# Can TS4k be used like a Mini to play TV shows from Roamio?



## daevid (Aug 4, 2003)

I have a Roamio and 2 Minis (via MoCa) and Lifetime service.

I have probably 9 x 4k smart TVs around the house (all wall mounted) and all sorts of Amazon FireTV, Google Chromecast, hidden behind them, etc. One of (many) infuriating things about TiVo is they cripple the TiVo Android App so it won't work on a FireTV stick. I just want to be able to stream my Roamio TV recorded shows to other rooms (like in my office while I'm working during the day). I was considering getting a new Google Chromecast with GTV/Remote (the white thing they came out with) with the hopes I could load the TiVo app onto it and "hobble" this together to at least get the streams, etc. even if it's not "remote" friendly designed. Then I see the TS4K is $30 on the TiVo site today (as I'm calling in to opt-out of that annoying AF pre-roll commercial nonsense). So I pop it in my cart, fully expecting this to be the solution; a 'mini on a stick' basically. I ask the tech support lady (to confirm), "the TS4K can stream my Roamio pre-recorded shows on my LAN right?" And I nearly shat myself when she said, "no sir.... blah blah blah... (no idea what else she said as I could barely believe my ears)". I must have asked the question multiple times, multiple ways because surely she was not understanding me and there is no way TiVo the company could be so myopic to not do literally the one thing their device should do - integrate into the ecosystem (especially when it runs Android and they have a friggin' android app to do exactly this already!) I am literally still in shock and disbelief and in some kind of 'i refuse to believe that in 2021 this can be real', that's why I find myself here posting this question to a wider audience who can break it to me gently or hopefully tell me, "that lady was smoking crack and of course the TS4k can stream Tivo shows from your Roamio on your LAN -- that would be the most asinine thing ever if it couldn't LOL! " ... please... please?


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## slick1ru2 (Apr 24, 2021)

The 4K is basically android tv with TiVo+ streaming channels.


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## kdmorse (Jan 29, 2001)

What you were told is correct. You are correct to be surprised, shocked, and disappointed.


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## Foogie (Mar 23, 2021)

Someone on this forum sideloaded the app but you need to use a mouse


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## slick1ru2 (Apr 24, 2021)

Foogie said:


> Someone on this forum sideloaded the app but you need to use a mouse


There's a free android Bluetooth mouse app that works well with the TiVo stream 4K.


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## snerd (Jun 6, 2008)

kdmorse said:


> What you were told is correct. You are correct to be surprised, shocked, and disappointed.


There may still be a small glimmer of hope for the TS4K. I recently took a TiVo survey on the TS4K. It included specific questions about adding support to stream recordings from a TiVo DVR. I *begged* them to add that support, and commented that it was the most important improvement they could make in the TS4K.

The survey made no mention of prospects for borrowing tuners. I suggested that would also be nice, but that streaming recordings was more important.

Note that I said "small glimmer" above. That probably makes me an optimist.


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## daevid (Aug 4, 2003)

kdmorse said:


> What you were told is correct. You are correct to be surprised, shocked, and disappointed.


LOL!!!! #icanteven Oh TiVo... when will you ever learn... First the failure "upgrade" that misses parity and features with the previous version and now jumping the proverbial shark with a worse version of an android dongle. What a mess... How do you go from being literally THE only game in town for DVR/PVR to arguably the last place... So Sad. You had ONE job!


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