# WTH? TiVo Stream is cool, but no Airplay or HDMI supported?!?!?!



## dmk1974

I just finally bought a TiVo Stream. Set up just fine and allows me to stream shows from any of my 3 TiVo Premiere units onto my iPad and iPhone while in the house.

But apparently not all iOS devices are supported because I can't AirPlay to an Apple TV3 box. Why not? And from a search, the lightning to HDMI adapter won't work either. To me, this sucks because I have a TV in the kitchen that does not have a TiVo box connected, but has a little Apple TV mounted to the back. I'd really like to also watch TiVo shows in there via my iPad or iPhone AirPlay connected to it (or worst-case HDMI).

Seems like their software makes this a limited device that may lead me to decide to return it to Best Buy. Otherwise for the iPad/iPhone, it seems to work as advertised. Just very limited!


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## dianebrat

It's a 1-trick pony, streams to an iOS device to watch on that device, they make no allusions that it's more.

If you want it on a TV they want you to use their solutions, either a DVR or the upcoming Mini, but the Stream isn't meant to display on the big screen.


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## bradleys

dmk1974 said:


> I just finally bought a TiVo Stream. Set up just fine and allows me to stream shows from any of my 3 TiVo Premiere units onto my iPad and iPhone while in the house.
> 
> But apparently not all iOS devices are supported because I can't AirPlay to an Apple TV3 box. Why not? And from a search, the lightning to HDMI adapter won't work either. To me, this sucks because I have a TV in the kitchen that does not have a TiVo box connected, but has a little Apple TV mounted to the back. I'd really like to also watch TiVo shows in there via my iPad or iPhone AirPlay connected to it (or worst-case HDMI).
> 
> Seems like their software makes this a limited device that may lead me to decide to return it to Best Buy. Otherwise for the iPad/iPhone, it seems to work as advertised. Just very limited!


Because the content providers specifically do not want you using the stream in that way...


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## Arcady

The newest version of the HBO GO iOS app will let you use AirPlay. It seems the content providers are starting to get over it.

But TiVo wants you to buy a mini, so they probably won't turn this feature on.


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## Dan203

I'm not so sure they care that much. If the HBOGo app loosens the restrictions imposed by the content providers then I don't think TiVo will purposely keep blocking it just because they want you to buy a Mini instead. The Mini will still provide a better experience and better video quality, so it's not like they would compete directly with one another.


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## SullyND

I'd be curious the percentage of content HBOGo streams which is not HBO original (Which is the only reason I subscribe - their non-original content sucks). Beyond that, HBO has direct agreements with their content providers, and has leverage with them (Ok film studio, you don't want us streaming, we won't be featuring your product anymore).

TiVo has no such agreements, and has the potential to tick off substantially more content providers, including the networks that carry them.


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## Dan203

HBOGo allows you to stream pretty much all the same movies that are avialble to watch on their live channel. I use it to watch movies sometimes because it's more convenient then remembering to look through the guide and pre-setup a movie I want to see.


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## Austin Bike

Arcady said:


> The newest version of the HBO GO iOS app will let you use AirPlay. It seems the content providers are starting to get over it.
> 
> But TiVo wants you to buy a mini, so they probably won't turn this feature on.


But it is the content provider, in this case, HBO, who is deciding what can be done with the app. With a single app tied to a single product, it's easy to make that happen.


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## Arcady

Um,

I just said it was the content provider.


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## tbielowicz

Has anyone tried this with a Jailbroken device? Airplay or HDMI... Wondering if it will work then?


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## Fofer

tbielowicz said:


> Has anyone tried this with a Jailbroken device? Airplay or HDMI... Wondering if it will work then?


Yes.

You need two tweaks installed:

*xCon* lets you stream to the iPad/iPhone (tricking the TiVo app, which normally doesn't let you stream to a jailbroken device.)

*UnrestrictPremium* lets you use AirPlay mirroring, even though this app precludes you from AirPlay of any kind.

I've installed both and have gotten this to work with my AppleTV.


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## Fofer

Fofer said:


> Yes.
> 
> You need two tweaks installed:
> 
> *xCon* lets you stream to the iPad/iPhone (tricking the TiVo app, which normally doesn't let you stream to a jailbroken device.)
> 
> *UnrestrictPremium* lets you use AirPlay mirroring, even though this app precludes you from AirPlay of any kind.
> 
> I've installed both and have gotten this to work with my AppleTV.


