# Hardware refresh likely?



## backspaces (Sep 14, 2005)

A sorta "tivo culture" question: Is it likely that tivo will slightly modify their hardware if they see issues/features they'd like to fix/add and can't do with the current hardware?

I suspect not, but thought I'd ask before I get my Roamio pro. I can likely last a few month more with my failing HD series 3 which is getting glitches (random reboots) so would do so if there is any chance of a HW mod.

Thanks!

-- Owen


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## Surrealone (Dec 8, 2006)

backspaces said:


> A sorta "tivo culture" question: Is it likely that tivo will slightly modify their hardware if they see issues/features they'd like to fix/add and can't do with the current hardware?
> 
> I suspect not, but thought I'd ask before I get my Roamio pro. I can likely last a few month more with my failing HD series 3 which is getting glitches (random reboots) so would do so if there is any chance of a HW mod.
> 
> ...


I would say we are seeing the best of the best right now.....Like all devices a refresh will be in the works but not anytime soon.


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## NJguy (Sep 11, 2013)

As with most products the hardware is generally fine when released and it's really all about getting the software right. Once you take it out of Beta people think it should work properly....and logically it should but there are always tweaks to make it better. Probably why Google never takes anything out of Beta.


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## crxssi (Apr 5, 2010)

backspaces said:


> Is it likely that tivo will slightly modify their hardware


No


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## steve614 (May 1, 2006)

I'd say it depends on when TiVo is planning to start working on the next generation of DVRs.
That probably won't be for a while.

I could see them doing a hardware refresh maybe in a couple of years IF it only involves something easy like updating the chips on the motherboard.
Something that doesn't require retooling the manufacturing process or redesigning the motherboard.

Having said that, I don't think it will actually happen.


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## anthonymoody (Apr 29, 2008)

Short of a 4K broadcast standard and hdmi 2.0 it's tough to see what they might've missed in this current generation of hardware that would require a refresh. I suppose more tuners could be added if the underlying cc/chip infrastructure becomes available. I'm more interested in the App Store, a robust selection of useful apps, and making all menus HD


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## SullyND (Dec 30, 2004)

The most likely "refresh" IMHO, and likely not soon, would be HD size. I could see 4GB Pro, 2GB Plus, 1GB Base.


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## backspaces (Sep 14, 2005)

Thanks all, that's good input .. and good news too, I can go ahead and order it!


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## crxssi (Apr 5, 2010)

anthonymoody said:


> Short of a 4K broadcast standard


OTA- I don't see that happening at all. Maybe for cable... quite frankly I think it is silly. Just a way to try an obsolete everything to sell more devices. The majority of the people out there can't tell the difference between DVD/SD and Bluray/HD. (We on this forum can, of course).


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## crxssi (Apr 5, 2010)

SullyND said:


> The most likely "refresh" IMHO, and likely not soon, would be HD size. I could see 4GB Pro, 2GB Plus, 1GB Base.


I think you mean TB (Terabyte)


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## SullyND (Dec 30, 2004)

crxssi said:


> I think you mean TB (Terabyte)


LOL Yep.

Hey, I can record 5 whole minutes on my new Roamio!


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## Philmatic (Sep 17, 2003)

The only hardware refresh that I can see coming is for the Mini. Mostly to put it in an enclosure that more closely resembles the Roamio family design, but maybe we'll see a spec bump in the CPU or MoCA.


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## ggieseke (May 30, 2008)

On my Pro (which I assume is just a Plus with a bigger hard drive) there are some cutouts in the back wall that look like 2 HDMI ports and some blank spots with chip layouts on the motherboard. I have no idea what that means for the future.


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## moyekj (Jan 24, 2006)

Currently the Stream can't handle H.264 channels and it's been that way over a year. Don't know if there is a hardware limitation there (unable to decode H.264) but if so it may mean a possible hardware refresh. Could well be TiVo doesn't see it as a big issue so haven't bothered with a software update. Will wait and see what out of home streaming software update brings, but if H.264 handling is still not addressed with that update then I'd start to suspect hardware issue.


