# What a missed opportunity...Edge should have been combo OTA and Cable



## kupe (Apr 10, 2003)

That pretty much sums it up. Last month Comcast here in Atlanta finally downgraded the remaining 1080i channels to 720p (NBC and CBS and PBS notably). We love our Roamio Pro, but for the first time ever we are starting to watch OTA for those channels which look abysmal in 720p on our 4K UHD set.

I would jump at the chance to replace our Roamio with a combo OTA and cable Tivo! Sigh...


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## tarheelblue32 (Jan 13, 2014)

kupe said:


> That pretty much sums it up. Last month Comcast here in Atlanta finally downgraded the remaining 1080i channels to 720p (NBC and CBS and NPR notably). We love our Roamio Pro, but for the first time ever we are starting to watch OTA for those channels which look abysmal in 720p on our 4K UHD set.
> 
> I would jump at the chance to replace our Roamio with a combo OTA and cable Tivo! Sigh...


Would you be willing to pay $800 for it plus $15/month service fees? Because that's probably how much something like that would cost if TiVo ever decided to make something like that.


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## kupe (Apr 10, 2003)

tarheelblue32 said:


> Would you be willing to pay $800 for it plus $15/month service fees? Because that's probably how much something like that would cost if TiVo ever decided to make something like that.


Well, other than pulling that number out of thin air, I think that estimate is way high. But I'd certainly pay $500ish. Not to mention I think such a device would single-handedly put Tivo back in tech headlines and shake up this sleepy sector. JMHO.


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## KevTech (Apr 15, 2014)

tarheelblue32 said:


> Would you be willing to pay $800 for it plus $15/month service fees? Because that's probably how much something like that would cost if TiVo ever decided to make something like that.


Tivo Bolt I have is OTA or Cable and I paid 199.99 for the box and 99 for lifetime.
Was purchased from email they sent me.


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## DVR_Dave (Apr 19, 2017)

KevTech said:


> Tivo Bolt I have is OTA or Cable and I paid 199.99 for the box and 99 for lifetime.
> Was purchased from email they sent me.


As you stated, Bolt is OTA *or* Cable. Pretty sure the OP wants OTA *and* Cable.

IIRC, the last TiVo to do both OTA *and* Cable was the 2-tuner Premier.


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## justen_m (Jan 15, 2004)

Just add a Bolt. I use my Bolt for OTA and Roamio Plus for cable. I set up my recordings accordingly. For your use, just set up all the recordings for channels that are 1080i OTA for the Bolt. For me, CBS, PBS, and NBC are 1080i. CW, ABC, and FOX are 720p.

The two TiVos can stream from each other, so you don't even have to transfer programs. My only complaint is two separate NPL.

That being said, I did like the fact my TiVoHD simultaneously supported OTA and cable, giving it a capability neither my Bolt or Roamio have. All my recordings on one box, one NPL, regardless of the source.


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## tarheelblue32 (Jan 13, 2014)

KevTech said:


> Tivo Bolt I have is OTA or Cable and I paid 199.99 for the box and 99 for lifetime.
> Was purchased from email they sent me.


Well that's nice for you, but the 1TB Bolt that did OTA or Cable was originally $400+$550 for "all-in" service, so $950 total.



kupe said:


> Well, other than pulling that number out of thin air, I think that estimate is way high. But I'd certainly pay $500ish. Not to mention I think such a device would single-handedly put Tivo back in tech headlines and shake up this sleepy sector. JMHO.


The cable Edge currently sells for $400 and the antenna Edge sells for $350. Right now, if you want both cable and antenna at the same time, you have to buy both boxes for $750, plus separate service fees for both boxes, but you think that TiVo would make and sell you a box that does what those two boxes do for only $100 more than what one box currently sells for?


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## TiVo_Ted (Oct 3, 2000)

We stopped supporting multiple, asymmetric tuners over 10 years ago. It was an interesting idea, but not that many people ended up using it.


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## krkaufman (Nov 25, 2003)

TiVo_Ted said:


> We stopped supporting multiple, asymmetric tuners over 10 years ago. It was an interesting idea, but not that many people ended up using it.


Loved my 6 CableCARD, 6 OTA tuner setup on WMC and miss the combined all-in-one config. We're 6+4 on TiVo now, but as separate islands of content and separate management.


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## kupe (Apr 10, 2003)

TiVo_Ted said:


> We stopped supporting multiple, asymmetric tuners over 10 years ago. It was an interesting idea, but not that many people ended up using it.


Thank you Ted for being here! Make no mistake- I've been a Tivolutionary since long before some more noisy members here knew what a DVR was. I still preach the gospel of Tivo daily to friends and co-workers who didn't know you could get a DVR from other than the cable company.

Yet I think the combo machine might be worth re-visiting. I realize that 10 years ago it wasn't a huge contest. Cable providers passed along a signal that was passable on 720p LCD sets. That is no longer true. Comcast is down-rezzing their signal even as we are buying up 4K and 8K sets. OTA in many markets is the only way to get a reasonable image. Yet many of us are not ready to cut the cord for the many cable-only channels. My wife says do what you want, but don't mess with my Bravo or HGTV! I know we're not alone.