Note: for this to work, I had to turn off UnrestrictPremium's toggle for "Airplay Override." Not sure why. With that toggle on, I couldn't even stream regularly to the iPad. I'd get an error, buffering, and then unable to connect. With "Airplay override" OFF, everything worked properly again. With it off, AirPlay Mirroring still works (that's the whole point of UnrestrictPremium, after all.)

This took me a bit to troubleshoot and I was getting frustrated, almost started to think my Stream went bad. Glad I figured out what was causing the problem, and was able to work around it.


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## dsnotgood

Fofer said:


> Note: for this to work, I had to turn off UnrestrictPremium's toggle for "Airplay Override." Not sure why. With that toggle on, I couldn't even stream regularly to the iPad. I'd get an error, buffering, and then unable to connect. With "Airplay override" OFF, everything worked properly again. With it off, AirPlay Mirroring still works (that's the whole point of UnrestrictPremium, after all.)
> 
> This took me a bit to troubleshoot and I was getting frustrated, almost started to think my Stream went bad. Glad I figured out what was causing the problem, and was able to work around it.


What's the quality like


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## Fofer

Pretty freakin' good, I've gotta say. Audio sync is perfect. PQ is good too. The TV I am using this with has an "automatic" scaling function so the video window fills the screen nicely. This also works with the TWC Cable (live TV) app which also typically precludes AirPlay/AirPlay Mirroring. 

If you do this you'll probably want to leave the iPad/iPhone plugged in, because it is on and playing/streaming the whole time and you don't want the battery to die down on your device. In this case the iOS device is basically acting as your "remote control" too, it just so happens to be playing the show on your iOS display as well. With Mirroring, if you turn the iPad screen off, it turns off the TV/AppleTV display off too.

The UnrestrictPremium tweak was also recently updated in Cydia. Now "Airplay Override" has 3 different toggles to try, all to achieve the same "native AirPlay" function via different means with different apps. I tried each, and each, prevented the TiVo app from streaming video AT ALL. I'll be reporting this to the developer in the hopes he can fix this.

In the meantime though, even with the current setup, it's pretty darn good and certainly usable. This setup makes me "less sad" that the upcoming TiVo Mini doesn't work with 2-tuner Premieres (as I have.) It only works with the 4-tuner ones, for now, apparently, and we hope that TiVo works out dynamic tuner allocation so it will work for older boxes too. But until then, and even if they don't, this represents a great way to simultaneously share TiVo content with another TV set. Add a TiVo Stream, an AppleTV and a jailbroken iOS device, and you're in business.


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## Austin Bike

Nice. Now find me a way to have my Apple TV browse and stream my tivo without a phone or a tablet in the middle and I will be a happy man.


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## Fofer

Amen, brother. Amen.


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## tbielowicz

This is actually good news. Thanks for the confirmation!

As long as you are OK with using an iPad or iPhone to watch TV, it can basically do what a Tivo Mini does for $100 (if you already have the phone or tablet). 

I guess the biggest issues

1) Battery drain on iDevice
2) Battery life gets reduced quicker on iDevice
3) Taking time to get the stream app connected to the iDevice then the TV (quick watching recorded or live TV can be a pain). 


Plus, my Tivo stream seems to freak out on my every two weeks or so. I have to unplug it, wait 10 minutes and I am good.


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## Dan203

tbielowicz said:


> As long as you are OK with using an iPad or iPhone to watch TV, it can basically do what a Tivo Mini does for $100 (if you already have the phone or tablet).


You also need the TiVo Stream which is $130. Even if they had an app that ran natively on the Apple TV you'd still need the Stream. So cost of entry for an Apple TV + TiVo Stream is almost the same as a TiVo Mini.


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## Fofer

The TiVo Mini also has a monthly cost (or a lifetime fee) -- and for now, and maybe forever, requires at least a 4-tuner TiVo to work.

I have a 2-tuner TiVo and will not upgrade just for the Mini. And I'm disappointed (yet again) that TiVo couldn't implement this properly.


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## SullyND

Fofer said:


> I have a 2-tuner TiVo and will not upgrade just for the Mini.


Yeah, you wouldn't downgrade from an S3 to a Premiere either. How long are you gonna hold out, six months? 



Fofer said:


> I paid top dollar for the Series 3, and it's working fine, I'm not about to downgrade just so I can use their iPad app.
> 
> TiVo, you really lost me on this one.


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## Fofer

LOL - you got me there.  How long did it take you to find that? 

