# Where to get Roamio OTA?



## Laughs Brightly (Jan 23, 2016)

I have had several conversations with friends lately who have or will cut the cord and they were very interested in my Tivo experience (OTA from Best Buy followed by Roamio LT from Summer Sale to the recent 3TB OTA LT from Amazon) and are now looking for devices. Apparently Best Buy no longer offers the OTA and Tivo no longer sells an OTA capable device. I found one guy on Amazon selling them for $110. Is that it? When those 5 are gone there are no more?
What do I tell my friends who want to go Tivo and like my Tivo setup? Buy from Channelmaster? Scrounge on eBay? Buy the LT Premiere's new Roamio owners are selling? It seems so obvious that Tivo would still make something for the OTA crowd that I am sure I missing something obvious.


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## JoeKustra (Dec 7, 2012)

Forget CM. The Bolt will work OTA or cable, just not both at the same time.


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## Laughs Brightly (Jan 23, 2016)

JoeKustra said:


> Forget CM. The Bolt will work OTA or cable, just not both at the same time.


I didn't know that. It wasn't very clear in the description and swear I read somewhere on Zatz it didn't. Can a Bolt hard drive be upgraded like a Roamio with a Red or AV drive?


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## mattack (Apr 9, 2001)

IIRC, it uses a laptop drive.. But AFAIK, you just plop into an up-to-3TB drive and it will format it.. (This obviously does NOT transfer anything from your old drive.)


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## tarheelblue32 (Jan 13, 2014)

As stated above, the Bolt will work with OTA or digital cable, and you can upgrade the hard drive the same way as on the Roamio, but it is the smaller drive size. TiVo was supposed to come out with a cheaper version of the Bolt that only works with OTA, but they seem to be taking longer than expected to release it.


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## iamrockinrich (Nov 25, 2015)

You are right, it isn't very clear, but this was in the FAQ section:
"The TiVo BOLT 500 GB and TiVo BOLT 1000 GB both work with either an HD antenna or cable."
I doubt Tivo would ever abandon OTA since that is the (IMO) main reason to have one. Not sure why anyone would want one for cable when they give a recorder.


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## jayerndl (Aug 20, 2003)

Amazon has refurbished TiVo ota for $30 http://www.amazon.com/TiVo-Roamio-Streaming-Certified-Refurbished/dp/B015NCSOHK/ref=sr_1_10?ie=UTF8&qid=1454766590&sr=8-10&keywords=TiVo+ota
Also the base TiVo roamio does ota also.

Jay


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## HerronScott (Jan 1, 2002)

iamrockinrich said:


> I doubt Tivo would ever abandon OTA since that is the (IMO) main reason to have one. Not sure why anyone would want one for cable when they give a recorder.


Reasons for us to use TiVo over Comcast's DVR.

1. Can't transfer shows off of and back to a cable company DVR.
2. Not all cable companies include a DVR in all packages
3. Cheaper for us in the long run with lifetime ($22.45 per month for us for cable company DVR - see above)
4. Been using TiVo's for 15 years and prefer the interface
5. Built-in Netflix, Amazon Prime, Pandora and Vudu clients are convenient to not have to buy another device and switch inputs.

And on the second-hand hearsay front are the bad stories about cable company DVR's from my brother before I finally convinced him to switch to Tivo and friends at work.

Scott


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## MeInDallas (Jul 31, 2011)

Best Buy still has the OTA model for $49.99 today 02/06/16 not sure how long it will be there. From what I can tell it doesnt look to be refurbished.

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/tivo-roamio-ota-digital-video-recorder-black/8758098.p?id=1219364357147&skuId=8758098


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## atmuscarella (Oct 11, 2005)

Paying $50 for a Roamio OTA plus $15/mo service seems pretty foolish to me. Your first year costs are $230, we have seen deals for the Bolt at $250. Heck even if you pay full price for the Bolt after 2 years the Bolt will have cost $450 and the Roamio OTA $410. 

Unless you can get the Roamio OTA with lifetime deal I would buy the Bolt.


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## eric102 (Oct 31, 2012)

The Bolt for sure, its $240 at Fry's today.


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## connie_w (Jan 10, 2015)

Amazon has the Roamio OTA (refurbished) for $29.99 today in the "Todays Deals", they also have refurbed mini's on sale.


