# TiVo + OTA + Internet



## Aussie_Falcon (Aug 8, 2014)

Hey viewers.

I'm new to this forum and have never used a TiVo before, but I've heard great things, so please excuse the basic questions.
I'm a current Verizon FIOS customer for cable, internet and phone and am pretty well fed up with paying $195+ per month for a bundled service. I'm hoping to halve that.
I've been reviewing a DVR+OTA (TiVo Roamio + Mohu Sky) options to cut the cable, and an Ooma to cut the phone, so I came across the TiVo Roamio with the OTA antenna option.

I have some questions and would be interested in any feedback and opinions:
1. Does TiVo charge a fee for using an HD antenna, or is that part of the current $14.99 monthly service fee?
2. Can I buy a lifetime service for the TiVo unit in say, 12 months, or does it have to be upfront?
3. Have any Verizon customers had to pay an early termination fee, if they want to unbundle their package and just keep the internet service? (Mine is $230 and I have 16 months remaining on my contract). Will Verizon even allow you to have internet only?
4. Provided I can have internet only, can I connect the Roamio to an antenna with the coax, AND the internet with the ethernet port? 
4. I noticed a large selection of channels available with the Roku. Is it possible to record channels from say a Roku to the Roamio?

Thanks so much for taking the time to read this.

Dave


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## Chris Gerhard (Apr 27, 2002)

1. No fee for antenna.

2. You can purchase lifetime anytime but up front makes the most sense.

3. I don't have any experience but the terms of the contract will likely be adhered to so I would expect an early termination fee if the contract calls for a fee.

4. Yes.

4a. No recording of Roku channels to TiVo. PlayLater is a PC based DVR that can record much of the same content available with Roku but it has nothing to do with Roku other than Roku can be used to play PlayLater recordings.


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## aaronwt (Jan 31, 2002)

Verizon does typically have an ETF that is prorated. I think it's reduced by $10 every month. I know you can change your bundle and not get charged an ETF, but to drop down from the Triple play to Internet Only I would think there would be an ETF. But you would need to contact Verizon to verify. Maybe you will get lucky and won't be charged an ETF? 

Verizon certainly has INternet only service but be prepared to pay alot compared to the Triple play INternet price. For instance, in my situation, I have the Triple play from FiOS. If i dropped my phone service, my monthly price would actually go up.

Roku for some reason likes to call their apps "channels". They are just apps that load that allow you to view different content.


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## deepthinker (Oct 25, 2002)

Aussie_Falcon said:


> Hey viewers.
> 
> I'm new to this forum and have never used a TiVo before, but I've heard great things, so please excuse the basic questions.
> I'm a current Verizon FIOS customer for cable, internet and phone and am pretty well fed up with paying $195+ per month for a bundled service. I'm hoping to halve that.
> ...


It appears you want to completely cut the cord, so this may not be applicable to you at all, especially if you aren't in a Charter Cable area. But if you are, then keep reading and check them out. Here in DFW, TX. Charter went all digital in most areas and recently rolled out Spectrum. They started advertising hard. Well I made the switch from Verizon FiOS triple play a month ago to Charter's Triple Play bundle. I upgraded from their TV Silver to Gold, get every channel available (they have a lot more HD than Verizon), have phone, and got a speed bump to 60 megs down. Price is locked for 3 years with absolutely no contract and they are even paying up to $500 in Verizon's ETF fee. Already paid the first Charter bill and all told I'm saving $60 a month over Verizon with more HD channels and a speed bump on my Internet.  Now if I can just get them to upgrade the firmware on my Cablecard to have all six tuners working I'm golden.


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## trip1eX (Apr 2, 2005)

Or why not see what other bundles and deals they have? 

I am sure they have some good bundles closer to $100/month.

And as the poster above said you might have direct cable competition to FIOS in your area. Call them up. You can probably get a sweet deal for a year at least.


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## lpwcomp (May 6, 2002)

This thread has an example of the problem that TiVo's Roamio naming convention has. "Roamio" by itself can refer either to the base, 4-tuner model which does support OTA or to the entire product line including the 6-tuner Pro and Plus which are digital cable only.