But, it's worth mentioning, I got the Premiere for $40 or so on Woot. Lifetime was $199 I think. It's a better box in every way, mostly due to the iPad app (and the fact that TiVo stopped any kind of development/support on the S3.) The menu speed never quite improved to the level of the S3 and the SD menus, but at least now it's usable in HD.

I ended up profiting by selling off the S3, too.

"Upgrading" to a 4-tuner box, just so I can use the Mini, even though I only ever need 1 or 2 tuners, and never watch live TV, just isn't happening. TiVo needs to make the Mini work with dynamic tuning, on a 2-tuner box, or I'm not buying anything from TiVo again.


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## Dan203

If you only ever need 1-2 tuners then you're not recording enough. 

There are only a couple slots a week where I record more then two shows at a time. The main thing I use the 4 tuners in my Elite for is padding. I can pad everything and still never have a conflict. It's pretty nice.


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## Austin Bike

Fofer said:


> The TiVo Mini also has a monthly cost (or a lifetime fee) -- and for now, and maybe forever, requires at least a 4-tuner TiVo to work.
> 
> I have a 2-tuner TiVo and will not upgrade just for the Mini. And I'm disappointed (yet again) that TiVo couldn't implement this properly.


I would be willing to bet it has more to do with support and customer sat issues. People would buy the mini then every time they were recoding one show while watching another and another family member turned on the mini, all hell would break out.

From a support standpoint, having 4 tuners means that a mini is less likely to conflict, and that means less likely to generate support calls.

Also, there could be some "secret sauce" in the newer models that prevents it from working with the older models. And let's not forget that tivo wants to sell more units.


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## dsnotgood

Dan203 said:


> You also need the TiVo Stream which is $130. Even if they had an app that ran natively on the Apple TV you'd still need the Stream. So cost of entry for an Apple TV + TiVo Stream is almost the same as a TiVo Mini.


True but with the stream you also get the bonus of using it to watch live tv on the tablet too.


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## Gaidin43

You don't even need Apple TV to get stream to work on your tv. The new digital av to HDMI lighting cable would work just as well if you were able to set up your phone or tablet using the stream. The mini will have much better quality and most likely be faster then using the stream to Idevice to TV. 

The perk about using the stream set up is you could take videos with you, which you can't do with the mini. Another is stream is much cheaper!!!


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## Fofer

Gaidin43 said:


> You don't even need Apple TV to get stream to work on your tv. The new digital av to HDMI lighting cable would work just as well if you were able to set up your phone or tablet using the stream.


I am pretty sure the app prevents video out via HDMI (unless you're jailbroken with a tweak like UnrestrictPremium) though. Have you actually tried it?


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## Fofer

Austin Bike said:


> I would be willing to bet it has more to do with support and customer sat issues. People would buy the mini then every time they were recoding one show while watching another and another family member turned on the mini, all hell would break out.
> 
> From a support standpoint, having 4 tuners means that a mini is less likely to conflict, and that means less likely to generate support calls.
> 
> Also, there could be some "secret sauce" in the newer models that prevents it from working with the older models. And let's not forget that tivo wants to sell more units.


Lame reasons. So the mini in that instance would just present the NP list, no live TV option. Or it'd get the 2nd tuner. Regardless, the product ahouldn't be precluded like that. The Premiere and the Premiere 4 are the same except for the 4 tuners instead of the 2.


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## Arcady

Gaidin43 said:


> You don't even need Apple TV to get stream to work on your tv. The new digital av to HDMI lighting cable would work just as well if you were able to set up your phone or tablet using the stream.


The TiVo app specifically blocks output via HMDI or AirPlay. As someone above noted, you need to jailbreak the device to make HDMI work.

Also, the Lightning to HDMI adapter from Apple costs $49. $129 Stream + $49 Adapter = $178. At that point, you're only $72 away from a Mini with lifetime. And you have to leave your iOS device connected to the TV with the first option, so you don't get remote control.


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## Fofer

Well, in that case, the iOS device *is* the (tethered) remote control. Just get an A/V extension cable if you have a big living room


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## Gaidin43

Stream is about $90 on sale from TiVo.com and the AV cable from Apple on Amazon is about $41. So it comes out to a lot cheaper than buying the mini. 

The cost of the mini is way too high to make it worthwhile. And the mini is stationery while the stream with an iOS device can go anywhere in the home very quickly and easily all you would need is an HDMI cable to connect it to your tv. 

