# Glad to have 6 tuners in 1 box



## moyekj (Jan 24, 2006)

Tonight I see that my Roamio Pro will be using all tuners to record 6 intentional shows at once (no padding in the picture). Previously with such busy recording nights I would have to do juggle things around between 2 or 3 TiVos to get rid of conflicts. It's so nice now not to have to worry about it anymore. I'm sure the day will come when there will be 7 recordings at a time in which case I can employ my series 4 units if needed, but so far I haven't reached that point.


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## ThAbtO (Apr 6, 2000)

The most I have seen my Basic recording was only 3 at once. Between it and the S3, that's 6 tuners.


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## Joe01880 (Feb 8, 2009)

I got five cooking on the Pro right now..I love this thing!!


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## chrispitude (Apr 23, 2005)

Joe01880 said:


> I got five cooking on the Pro right now..I love this thing!!


We hit six-tuners-active more often than I expected. The cable TV shows can roll over to repeated showings as needed, but often a good number of the recording shows are not rebroadcast.


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## iamevan (Mar 3, 2014)

How's the power consumption when 6 tuners are recording?


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## moyekj (Jan 24, 2006)

All 6 tuners are always recording (live TV is buffered to disk for all 6 tuners even if no intentional recordings are active). These series 5 units have quite significantly lower power requirements than previous generations - even compared to the 2 tuner predecessors.


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## godsey1 (Jan 23, 2014)

The 6 tuners on the Roamio are the reason we got rid of Dish with the Hopper and 2 joeys. On dish you had 2 tuners that were yours to record your shows, and the other 4 (if turned on) would record all the prime time local channels. That thing was terrible.

I love this Tivo and the 6 turners. 

Tony


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## iamevan (Mar 3, 2014)

godsey1 said:


> The 6 tuners on the Roamio are the reason we got rid of Dish with the Hopper and 2 joeys. On dish you had 2 tuners that were yours to record your shows, and the other 4 (if turned on) would record all the prime time local channels. That thing was terrible.
> 
> I love this Tivo and the 6 turners.
> 
> Tony


Wow, that is terrible. There was no way to disable the prime time feature?


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## mattack (Apr 9, 2001)

godsey1 said:


> The 6 tuners on the Roamio are the reason we got rid of Dish with the Hopper and 2 joeys. On dish you had 2 tuners that were yours to record your shows, and the other 4 (if turned on) would record all the prime time local channels. That thing was terrible.


Wow, that's funny, because PrimeTime Anytime is one feature that could possibly have gotten me to move to Dish in the past if you could ALSO (1) own the hardware, and (2) download to a computer (and/or have other easy multiple-storage-expanding options).

Even though I have cable, the MAJORITY of what I watch is the network shows... So PTA would be a nice way of not having to care as much about padding & priorities, etc.


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## midas (Jun 1, 2000)

I'm still worried if 6 will be enough. My Directv setup had a total of 9 tuners. At this point I'm still checking for conflicts every day.


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## atmuscarella (Oct 11, 2005)

I am OTA only and the most I have used is 4 tuners at once, but I don't pad. Actually have 12 tuners available 10 on 4 TiVos and 2 for a HTPC. Really need to sell some of the TiVos just haven't figured out what to do with all the saved recordings.


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## Ibanez (Nov 22, 2013)

If only I could get all of my 6 tuners to work with Comcast!


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## godsey1 (Jan 23, 2014)

iamevan said:


> Wow, that is terrible. There was no way to disable the prime time feature?


You can turn it off, but you will have just the 2 tuners.


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## Bigg (Oct 31, 2003)

Holy ****! With the XL4 and three roommates, other than during the Olympics, where we were hitting 4 tuners several times a week for an hour or two, we only 4 tuners maybe once every couple of weeks, other than for padding.


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## mattack (Apr 9, 2001)

Ibanez said:


> If only I could get all of my 6 tuners to work with Comcast!


