# Elite vs Roamio



## jhjones75 (Oct 18, 2011)

What are the benefits of the Roamio over the Elite? The obvious ones are the 2 extra tuners (which I don't think I need) and the ability to stream (which doesn't do me any good until it works out of the home - and even then would only be something I would use a couple times a year). 

I am a tech junkie and fighting the "must have it now" feeling, but the more I hold off the less of an upgrade I see to it. The 4 tuner version is buggy as hell so I only hope I wouldn't have the same problems with 6 tuners. 

Any help here? The wifi does me no good and while a faster UI and better Netflix app would be nice I'm not sure thats worth the $800 outlay. Especially since we still don't have Amazon. 

The $800 with lifetime price tag has made me second guess this decision a couple dozen times so just looking for others views on it. Thanks!


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## Dan203 (Apr 17, 2000)

The biggest change, besides the extra tuners and built in Stream, is the speed. If you're ok with the performance of the Elite then stick with it and save yourself some cash. 

Personally I ordered a Roamio because of the speed. I don't need 6 tuners and I already have a standalone Stream. But the slowness of the Elite drives me nuts and irritates me enough that I'm willing to spend nearly $1k (I got the Pro) just to speed up the UI. If you don't feel the same then hold off and see what comes in the future. Prices will likely drop over time and maybe they will eventually have a feature that is a "must have" for you.


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## Millionaire2K (Jun 16, 2008)

Dan203 said:


> The biggest change, besides the extra tuners and built in Stream, is the speed. If you're ok with the performance of the Elite then stick with it and save yourself some cash.
> 
> Personally I ordered a Roamio because of the speed. I don't need 6 tuners and I already have a standalone Stream. But the slowness of the Elite drives me nuts and irritates me enough that I'm willing to spend nearly $1k (I got the Pro) just to speed up the UI. If you don't feel the same then hold off and see what comes in the future. Prices will likely drop over time and maybe they will eventually have a feature that is a "must have" for you.


Exactly what Dan said!!


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## StevesWeb (Dec 26, 2008)

One might say that the biggest change in the Roamio line is that TiVo finally ditched Adobe Flash. That is the problem with all Premiere models, the reason they are so sloooooow.

Flash is very 1996, while HTML5 is the cat's pajamas.


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## overFEDEXed (Nov 11, 2002)

Millionaire2K said:


> Exactly what Dan said!!


Get the Roamio Plus or Pro. You will see such a BIG difference, that you won't care about the money, as much.

Like Dan said, the Netflix on the XL4/Elite was SO SLOW, it was very annoying. Even my four and eight year-old kids, can tell a difference now, with the Roamio. The RF remote is not a big deal to me, as I use all Slides.

I will warn you though, if you wanted to sell your Elite, the price has dropped from $650 to $750, just before the Roamio launch, to around $550. I sold my Extended warranty Elite, with a Glo AND Slide remote, plus Wireless 'G" adapter, for $525.

I didn't have to have the money but, I like to "Change things up" so....to eBay it went. I paid $750 for that Elite setup, ($350 + $400 LT) about 18 months ago. Oh well, that's technology for you.


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## monkeydust (Dec 12, 2004)

I was just using my Elite after only using my Roamio and Mini for a while. I became extremely frustrated within a minute. The lag of the menu is horrible. I was trying to get into settings to unlink my mini and ended up playing Jake and the Neverland Pirates due to the horrible lag. Under no circumstance would I recommend a Premier over a Roamio.


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## HenryFarpolo (Dec 1, 2008)

I had some irritation, but never dissatisfaction with the Elite/XL4. I plan to continue to use it on another TV. If it was side by side with the Roamio, I would choose the Roamio on speed alone.

I am one of those who cleans out the recently deleted folder periodically. Doing it with the HD menu on the XL4 is painful. On the Roamio it is a snap.


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## generaltso (Nov 4, 2003)

StevesWeb said:


> One might say that the biggest change in the Roamio line is that TiVo finally ditched Adobe Flash. That is the problem with all Premiere models, the reason they are so sloooooow.
> 
> Flash is very 1996, while HTML5 is the cat's pajamas.


That's not really true. While the Roamio now supports HTML 5 for apps, the native TiVo menus still use Flash. The reason it's so much faster is because the hardware now actually meets the minimum system requirements for Flash.


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## jhjones75 (Oct 18, 2011)

Thanks everyone. I don't know that this really makes my decision easier, but its a start


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## mvnuenen (Jun 1, 2007)

May be it was a mere setting in the Premiere i was never able to find but with the Roamio i haven't had a single advertisement for paper towels or Best Buy! PRICELESS!!!


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## Devx (Jun 1, 2006)

mvnuenen said:


> ...but with the Roamio i haven't had a single advertisement for paper towels or Best Buy *yet*...


Slight correction to that for you. They're coming, trust me.


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## Devx (Jun 1, 2006)

jhjones75 said:


> Thanks everyone. I don't know that this really makes my decision easier, but its a start


The speed improvement cannot be overstated. If you are comfortable with the speed of the Elite or using the SD menu's on the Elite to improve speed then it may not be a big deal. After only a few hours using the Roamio I'm going to turn off the HD UI on the Elite. Going back is a bit painful.

Remember also that with the launch of the Roamio, the Premiere line may only receive minor updates. The Roamio would provide a bit of future proofing with updates, possibility to upgrade to 3TB (or more) of storage. Those extra tuners could easily come in handy, for example, if streaming and doing live TV, that would be an additional tuner if that show isn't already recording.


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