I am not saying the mini is a bad idea and in the long run might work better for certain people's situations. What I am saying is their pricing structure for the mini with a lifetime on monthly is a bit ridiculous.


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## Dan203

Quality and sound are going to be much better with a Mini though. As will the user experience. The Mini will be like using the TiVo itself. The video will be full resolution and have full 5.1 sound. And interacting with the Mini will use the same remote and same UI you're use to.

The Stream converts everything to 720p with 2ch AAC audio. The only trick play options are 8 second rewind and 30 second skip, both of which are significantly slower then the same functions on a real TiVo. Also the UI is designed to a tablet so it's not usable via a remote control.


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## Fofer

Right. All good points.

The sad thing is, I'd actually pay the $250 for the Mini... if only TiVo got their heads out of their tushes and made it work on a 2-tuner Premiere. Yeesh.


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## Dan203

That will likely come with the dynamic tuner allocation fix later this year. The way it works now you'd have to dedicate a tuner to live TV which would turn your 2 tuner box into a 1 tuner box, and TiVo doesn't see that as a viable option. Plus it acts as a carrot to get people to upgrade from a 2 tuner box to a 4 tuner box. 

I did this math for someone in another thread but if you sell your current TiVo for $300, then buy a TiVo 4 and Mini both with lifetime for $900, there is a very high likelihood that you'd be able to sell the TiVo/Mini combo for $600 (or more) 2-3 years from now and essentially the whole purchase would be a wash. And if you saved any money by being able to get rid of a cable box or outlet fee then that would be money in the bank.

TiVo devices with lifetime have a high cost of entry but they retain a large portion of their value over time, so the cost of ownership is actually pretty low.


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## Fofer

Sure but that's a hassle and I'd lose my archive of recorded shows (on my internal 2TB drive.
(I also have no interest in manually transferring recordings. Maybe if TiVo could handle it automatically... buy it can't.)


So not worth it, and it'd feel like rewarding TiVo for crap choices and crap programming.


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## Fofer

Dan203 said:


> That will likely come with the dynamic tuner allocation fix later this year.


My optimism had faded with this company and their careful wording on this front makes me think it's quite unlikely. One would think their marketing materials would have an asterisk saying "support coming soon."


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## Dan203

The only reason I think they will allow it eventually is because it makes the Mini easier to market and support. Although they could use it as a carrot to get people to upgrade to 4 tuner units.


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## Gaidin43

Think they will ever allow iOS streaming through AirPlay though? Or even better while away from the home?


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## Dan203

Maybe. I think the main reason they block AirPlay is because of restrictions imposed on them by the copyright holders. With the recent addition of AirPlay to HBOGo it could be a sign of those restrictions loosening. And they specifically said that while streaming outside the home is not currently on their agenda for the Stream it wasn't designed out of the product, so it's possible.

Although I wouldn't buy one assuming either feature will be added, because neither one is a guarantee.


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## tbielowicz

So I got the Apple TV yesterday. Overall it is a good short term solution but not as easy as just turning on your TV. Plus you can't use your iDevice for anything else during that time. 

The PQ is acceptable, but not great. Any suggestions on resolution, screen fit, etc, to make better. Also I noticed some choppiness of the video. Not smooth but acceptable. 

Thanks again. In the end I may just have a hybrid of both Apple TV for lower use TVs and TiVo Mini for higher use TVs.


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## Bigg

What's the issue with content providers? Why would it be any different than streaming to the iPad in the first place or streaming to a TiVo Mini? Of course the idiocy and hypocrisy of the whole thing is that recaptured component off of a cable box or Premiere is so much higher quality than what gets to the iPad anyways.


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## Dan203

They have some weird thing where they don't like to offer alternative ways to view stuff on an actual TV. They seem to be OK with portable devices and PCs though. This is the same reason why some of the stuff available via Hulu.com is not available via Hulu+, even though Hulu.com is free and Hulu+ is $10/mo. 

It's a stupid arcane system that will eventually die off someday.


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## Gaidin43

I understand and agree with the media providers (cable company's, production studios, etc) need and should be paid for their product, but limiting how it is consumed is crazy. Big companies care more about subsides from as revenue and controlling how people view their products then direct payments from consumers buying the product. This needs to change from the old school mindset of "this needs to be done only my way" to "let them do it however they want as long as we are paid for it". If they follow this method piracy would go down ( I doubt it will ever completely go away) but they also need to set reasonable prices $5.99 for a digital rental is nuts when you can buy it for $14.99 digitally, or better yet $7.99 when the actual disc goes on sale at Wally World 

The entire system needs to look at its future and adapt and change or home media systems like HTPCs are going to completely hammer their profit margins more then they already are.