You have read that other thread, right? I only skim it, since 6 tuners are working for me.. but recently many people have apparently gotten a cablecard firmware update that fixed it for them.


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## moyekj (Jan 24, 2006)

6 intentional concurrent recordings again tonight - loving the Roamio Pro and series 4 units are idle and forgotten.


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## moyekj (Jan 24, 2006)

I've now go 2 upcoming cases of not enough tuners on my Roamio Pro, both on Sunday nights which is a very busy recording night. Will actually have to dust off my Premiere or Elite to cover. So 6 tuners on 1 unit is not quite enough...


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## Bigg (Oct 31, 2003)

moyekj said:


> I've now go 2 upcoming cases of not enough tuners on my Roamio Pro, both on Sunday nights which is a very busy recording night. Will actually have to dust off my Premiere or Elite to cover. So 6 tuners on 1 unit is not quite enough...


What on earth are you recording that doesn't have re-runs anyways? Even with Olympics and bball and three roommates, I haven't had too many issues with 4. Once in a while we hit the limit, but it's always easy to work around...


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## moyekj (Jan 24, 2006)

Sunday is fully packed.
The NBA game should have the 6:30pm spot, but with 6 recordings during 9:00pm slot it was in conflict. Most of these are network shows so not much opportunity for re-runs.

```
Sun 03/16/14 07:00 PM	The Voice [Ep 607] - The Best of the Blind Auditions	1004=KNBCDT	2:00
Sun 03/16/14 08:00 PM	The Amazing Race [Ep 2404] - Smarter, Not Harder	1002=KCBSDT	1:00
Sun 03/16/14 08:00 PM	Once Upon a Time [Ep 313] - Witch Hunt	1007=KABCDT	1:00
Sun 03/16/14 09:00 PM	The Good Wife [Ep 514] - A Few Words	1002=KCBSDT	1:00
Sun 03/16/14 09:00 PM	Believe [Ep 102] - Beginner's Luck	1004=KNBCDT	1:00
Sun 03/16/14 09:00 PM	Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey [Ep 102] - Some of the Things That Molecules Do	1011=KTTVDT	1:00
Sun 03/16/14 09:00 PM	Resurrection [Ep 102] - Unearth	1007=KABCDT	1:01
Sun 03/16/14 09:00 PM	The Walking Dead [Ep 414] - The Grove	1066=AMCPHD	1:01
Sun 03/16/14 09:00 PM	Naked and Afraid [Ep 108] - Man vs. Amazon	1021=DSCHDP	1:32
Sun 03/16/14 10:00 PM	The Mentalist [Ep 614] - Grey Water	1002=KCBSDT	1:00
Sun 03/16/14 10:00 PM	Crisis [Ep 101] - Pilot	1004=KNBCDT	1:00
Sun 03/16/14 10:01 PM	Revenge [Ep 315] - Struggle	1007=KABCDT	0:59
Sun 03/16/14 10:01 PM	Talking Dead [Ep 314]	1066=AMCPHD	0:59
Sun 03/16/14 11:00 PM	NBA Basketball - Cleveland Cavaliers at Los Angeles Clippers	1063=PRIMHD	3:00
```


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## Bigg (Oct 31, 2003)

moyekj said:


> Sunday is fully packed.
> The NBA game should have the 6:30pm spot, but with 6 recordings during 9:00pm slot it was in conflict. Most of these are network shows so not much opportunity for re-runs.
> 
> ```
> ...


Good god, how much TV do you watch?!? Both DSC shows are shown twice on that night, and probably many times after.


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## djev (Jan 12, 2014)

Ibanez said:


> If only I could get all of my 6 tuners to work with Comcast!


Same here, but with Charter.


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## Unbeliever (Feb 3, 2001)

And Cosmos repeats Monday as well.

--Carlos V.


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## mattack (Apr 9, 2001)

Cosmos doesn't repeat on Fox... not all of us get the other channels the first ep was on.


