# TiVo Roamio OTA tuners



## mkwilliams1 (Dec 23, 2006)

So how many tuners does the Roamio OTA have? I thought it only had two (weak-ass) tuners, but earlier this week I caught it recording 3 channels at one time. I assume it has always had three because I don't believe in tuner fairies who bring extra turners to good TiVo customers.


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## tim1724 (Jul 3, 2007)

The Roamio OTA and the basic Roamio each have 4 tuners. (The Roamio Plus and Roamio Pro have 6.)


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## mickinct (Sep 14, 2015)

mkwilliams1 said:


> so how many tuners does the roamio ota have? I thought it only had two (weak-ass) tuners, but earlier this week i caught it recording 3 channels at one time. I assume it has always had three because i don't believe in tuner fairies who bring extra turners to good tivo customers.
> 
> Sent from my ipad using tapatalk


4


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## JoeKustra (Dec 7, 2012)

mkwilliams1 said:


> So how many tuners does the Roamio OTA have? I thought it only had two (weak-ass) tuners, but earlier this week I caught it recording 3 channels at one time. I assume it has always had three because I don't believe in tuner fairies who bring extra turners to good TiVo customers.


Four. Hit Info, then Down. You will see what the other three tuners are doing. Also: Setting & Messages, Account & System Info, TiVo box Diagnostics. Then you can_ really _see what they are doing.


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## mkwilliams1 (Dec 23, 2006)

Well, what a nice mistake I made. I do wish the receiver sensitivity was better, but four weak-assed tuners are better than two.


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## mickinct (Sep 14, 2015)

mkwilliams1 said:


> Well, what a nice mistake I made. I do wish the receiver sensitivity was better, but four weak-assed tuners are better than two.
> 
> Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk


What are you using for ant ? COATHANGER. I get channels 60 miles away!


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## mkwilliams1 (Dec 23, 2006)

I don't want to start a pissing contest with anyone over TiVo receiver sensitivity, but compared to every other device, current and past hooked to this same antenna system, the TiVo seems to barely bring in the channels where the multiple Samsung, Visio, and LG TVs, and a DirecTV Genie HR44 did so much better. This particular Roamio OTA has ****ty tuner sensitivity compared to every other DTV receiver ever attached to this Antenna, and I still receive dozens of channels on my TiVo. Of course, all my other devices receive the same channels better.


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## tampa8 (Jan 26, 2016)

Then you have a faulty receiver. Since you didn't know how many tuners a device you bought has I have to think you have something set up incorrectly. There is a channel here (Tampa) that I get with the Tivo that I do not with my Samsung TV, channel 3 and the sub channels, PBS)


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## mkwilliams1 (Dec 23, 2006)

Thanks for the info. From what I've read here, it seemed like poor receiver sensitivity is kind of a common problem among Roamio OTAs, but perhaps I read that wrong. The thing of it was, I ordered the Roamio OTA, and between the day I ordered it, and the day it arrived, TiVo released the BOLT. Damn my luck, but I didn't feel like returning it, and getting a Bolt. 


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## wbrightfl (Oct 31, 2013)

I pull in 54 channels here in Orlando with my Roamio OTA. 2 channels from Tampa come in, but they are ABC and PBS and I already have them from Orlando. In my case receiving more channels would end up being more duplicates of network channels, so for me the Roamio OTA serves its purpose well.


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## KSOC Kid (Nov 19, 2015)

wbrightfl said:


> I pull in 54 channels here in Orlando with my Roamio OTA. 2 channels from Tampa come in, but they are ABC and PBS and I already have them from Orlando. In my case receiving more channels would end up being more duplicates of network channels, so for me the Roamio OTA serves its purpose well.


I get 50 here in Longwood and that's with the RCA Yagi hanging in the attic. Only channels I can't get is WOPX 56.1 (ION) and it's subchannels. If I move the antenna to get them I lose WDSC 15.1, and I'd rather have them. Someday I may go roof top, but right now I don't feel the need. Back to OP, pretty dang happy with my Roamio OTA and it's tuners.


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## Peter G (Jan 3, 2012)

I find the OTA tuners on my Roamio basic to be about as good as the tuners on my newer Sony HD TV, and maybe not quite as good as the 4 year old Sony. They are definitely an improvement over the Premiere - I was about to give up on TiVo as a viable OTA solution until I upgraded to the Roamio.

Mostly it is up to your antenna set up and luck of geography. With a good antenna and no geographic issues you should be able to get excellent reception of HD broadcast channels.

Peter G


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## mkwilliams1 (Dec 23, 2006)

FYI, I re-peaked the antenna using the TiVo tuner, and it caused quite a change where the antenna was pointed. It is now receiving quite well. Not sure why a re-peak was required, but it is working much better now.


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## SomeRandomIdiot (Jan 7, 2016)

mkwilliams1 said:


> I don't want to start a pissing contest with anyone over TiVo receiver sensitivity, but compared to every other device, current and past hooked to this same antenna system, the TiVo seems to barely bring in the channels where the multiple Samsung, Visio, and LG TVs, and a DirecTV Genie HR44 did so much better. This particular Roamio OTA has ****ty tuner sensitivity compared to every other DTV receiver ever attached to this Antenna, and I still receive dozens of channels on my TiVo. Of course, all my other devices receive the same channels better.
> 
> Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk


Directv Genie does not have a built in OTA tuner.


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## mkwilliams1 (Dec 23, 2006)

SomeRandomIdiot said:


> Directv Genie does not have a built in OTA tuner.


The HR-44 Genie had an add on tuner. I didn't realize there were rules about built in tuners.