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## Fofer

I feel like I need to make either a "Hitler reacts to TiVo Stream not supporting HDMI/AirPlay/Remote streaming" video, or a "Hitler reacts to TiVo Mini having a subscription fee and only working on 4-tuner Premieres" video.


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## Bigg

Dan203 said:


> They have some weird thing where they don't like to offer alternative ways to view stuff on an actual TV. They seem to be OK with portable devices and PCs though. This is the same reason why some of the stuff available via Hulu.com is not available via Hulu+, even though Hulu.com is free and Hulu+ is $10/mo.
> 
> It's a stupid arcane system that will eventually die off someday.


That makes no sense. I mean what's the technical difference between a 23" 1080p HDCP enabled display and a 60" 1080p HDCP enabled display?


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## Fofer

It's also why Mac OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion's AirPlay Mirroring to an AppleTV is a silver bullet. Anything I can stream on my laptop I can wirelessly send to my bigscreen TV, with perfect A/V sync. Take that, Hulu!


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## Dan203

Bigg said:


> That makes no sense. I mean what's the technical difference between a 23" 1080p HDCP enabled display and a 60" 1080p HDCP enabled display?


I don't know, you'd have to ask them. I think it's more about the number of users though, then the screen size. With it only working on a PC they can keep the number of users low and it will not interrupt their primary business model. However if they make it more accessible then the number of users accessing it via the web, rather then the traditional way, would upset the balance and it could effect the prices that they can charge for traditional advertising.

At this point the broadcast industry is struggling to hold on to a dying business model while keeping the internet side alive just in case the traditional model collapses.


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## Bigg

Dan203 said:


> I don't know, you'd have to ask them. I think it's more about the number of users though, then the screen size. With it only working on a PC they can keep the number of users low and it will not interrupt their primary business model. However if they make it more accessible then the number of users accessing it via the web, rather then the traditional way, would upset the balance and it could effect the prices that they can charge for traditional advertising.
> 
> At this point the broadcast industry is struggling to hold on to a dying business model while keeping the internet side alive just in case the traditional model collapses.


Yeah, they are experimenting in all sorts of things, but they seem to manage to mess them up at every step, and all the different digital platforms out there are a mess. That, and certain shows, like Big Bang theory, of all shows, aren't available anywhere online, except for the last few episodes from their own website. It's very backwards that they are limiting to the PC platform, as apparently they think that no one will ever get an HDMI cable and plug their PC into the TV.


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## Fofer

...our use wireless AirPlay fullscreen mirroring, which I love so so so so much, for finally making that ridiculousness a non-issue!!!


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## dianebrat

Bigg said:


> It's very backwards that they are limiting to the PC platform, as apparently they think that no one will ever get an HDMI cable and plug their PC into the TV.


Except that's exactly the logic, we'll let you view on a portable device, but not something that outputs to a TV, and that makes perfect sense to me when I put myself in "broadcast weasel mode" they are terrified of portable devices that can output to a big screen and yes, they're not smart enough to realize that a PC can do it.

It's one of the reasons so many won't let you output via an idevice.


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## Bigg

dianebrat said:


> Except that's exactly the logic, we'll let you view on a portable device, but not something that outputs to a TV, and that makes perfect sense to me when I put myself in "broadcast weasel mode" they are terrified of portable devices that can output to a big screen and yes, they're not smart enough to realize that a PC can do it.
> 
> It's one of the reasons so many won't let you output via an idevice.


lol


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## drkside

Apple TV is tough to beat


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## dmk1974

drkside said:


> Apple TV is tough to beat


I agree. I love my little Apple TV as well. If that damn TiVo Stream would only support AirPlay (from my iOS devices OR my MacBook) it would be worth so much more.


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## Austin Bike

I was an apple tv advocate but I have to say that Roku is looking much better (have not made the jump). If apple would let me run iOS apps on the apple tv, I would put one on every TV in the house.


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## Fofer

dmk1974 said:


> I agree. I love my little Apple TV as well. If that damn TiVo Stream would only support AirPlay (from my iOS devices OR my MacBook) it would be worth so much more.


It would make no sense for the TiVo Stream to be an AirPlay receiver. It's not even hooked up to a TV. Do you mean TiVo Mini?