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## Bigg (Oct 31, 2003)

mattack said:


> Cosmos doesn't repeat on Fox... not all of us get the other channels the first ep was on.


Nat Geo. XF Preferred and above have it.


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## jasonfox (Oct 24, 2007)

The only downside I've found to having 6 tuners (or even only 4) is switching between 2 or 3 requires you to hop through the others as well. With my old premiere sometimes it was nice to switch back and forth between two programs (pause one when commercials came up in a live broadcast and switch.. when the other had commercials pause and switch back).


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## CrispyCritter (Feb 28, 2001)

jasonfox said:


> The only downside I've found to having 6 tuners (or even only 4) is switching between 2 or 3 requires you to hop through the others as well. With my old premiere sometimes it was nice to switch back and forth between two programs (pause one when commercials came up in a live broadcast and switch.. when the other had commercials pause and switch back).


The "Enter" key will swap back and forth between the last two channels tuned - not quite the same behavior as the 2 tuner live-tv switch since the last two channels tuned could be on the same tuner, but if you set it up right you can switch back and forth between two live-tv shows.

Otherwise, if I'm switching between two tuners I find it easier to hit "right-arrow" (or Info), "down-arrow", and then select the tuner I want out of the list. Hopping through the entire list is a pain with 6 tuners!


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## moyekj (Jan 24, 2006)

That doesn't bother me as I don't watch live TV. However I'm a little OCD about not wanting more than 1 tuner on the same channel, so following a reboot I usually go through the process of setting each tuner to a different channel (since initially all 6 tuners are on same channel). If I didn't have a Tuning Adapter I wouldn't bother, but something doesn't sit right to me having multiple tuners on 1 channel with a TA, especially if the channel is SDV.


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## Bigg (Oct 31, 2003)

CrispyCritter said:


> The "Enter" key will swap back and forth between the last two channels tuned - not quite the same behavior as the 2 tuner live-tv switch since the last two channels tuned could be on the same tuner, but if you set it up right you can switch back and forth between two live-tv shows.
> 
> Otherwise, if I'm switching between two tuners I find it easier to hit "right-arrow" (or Info), "down-arrow", and then select the tuner I want out of the list. Hopping through the entire list is a pain with 6 tuners!


This. It makes flipping between games during March Madness much easier on my XL4. I'd imagine it would be an even bigger deal on a 6-tuner Roamio.



moyekj said:


> That doesn't bother me as I don't watch live TV. However I'm a little OCD about not wanting more than 1 tuner on the same channel, so following a reboot I usually go through the process of setting each tuner to a different channel (since initially all 6 tuners are on same channel). If I didn't have a Tuning Adapter I wouldn't bother, but something doesn't sit right to me having multiple tuners on 1 channel with a TA, especially if the channel is SDV.


It shouldn't matter. They will quickly get scattered all over the place anyways.


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## Dan203 (Apr 17, 2000)

I haven't missed a single recording due to a conflict since getting my Roamio Pro. With the 4 tuner there were rare occasions when I had to worry about conflicts due to padding but with the Roamio it has never even been a thought. I've even gotten a bit lazy about prioritizing SPs. All the ones I've added recently are just sitting at the bottom of the list. Before I would always make sure to put network shows above cable shows because cable shows repeat, but now it doesn't seem to matter.


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## moyekj (Jan 24, 2006)

Bigg said:


> It shouldn't matter. They will quickly get scattered all over the place anyways.


 Not for me. I don't turn on suggestions, so usually recordings are just during prime time hours. But yes I agree it's pretty pointless to do it, but I do it anyway.


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## Bigg (Oct 31, 2003)

moyekj said:


> Not for me. I don't turn on suggestions, so usually recordings are just during prime time hours. But yes I agree it's pretty pointless to do it, but I do it anyway.