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## Mr Tony (Dec 20, 2012)

iamrockinrich said:


> I doubt Tivo would ever abandon OTA since that is the (IMO) main reason to have one. Not sure why anyone would want one for cable when they give a recorder.


well from someone who got cable (2 weeks ago) here are my reasons (now note we get cable in the rent...we pay for everything above what most folks would call "family cable"). Comcast scrambled everything so a box is required
-I can pay $10 a month for a HD box or 17.95 for a HD DVR that can record 2 items (I cannot get the X1 platform as I dont have triple play). With Tivo its free (I have a basic with lifetime on it)
-I can copy all the programs from my OTA Roamio over to the Basic before I cancel the Roamio OTA (use to be OTA only...moved and have cable)
-4 tuners versus 2
-the streaming services
-get a 2.50 credit each month because I have "owned equipment" 
-I've used a Tivo interface for 16 months on the Roamio and 6 years total (series 3 before that....still using it).


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## mdavej (Aug 13, 2015)

rokinrich must have no regard for money or have a very unusual cable company that "gives" customers DVRs and other boxes for free. Having my own DVR and other cable boxes (Tivo or otherwise) for the past several years has saved me at least $600/year. The other benefits are icing on the cake. For me it's mainly about the money, and the fact that most cable company DVRs still have the same interface they had in the 90s.


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## SomeRandomIdiot (Jan 7, 2016)

iamrockinrich said:


> You are right, it isn't very clear, but this was in the FAQ section:
> "The TiVo BOLT 500 GB and TiVo BOLT 1000 GB both work with either an HD antenna or cable."
> I doubt Tivo would ever abandon OTA since that is the (IMO) main reason to have one. Not sure why anyone would want one for cable when they give a recorder.


Perhaps because in 18-24 months the OTA Signal Quality will begin to take a major hit and no Roamio or Bolt will be able to receive anything OTA in 60 months or so.


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## confinoj (Apr 2, 2003)

SomeRandomIdiot said:


> Perhaps because in 18-24 months the OTA Signal Quality will begin to take a major hit and no Roamio or Bolt will be able to receive anything OTA in 60 months or so.


Can you point me in the right direction of info on these upcoming OTA changes affecting quality? I was unaware.


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## SomeRandomIdiot (Jan 7, 2016)

confinoj said:


> Can you point me in the right direction of info on these upcoming OTA changes affecting quality? I was unaware.


You have to follow technology and have access to in the highest Corporate levels of Broadcasting to understand what the ATSC 3.0 plans are and the agreements being put together on how Broadcasters are planning to transition


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## heifer624 (Jul 12, 2009)

http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?p=10789979#post10789979


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## mickinct (Sep 14, 2015)

SomeRandomIdiot said:


> Perhaps because in 18-24 months the OTA Signal Quality will begin to take a major hit and no Roamio or Bolt will be able to receive anything OTA in 60 months or so.


What about all the 4k sets out there now with the soon to be useless tunes? Why spend 2-5 k for a new set.


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## JTHOJNICKI (Nov 30, 2015)

I can confirm that the Bolt does OTA (today) very well. I bought a 500GB Bolt for $211 from a Fry's flash sale a couple of weeks ago specifically for OTA. I have it paired with a Roamio Pro on cable. The Bolt has an excellent tuner; it picked up channels my television couldn't.

If you watch the YouTube (TiVo Bolt hard drive replacement & install by Intellibeam.com) video, upgrading the Bolt hard drive is pretty simple. The 3TB Toshiba 2.5in hard Drive he uses in the video goes in with no additional formatting. You absolutely do NOT need Torx Security bits; standard Torx bits will work just fine.


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## JTHOJNICKI (Nov 30, 2015)

I snagged two of those $89 refurbed Minis yesterday morning.


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## mickinct (Sep 14, 2015)

http://www.amazon.com/TiVo-Roamio-S...UTF8&qid=1454766590&sr=8-10&keywords=TiVo+ota


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## Fernwood (Sep 11, 2014)

jayerndl said:


> Amazon has refurbished TiVo ota for $30 http://www.amazon.com/TiVo-Roamio-Streaming-Certified-Refurbished/dp/B015NCSOHK/ref=sr_1_10?ie=UTF8&qid=1454766590&sr=8-10&keywords=TiVo+ota
> Also the base TiVo roamio does ota also.
> 
> Jay


I will buy one just for parts if needed. Thank you.