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## innocentfreak (Aug 25, 2001)

Has the Plus/Pro been tested with H.264? I thought it was figured out that the Plus/Pro had the same chip from the Stream.


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## moyekj (Jan 24, 2006)

innocentfreak said:


> Has the Plus/Pro been tested with H.264? I thought it was figured out that the Plus/Pro had the same chip from the Stream.


 That's what I'm talking about - the integrated Stream in Plus/Pro. Yes, it has same problem as standalone Stream with H.264.


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## anthonymoody (Apr 29, 2008)

crxssi said:


> OTA- I don't see that happening at all. Maybe for cable... quite frankly I think it is silly. Just a way to try an obsolete everything to sell more devices. The majority of the people out there can't tell the difference between DVD/SD and Bluray/HD. (We on this forum can, of course).


I disagree, but different strokes. All good.


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## backspaces (Sep 14, 2005)

It occurred to me to ask about the TiVo basic .. in terms of "future proofing".

I believe the basic only lacks 1) remote finder 2) streaming 3) disk space

So possibly the streaming capability may more important than it seems. In terms of HW refresh question, it may be that the streaming functionality may be required for certain firmware updates. Does that make sense? .. i.e. getting the streaming may have future capabilities that I'd want to have? (Had a sling for a while, and was great for watching TiVo on my computer and for NFL playoffs in Italy!)

I ask because it seems to me the alternatives are:
1 - Basic + 2/3TB Disk .. around $300
2 - Plus $400, and around $500 with 2/3TB disk
3 - Pro $600, no worries!
It seems 1 & 3 are the interesting ones, 2 is less a win price wise. I'm not too cost sensitive but 300/600 seems worth considering.

Thank you for your patience!

-- Owen


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## moyekj (Jan 24, 2006)

backspaces said:


> I believe the basic only lacks 1) remote finder 2) streaming 3) disk space


 You missed at least another few items:
4) 6 tuners (vs 4 for Basic)
5) Integrated MoCA + MoCA bridge
6) 100/1000 Mbps ethernet (vs 10/100 for Basic)
7) Component + composite outputs without need for breakout cable


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## crxssi (Apr 5, 2010)

moyekj said:


> You missed at least another few items:
> 4) 6 tuners (vs 4 for Basic)
> 5) Integrated MoCA + MoCA bridge
> 6) 100/1000 Mbps ethernet (vs 10/100 for Basic)
> 7) Component + composite outputs without need for breakout cable


And

8) External power supply
9) Cheapy plastic case
10) Sub-standard size that doesn't fit well with other units
11) Cable card on bottom


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## backspaces (Sep 14, 2005)

Pro it is!

-- Owen


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## Dan203 (Apr 17, 2000)

At this point I can't think of anything TiVo could do, hardware wise, to improve on the Roamio. All the features I want now are software based. The only exception is maybe having a Roamio with built in BD player. Would be nice to have a BD player with a TiVo UI like we did on the old Pioneer S2 unit for DVDs.


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## mr_smits (Dec 17, 2009)

backspaces said:


> A sorta "tivo culture" question: Is it likely that tivo will slightly modify their hardware if they see issues/features they'd like to fix/add and can't do with the current hardware?


Any upcoming refresh will be for the Stream and / or Mini.


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## crxssi (Apr 5, 2010)

Dan203 said:


> At this point I can't think of anything TiVo could do, hardware wise, to improve on the Roamio.


Are you kidding?

Nothing can ever really be fast enough. They could have removable drive trays. Flash card slots to store settings on and load stuff. Alphanumeric front display. Built-in tuning adapter (not sure that would fly, since they are not standardized enough). Touch to sync for remotes. NFC for phone/tablet control pairing. HDMI in for PIP with other devices. Dual and simultaneous OTA and cable tuners. Additional (more than 2) USB ports.

I can think of lots of stuff without trying hard!


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## Dan203 (Apr 17, 2000)

crxssi said:


> Are you kidding?
> 
> Nothing can ever really be fast enough. They could have removable drive trays. Flash card slots to store settings on and load stuff. Alphanumeric front display. Built-in tuning adapter (not sure that would fly, since they are not standardized enough). Touch to sync for remotes. NFC for phone/tablet control pairing. HDMI in for PIP with other devices. Dual and simultaneous OTA and cable tuners. Additional (more than 2) USB ports.
> 
> I can think of lots of stuff without trying hard!


