# Roamio and a 4K TV



## vette1998 (Oct 22, 2006)

Im sure this has been covered but I cant find it. I just purchased an LG OLED 4k TV what do i set the TiVo box resolution at ? I currently have the HDMI running into my pioneer reciver which not a 4K AV reciever so I plan to plug the HDMI from the tivo directly into the TV and run an optical to the reciever for sound. Does this sound right ?


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## larrs (May 2, 2005)

vette1998 said:


> Im sure this has been covered but I cant find it. I just purchased an LG OLED 4k TV what do i set the TiVo box resolution at ? I currently have the HDMI running into my pioneer reciver which not a 4K AV reciever so I plan to plug the HDMI from the tivo directly into the TV and run an optical to the reciever for sound. Does this sound right ?


if you want 4K resolution on Netflix, YouTube and Amazon (later), this is the way you'll need to do it. Also make sure it is plugged into the HDMI input that handles 4K. As an FYI, it still may not work until later following an update. Right now support for 4K via HDMI is all over the board on early 4K sets, even those being sold today.


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## shupp872 (Jan 1, 2014)

The Roamio won't pass 4k at all, so it really doesn't matter how you plug it in, the max resolution will be 1080p 60 / 24 passthrough. I would set the resolution of the TiVo to 1080p and enable 1080 24 fps passthrough. You can leave it connected through your receiver.

To get 4k from a TiVo, you need to get a new TiVo Bolt unit. It has the proper HDMI revision with HDCP 2.2, as well as the hardware decoding chip to receive / decode Netflix / Amazon / Youtube 4k, and pass it through to your TV.

Unless I am completely misunderstanding your question about the Roamio and a 4k TV.


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## larrs (May 2, 2005)

shupp872 said:


> The Roamio won't pass 4k at all, so it really doesn't matter how you plug it in, the max resolution will be 1080p 60 / 24 passthrough. I would set the resolution of the TiVo to 1080p and enable 1080 24 fps passthrough. You can leave it connected through your receiver.
> 
> To get 4k from a TiVo, you need to get a new TiVo Bolt unit. It has the proper HDMI revision with HDCP 2.2, as well as the hardware decoding chip to receive / decode Netflix / Amazon / Youtube 4k, and pass it through to your TV.


Yeah, I haven't had my coffee yet. I was thinking this was a Bolt question. 1080P/24 is the best you'll get. However, I have found that setting the Tivo to only output 1080i is often the best solution especially with Netflix and Amazon. As these apps ramp up and down the resolution (based on bandwidth varying), you'll get dropouts and resynch issues which can ruin the watching experience. If you only pick the one resolution, the picture will vary but you won't notice it as much. Just $0.02.


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## Flyn (Feb 17, 2008)

Because 720 and 1080 both multiply evenly into 2160, it makes sense to me to run the Roamio with all the resolutions 720 and up, so it isn't losing anything in conversion. My non-smart 4k takes a second to synch to a different resolution, but it's really only annoying on the NFL Network, which shows 1080i commercials on 720p games.


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## larrs (May 2, 2005)

Flyn said:


> Because 720 and 1080 both multiply evenly into 2160, it makes sense to me to run the Roamio with all the resolutions 720 and up, so it isn't losing anything in conversion. My non-smart 4k takes a second to synch to a different resolution, but it's really only annoying on the NFL Network, which shows 1080i commercials on 720p games.


Not on my UHD set. You still get blanking of the screen as it moves from 720P to 1080. I'd rather not get the blank screen. And, if you are having bandwidth issues in the evening when a zillion people are all watching Netflx, you'll see it multiple times as it goes from one resolution to the other and back. At least set at one output, you won't get the blank screen as it changes. Again, just my $0.02


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## Flyn (Feb 17, 2008)

larrs said:


> Not on my UHD set. You still get blanking of the screen as it moves from 720P to 1080. I'd rather not get the blank screen. And, if you are having bandwidth issues in the evening when a zillion people are all watching Netflx, you'll see it multiple times as it goes from one resolution to the other and back. At least set at one output, you won't get the blank screen as it changes. Again, just my $0.02


The OP should mostly be using the the Netflix and Amazon apps that are built into the TV, to get their money's worth out of it while hooked up to a Roamio. For TV watching, I would stick with allowing native resolutions, rather than converting 720p into 1080i into 2160p; once I have a Bolt, I will probably lock it at 2160p. The optical out from the TV should work the way they suspect.


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## aaronwt (Jan 31, 2002)

Set the Roamio for 1080P60 output. And then you can also set it for 1080P24 pass through. To be used with the apps that support 1080P24. Otherwise everything will be scaled to 1080P60 for output.


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## vette1998 (Oct 22, 2006)

Thanks guys for the response I don't see the need to upgrade to a bolt until there is mainstream 4K content on network TV which is probably a few years down the pike.


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## BryanSD (Aug 16, 2015)

Personally, I think the output options are best determined by how well your 4K TV upscales. The only time I would pick 1080p (or 4K) only on the Tivo (or any external system) is if the box has better upscaling ability than your TV. 

If your 4K TV does a better job in upscaling 480i, 480p, 720p, 1080i than the Roamio you're better off selecting those options as well as 1080p 60. If your TV doesn't upscale well, then do as others suggest and select only 1080p 60. In either scenario the 1080p 24 pass should be selected.

In my case, I have a Sony x850C and it's a great 4k HDR TV. It will be a few years before an external device can beat Sony's 2015 4K X-Reality PRO upscaling.


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## ncted (May 13, 2007)

BryanSD said:


> Personally, I think the output options are best determined by how well your 4K TV upscales. The only time I would pick 1080p (or 4K) only on the Tivo (or any external system) is if the box has better upscaling ability than your TV.
> 
> If your 4K TV does a better job in upscaling 480i, 480p, 720p, 1080i than the Roamio you're better off selecting those options as well as 1080p 60. If your TV doesn't upscale well, then do as others suggest and select only 1080p 60. In either scenario the 1080p 24 pass should be selected.
> 
> In my case, I have a Sony x850C and it's a great 4k HDR TV. It will be a few years before an external device can beat Sony's 2015 4K X-Reality PRO upscaling.


I agree with your method. My Sony X850B takes a LONG time to switch between resolutions. Maybe your 850C doesn't, or maybe it is my AVR. The result is: when I start playing a 720P recording when I had been watching a 1080i broadcast, the time to switch is enough that I miss the beginning of the recording, and then I need to rewind. This also effects Amazon Prime streaming of 1080p/24 content since the UI is not in 1080p/24, but the stream will be.

So, I do think using the TV upscaler is better, it does have its downsides.


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