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## Random User 7 (Oct 20, 2014)

sounds like a pebcat issue to me


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## TeamPace (Oct 23, 2013)

Having owned or tried the past 4 generations of TiVo all via OTA. I have personally found the Roamio model to be reasonable at tuning. However I have just helped a couple of friends set up BOLTS and have had huge tuning problems. Tried it on my setup with a long range antenna mounted on a 40' tower and I could only tune 26 stations with the BOLT, but 50 with my Roamio. So my point being you may be better off with the Roamio.


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## mkwilliams1 (Dec 23, 2006)

TeamPace said:


> Having owned or tried the past 4 generations of TiVo all via OTA. I have personally found the Roamio model to be reasonable at tuning. However I have just helped a couple of friends set up BOLTS and have had huge tuning problems. Tried it on my setup with a long range antenna mounted on a 40' tower and I could only tune 26 stations with the BOLT, but 50 with my Roamio. So my point being you may be better off with the Roamio.


Thanks for the info. Based on that, along with the number of folks having problem with their BOLTS after HD drive upgrades, I'm quite happy with my Roamio OTA purchase.

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## KSOC Kid (Nov 19, 2015)

Not sure if the current storms are the cause, but I'm getting Tampa channels ABC,CBS,Fox & several others. I'm a few clicks northeast of Orlando and I had not received these before. (Antenna was up in November '15) Kinda nice watching Tampa Bay local news as I used to live in that area.


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## TiVoEvan74 (Sep 11, 2004)

What is "re-peaking the antenna using the TiVo tuner"?!

And, how would I do it?!

----------------------------------- 

As a guess, does it involve re-doing the channel set up?!


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## atmuscarella (Oct 11, 2005)

TiVoEvan74 said:


> What is "re-peaking the antenna using the TiVo tuner"?!
> 
> And, how would I do it?!
> 
> ...


I assumed it was a typo and was meant to say re-tweaking


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## Bigg (Oct 31, 2003)

mkwilliams1 said:


> The HR-44 Genie had an add on tuner. I didn't realize there were rules about built in tuners.


When I read your OP, I figured you meant to say AM21, not HR44, but still, you should be as clear as possible when posting.



mkwilliams1 said:


> Thanks for the info. Based on that, along with the number of folks having problem with their BOLTS after HD drive upgrades, I'm quite happy with my Roamio OTA purchase.


Generally, the TiVo forum agrees that the Series 3 is good with OTA, Premiere is not, Roamio is good, Bolt is not, but YMMV. The Roamio/Roamio OTA is generally agreed to be the best OTA DVR on the market today.


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## Mikeguy (Jul 28, 2005)

Bigg said:


> Generally, the TiVo forum agrees that the Series 3 is good with OTA, Premiere is not, Roamio is good, Bolt is not, but YMMV. The Roamio/Roamio OTA is generally agreed to be the best OTA DVR on the market today.


Why is the Bolt considered not to be good with OTA? I hadn't heard that before, as far as I can recall.


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## atmuscarella (Oct 11, 2005)

Mikeguy said:


> Why is the Bolt considered not to be good with OTA? I hadn't heard that before, as far as I can recall.


Price? 2.5 inch drive? With price out of the picture I consider the Bolt the best OTA DVR I have ever used.

Also there have been some people who claim the Bolts OTA tuners are not as good as those in the Roamio. My experience is the original Series 3, TiVo HD, Roamio, & Bolt OTA tuners are all close enough to call it a draw, with the Premiere clearly having inferior OTA tuners when it comes to the multi path issues I have.


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## TeamPace (Oct 23, 2013)

Mikeguy said:


> Why is the Bolt considered not to be good with OTA? I hadn't heard that before, as far as I can recall.


There are some conflicting reports on Bolt's OTA capabilities so YMMV. My personal experience with Bolt vs Roamio for OTA use is the Roamio is much less finicky with OTA signals. I've had experience in about 6 different Bolt OTA setups and have had challenges with OTA reception in every case. The most recent was just a couple of weeks ago. Friends of mine had moved (within the same television market) and so we were trying to set up their Bolt in a new location. According to antenna pointing websites (mainly tvfool, their reception should actually be slightly better in the new location (about 15.5 miles, direct line of sight from the towers). We placed the same antenna they had been using previously with the Bolt a Clearstream 2V (all of our stations are UHF) on top of an existing 30' tower at the new location and ran the same 50' of coax they had used at the other location and plugged it directly into their Bolt. They could only get a decent lock on 2 of 7 available stations even with repeated attempts to better aim the antenna. I did try attenuating the signal some to see if the signal was actually "too hot" and it only made things worse. Rather than going thru a bunch of gymnastics with different antennas and antenna locations (as we had to do at their previous home to get barely acceptable reception) I decided to bring over a spare Roamio OTA I had on hand. We disconnected the coax from the Bolt and plugged it into the Roamio OTA. All 7 stations (plus subs) came in perfectly. Signal strength improved by about 15 to 20 points on every channel and all picture breakup was eliminated. It was the most drastic case I've had in comparing the OTA capabilities of the Roamio to the Bolt. I really think it has to do with not only the signal strength but also the quality of the signal. The Bolt seems to do fine IF you have a near perfect signal that matches the tuner's characteristics. If your signals are less than ideal the Bolt doesn't seem to handle things nearly as well as the Roamio does. Admittedly the Roamio tuners aren't perfect either, but in case after case for me the Roamio has clearly outperformed the Bolt. I wish it wasn't true as I now have two Bolt units sitting unused in a closet. I'll sell them once I find a friend wanting a TiVo who is only going to use it for cable. That may take awhile as most of the people I help are cord cutters.


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