# Roamio or Super Cheap Premiere 4/Stream Bundle?



## 1985BearsFan (Sep 15, 2013)

Hi, All. I'm new to the forum here but have been using TiVos for more than 3 1/2 years. For those of you who have used both the Premiere and the new Roamio, I would appreciate your opinion regarding whether I should upgrade one of my TiVo HDs to either a Premiere 4, Premiere XL4, or Roamio Plus. I can purchase a new Premiere 4 with a Stream for only $150, or I can purchase a refurbished Premiere XL4 with a Stream for only $250. Of course, the Roamio Plus is $400 so I'm looking at a pretty significant price difference.

Here is some more information about my current set-up and needs (I apologize in advance for the length of the following narrative):

I currently have three TiVos. Two are TiVo HDs that have been active since January 2010, if not longer (my account at TiVo shows January 2010 activation dates, but I am pretty sure I have had them longer than that). I also have a 320GB Premiere (two tuners) that was activated in August 2011. Each of the three TiVos has a Western Digital external hard drive connected to it. I can't remember the capacities of the external drives, but I think two of them are 1TB drives, and one is a 500GB drive (I'm nearly certain that none of them is larger than 1TB). Each of the three TiVos has a multicast cable card and a tuner adapter; none is connected via OTA. I have a lifetime subscription for each TiVo, and each TiVo is connected to my home internet via ethernet cabling.

Currently, the Premiere is in our family room, one HD unit is in the masterbedroom, and the second HD unit is in our home office. The HD unit in the home office rarely is used. If anything, we will record things on the home office HD unit and then transfer the recording to one of the other TiVOs (if they programs can be transferred--see below).

I have had somewhat of a love-hate situation with the two HDs units. At least one of them (and possibly both) has been replaced under warranty. The HD unit in the home office has been making a *very *loud noise on and off for the past few months. Based on what I've read elsewhere in this forum, I suspect it is a fan issue. My Premiere, on the other hand, has run like a charm over the past two years, and I am very pleased with it (though lately it appears to take a few seconds to load some of the screens).

We record a lot of shows from channels that do not allow transfers between TiVos (e.g., HBO, Showtime, TBS, History, etc.). This has been my major source of frustration with all of the TiVos. I believe (but would appreciate confirmation) that the new streamining ability of the Premiere and Roamio units will allow streamining of all content, including content from pay stations (e.g., Showtime, HBO, etc.) and stations that generally don't allow transfers from one TiVo to another (e.g., TBS, History, etc.). With this belief in mind, I had planned on upgrading to a Premiere until the Roamio was released last month. Now, I'm not sure what to do.

Currently, I can purchase a new Premiere 4 with a TiVo Stream for only $150, which is only $20 more than the cost of a Stream itself. My only concern is that I know the 500GB internal drive won't be large enough for us, and I still have a bunch of shows on all the other external drives. I also could purchase a refurbished Premiere XL 4 with a TiVo Stream for only $250. That offer is particularly attractive because the 2TB drive of the XL unit would fit our needs well. The refurb unit comes with a 90 day labor, 1 year parts warranty, and I would likely pay for the three year extend warranty as I did with all my other TiVos. Of course, my third choice is to spend the $400 and buy the Roamio Plus and later, if needed, either replace the internal drive or add an external drive.

What do you all think? Is the Roamio Plus worth $150 more than a Premiere XL 4 that comes with a Stream? Is there any reason I should consider purchasing the $150 Premiere 4/Stream combo instead of either the XL or the Roamio Plus?

Thanks in advance for your thoughts.


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## waterchange (Jun 29, 2010)

I would by the Roamio Plus myself only because it would be worth the extra $150 to have the latest hardware with all that comes with it (software support & updates until next gen box is released many years from now, faster interface, etc.).


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## aristoBrat (Dec 30, 2002)

I agree with waterchange's thoughts, ... the Premieres are likely near end-of-life in terms of any new functionality being added to them, whereas the Roamio's are just starting.

FWIW, I upgraded my living room TiVo from a Premiere to a Premier 4 XL, and the folks in the house about killed me. You know how slow a regular Premiere can be to load a screen/menu? My Premiere 4 XL _was even_ slower than that. It was neat to have the four tuners, but when the Roamio came out and the reviews talked about how much faster it was, I didn't hesitate in the slightest replacing it, even though I'll end up eating a few hundred dollars.

After that experience, I'm hesitant to recommend a Premiere XL 4.


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## cmshep222 (Feb 18, 2005)

Ditto Ditto. Go w/ Roamio!


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## 1985BearsFan (Sep 15, 2013)

Thanks for all the replies so far. 