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## Bigg

Fofer said:


> It would make no sense for the TiVo Stream to be an AirPlay receiver. It's not even hooked up to a TV. Do you mean TiVo Mini?


No. Stream >>> iPad >>> Airplay to Apple TV.


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## Fofer

Ah. I use a jailbreak tweak called UnrestrictPremium that lets me AirPlay the Stream from my iPad to my AppleTV. 

Considering that the TiVo Mini doesn't stream to a MacBook at all, the notion of AirPlaying from that... seemed to come out of left field.


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## Austin Bike

What I want is> tivo> stream> apple TV

With stream I can watch content on my tivo on an ipad, I'd just like to do that without an ipad in the middle.


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## Fofer

As mentioned, I can already do that.

Now I want to be able to stream to my iPad when I'm not at home, but on someone else's WiFi. My home's upstream is fast enough.


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## Bigg

Fofer said:


> As mentioned, I can already do that.
> 
> Now I want to be able to stream to my iPad when I'm not at home, but on someone else's WiFi. My home's upstream is fast enough.


That's a whole different ballgame, as you have to get into dynamic bitrates like a Slingbox. Sling has the best technology for that, just get one of those with a Mini.


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## Fofer

Bigg said:


> That's a whole different ballgame, as you have to get into dynamic bitrates like a Slingbox. Sling has the best technology for that, just get one of those with a Mini.


Uh yeah, not, no way I'm going to spend all that -- especially given the Mini's subscription fee, and the fact that it won't work (yet?!?!?) on a 2-tuner TiVo. It also strikes me as an extraordinarily _inelegant_ solution.

My upstream and downstream will typically be fast enough to handle direct streaming from the TiVo Stream. Barring that, I'll just figure out another way to "acquire" the few shows I'm interested in watching.


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## Bigg

Fofer said:


> Uh yeah, not, no way I'm going to spend all that -- especially given the Mini's subscription fee, and the fact that it won't work (yet?!?!?) on a 2-tuner TiVo. It also strikes me as an extraordinarily _inelegant_ solution.
> 
> My upstream and downstream will typically be fast enough to handle direct streaming from the TiVo Stream. Barring that, I'll just figure out another way to "acquire" the few shows I'm interested in watching.


It's what you need to do to get something that works reliably over a WAN... you sort of start all over again by decompressing and recompressing.

It might have enough throughput, but it's probably not consistent enough... this is where the Slingbox really comes into handy. If you have a Premiere that can be "stolen" for Slingbox when you want to Sling, it works that way too.

In reality, yes, it is a lot easier to torrent the shows if you want to watch them on any computer, even in your house.


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## Fofer

Bigg said:


> It might have enough throughput, but it's probably not consistent enough... this is where the Slingbox really comes into handy.


The expressed disappointment is that the Mini can't do what the Slingbox (and by extension, Dish's Hopper) can do. Once again, TiVo takes too long and delivers a disappointment, that's all.



Bigg said:


> In reality, yes, it is a lot easier to torrent the shows if you want to watch them on any computer, even in your house.


Nah, in my house I'd use an iPad (as I have a TiVo Stream) or if I wanted to watch them on my Mac, I'd use iTiVo and VLC, that combo plays the native file as it downloads, and works quite well.

More realistically, considering I'm in my own house, I'd just be watching on a real TV


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## Bigg

Fofer said:


> More realistically, considering I'm in my own house, I'd just be watching on a real TV


Yeah. I'd go for the real TV if I'm actually watching it. Sometimes I use torrented shows if I'm folding laundry or something...


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## mr_smits

Fofer said:


> The expressed disappointment is that the Mini can't do what the Slingbox (and by extension, Dish's Hopper) can do. Once again, TiVo takes too long and delivers a disappointment, that's all.


Agreed. The Stream is like 1/2 as useful as a Slingbox. Dish is leading the pack here.


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## BrooklynBlueEyes

Very interesting thread! Thanks for pointing out all of the gotcha's with the TiVo Stream. I thought I was sold, but now I'm not so sure.


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## igirl

WOW! I came to the forum thinking I would be able to connect my iPad2 physically with a Dock to HDMI Adapter since the Stream is being blocked over AirPlay, and wanted to check on that - *NOT*.

I'll assume then, even the Dock to VGA won't work either - anyone tried it?

