# How usable is the "out of home streaming" from the Bolt?



## kcantrell (Sep 27, 2008)

I'm considering upgrading my TiVo HD, which is currently connected to an old Slingbox ProHD, to a new TiVo Bolt, so I can take advantage of the lifetime service transfer that is being offered right now. Since the Bolt doesn't have composite or component outputs, I won't be able to use the Slingbox anymore, without paying for a Mini, or other hardware (HDMI splitter + HDMI to Composite converter), so the question is, will I be able to reliably use the "out of home" streaming feature that the TiVo Bolt is supposed to have?

I've seen a few complaints that the Android client doesn't work very well, and hasn't been updated in a while. I've also read that, for some crazy reason, you can only stream to a PC if you are on the same network as your TiVo (I saw a workaround to that, using a Linux server and proxy redirect, which I could do, but I question how reliable that would be).

I love the way the Slingbox is able to stream video with minimal bandwidth if it has to (e.g. you are in a hotel with bad Internet access). How well does TiVo handle a slow or a unreliable connection?

So, before I trash my TiVo HD, by transferring its license away, I want to know what I am getting myself into regarding streaming remotely, a feature I really like having.


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## ChurchillWS (Jan 25, 2017)

It's not great, but somewhat useable. I had a better experience using the FiOS app, but technically that's not supposed to allow you to stream outside your network.

It is correct that you cannot stream on a PC outside of your network or at least I haven't been able to yet.

I think I am on a reliable connection and it still stutters a bit.

I am streaming the shows from my LG V410 tablet on Kit Kat.


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## BigJimOutlaw (Mar 21, 2004)

Seeing that you're in TX, if you're a Time Warner customer, usability might be greatly limited due to their abuse of the copy-once flag.


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## kcantrell (Sep 27, 2008)

BigJimOutlaw said:


> Seeing that you're in TX, if you're a Time Warner customer, usability might be greatly limited due to their abuse of the copy-once flag.


By "copy-once" flag, is that the copyright flag that keeps me from transferring to my PC and/or other TiVos in my house? Are you saying that same flag keeps you from streaming it? That would suck, because pretty much the only thing that isn't flagged is network (ABC, CBS, NBS, FOX) shows.


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## tvmaster2 (Sep 9, 2006)

kcantrell said:


> I'm considering upgrading my TiVo HD, which is currently connected to an old Slingbox ProHD, to a new TiVo Bolt, so I can take advantage of the lifetime service transfer that is being offered right now. Since the Bolt doesn't have composite or component outputs, I won't be able to use the Slingbox anymore, without paying for a Mini, or other hardware (HDMI splitter + HDMI to Composite converter), so the question is, will I be able to reliably use the "out of home" streaming feature that the TiVo Bolt is supposed to have?
> 
> I've seen a few complaints that the Android client doesn't work very well, and hasn't been updated in a while. I've also read that, for some crazy reason, you can only stream to a PC if you are on the same network as your TiVo (I saw a workaround to that, using a Linux server and proxy redirect, which I could do, but I question how reliable that would be).
> 
> ...


what extra costs are incurred implementing Slingbox, from purchase price to any monthly charges etc?
I too have an HD, and am considering the same thing for the same reason. If it's any solace, the Roamio used to be really good for out of country streaming, albeit one stream per box. However, something happened last fall, and out-of-country streaming became either unavailable or lousy, and no one at Tivo could answer as to why...


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## kcantrell (Sep 27, 2008)

tvmaster2 said:


> what extra costs are incurred implementing Slingbox, from purchase price to any monthly charges etc?
> I too have an HD, and am considering the same thing for the same reason. If it's any solace, the Roamio used to be really good for out of country streaming, albeit one stream per box. However, something happened last fall, and out-of-country streaming became either unavailable or lousy, and no one at Tivo could answer as to why...


The problem is that the Bolt doesn't provide any analog outputs (i.e. no composite or component output). Slingbox depends on one of those as input. The two solutions I've seen to that problem is to either purchase a $150 TiVo Mini, or you can purchase an HDMI splitter, connect one HDMI outputs to your TV and the other to a HDMI to component or composite converter, then connect that to your Slingbox.


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## tvmaster2 (Sep 9, 2006)

kcantrell said:


> The problem is that the Bolt doesn't provide any analog outputs (i.e. no composite or component output). Slingbox depends on one of those as input. The two solutions I've seen to that problem is to either purchase a $150 TiVo Mini, or you can purchase an HDMI splitter, connect one HDMI outputs to your TV and the other to a HDMI to component or composite converter, then connect that to your Slingbox.


right, I understand all that as I own a HD like you do. But what about the costs of operating the Slingbox - how much?


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## mdavej (Aug 13, 2015)

tvmaster2 said:


> right, I understand all that as I own a HD like you do. But what about the costs of operating the Slingbox - how much?


Costs? You mean the cost of power? My 350 running 24x7 costs about 40 cents/month in my part of the country.