The only thing on that list I might use is simultaneous OTA. Everything else is of no interest to me.

I will never fill 3TB and if I ever do I can always add on a eSATA so no need for removable drive trays. I'd much rather have PC software to transfer settings via the network then a card slot. I had an OLED display on my S3 and it was never of any use to me. (Show names were too small to read and clock was unnecessary) I don't know what touch to sync for a remote is, but I use a Harmony so it probably wouldn't work. Phone/tablet syncing can just as easily be accomplished via wifi and I don't have to walk up to the box like I would for NFC. I have zero use for PIP. Why would I need more then 2 USB ports?


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## Dan203 (Apr 17, 2000)

What might be cool is a BD player add-on that attached to the TiVo via USB and allowed you to play BDs without needing a completely separate box. Like that HD-DVD add-on they had for the Xbox 360.


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## mr_smits (Dec 17, 2009)

Dan203 said:


> What might be cool is a BD player add-on that attached to the TiVo via USB and allowed you to play BDs without needing a completely separate box. Like that HD-DVD add-on they had for the Xbox 360.


People still use discs?


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## backspaces (Sep 14, 2005)

mr_smits said:


> People still use discs?


I do and I gotta say changing from "input" to "input" on the TV is a pain, even with the TiVo S3's input that has to go through several, one at a time. And the primitive DVD remote is, er, primitive.

I wonder if it's possible to have a HTMI in - HTMI out where I could use my TiVo to proxy my Apple TV through to the TV. Why? The ATV (and I think other devices like DVD/BD and Roku), I think, have no control over the volume.

I do love my iPhone/iPad "remote" for ATV and soon for TiVo. Soooo much nicer to search.

-- Owen


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## aaronwt (Jan 31, 2002)

crxssi said:


> And
> 
> 8) External power supply
> 9) Cheapy plastic case
> ...


I consider having an external power supply a huge plus. I wish my Roamio Pro had one.

I see no reason to have a BD player in the TiVo. BD players are inexpensive now. And all I do is press the touch screen button on my Harmony One labeled "Sony 3D BD" and all inputs needed change and my BD player powers up. When I'm done I press "Roamio Pro" and the BD player powers down and all the inputs change so I'm can view my Roamio Pro again.


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## Dan203 (Apr 17, 2000)

aaronwt said:


> I consider having an external power supply a huge plus. I wish my Roamio Pro had one.
> 
> I see no reason to have a BD player in the TiVo. BD players are inexpensive now. And all I do is press the touch screen button on my Harmony One labeled "Sony 3D BD" and all inputs needed change and my BD player powers up. When I'm done I press "Roamio Pro" and the BD player powers down and all the inputs change so I'm can view my Roamio Pro again.


I had (still have) a Pioneer S2 TiVo with built in DVD. (it can actually burn DVDs of shows, but never really used that much) The best parts about using it for DVDs were...

1) Not having to switch inputs on the TV or A/V receiver.

2) Being able to use 8 second instant replay while watching DVDs.

I too have a Harmony remote. But with a bit more consolidation I could actually get rid of it and use the TiVo remote for everything.


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## anthonymoody (Apr 29, 2008)

mr_smits said:


> People still use discs?


Unless you're talking about stolen bd rips, blu ray is the highest quality programming available* and the bigger/better your display the easier it is to see. And yes that includes Vudu HDX and Netflix superhd. There are scores of comparisons on AVS of bd, HDX, iTunes, and Netflix. They take extreme close ups at matched pauses and the differences are very noticeable.

For those interested in the highest quality, yes, we still use discs.

*I'm not counting 4K YouTube videos as there is nothing there quite yet in terms of mass media content


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## mr_smits (Dec 17, 2009)

anthonymoody said:


> Unless you're talking about stolen bd rips, blu ray is the highest quality programming available*


Amazon download of 1080p content isn't the highest quality?



anthonymoody said:


> They take extreme close ups at matched pauses and the differences are very noticeable.