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## trip1eX (Apr 2, 2005)

lpwcomp said:


> This thread has an example of the problem that TiVo's Roamio naming convention has. "Roamio" by itself can refer either to the base, 4-tuner model which does support OTA or to the entire product line including the 6-tuner Pro and Plus which are digital cable only.


Yeah the base is quite a different product compared to the other two models.

It's really just a rebadged Premiere.


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## deepthinker (Oct 25, 2002)

trip1eX said:


> Yeah the base is quite a different product compared to the other two models.
> 
> It's really just a rebadged Premiere.


...and the plastic case top is a PITA to get off for a hard drive upgrade, as opposed to the true ease of other two. I really wish the six tuner models also had OTA in case I ever wanted to cut the cord one day, but oh well. Guess I can always sell them with their lifetime subs if that day comes.


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## lpwcomp (May 6, 2002)

trip1eX said:


> Yeah the base is quite a different product compared to the other two models.
> 
> It's really just a rebadged Premiere.


No, it isn't. Totally different h/w.


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## aaronwt (Jan 31, 2002)

trip1eX said:


> Yeah the base is quite a different product compared to the other two models.
> 
> It's really just a rebadged Premiere.


???? No. It's a Roamio Pro/plus with two fewer tuners, no MoCA, no GigE , and no built in Stream. Otherwise the Roamio basic is the same as the plus/pro. Performance wise. Obviously it has a smaller case. Which I really like. It makes my Roamio Basic much easier to bring to other locations.


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## trip1eX (Apr 2, 2005)

lpwcomp said:


> No, it isn't. Totally different h/w.





aaronwt said:


> ???? No. It's a Roamio Pro/plus with two fewer tuners, no MoCA, no GigE , and no built in Stream. Otherwise the Roamio basic is the same as the plus/pro. Performance wise. Obviously it has a smaller case. Which I really like. It makes my Roamio Basic much easier to bring to other locations.


Ok. I wasn't really sure about the underlying silicon.

but functionality-wise it is really just a rebadged Premiere right?


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## lpwcomp (May 6, 2002)

trip1eX said:


> Ok. I wasn't really sure about the underlying silicon.
> 
> but functionality-wise it is really just a rebadged Premiere right?


No.

A 2-Tuner Premiere can do both OTA and analog/digital cable, recording any two sources at once. The 4-tuner Premiere is digital cable only.

The 4 tuner Roamio is OTA _*or*_ digital cable. It has to be configured one way or the other at the beginning of guided setup. It also has built-in wifi.


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## trip1eX (Apr 2, 2005)

lpwcomp said:


> No.
> 
> A 2-Tuner Premiere can do both OTA and analog/digital cable, recording any two sources at once. The 4-tuner Premiere is digital cable only.
> 
> The 4 tuner Roamio is OTA _*or*_ digital cable. It has to be configured one way or the other at the beginning of guided setup. It also has built-in wifi.


Oh ok. There is no 4 tuner cable/ota premiere then. That's where my confusion lie or lay or . Is the cpu in the base Roamio faster than the one in the Premiere XL4?

Well I was just confused about the Roamio naming from a different angle. I thought it was so different that it was just a Premiere with a new name.


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## Aussie_Falcon (Aug 8, 2014)

Hey viewers,

Thanks for the replies. I really appreciate the feedback. I live in Riverside County CA, and unfortunately Charter Communications isn't servicing this area. They are in L.A. though, so maybe one day. At this time, my only options are Verizon FIOS, or Time Warner Cable. Even AT&T doesn't service this area, but as I understand, TiVO doesn't offer support of U-verse. If I can get Verizon to get me net access only, and without an ETF, I'll see about getting a TiVO, otherwise I may have to wait it out another 16 months. Still, a $230 ETF is better than $3000+ over the next 16 months.

I found out from Verizon that $84.99 + equipment + fees is what I would pay for 50Mb / 50Mb internet only service.


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## aaronwt (Jan 31, 2002)

trip1eX said:


> Oh ok. There is no 4 tuner cable/ota premiere then. That's where my confusion lie or lay or . Is the cpu in the base Roamio faster than the one in the Premiere XL4?
> 
> Well I was just confused about the Roamio naming from a different angle. I thought it was so different that it was just a Premiere with a new name.