Does the streaming ability of the Roamio allow you to stream content from HBO, Showtime, etc., from the Roamio to a Premiere?


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## ShoutingMan (Jan 6, 2008)

I had two TivoHD's. I've watched and read about the premieres for four(?) years now. I skipped it. I bought a Roamio Plus release weekend. I had no interest in the Premiere and wouldn't take it for free.


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## innocentfreak (Aug 25, 2001)

1985BearsFan said:


> Thanks for all the replies so far.
> 
> Does the streaming ability of the Roamio allow you to stream content from HBO, Showtime, etc., from the Roamio to a Premiere?


Yes.


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## Devx (Jun 1, 2006)

1985BearsFan said:


> Thanks for all the replies so far.
> 
> Does the streaming ability of the Roamio allow you to stream content from HBO, Showtime, etc., from the Roamio to a Premiere?


The Roamio and Premiere can stream to each other. The Tivo Stream built-in to the Plus allows streaming to any current iOS devices from either the Roamio or Premiere. The Tivo HD's don't support streaming to the Premiere, Roamio, or any iOS devices.


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## 1985BearsFan (Sep 15, 2013)

ShoutingMan said:


> I had two TivoHD's. I've watched and read about the premieres for four(?) years now. I skipped it. I bought a Roamio Plus release weekend. I had no interest in the Premiere and wouldn't take it for free.


Why didn't you have any interest in the Premiere? Because I have much preferred my Premiere to my HDs, I'm curious as to what turned you off on the Premiere.


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## 1985BearsFan (Sep 15, 2013)

innocentfreak said:


> Yes.





Devx said:


> The Roamio and Premiere can stream to each other. The Tivo Stream built-in to the Plus allows streaming to any current iOS devices from either the Roamio or Premiere. The Tivo HD's don't support streaming to the Premiere, Roamio, or any iOS devices.


Thanks. Because I find things often are recorded in the "wrong" room, I have been frustrated with the inability of the HD and Premiere to transfer copy-protected content from one unit to the other. It sounds as though if I replace one of the HDs with a Roamio (or Premiere with a separate Stream box), I at least will be able to using streaming to watch a copy-protected shown recorded in one room on a television in a different room.


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## Devx (Jun 1, 2006)

1985BearsFan said:


> Thanks. Because I find things often are recorded in the "wrong" room, I have been frustrated with the inability of the HD and Premiere to transfer copy-protected content from one unit to the other. It sounds as though if I replace one of the HDs with a Roamio (or Premiere with a separate Stream box), I at least will be able to using streaming to watch a copy-protected shown recorded in one room on a television in a different room.


Yes. To be clear, the type of streaming you are referring to between Tivo's, Multi-Room Streaming, doesn't require a separate Tivo Stream or Roamio Plus/Pro. MRS is a feature available on all Premieres and Roamios, even the Roamio Basic. The Stream allows streaming/downloading to iOS devices (and Android, soon, maybe ).


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## ShoutingMan (Jan 6, 2008)

1985BearsFan said:


> Why didn't you have any interest in the Premiere? Because I have much preferred my Premiere to my HDs, I'm curious as to what turned you off on the Premiere.


Reviews at the start were poor, particularly of the device being too slow, and a marginally implemented HD UI. More recently, it still came across as a bit sluggish and unimpressive. And at 6 tuners and no dynamic pooling with the mini, it's at the edge of what I need. (Supposed to get updated, but wasn't last I looked)

The Roamio is what I want from tivo. I'd rather pay for something great than get free something that I don't really want.


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## markp99 (Mar 21, 2002)

A few programs I attempted to transfer OFF my Premier carried the protection flag and could not be moved. They were not from a premium channel. 

I left them behind and moved on.


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## aristoBrat (Dec 30, 2002)

1985BearsFan said:


> It sounds as though if I replace one of the HDs with a Roamio (or Premiere with a separate Stream box), I at least will be able to using streaming to watch a copy-protected shown recorded in one room on a television in a different room.


If you replace the Premiere in your Family Room with a Roamio, you could then use the now-free Premiere to replace one of your HDs. From that Premiere, you should be able to watch any TV that the Roamio records.

Personally, I went the route of selling all of my Premieres and HDs, replacing them with Minis + Lifetime ($250). The Minis can watch any TV that the Roamio records + Live TV, and don't require renting a cable card or using a tuning adapter. Much smaller box (that's 100% silent) and uses less electricity. The user interface on the Mini was much faster than the Premieres/HDs, although changing channels on Live TV takes a few seconds longer, because the Live TV is coming from the Roamio.