Good thing I watch my shows, not pause and take extreme close ups!


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## rainwater (Sep 21, 2004)

mr_smits said:


> Amazon download of 1080p content isn't the highest quality?


No. It outputs at 1080p but it is certainly compressed way more than a Blu-ray.


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## moyekj (Jan 24, 2006)

mr_smits said:


> Amazon download of 1080p content isn't the highest quality?


 6 Mbps bit rate max for Netflix Super HD streams vs 40-50 Mbps for BD makes quite a difference.


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## Dan203 (Apr 17, 2000)

I don't really see that much difference, but I still own some BDs and need a way to play them. Plus BDs are still cheaper for getting entire seasons of TV shows not available on Netflix. You can usually buy the entire season on BD a lot cheaper then the $2.99/episode they charge on services like Amazon or VUDU.


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## HarperVision (May 14, 2007)

Dan203 said:


> I had (still have) a Pioneer S2 TiVo with built in DVD. (it can actually burn DVDs of shows, but never really used that much) The best parts about using it for DVDs were...
> 
> 1) Not having to switch inputs on the TV or A/V receiver.
> 
> ...


Yeah I had the Toshiba version with the DVD drive. It was pretty cool and I did burn a few things over to a DVD that I wanted to archive. It would be pretty cool with a bluray writer integrated.


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## Dan203 (Apr 17, 2000)

HarperVision said:


> Yeah I had the Toshiba version with the DVD drive. It was pretty cool and I did burn a few things over to a DVD that I wanted to archive. It would be pretty cool with a bluray writer integrated.


The biggest problem with a BD writer is that the encoding formats commonly used for HD broadcasts are not always compatible with the BD specification. Back in the old S2 days everything was being transcoded on the fly so they could guarantee compatibility with the DVD spec. But with these new TiVos everything recorded as-is so they'd be depending on the broadcasters to transmit BD compatible encodes, which couldn't be guaranteed.

Although I wonder if they could use the transcoder chip in the Stream hardware to transcode to a complaint format? Actually the main Broadcom chip they use in the Plus/Pro has built in H.264 transcoding, so maybe they could use that instead and leave the Stream part alone.

Alright TiVo we gave you the idea just let us know when you need some beta testers.


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## backspaces (Sep 14, 2005)

Totally agreed. My first TiVo was a Toshiba and I constantly gave friends DVDs of nifty shows .. back in the day when they weren't available on NetFlix, Amazon, etc.

I'm going to disconnect our DVD player and not tell the wife! .. and hook up a Google TV adapter!

-- Owen


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## Dan203 (Apr 17, 2000)

I'm trying to convince my wife to let me disconnect the Pioneer TiVo. She doesn't really use it for TV anymore, but she says she still uses it for DVDs. We have a PS3 for DVDs and BDs, but she says she can't figure out how to use it. I'm getting an XBox One next month that will be replacing the PS3 for BD duty. Maybe it'll be easy enough for her to use.


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## backspaces (Sep 14, 2005)

OK, as much as I *really* appreciate the chat, I gotta 'nother question:

How am I going to transfer my S3 HD shows to the Roamio?

I've seen these two threads:
Moving shows from an old TiVo to a new one? http://goo.gl/sf2eQw
Transfering shows to Roamio Pro from HD http://goo.gl/tf7FcN

But I've got around 1TB to transfer. Is it certain I can just use a cross-over cable and it "just works"? There have been pluses and minuses for each technique.

I wish I understood why TiVo doesn't have a "Migration Assistant". Sigh.


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## Dan203 (Apr 17, 2000)

Just hook both to your network. If you don't have a network then you can use a crossover cable and assign both a static IP and that should work.

The actual process of scheduling all the shows to transfer is a huge PITA. Lots, and lots, of button presses. Plus the S3 units are really slow to transfer so it's going to take a couple days for everything to finish. But once it's done, it's done, and you don't have to worry about it again for at least a few years.


