# questions for a new Edge



## dtm (Feb 21, 2015)

I currently have an old Premiere 4 (in service since April 2013), and it's feeling like about time to upgrade. I just have the single device (no recasting within the house to other viewing devices). Connected to wired ethernet. Spectrum cable service (cable card + tuning adapter).


Cable/OTA: Were I to get a cable Edge, is it possible / easy to convert from a cable Edge to an OTA Edge? I've sort of been annoyed generally with Spectrum since they morphed from Time Warner, and this question is to inform my possibilities going forward. I see a few comments about not being able to go OTA -> cable and some about going cable -> OTA, but I haven't found anything like actual instructions yet.


UI: I see some negative comments on here about the Tivo UI that comes with Edge. Are there references to what's different? I ask because it's not obvious from the Tivo site and internet searches aren't showing me what (I think) I want. Does the Edge even have a different UI than what I'm used to on the Premiere?


Cable card + tuning adapter: would an Edge still use this mechanism to connect to Spectrum? Are there options that don't use a tuning adapter, in particular? Spectrum said they have a service that doesn't require a tuning adapter, but then I think I understood them to say that such a service is incompatible with a Tivo (or maybe it was with this particular older model).


Apps: I've found the apps (Netflix, Prime, etc) sluggish on my current Tivo, which is perhaps not surprising because of its age. In particular, they seem very, very slow to start up, and the interaction with the apps feels clunky and less smooth than the usual Tivo interaction. Are these any different on an Edge? Like particularly versions, etc.

Also, regarding apps, is the way it works that all of the apps listed at Stream Movies, TV, Sports & More | TiVo Stream 4K are available? I know I don't see this full list on my current Premiere 4. I'm getting some sense from the marketing that there may be differences.


I appreciate any help/advice/clarifications!


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## tommiet (Oct 28, 2005)

I can tell you with Spectrum will need a cable card AND a tuning adapter. The "TA" is free, so even if you may not need it, ask for one. The last time I added a TiVo to my account, Spectrum sent the card and TA via UPS. Some areas want to send out a tech that no nothing about TiVo to install it. Most of us TiVo folks know more that the tech does. 

My old Roamio is nearing the end of its life and TiVo sends me offers for a new Edge monthly... Just don't sure cable cards will be around long enough to break even on the cost of the Edge and all-in service.

Right now... $450.00 is the best I've seen for the Edge and All-In service. This is $100 less than last months offer.


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## dtm (Feb 21, 2015)

tommiet said:


> I can tell you with Spectrum will need a cable card AND a tuning adapter. The "TA" is free, so even if you may not need it, ask for one. The last time I added a TiVo to my account, Spectrum sent the card and TA via UPS.


yes, i have the cable card and tuning adapter with my current tivo.

i just find the tuning adapter unreliable -- semi-frequently, the tuning adapter will space out and have to be restarted. the tivo will claim there's not one attached (even though there is, and it's passing through cable signal). the only way to fix it is to power-cycle the TA, which is annoying/disruptive when i'm in the middle of watching or recording something.

and, yes, the Edge discounts are what have me asking these questions today


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## cwoody222 (Nov 13, 1999)

dtm said:


> Cable/OTA: Were I to get a cable Edge, is it possible / easy to convert from a cable Edge to an OTA Edge? I've sort of been annoyed generally with Spectrum since they morphed from Time Warner, and this question is to inform my possibilities going forward. I see a few comments about not being able to go OTA -> cable and some about going cable -> OTA, but I haven't found anything like actual instructions yet.


No, you cannot switch a cable model into an OTA model or vice versa. They don’t contain the tuners (hardware) to do both.



dtm said:


> UI: I see some negative comments on here about the Tivo UI that comes with Edge. Are there references to what's different? I ask because it's not obvious from the Tivo site and internet searches aren't showing me what (I think) I want. Does the Edge even have a different UI than what I'm used to on the Premiere?


The Edge comes pre installed with the latest TiVo software, TiVo Experience 4, and cannot run previous versions.

Negative comments are subjective opinions.



dtm said:


> Cable card + tuning adapter: would an Edge still use this mechanism to connect to Spectrum? Are there options that don't use a tuning adapter, in particular? Spectrum said they have a service that doesn't require a tuning adapter, but then I think I understood them to say that such a service is incompatible with a Tivo (or maybe it was with this particular older model).