My alternate solution - a Mini - just got eliminated - I had no idea they were going to try to *extort subscription fees* for such a simple add on box to my P4. *NO SALE*

Time to go hack the iPad - or go buy a second one cheap, and hack it just for this purpose.

If EyeTV had a CableCard tuner for OSX I would go that route - but they are being cut off by a political blockade from CableLabs.

I have a WDTV Live as well and could just auto-convert/export Tivo recordings to the network for that - but it's the live TV with cablecard tuner that I was hoping for. :-( I wanted to use this in a room that doesn't have cable or LAN - and occasionally on an outdoor patio TV.


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## dsnotgood

igirl said:


> WOW! I came to the forum thinking I would be able to connect my iPad2 physically with a Dock to HDMI Adapter since the Stream is being blocked over AirPlay, and wanted to check on that - *NOT*.
> 
> I'll assume then, even the Dock to VGA won't work either - anyone tried it?
> 
> My alternate solution - a Mini - just got eliminated - I had no idea they were going to try to *extort subscription fees* for such a simple add on box to my P4. *NO SALE*
> 
> Time to go hack the iPad - or go buy a second one cheap, and hack it just for this purpose.
> 
> If EyeTV had a CableCard tuner for OSX I would go that route - but they are being cut off by a political blockade from CableLabs.
> 
> I have a WDTV Live as well and could just auto-convert/export Tivo recordings to the network for that - but it's the live TV with cablecard tuner that I was hoping for. :-( I wanted to use this in a room that doesn't have cable or LAN - and occasionally on an outdoor patio TV.


You can get the mini with lifetime service for $250 total. A LOT more cheaper than getting an ipad and a Apple TV. Don't know what your objection is to that since your other options are more expensive and a lot more work.


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## igirl

dsnotgood said:


> You can get the mini with lifetime service for $250 total. A LOT more cheaper than getting an ipad and a Apple TV. Don't know what your objection is to that since your other options are more expensive and a lot more work.


_I already own an iPad_ and believe the hack is free - but if I wanted a second one, they start at $179 on Cowboom. And a knock-off dock to HDMI cable online is not a lot. If I didn't want to buy a second Apple TV and use AirPlay - _since I also already own one of those as well_ - refurbs are $85 through the Apple store.

It's a choice between a fully redundant iPad+ Apple TV purchase ~ $265 - and the vast amount of extra functionality that would provide -
_versus_
A $250 Tivo Mini that can't do anything other than Tivo Mini.

Personally I would go for the extra goodies - if I didn't already own both.


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## mattack

igirl said:


> WOW! I came to the forum thinking I would be able to connect my iPad2 physically with a Dock to HDMI Adapter since the Stream is being blocked over AirPlay, and wanted to check on that - *NOT*.
> 
> I'll assume then, even the Dock to VGA won't work either - anyone tried it?
> 
> My alternate solution - a Mini - just got eliminated - I had no idea they were going to try to *extort subscription fees* for such a simple add on box to my P4. *NO SALE*


The Tivo *STREAM*, which this thread is for, has no subscription fees.


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## igirl

mattack said:


> The Tivo *STREAM*, which this thread is for, has no subscription fees.


Actually - the thread title says - _"Stream is cool, but no Airplay or HDMI supported"_

These *limitations of the Stream * (which this thread is for), call for alternate solutions to be discussed.

The Mini (and it's cost) was just one of many possible alternatives put forth in this thread.

Jailbreaking and mirroring directly via a physical cable, seems the shortest and least expensive work around... and yes, no subscription fees.


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## siratfus

Fofer said:


> Pretty freakin' good, I've gotta say. Audio sync is perfect. PQ is good too. The TV I am using this with has an "automatic" scaling function so the video window fills the screen nicely. This also works with the TWC Cable (live TV) app which also typically precludes AirPlay/AirPlay Mirroring.
> 
> If you do this you'll probably want to leave the iPad/iPhone plugged in, because it is on and playing/streaming the whole time and you don't want the battery to die down on your device. In this case the iOS device is basically acting as your "remote control" too, it just so happens to be playing the show on your iOS display as well. With Mirroring, if you turn the iPad screen off, it turns off the TV/AppleTV display off too.
> 
> The UnrestrictPremium tweak was also recently updated in Cydia. Now "Airplay Override" has 3 different toggles to try, all to achieve the same "native AirPlay" function via different means with different apps. I tried each, and each, prevented the TiVo app from streaming video AT ALL. I'll be reporting this to the developer in the hopes he can fix this.
> 
> In the meantime though, even with the current setup, it's pretty darn good and certainly usable. This setup makes me "less sad" that the upcoming TiVo Mini doesn't work with 2-tuner Premieres (as I have.) It only works with the 4-tuner ones, for now, apparently, and we hope that TiVo works out dynamic tuner allocation so it will work for older boxes too. But until then, and even if they don't, this represents a great way to simultaneously share TiVo content with another TV set. Add a TiVo Stream, an AppleTV and a jailbroken iOS device, and you're in business.