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## JasonD (Mar 30, 2003)

I've had the Premieres and now I have the Roamio. Definately the roamio has me excited again, like the first time I used Tivo. My first Tivo was a Sony SVR-3000. Definately go with the Roamio, you won't be disapointed. And when they implement remote viewing anywhere, you have something that no other DVR can match.


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## 1985BearsFan (Sep 15, 2013)

I know I'm a bit tardy in my reply, but I want to thank all of you who took the time to respond. Based on the unanimous advice, I exercised self-restraint and did not buy the Premiere 4 plus Stream bundle during the two times it was offered on Woot! for that ridiculously low price (Woot! even lowered the price of the Premiere 4+Stream bundle to $99.99 and the price of the Premiere XL + Stream to $199.99 but I still resisted).

A couple of days ago, my existing Premiere got caught in a boot loop. It would go from the "Welcome!" screen to the "Almost there" screen and then go back to "Welcome!" After contacting TiVo customer support and doing some troubleshooting, I was told the TiVo would need to be replaced. Luckily, I had still had time left on my extended warranty so I won't have to pay any money out of pocket.

Also a couple of days ago (coincidence?), I received an e-mail from TiVo offering $100 off a Roamio Pro and $50 off the Roamio Plus (those prices are assuming lifetime service is urchased). After talking to two customer support reps and one sales agent, I decided to pull the trigger and purchase a Roamio Pro. I figure I'll attach the Roamio to our family room TiVo (to which the Premiere was previously attached) and then attach the replacement Premiere to my master bedroom TV. I'm not sure what I'll do with my two HD units, maybe try to sell them (they both have lifetime service). 

Historically, I have always bought the 3 year extended warranty for each TiVo. When one of my HDs failed, I even bought the 3 year extended warranty for the replacement. Given the high cost of the Roamio Pro ($899 with lifetime service) and my poor track records (have now had two or three TiVos fail in less than four years), I went ahead and purchased the 3 year extended warranty for the Roamio. However, I'm wondering whether I should pass on buying the extended warranty on the replacement Premiere. My thought is that a TiVo Mini is $100 (maybe less within current discounts--$86 on Amazon today) whereas the extended warranty is $40. So, it seems I would be better off foregoing the extended warranty on the Premiere and if/when it dies, just buy a Mini. Thoughts?


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## ltxi (Feb 14, 2010)

I'd go with that last thought. Premieres are now last gen and the thin client Minis are cheap and don't need rented cable cards.

I now have two 3TB Roamios and a two tuner 1TB Premeire. The reason I'm still running the now back-up/workout room Premiere is because it is lifetime. If it failed, I'd replace it with a Mini 

I tend to hate extended warranties but tend buy them anyway on TiVos with lifetime.

Note, however, that past 90 days the electronics rarely ever fail and with the Roamios drive replacement is now cheap and easy.

I bought the warranty with my first Roamio....debating on the second. The second failed within a week, not a drive issue. I still have another two months to decide on the extended warranty for its replacement.


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## llpitre (Feb 14, 2014)

Moved my Premier from the living room to the bedroom after getting the new Roamio. Was planing to keep it indefinitely up stairs. Now, I've never had any big complaints (besides occasionally being a bit sluggish) with the Premier, but after using the Roamio I can barely stand using the Premier any more. The Roamio is smaller, faster, quieter,even the new remote (now that took a while to get used to) is vastly superior. As soon as I can justify to the wife why, I plan on buying a Roamio for the bedroom. There is no comparison.


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## aristoBrat (Dec 30, 2002)

I went with Mini's for the bedrooms. Didn't need the extra tuners that would have come from putting a full-fledged Roamio in the bedrooms, plus it's nice not to have to pay for the extra cable cards and deal with the extra wiring for the tuning adapters and such.


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## Ziggie (Jan 20, 2004)

You can "stream" movies/shows from premium channels such as HBO, but you *can not* transfer them. A message appears saying ...








"Transfer prohibited by the copyright holder"


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## wkearney99 (Dec 5, 2003)

aristoBrat said:


> I went with Mini's for the bedrooms. Didn't need the extra tuners that would have come from putting a full-fledged Roamio in the bedrooms, plus it's nice not to have to pay for the extra cable cards and deal with the extra wiring for the tuning adapters and such.


Yeah, but I'm finding I miss the ability to easily roll between different live tuners using a Mini. There are times where I want to browse through a couple of different programs being broadcast but don't want to bother setting up recordings for them. Easy to do on a regular Tivo, but lacking on a Mini.


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## aristoBrat (Dec 30, 2002)

Good point. I don't flip around shows much from the Mini, so didn't think of that.


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