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## moyekj (Jan 24, 2006)

The other more automated option is you can transfer all shows to PC then use pyTivo on demand to watch them on your Roamio.
For transfers to PC you can queue up all shows to transfer with just a few clicks (in either pyTivo or kmttg).


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## sterfry (Dec 21, 2001)

crxssi said:


> And
> 
> 8) External power supply
> 9) Cheapy plastic case
> ...


And

12) OTA tuners

If you watch over the air programming the Roamio basic is the only choice.


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## anthonymoody (Apr 29, 2008)

mr_smits said:


> Amazon download of 1080p content isn't the highest quality?
> 
> Good thing I watch my shows, not pause and take extreme close ups!


Lulz.

Trust me, on a 75" set the difference is extremely obvious and it isn't particularly close. The point of the stills and close ups is to analyze the degree of difference, which is large, and to understand the composition of the picture for insight into how delivery bandwidth, as distinct from overly simple things like "resolution" impacts picture quality.

If you're happy with your amazon downloads, wonderful. But please don't mistake what you're watching for the highest picture quality available, or assume that others need be satisfied with it.


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## aaronwt (Jan 31, 2002)

anthonymoody said:


> Lulz.
> 
> Trust me, on a 75" set the difference is extremely obvious and it isn't particularly close. The point of the stills and close ups is to analyze the degree of difference, which is large, and to understand the composition of the picture for insight into how delivery bandwidth, as distinct from overly simple things like "resolution" impacts picture quality.
> 
> If you're happy with your amazon downloads, wonderful. But please don't mistake what you're watching for the highest picture quality available, or assume that others need be satisfied with it.


The difference is also very obvious on my 46" set I use at my secondary viewing location.


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## Surrealone (Dec 8, 2006)

I love all the post but I just want my guide button back where it was.  Oh yes and built MoCa for the MiNi


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## lessd (Jan 23, 2005)

Surrealone said:


> I love all the post but I just want my guide button back where it was.  Oh yes and built MoCa for the MiNi


What model Mini do you have ??, my Mini has built in MoCA, or do you mean bridge MoCA + Ethernet ?


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## aaronwt (Jan 31, 2002)

Surrealone said:


> I love all the post but I just want my guide button back where it was.  Oh yes and built MoCa for the MiNi


I think the new location for the guide button makes more sense because it is more prominent. But since I use three Slide remotes I need consistency between all my remotes. So I don't typically use the Roamio remote because I will hit the wrong button for the guide.


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## bradleys (Oct 31, 2007)

aaronwt said:


> ...I need consistency between all my remotes.


I agree, and I do not like that my brand new Mini and my brand new Roamio have different remote layouts.

They just added the Roamio remote to the accessory store, I may get one and just use it in IR mode for my Mini.

_*FIRST WORLD ISSUES!*_


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## backspaces (Sep 14, 2005)

sterfry said:


> And
> 
> 12) OTA tuners
> 
> If you watch over the air programming the Roamio basic is the only choice.


Boy, I like the list! I have to admit that the OTA feature being missing on the Plus and Pro was a surprise. In my wilder moments, dreaming of cutting the cable, I would love to have the OTA option. I'm not clear as to why OTA wouldn't be on all devices, are you? I know it'd take a separate tuner, but..

Cutting the cable is a popular conversation now. Why, for example, isn't there a complete, internet accessable archive of all the shows covering the last month, say. Xfinity/Comcast could easily do so, or simply a new company (HuLu) that provides that service?

The internet/TV convergence is clearly a Roamio target/response.


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## socrplyr (Jul 19, 2006)

backspaces said:


> Boy, I like the list! I have to admit that the OTA feature being missing on the Plus and Pro was a surprise. In my wilder moments, dreaming of cutting the cable, I would love to have the OTA option. I'm not clear as to why OTA wouldn't be on all devices, are you? I know it'd take a separate tuner, but..
> 
> Cutting the cable is a popular conversation now. Why, for example, isn't there a complete, internet accessable archive of all the shows covering the last month, say. Xfinity/Comcast could easily do so, or simply a new company (HuLu) that provides that service?
> 
> The internet/TV convergence is clearly a Roamio target/response.