The processor in the Roamio Basic is the same one that is in the Plus/Pro. It is faster than what the Premiere had. The Premiere is Series 4 TiVo. The Roamio is a Series 5 TiVo.


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## jcthorne (Jan 28, 2002)

trip1eX said:


> Yeah the base is quite a different product compared to the other two models.
> 
> It's really just a rebadged Premiere.


Not even close. The base roamio offers all the upgraded features the other two have excpept 2 fewer tuners, no stream built in and no moca built in.

It ADDS full OTA support in addition to CATV support. It comes with a smaller hard drive but all 3 roamios are upgrade-able easily to 3TB. Moca and stream are available to add externally.

I will agree the plastic case is not as nice but it works fine and is not hard to open. I consider the external power supply a plus as its easily replaced if it fails.


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## L David Matheny (Jan 29, 2011)

jcthorne said:


> I will agree the plastic case is not as nice but it works fine and is not hard to open. I consider the external power supply a plus as its easily replaced if it fails.


The base Roamio's plastic case could be a plus if you're trying to use the built-in WiFi. And some people think the external power supply may be a bit skimpy in current capacity, requiring care when choosing a hard drive for upgrading.


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## trip1eX (Apr 2, 2005)

Aussie_Falcon said:


> Hey viewers,
> 
> Thanks for the replies. I really appreciate the feedback. I live in Riverside County CA, and unfortunately Charter Communications isn't servicing this area. They are in L.A. though, so maybe one day. At this time, my only options are Verizon FIOS, or Time Warner Cable. Even AT&T doesn't service this area, but as I understand, TiVO doesn't offer support of U-verse. If I can get Verizon to get me net access only, and without an ETF, I'll see about getting a TiVO, otherwise I may have to wait it out another 16 months. Still, a $230 ETF is better than $3000+ over the next 16 months.
> 
> I found out from Verizon that $84.99 + equipment + fees is what I would pay for 50Mb / 50Mb internet only service.


Time Warner advertises an $80 triple play package for 12 months on their front page.


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## deepthinker (Oct 25, 2002)

Aussie_Falcon said:


> Hey viewers,
> 
> Thanks for the replies. I really appreciate the feedback. I live in Riverside County CA, and unfortunately Charter Communications isn't servicing this area. They are in L.A. though, so maybe one day. At this time, my only options are Verizon FIOS, or Time Warner Cable. Even AT&T doesn't service this area, but as I understand, TiVO doesn't offer support of U-verse. If I can get Verizon to get me net access only, and without an ETF, I'll see about getting a TiVO, otherwise I may have to wait it out another 16 months. Still, a $230 ETF is better than $3000+ over the next 16 months.
> 
> I found out from Verizon that $84.99 + equipment + fees is what I would pay for 50Mb / 50Mb internet only service.


FYI, all of Time Warner and even Charter in some areas south and west will become Comcast within the next 12 months due to a 3 way deal to help Comcast get approval on their purchase of Time Warner and to get Charter to stop their opposition. Those hoping the sale of TWC to Comcast won't get approved might as well get over it. Enough pockets will be greased etc. that this will go though. Charter where I am is swapping all of Texas, so Charter customers here in Dallas-Fort Worth on the Fort Worth side and the folks on the East Dallas side that are currently Time Warner will all become Comcast when the merger/deal is complete. This will be the same in the L.A. area as well. Charter and TWC there will become Comcast.

http://consumerist.com/2014/04/28/c...-to-hand-over-4-million-customers-to-charter/

2. Charter and TWC trade 1.6 million customers.
TWC and Charter will each shuffle around 1.6 million customers. The result will be a zero net gain of users for the parties, but will lead to more geographically contiguous service, with Charter shedding itself of business in California, New England, Tennessee, Georgia, North Carolina, Texas, Oregon, Washington, and Virginia. The map at the bottom of this post shows what Charters new footprint would look like.