After a day or two, stuff will record, and the tuners will end up scattered. That, and the thing doesn't start up often, and you usually won't know when it rebooted, and by the time you figure it out, the tuners will most likely be scattered.


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## en sabur nur (Oct 30, 2007)

Dan203 said:


> I haven't missed a single recording due to a conflict since getting my Roamio Pro. With the 4 tuner there were rare occasions when I had to worry about conflicts due to padding but with the Roamio it has never even been a thought. I've even gotten a bit lazy about prioritizing SPs. All the ones I've added recently are just sitting at the bottom of the list. Before I would always make sure to put network shows above cable shows because cable shows repeat, but now it doesn't seem to matter.


My experience mirrors yours. I also have stopped prioritizing Season Passes. I figure, with 6 tuners and 3 terabytes, I'll probably never have conflicts, and as far as I can tell, I haven't. I really love the Roamio Pro's remote being RF, instead of IR. Not having to point the remote and the response speed of the remote is great! I dream of combining a Roamio Pro and a Roku 3.


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## squiddohio (Dec 21, 2001)

When I got my R. Pro, I kept my XL4, which sits right under it. Math is not my strong suit, but I think that gives me 10 tuners, no conflicts, backups for important shows and easy switching via an MX-890 remote, which also controls the lights in the room. My TV prayers have been answered.


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## en sabur nur (Oct 30, 2007)

I still have a Premiere 4, but I deactivated it when i purchased a Roamio Pro. I am considering upgrading the drive to a 2 terabyte one and doing what you did.


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## GmanTiVo (Mar 9, 2003)

I just upgraded my home to a Roamio Pro & 3 Minis (soon selling mt reliable 2TB S3 and ridding myself of 3 VZ DVRs). Install Sat. & Sun.a breaze.

Sunday 8:15pm, already maxed out  , 2 Minis on and daughters recoding 4 show (help!), wife walks into the family room and tells me the Mini in the bedroom will not allow her to watch live tv...... and she's not pleased. 

I'm finally home from work and off to find a way to have the Mini in our bedroom always hold/locked to a tuner. 

Gman


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## tatergator1 (Mar 27, 2008)

GmanTiVo said:


> I just upgraded my home to a Roamio Pro & 3 Minis (soon selling mt reliable 2TB S3 and ridding myself of 3 VZ DVRs). Install Sat. & Sun.a breaze.
> 
> Sunday 8:15pm, already maxed out  , 2 Minis on and daughters recoding 4 show (help!), wife walks into the family room and tells me the Mini in the bedroom will not allow her to watch live tv...... and she's not pleased.
> 
> ...


Ouch. Unfortunately, there's no way to lock a tuner to a particular Mini. It will automatically time out after 4 hours. You should be able to cancel an active recording from the Mini when that happens, thereby freeing up a tuner for the Mini without having to leave the room and go to the Roamio.


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## GmanTiVo (Mar 9, 2003)

tatergator1 said:


> Ouch. Unfortunately, there's no way to lock a tuner to a particular Mini. It will automatically time out after 4 hours. You should be able to cancel an active recording from the Mini when that happens, thereby freeing up a tuner for the Mini without having to leave the room and go to the Roamio.


Can it be set to automatically time out after 1 or 2 hours? I take it it means if on same channel for 4 hours it automatically releases the tuner (default setting), correct?

Thamk you!


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## jrtroo (Feb 4, 2008)

Yes, it will do that.

I think the real moral of the story is, why are so many folks watching live TV?! More season passes!


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## midas (Jun 1, 2000)

jrtroo said:


> I think the real moral of the story is, why are so many folks watching live TV?! More season passes!


I can't get my wife to stop watching live TV. The first night we got the Roamio and Minis she complained because she couldn't get a tuner to watch the news. I told her I'd start recording it every night so she could always watch it, but she didn't want to do that. I gave up!


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## jrtroo (Feb 4, 2008)

I would set up the season pass anyway, keep as 1, and then a tuner would always be there for her to connect to.


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