Actually it is quite clear. No one makes a 6 tuner OTA chip. Done.


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## Surrealone (Dec 8, 2006)

lessd said:


> What model Mini do you have ??, my Mini has built in MoCA, or do you mean bridge MoCA + Ethernet ?


Oop's I ment bridge + Ethernet



aaronwt said:


> I think the new location for the guide button makes more sense because it is more prominent. But since I use three Slide remotes I need consistency between all my remotes. So I don't typically use the Roamio remote because I will hit the wrong button for the guide.


I have a slide in one room a glo in another room and my roamio remote in another. I agree with it being more prominent and just plain bigger I do like it. I'm just saying can we keep it in the same place it's been for the ten years I have been using a TiVo remotes... I'm just kidding it's more a me thing then a TiVo thing. I love the direction that TiVo is going :up:


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## Surrealone (Dec 8, 2006)

bradleys said:


> I agree, and I do not like that my brand new Mini and my brand new Roamio have different remote layouts.
> 
> They just added the Roamio remote to the accessory store, I may get one and just use it in IR mode for my Mini.
> 
> _*FIRST WORLD ISSUES!*_


I need a learning remote in my other rooms and for now the glo and slide are all the work for me. So I will wait for the new learning slide remote to come I hope before the holiday shopping time..


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## ggieseke (May 30, 2008)

socrplyr said:


> Actually it is quite clear. No one makes a 6 tuner OTA chip. Done.


+1.


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## backspaces (Sep 14, 2005)

Just got my Roamio and had several annoyances:

- No HDMI cable!
When I opened the Roamio box, I was surprised that there was no HDMI cable! WTF? Why? On a $600 device, no video cable? Unbelievable.

- Tiny serial numbers, MACs etc (2 labels) on back of roamio
When I beamed into TiVo to register, it needed my serial number. I'd have thought it would be in the box! But no, it was on one of two tiny labels in the back .. which is hard to get to. Solution? Take a iPhone pix and send it to my self! Really? No serial number in the docs? Comcast's m-card receipt had one even.

- Required knowing channel info, had to switch between tivos
While setting up metadata for my locale, it asked whether XXX was on channel YYYY. I don't know about you, but one of the points of TiVo is to not NEED that sort of info. Luckily I'm doing what most of us do, have the old TiVo and the new both live. So changing the input and messing around with channel finally satisfied TiVo. Couldn't it just look at my existing TiVo account to figure this out?

- Required s/w update w/ two reboots!
This is a brand new TiVo and it still needs long, drawn out downloads and two reboots? Really?

- Registration:
It seem to take FOR EVER for the TiVo registration to complete. Why? Is it registering me with NSA? Or the Cable Mafia? 7 Hours and counting.

I love so much of the TiVo experience, especially this new version. But I'm not sure many people have the know-how to hook up a splitter to have both the old and new devices available during the setup. Or figure out what MoCA is and how to hook hardware ethernet up when the router is in the next room (luckily I'm using ethernet over power line). I'd heard folks talking about the Migration Nightmare but I had no idea it was this bad. And I haven't even started moving the media and metadata from the old to the new.

I could'a whittled you a better user experience than this! I'm not sure TiVo will survive the new kids on the block like Google's Chromecast or Raspberry PI (both around $35). Yes I know they're geeky and your basic customer can't do anything interesting with them, but a friend recently used a Raspberry PI to build a complete media system! And apparently (according to Comcast) some TVs come with cablecard slots. And no DVR needed.

Don't wanna be down on TiVo and yes I know this happens once every several years, but gawd help the technically challenged! I wonder if Best Buy will do what Apple does: bring in your computer an we'll do a Migration for you!

Thanks again for all the help!


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## innocentfreak (Aug 25, 2001)

Just a FYI, the serial number is on the box. It is on the white barcode.

Also they stopped making CableCARD TVs shortly after CableCARDs came out.