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## Series3Sub (Mar 14, 2010)

iamrockinrich said:


> You are right, it isn't very clear, but this was in the FAQ section:
> "The TiVo BOLT 500 GB and TiVo BOLT 1000 GB both work with either an HD antenna or cable."
> I doubt Tivo would ever abandon OTA since that is the (IMO) main reason to have one. Not sure why anyone would want one for cable when they give a recorder.


If I had to make the decision to take the crap DVR cable companies have or try to budget a TiVo, I would do everything I can to get TiVo. On other hand, the two sat services have DVR whole home systems at least as good as TiVo, and one of the service's system is even a little better than any TiVo available today, IMHO.


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## SomeRandomIdiot (Jan 7, 2016)

Fernwood said:


> I will buy one just for parts if needed. Thank you.


So If Lifetime is tied to motherboard, you are spending $30 for what spare parts?

Hard Drive?
Remote?
Case?
AC cord?


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## SomeRandomIdiot (Jan 7, 2016)

mickinct said:


> What about all the 4k sets out there now with the soon to be useless tunes? Why spend 2-5 k for a new set.


Because they are like Certain naysayers on tcf you can easily find that are not privy to what is happening behind the scenes....believing it will take 10-15 years (which is actually longer than NTSC to ATSC 1.0). Not everything known is on the Internet (and the obvious response, not everything on the Internet is true).

Why buy the 2k-4k sets?

Ask the people who purchased them without HDMI 2.0a or higher who now find they cannot use 4k sources in their home....or those who purchased without HDR....or worse, a non-standard HDR.

But quite frankly, as so few use OTA, it's not a big issue.

People who have a <2.0a HDMI can buy a puck like a Google Chromecast that will have ATSC 1.0 tuner very cheaply and be able to get OTA in 1080 quality.

Those who have 2.0a or higher HDMI will be able to get the same puck that will receive ATSC 3.0 UHD.

One of the neat things about ATSC 3.0 is one signal can feed every device/resolution, even smartphone or tablet and ATSC 3.0 is IP based.

Much better reception (no matter of the antenna drama), it even works mobile with far superior error correction.


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## Fernwood (Sep 11, 2014)

SomeRandomIdiot said:


> So If Lifetime is tied to motherboard, you are spending $30 for what spare parts?
> 
> Hard Drive?
> Remote?
> ...


Thanks for pointing this out. Your powers of observation and deduction are uncanny.


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## BBHughes (Dec 26, 2006)

I ordered one for parts as well. My remote is acting flakey even after replacing the batteries, so for the same cost as a new remote I got an extra power supply and hard drive at least as well.


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## SomeRandomIdiot (Jan 7, 2016)

Fernwood said:


> Thanks for pointing this out. Your powers of observation and deduction are uncanny.





BBHughes said:


> I ordered one for parts as well. My remote is acting flakey even after replacing the batteries, so for the same cost as a new remote I got an extra power supply and hard drive at least as well.


I would have spent $39 instead on an extended 3 year warranty that covered EVERYTHING an not just an AC Cord or a remote - because if your motherboard goes, it's game over for your $30 spare peripherals.

After 3 years, no one will want this OTA model.


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## Fernwood (Sep 11, 2014)

See what I mean folks! How does he do it? Amazing!


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## mickinct (Sep 14, 2015)

BBHughes said:


> I ordered one for parts as well. My remote is acting flakey even after replacing the batteries, so for the same cost as a new remote I got an extra power supply and hard drive at least as well.


The hdd alone is worth $40


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## SomeRandomIdiot (Jan 7, 2016)

Fernwood said:


> See what I mean folks! How does he do it? Amazing!


When people make stupid moves, it's easy!


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## Fernwood (Sep 11, 2014)

Thats nice, if you depend on others stupidity. Well done. Welcome to the list.


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## SomeRandomIdiot (Jan 7, 2016)

Fernwood said:


> Thats nice, if you depend on others stupidity. Well done. Welcome to the list.


That's what it's there for.

Ignorance is bliss, right?


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