# Tivo Roamio OTA and 4K



## David Lection (Mar 20, 2018)

Just curious if a Roamio will capture 4K content from Amazon, Netflix, Plex or other, and allow a 4K enabled Tivo Mini to [;ay that content?


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## JoeKustra (Dec 7, 2012)

I think you are asking if a Mini VOX running 20.7.4 (non-Hydra) still stream Amazon, etc. content in 4K.

Good question.


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## David Lection (Mar 20, 2018)

Hi Joe, we meet again! Now that I have my Roamio and minis running, 4K support was my next thought. Sometime this year our NBC affiliate is going to start 4K broadcast trials. Amazon and Netflix already offer a bunch of 4K content. So TiVo support if 4K is a natural question.. My guess is that we will see a new line of TiVo models..


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## JoeKustra (Dec 7, 2012)

David Lection said:


> So TiVo support if 4K is a natural question.. My guess is that we will see a new line of TiVo models..


I bought the Mini VOX just to have a source of 4K content. But that's after I buy a 4K AVR and a 4K TV.

Your guess about a new line of TiVo models is perhaps the biggest wish I have heard in quite a while. As for 4K on NBC, what are the call letters of the station?

A Mini doesn't use its host for streaming. That's between the Mini and your internet access. So, nothing's stopping you from trying 4K/HDR content on your Mini. Please post any success stories.


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## krkaufman (Nov 25, 2003)

David Lection said:


> Just curious if a Roamio will capture 4K content from Amazon, Netflix, Plex or other, and allow a 4K enabled Tivo Mini to [;ay that content?


The Internet streaming apps on the 4K-capable Mini VOX interact directly with the service provider, so the very non-4K Roamio plays no part in 4K content delivery to the Mini VOX. Accessing 4K content on the Mini VOX is dependent on whether the service provider has delivered a 4K app for the TiVo platform; whether the user has subscribed to 4K content through the provider; and, obviously, whether the user has a 4K TV properly connected to the Mini VOX.

p.s. No TiVo currently records 4K content, since no compatible 4K broadcasts are yet airing; though when possible, only a BOLT would stand a chance of being compatible.


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## krkaufman (Nov 25, 2003)

David Lection said:


> Sometime this year our NBC affiliate is going to start 4K broadcast trials.


Sounds like you should be contacting TiVo to see if they'd like to offer you a 4-tuner BOLT, to see if it is capable of recording those broadcasts.


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## krkaufman (Nov 25, 2003)

David Lection said:


> My guess is that we will see a new line of TiVo models..


No need for a new line, unless the existing 4K-capable BOLT models prove unable to capture 4K recordings. I expect there will be a whole bunch of unhappy customers, if that's the case; though it will also be problematic if the BOLTs *can* capture 4K, since most BOLTs likely have undersized drives if looking to store much 4K content.


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## David Lection (Mar 20, 2018)

JoeKustra said:


> As for 4K on NBC, what are the call letters of the station?.


Here is a url to WRAL

WRAL's Next Gen TV technology will be a cord-cutter's dream come true


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## JoeKustra (Dec 7, 2012)

David Lection said:


> Here is a url to WRAL


Amazing. Too bad you can't watch the demo loop. It is ATSC 3 -> WRAL-TV - Wikipedia


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## krkaufman (Nov 25, 2003)

JoeKustra said:


> Amazing. Too bad you can't watch the demo loop. It is ATSC 3 -> WRAL-TV - Wikipedia


(link) And even the 4K BOLTs won't be able to do anything with that signal, from what I've read, since the BOLTs lack ATSC 3.0-capable tuners. So it requires a new line of DVRs w/ ATSC 3.0 tuners, or TiVo working to integrate existing boxes with external ATSC 3.0 tuners; could be neither.


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## aaronwt (Jan 31, 2002)

krkaufman said:


> No need for a new line, unless the existing 4K-capable BOLT models prove unable to capture 4K recordings. I expect there will be a whole bunch of unhappy customers, if that's the case; though it will also be problematic if the BOLTs *can* capture 4K, since most BOLTs likely have undersized drives if looking to store much 4K content.


UHD HEVC recordings will most likely take up the same or less space than the current MPEG2 HD recordings. Assuming the cable company uses HEVC and not the less efficient H.264 codec. No chance for OTA UHD recordings.


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## krkaufman (Nov 25, 2003)

aaronwt said:


> UHD HEVC recordings will most likely take up the same or less space than the current MPEG2 HD recordings. Assuming the cable company uses HEVC and not the less efficient H.264 codec. No chance for OTA UHD recordings.


Curious, what bitrates are you assuming for both formats?


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## aaronwt (Jan 31, 2002)

krkaufman said:


> Curious, what bitrates are you assuming for both formats?


Well current streaming providers are typically using between 10Mb/s and 16 Mb/s for UHD encodes.

And then with a cable company typically they want to over compress things anyway. So I would think 10 or 12Mb/s for UHD could be expected from cable companies in general.

Of course initially they might start with very high bitrates, and shout it from the rooftops. But then lower the bitrates so things start looking like crap. Like what FiOS has does with their QAM channels.


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## no2com (Feb 6, 2004)

David Lection said:


> Just curious if a Roamio will capture 4K content from Amazon, Netflix, Plex or other, and allow a 4K enabled Tivo Mini to [;ay that content?





JoeKustra said:


> A Mini doesn't use its host for streaming. That's between the Mini and your internet access. So, nothing's stopping you from trying 4K/HDR content on your Mini. Please post any success stories.


Has anyone confirmed that a with a Roamio (OTA in my case), a Tivo Mini Vox will still render 4K UHD from streaming apps like Netflix, Amazon, and others? I'm debating between getting a few Roku Ultras or a few Mini Voxes. I realize the biggest different would be accessing TV shows or not. Also ~$180 for a Vox and ~$100 for the Roku. Thanks.


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## krkaufman (Nov 25, 2003)

no2com said:


> Has anyone confirmed that a with a Roamio (OTA in my case), a Tivo Mini Vox will still render 4K UHD from streaming apps like Netflix, Amazon, and others? I'm debating between getting a few Roku Ultras or a few Mini Voxes. I realize the biggest different would be accessing TV shows or not. Also ~$180 for a Vox and ~$100 for the Roku. Thanks.


The host DVR has no bearing on a Mini VOX's 4K streaming app support.

That said, "like" isn't sufficient if you're looking to compare. Without any qualification there is no comparison because the Roku simply supports more streaming apps than the TiVo platform, and the Ultra has better 4K/HDR support. There's a chance a Mini VOX could be sufficient if your list of needed apps is small enough, HDR optional, or the TV's built-in apps sufficient to cover for the Mini VOX's sub-optimal 4K/HDR app support.


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## JoeKustra (Dec 7, 2012)

I have a Roku Ultra. There are some unhappy users, mainly in the HDMI and 4K areas.

Official ROKU 4K (HDR) Premiere +/Ultra Owners Thread - AVS Forum | Home Theater Discussions And Reviews


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## aaronwt (Jan 31, 2002)

My Ultra and Streaming Stick+ are rock solid as long as I use 60P output.

My Mini Vox has no problem playing back UHD from Netflix or Youtube whether it's host is a Roamio or a Bolt.


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