To use any TiVo with Spectrum (and to receive all channels), you will need a tuning adapter.



dtm said:


> Apps: I've found the apps (Netflix, Prime, etc) sluggish on my current Tivo, which is perhaps not surprising because of its age. In particular, they seem very, very slow to start up, and the interaction with the apps feels clunky and less smooth than the usual Tivo interaction. Are these any different on an Edge? Like particularly versions, etc.


The Edge has a faster processor so the apps will load faster and be snappier overall but the features of the app remain the same. The Edge still runs the same (outdated) versions.



dtm said:


> Also, regarding apps, is the way it works that all of the apps listed at Stream Movies, TV, Sports & More | TiVo Stream 4K are available? I know I don't see this full list on my current Premiere 4. I'm getting some sense from the marketing that there may be differences.


The Edge has the same set of apps as all other TiVos. You will not get any additional apps. TiVos website is highly misleading and wrong (they even still lost HBO GO which doesn’t even exist any more) when it comes to apps.

The TiVo Stream 4k is a completely separate product which zero connectivity with any other TiVo. It’s a streaming Android dongle, not a DVR. It doesn’t interact at all with other TiVo products.


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## dishrich (Jan 16, 2002)

dtm said:


> I appreciate any help/advice/clarifications


Another choice you might want to consider...buy a lifetimed basic Roamio; they are available all over, from Ebay to Weaknees for reasonable prices. If you look around this board, there are many of us that still consider the Roamio's to be the best Tivo's ever made, for several reasons:

for it's DVR functions (which IS the main reason why you have a Tivo after all) it still has a snappy interface & it most definitely IS faster than your series 4, particularly if you leave it on TE3. (I have friends that have (3) series 4 boxes on RCN & I KNOW how slow they are!) BUT, you can also choose to switch it to the new TE4; DO understand that if you have recordings, while you can switch to TE4 & not loose recordings, you CANNOT switch back w/out loosing all of them. So what you could do is try out TE4, live with it for a bit & if you really want to switch back, you at least won't have to loose too many recordings, if any - again, YOUR choice
the basic Roamio, while only having 4 tuners, CAN be used either on cablecard OR antenna (but NOT both at the same time) so you have total flexibility if you get rid of cable
the Quick Play feature on TE3 is variable between 10-90% faster, while on TE4 it's fixed at 30%
if you ever need to upgrade the HDD, the Roamio takes standard 3.5 drives & are literally plug & play to install, while all newer Tivo's use 2.5 laptop drives that are usually more expensive & don't seem to have as long of lifespan
the Roamio's run cool, while some of the newer Tivo's seem to have "heat issues" (though I've left the tops off of ALL my Tivo's, just for even better cooling)
they do not have Wi-Fi, but you already said you are hardwired internet, so no matter there
as already mentioned, the app selection is still small even on the Edge & Tivo is NOT going to adding more anytime soon; honestly, users that want all the apps & want them to perform well already use a dedicated streaming device of our choice (Roku's myself), as it's NOT a big deal to switch TV inputs
regardless of which Tivo you buy, you (unfortunately) have to deal with Tivo's guide data issues, so buying the newest unit won't fix that
I have 2 cablecard-only Roamio's & 4 base Roamio's on antennas & I bought ALL of them used/refurbed; my last four were purchased starting back in 2016 & I upgraded the HDD's in all of them (except for the Roamio Pro that came with a 3TB) to at least 2TB. They have been running like tops since then & the ONLY thing I had to "fix" was replace a power adapter on 1 that died. (I do keep all of them on UPS/surge suppressors) I was so pleased with how my first 4 ran, last year I bought another cablecard & basic Roamio as "backups", as users decided to sell them - their loss, my gain.


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## tommiet (Oct 28, 2005)

dtm said:


> yes, i have the cable card and tuning adapter with my current tivo.
> 
> i just find the tuning adapter unreliable -- semi-frequently, the tuning adapter will space out and have to be restarted. the tivo will claim there's not one attached (even though there is, and it's passing through cable signal). the only way to fix it is to power-cycle the TA, which is annoying/disruptive when i'm in the middle of watching or recording something.
> 
> and, yes, the Edge discounts are what have me asking these questions today


I've only had ONE TA replaced. That was done just about 2 months ago. Others lasted over 6 years. Guess I'll be installing another one as I ordered a new Edge. NOTE: Spectrum charges a one time fee of $19.99 for changes to my account. They are sending the cable card and TA via fed-ex. Spectrum package should be here tomorrow and my new Edge on Monday.

My area is an old Charter area, and I expect cable cards to be here for years.


I would have been fine without the TiVo, but my wife likes cable. I could drop it all... Happy wife, happy life.