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## gigaguy (Aug 30, 2013)

I like the adjustable buffer (30, 60, or 90 min) on my Sony DHG dvr. 30 min on the Tivo seems small. If Sony could offer that 8 years ago, why not Tivo today? Longer buffer gave me more options to watch or record hour long programs or movies. also user created (and nameable) index marks is a killer feature the Sony had. not to mention the better playback features on the Sony. I still use the Sony for manual recordings, now using TiVo too, I'm even more impressed with the Sony's features and design. I expected more in these areas from TiVo.


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## DeltaOne (Sep 29, 2013)

backspaces said:


> - Tiny serial numbers, MACs etc (2 labels) on back of roamio
> - Required knowing channel info, had to switch between tivos
> - Required s/w update w/ two reboots!
> - Registration:


The serial number was on the box, as the OP mentioned. I didn't see it at first, and read the tiny label on the Roamio. Then found it on the box later. Oops.

I was put off by having to answer the channel info too. This is my first TiVo, but it still caught me by surprise.

The software update makes sense. At some point they have to freeze the OS so they can begin manufacturing the hardware. The software engineers don't stop working -- they continue to fix bugs and add new features. Apple released an update to iOS 7 just a few days after iOS 7 was released. And now they say another update will be out soon.

The long registration is hard to understand. You'd think this process would be automated -- but maybe it requires a human hand?


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## takeagabu (Oct 7, 2007)

- No HDMI cable!
Yes, this sucks

- Tiny serial numbers, MACs etc (2 labels) on back of roamio
As everyone said, it's on the box.

- Required knowing channel info, had to switch between tivos
It is just trying to narrow down what lineup you actually have. The channel is supposed to show up in the background making it really easy.

- Required s/w update w/ two reboots!
I think it has to do with the fact that it is formatting the tivo harddrive. This makes the setup process a little longer, but makes it really easy to upgrade or replace your hard drive.

- Registration:
Go to the network settings and force a connection. This always expedites things that require communicating with the tivo servers.


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## uw69 (Jan 25, 2001)

No HDMI cable is a small thing, but it is really a head scratcher. I mean even the $100 Mini comes with an HDMI cable. Fortunately most of us on the forum probably have several HDMI cables laying around.


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## aaronwt (Jan 31, 2002)

I never use any of the HDMI cables that come with these devices., I'm glad they didn't stick one in there. I have a box with dozens of HDMI cables that came with my devices. I only use HDMI cables from Monoprice.

As far as it asking you about a couple of channels during setup, how esle is it going to verify it has the right info? In my area there are several cable companies, and during that setup that when it checks a couple of channels, you know you have the right lineup that way.

As far as updates, when I get a new device I expect it to update right away. If a device does not update during the first boot, I am suspect about it because if they are doing their job right, there should be an update with all the recent changes/additions/bug fixes. I would rather the device update right away, then work with some possible issues only to update at some point later to correct them.

The Serial Number is also in the sys info screen. I don't think I've ever looked at the back of the TiVo to get the serial number. I've either looked at the box or looked at the sys info screen. But either way, have the info in small lettering on the device is the norm anyway. It is nothing unusual and a person with good eyesight has no problem reading. But I know I have problems reading the small lettering in dim light which is why I try to avoid those situations as much as possible.


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## GBTheater (May 4, 2009)

I agree with everyone else.
It's not as bad as you lay it out to be.
I do want to comment on the Rasberry pie method though. I could list off the hundreds of features that you would not have available on your raspberry pie, with the biggest being the lack of ability to record anything from the cable company, since everything is encoded/encrypted and only works with a cable card, which almost no TV has anymore.
My favorite thing about Tivo; MOCA. MOCA absolutely rocks and having the injector built into Tivo just makes things that much easier. Yes, it takes a little understanding, but I now have a very high speed network throughout my entire house without running any CAT5. 270Mbps. fantastic job that Tivo did getting this integrated into their boxes. It's a must have unless your entire house is wired for CAT5.


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## bradleys (Oct 31, 2007)

I know this is a little off topic, but discussing the small serial number on the back just gave me a little chuckle. I am closing in on 50 real quickly and as happens my near vision has started to fade a little. I can't see those little screws or read those little numbers any longer.

My wife went out and got me a pair of reading glassess with LED lights for my many little projects. I LOVE THEM!


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