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## lpwcomp (May 6, 2002)

Aussie_Falcon said:


> Hey viewers,
> 
> Thanks for the replies. I really appreciate the feedback. I live in Riverside County CA, and unfortunately Charter Communications isn't servicing this area. They are in L.A. though, so maybe one day. At this time, my only options are Verizon FIOS, or Time Warner Cable. Even AT&T doesn't service this area, but as I understand, TiVO doesn't offer support of U-verse. If I can get Verizon to get me net access only, and without an ETF, I'll see about getting a TiVO, otherwise I may have to wait it out another 16 months. Still, a $230 ETF is better than $3000+ over the next 16 months.
> 
> I found out from Verizon that $84.99 + equipment + fees is what I would pay for 50Mb / 50Mb internet only service.


Is there some reason that you do not want to use Verizon FIOS for everything?

If you are going OTA for TV, U-verse internet is also an option.


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## Aussie_Falcon (Aug 8, 2014)

lpwcomp said:


> Is there some reason that you do not want to use Verizon FIOS for everything?
> 
> If you are going OTA for TV, U-verse internet is also an option.


Yep. I don't think $190+ per month is reasonable for all 3 services. I want to reduce that, and keep the function of a DVR, hence the other reason I joined the TiVo forum. I figure internet only, with subscription to Netflix and Hulu Plus should be enough for what I need. I like the idea of the Ooma phone. An IP phone makes more sense these days.

By the way, I called AT&T a couple of weeks ago and asked them about service in my area. They told me they don't do business in the same area as Verizon. I thought that was interesting.


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## aaronwt (Jan 31, 2002)

I currently pay FiOS $140 for Ultimate HD , 75/75 internet and phone service. If I dropped internet down to 50/50 and the TV down to a Lower tier, I could get my triple play price down to only $99. They really make it so a bundle is the best deal. I had gone to cellular only several years ago. But once FiOS offered phone service and lowered my price, I added a landline back. Sin e the price was so low.


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## trip1eX (Apr 2, 2005)

I'm still puzzled as to why not either drop down to a lesser package or go with Time Warner for a year and save some money. And then play your choice of providers off against each other. 2 cable providers in your area means great pricing. Most of us don't have that luxury.

I doubt you save much money from cutting the cord compared to this. And you have less content and probably more of a hassle in accessing it because of the various streaming apps and then OTA etc you have to use in order to do so.


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## Series3Sub (Mar 14, 2010)

Aussie_Falcon said:


> Yep. I don't think $190+ per month is reasonable for all 3 services. I want to reduce that, and keep the function of a DVR, hence the other reason I joined the TiVo forum. I figure internet only, with subscription to Netflix and Hulu Plus should be enough for what I need. I like the idea of the Ooma phone. An IP phone makes more sense these days.
> 
> By the way, I called AT&T a couple of weeks ago and asked them about service in my area. They told me they don't do business in the same area as Verizon. I thought that was interesting.


Going on 3 years using Ooma. Cheapest in the long run with many more features. Have no regrets dumping land line.


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## Aussie_Falcon (Aug 8, 2014)

trip1eX said:


> I'm still puzzled as to why not either drop down to a lesser package or go with Time Warner for a year and save some money. And then play your choice of providers off against each other. 2 cable providers in your area means great pricing. Most of us don't have that luxury.
> 
> I doubt you save much money from cutting the cord compared to this. And you have less content and probably more of a hassle in accessing it because of the various streaming apps and then OTA etc you have to use in order to do so.


Because I was with Time Warner before I signed up with Verizon, and I made the switch because they decided to drop my connection speed after downloading something they deemed illegal. No, I won't go back to them.
Anyway, I'm almost set to go with internet only with Verizon.
I'd be interested to find out if TiVo partners with Mohu. 
My current list is:
The soon to be released "Mohu Channels" ($150)
Mohu Sky antenna ($150)
Roamio OTA ($170 - Amazon)
Lifetime Roamio Service ($500)
Ooma Telo ($150)
So an initial hardware cost of ~ $1120.

My FiOS internet only plan will be about $85/month (the part that I don't like so much). Other monthly fees - Hulu Plus ($8), Amazon Prime ($8), NetFlix ($9). So about $110/month, which almost halves my monthly bill.

That's still better that ~$200/month, but I will own the equipment I need, and have the channels I want, and have access to many OTA HD channels, and free calls anywhere in the U.S.


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