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## Old Roamio 0 (Jul 19, 2020)

The Edge OTA isn’t sold anymore at the TiVo site last time I looked. Edge is the newest type TiVo, but even still a couple of years old now. Cable Edge is different than the over-the-air Edge box.
I bought an Edge OTA. I previously mostly used a Roamio from 5 or so years ago that broke. (Old TiVo could do both cable or ota during initial setup). The Edge to me is faster and was way cheaper. (It was on sale.). It is more limited though. 
Getting used to the TiVo Experience 4 takes some getting used to. The guide isn’t as useful when picking out programs or as easy to use. Luckily the local newspaper has tv listings.
Apps load faster on Edge but are very limited. (Apparently no one supports the abandoned apps anymore, so most are useless.)

I can watch a few apps on the wired TiVo that way rather than a wireless android dongle device. (So that may be why it seems faster sometimes.)


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## t-hak (Jun 29, 2008)

I too got the $49 lifetime offer with a new Edge, so I was tempted. *cwoody222, *you really had some good info in your post. Thanks!

I currently have a Roamio Pro(?) since 2013, and a TiVo Mini (not the LUX one) that I got at the same time. Would my old Mini work with a new Edge, or do I have to get a new Mini LUX as well?


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## dtm (Feb 21, 2015)

Thanks for all the thoughts and info, all!

It really sounds like it doesn't make sense for me change anything. There's no benefit for the cable setup (or the hardware required for Spectrum). There's no benefit for the apps, other than they might load slightly faster. There's no future-proofing for cable-cutting. Further, my current Premiere has a lifetime service attached, so I'd have to do something else there.

If any Tivo folks are listening, it's probably about time for you all to update your DVR offering and update the apps.

In regard to the apps, I do see where I can "Add an app" from a local computer or remote service. Are there any publicly available APIs for doing such things? Public efforts to write apps?


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## dishrich (Jan 16, 2002)

dtm said:


> If any Tivo folks are listening, it's probably about time for you all to update your DVR offering and update the apps.


As already discussed on umpteen posts...if they were listening, they would have already done this a LONG time ago! Unfortunately, even as much as some of us stick with Tivo, we ARE realistic in that it's a dying platform...NOT dead yet, but obviously on it's way out. (though I believe it's still going to be around for at least a few years, as they have too many cable co that also use it's service, to be discontinued soon) Sorry but this IS simply the reality, & either you have to be content with the "status quo" & work around it's limitations, (like use streaming sticks for streaming, etc.) or give up & move on to something else. Frankly for myself, I've invested too much in my Tivo echosystem & still enjoy the pleasure it gives me with linear TV (quick mode & commercial skip ARE the 2 biggie's for me!) vs moving all the way to streaming. Again, it's NOT a biggie to switch to a separate streaming stick & most people still with Tivo have done the same thing; it doesn't matter at this point. Actually the amount of TV time I do in the streaming world now is such a small fraction, that if I couldn't stream at all, it wouldn't be the end of the world for me...sorry, just keeping it real.

The thing I'm a *little *more concerned about, is when (NOT if) Comcast & other cable co stop cablecard support altogether. I say "little", because over 2 years ago naysayers on this board kept saying they'd be all done by now, particularly in Comcast's case of moving everything to IP-only...yet Comcast just very recently added a brand new channel (ACCN) to it's lineups, in QAM (HD & SD), which CC's CAN still view! While Comcast is moving & adding a few channels (mostly 3rd tier) to IP-only, the majority of QAM channels remains to this day.


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## ClearToLand (Jul 10, 2001)

dishrich said:


> Another choice you might want to consider...*buy a lifetimed basic Roamio*;... ...*many of us that still consider the Roamio's to be the best Tivo's ever made*,...


I agree. 



dishrich said:


> ...for several reasons:
> 
> ...
> *they do not have Wi-Fi*, but you already said you are hardwired internet, so no matter there
> ...


I disagree. 

I have 2 Roamio Basics and 6 Roamio OTAs - they all have WiFi.


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## dishrich (Jan 16, 2002)

ClearToLand said:


> I have 2 Roamio Basics and 6 Roamio OTAs - they all have WiFi.


Oops, my mistake...I think I was thinking about them not having the MOCA bridges built in


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## tommiet (Oct 28, 2005)

My Roamio only lasted about 6 months and the HDMI died and it won't pair a remote anymore.... Still runs, but I added a new Edge to the mix today. I've been using my Roamio and a mini to manage it. Works ok, just SLOW..


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