close to where I live in Orange County as well. Give it a couple more weeks and post back if you have any tuning problems.


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## MJHoltorf (Dec 23, 2001)

moyekj said:


> That's encouraging to hear as you are close to where I live in Orange County as well. Give it a couple more weeks and post back if you have any tuning problems.


I will report back if any issues crop up. Who is your cable provider?


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## moyekj (Jan 24, 2006)

MJHoltorf said:


> I will report back if any issues crop up. Who is your cable provider?


 As you know in South OC if you want cable there is no choice (FIOS will never be available here in AT&T territory) - Cox is it.


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