Well, truth be told I will probably be adding a Bolt or other OTA Tivo to our mix. But how many of us will do that? I think a combo OTA and cable Tivo could shake this market up and show Comcast what-what!

Cheers!

Kupe


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## krkaufman (Nov 25, 2003)

kupe said:


> Yet I think the combo machine might be worth re-visiting.


Especially since a combo box could be enabled using network or USB tuners, rather than all built-in to the unit.


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## JLV03 (Feb 12, 2018)

I'm hoping the USB ATSC 3.0 tuner that was showcased awhile ago will return cable TiVos back to the combined cable and OTA guides. 

Or, as krkaufman has stated, use a network tuner.


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## shwru980r (Jun 22, 2008)

TiVo_Ted said:


> We stopped supporting multiple, asymmetric tuners over 10 years ago. It was an interesting idea, but not that many people ended up using it.


The only Tivos you offered that could support multiple simultaneous input sources were dual and single tuner Tivos. I think the lack of tuners was the main reason for the the under utilization.


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## schatham (Mar 17, 2007)

tarheelblue32 said:


> Would you be willing to pay $800 for it plus $15/month service fees? Because that's probably how much something like that would cost if TiVo ever decided to make something like that.


My Bolt can do both. Now it seems it would only need a software patch to be able to do both at the same time


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## snerd (Jun 6, 2008)

schatham said:


> My Bolt can do both. Now it seems it would only need a software patch to be able to do both at the same time


You'd also need to use an A/B switch or a VHF/UHF diplexer to get a mix of cable and OTA signals into the lone coax connector, so that the signals don't clash. Years ago, HarperVision (haven't seen him around for a long time...) discovered that a basic Roamio could be tricked into receiving a mix of cable and OTA here. There are some other technical difficulties involved, but maybe the same trick will work on a Bolt.

Bigg will probably chime in here and say it can't possibly work (the sky is falling!), but take anything he says with a 50 lb bag of salt.


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## krkaufman (Nov 25, 2003)

snerd said:


> Bigg will probably chime in here and say it can't possibly work


Already did.


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## tarheelblue32 (Jan 13, 2014)

schatham said:


> My Bolt can do both. Now it seems it would only need a software patch to be able to do both at the same time


I doubt it. If you're going to do cable and OTA at the same time you really need 2 separate RF inputs.


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## tommage1 (Nov 6, 2008)

kupe said:


> That pretty much sums it up. Last month Comcast here in Atlanta finally downgraded the remaining 1080i channels to 720p (NBC and CBS and PBS notably). We love our Roamio Pro, but for the first time ever we are starting to watch OTA for those channels which look abysmal in 720p on our 4K UHD set.
> 
> I would jump at the chance to replace our Roamio with a combo OTA and cable Tivo! Sigh...


The Edge is the first Tivo series that does NOT have a model with OTA and cable capability. Though cannot do both at the same time with the later models. I'm sure they did this for a reason. Having to do with money? If you are strictly watching broadcast TV recordings why not try a 4 tuner Roamio "basic" (or a Bolt/Vox 4 tuner OTA/cable model if you can live with a 2.5" drive). Though OTA MPEG2 channels are better quality than compressed cable still the best you get in most cases is 1080i. Probably never going to be better until/if they adopt ATSC 3.


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## tarheelblue32 (Jan 13, 2014)

tommage1 said:


> I'm sure they did this for a reason. Having to do with money?


I'm sure it probably saves some money. OTA or cable is a feature that most people never use. It also simplifies things, as TiVo now has one model for cable and one for antenna. Simple. It's much more complicated to explain to potential buyers that one model is antenna only, one is cable only, and one does either/or, but not both at the same time.


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## tommage1 (Nov 6, 2008)

tarheelblue32 said:


> I'm sure it probably saves some money. OTA or cable is a feature that most people never use. It also simplifies things, as TiVo now has one model for cable and one for antenna. Simple. It's much more complicated to explain to potential buyers that one model is antenna only, one is cable only, and one does either/or, but not both at the same time.


I suppose but simple to explain not as important as capability, at least for me. All my Tivos except for a Roamio Pro can do either. And that is all I would buy myself now, especially considering the phasing out of cable cards and possible ATSC 3. That way if one or the other happens I am somewhat protected, my Tivo will still have some value to SOMEONE. Cable only, if a company just stops offering cable cards (some are trying already) I could use OTA or sell to someone who can. Or visa versa OTA ATSC 3. Though supposedly even if ATSC 3 becomes the standard they still have to provide ATSC 1 capability for 5 years. No such guarantee with cable cards, I doubt I would buy any expensive device that relies on cable cards.


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## shwru980r (Jun 22, 2008)

This decision seems to give cable companies leverage to retain customers. Now a customer would have to purchase another Tivo to switch to OTA.


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## ShervinF (Oct 21, 2019)

TiVo_Ted said:


> We stopped supporting multiple, asymmetric tuners over 10 years ago. It was an interesting idea, but not that many people ended up using it.


Used to love it on my Tivo Model 3.


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