Does this work with the new Ipad Air?


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## Fofer

siratfus said:


> Does this work with the new Ipad Air?


The jailbreak for iOS 7 (which the iPad Air ships with) _just came out this morning. _

And the tweaks (xCon and UnrestrictPremium) required for this probably need to be updated now, for iOS 7.

I doubt anyone's tested this yet on an iPad Air. So ask again a week or two...


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## siratfus

Fofer said:


> The jailbreak for iOS 7 (which the iPad Air ships with) _just came out this morning. _
> 
> And the tweaks (xCon and UnrestrictPremium) required for this probably need to be updated now, for iOS 7.
> 
> I doubt anyone's tested this yet on an iPad Air. So ask again a week or two...


Any updates on the hack for Ipad Air?


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## Dan203

In the jail break thread someone posted saying the newest beta of xCon works with the TiVo app now.


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## siratfus

Dan203 said:


> In the jail break thread someone posted saying the newest beta of xCon works with the TiVo app now.


Dan, did a search but can't seem to find it. Can you provide link to thread?


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## Fofer

This thread is discussing it.

http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?p=9969886#post9969886

Download here: https://github.com/n00neimp0rtant/xCon-Issues

Apparently the latest v39 beta is not working yet for the newest arm64 (iPhone 5S, iPad Air) devices.

Although I've seen some mention that the older (v37) build *was* working for them...?


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## spider122

I'm interested in purchasing a Tivo because my FIOS dvr box with a hard drive exension is extremely slow to respond and has issues where you delete recordings and they still appear in the list (among some other issues as well).

One thing I do now with a slingbox is that I use my ipad at my vacation condo to access my dvr at home and then use airplay with my apple tv so I can watch those recordings (or live tv) on my tv at the condo.

I was hoping I could just get a Tivo and do the same, but since airplay doesn't work, it sounds like that's not possible.

So now my thought is that I'll still need to use the Slingbox with a tivo to watch on my tv. Could I use the Tivo app on another device to control my tv at home? That is, would the tivo app work outside of my home network to display a show? That way, the interface would be better in that I could access the menus on my device and then just play the video which the Slingbox will show, but I'd need to make sure the Tivo app would control my tv at home when it is not on the same network. Using only the slingbox, I need to view all the menus on screen which takes time to respond.

Or if anyone has another suggestion on how to watch tivo on a remote tv that's better, I'd be welcome to hear it.

Thanks.


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## Dan203

No. When the TiVo app is in away from home mode the "Watch on TV" option is grayed out, as it the remote control. 

What kind of speeds do you have at the condo? Some people have been able to create a VPN link between two places and then use a Mini in the second location to watch their TiVos. But the Mini is streaming the original recording at full resolution so you'd need like 15MBps for that to work.


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## jimmypowder

Why no airplay? Tivo is just a plain timid company from my observations over the years.

I think before they add a feature that enters a grey air of legality ,their lawyers must write up a 1,000 page synopsis on areas they could get sued.


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## Fofer

^ agreed

The whole "you can't even STREAM shows outside of your home network if they have the COPY ONCE flag set" is another telltale sign of that timidity. And it sucks.


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## Bigg

You can still just use the Slingbox... they have by far the most resilient compression, and you can get anything through the analog hole. There is even support for some streaming boxes.


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## Fofer

Yeah but the whole "virtual on-screen remote" thing, and the IR-blaster-induced lag, kinda sucks when the TiVo app could do the job so so so so much better.


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## Bigg

Fofer said:


> Yeah but the whole "virtual on-screen remote" thing, and the IR-blaster-induced lag, kinda sucks when the TiVo app could do the job so so so so much better.


But the TiVo system is much more sensitive to bandwidth variations... so Slingbox is far more reliable. The remote lag is a good point though... Slingbox should really implement IP control of the TiVos. It would be rather simple to do with a big of software. Heck, for that matter, you could VPN your phone into your home network, and use that as a remote, while you just watch through the Slingbox.


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