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## kcantrell (Sep 27, 2008)

tvmaster2 said:


> right, I understand all that as I own a HD like you do. But what about the costs of operating the Slingbox - how much?


Oh, okay, sorry, I misunderstood what you were asking. There are no reoccurring costs with a Slingbox. That is one of the nice things about it. They used to charge for the app ($20 or so), but it looks like they stopped doing that as well. So, you should just have to purchase one of their boxes and be done with it. I've been pretty happy with mine. It has been able to stream video to me over some pretty awful Internet connections.


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## BigJimOutlaw (Mar 21, 2004)

kcantrell said:


> By "copy-once" flag, is that the copyright flag that keeps me from transferring to my PC and/or other TiVos in my house? Are you saying that same flag keeps you from streaming it? That would suck, because pretty much the only thing that isn't flagged is network (ABC, CBS, NBS, FOX) shows.


Yes that's the same copy flag. And actually the more I think about it, I've lost track of Tivo's various iterations of streaming where one thing is allowed and another isn't... In home, out of home, downloading, streaming, copy flag rules, iOS, android. It seems like nothing is ever fully on the same page.

Looking at Tivo's website, it implies Android streaming might work now, but downloading flagged content won't. Previously, not even streaming worked on flagged content. So maybe it's not so bad now.

To answer the original question, Tivo's streaming is kind of "meh". Out of home, your upload speed is of vital importance to even have a chance of a good stream. In home is decent.


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## aaronwt (Jan 31, 2002)

OOH streaming works great with my Android devices from my Bolts(or Romaio Pro). And it doesn't take up much bandwidth. I can watch an hour long program with no issues.

EDIT: BigJimOutlaw I just saw your post. I still can't stream recordings OOH from the restricted channels on FiOS. (Fox owned channels, Cinemax and HBO.) But everything else works great.


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## tvmaster2 (Sep 9, 2006)

kcantrell said:


> Oh, okay, sorry, I misunderstood what you were asking. There are no reoccurring costs with a Slingbox. That is one of the nice things about it. They used to charge for the app ($20 or so), but it looks like they stopped doing that as well. So, you should just have to purchase one of their boxes and be done with it. I've been pretty happy with mine. It has been able to stream video to me over some pretty awful Internet connections.


Cool. Which Slingbox model are you using to be able to stream from outside the country?


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## BigJimOutlaw (Mar 21, 2004)

aaronwt said:


> EDIT: BigJimOutlaw I just saw your post. I still can't stream recordings OOH from the restricted channels on FiOS. (Fox owned channels, Cinemax and HBO.) But everything else works great.


:up: Ok, then Time Warner users are still screwed in that case, at least for out of home.


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## kcantrell (Sep 27, 2008)

tvmaster2 said:


> Cool. Which Slingbox model are you using to be able to stream from outside the country?


I'm using a old Slingbox Pro HD. I'm pretty sure they don't sell that one anymore. I would recommend the Slingbox M2. It is only $99 (plus shipping and taxes).

As far as out of the country, that shouldn't matter, unless the country you are in is blocking "slingbox.com". Pretty much anywhere you can access slingbox.com and your home network (slingbox.com will redirect to your home network for you) you should be fine.


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## kcantrell (Sep 27, 2008)

BigJimOutlaw said:


> :up: Ok, then Time Warner users are still screwed in that case, at least for out of home.


So, Time Warner (a.k.a. Spectrum) users will not be able to stream copy protected shows? While that sucks, it should be okay for me, since 99% of the time I am simply watching standard network channels anyway.


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## tvmaster2 (Sep 9, 2006)

kcantrell said:


> I'm using a old Slingbox Pro HD. I'm pretty sure they don't sell that one anymore. I would recommend the Slingbox M2. It is only $99 (plus shipping and taxes).
> 
> As far as out of the country, that shouldn't matter, unless the country you are in is blocking "slingbox.com". Pretty much anywhere you can access slingbox.com and your home network (slingbox.com will redirect to your home network for you) you should be fine.


and the beauty of this method, is that premium channels aren't blocked, or flagged, as they're being output from the Tivo's component outputs, correct?


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## kcantrell (Sep 27, 2008)

tvmaster2 said:


> and the beauty of this method, is that premium channels aren't blocked, or flagged, as they're being output from the Tivo's component outputs, correct?


Yup! As far as TiVo knows, it is just displaying it to a TV.


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## tvmaster2 (Sep 9, 2006)

kcantrell said:


> Yup! As far as TiVo knows, it is just displaying it to a TV.


Thanks. I think I'll make sure to keep at least one box with component outs (Premiere or HD) to use internationally, as the recent mess Tivo made of the iOS streaming app leaves me less confident.


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## tvmaster2 (Sep 9, 2006)

kcantrell said:


> Yup! As far as TiVo knows, it is just displaying it to a TV.


so this would work? Slingbox M2 Sling Media with Internet Stream - Black

and, the Sling has no control with regards to scheduling or deleting programs from the Tivo, correct?


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## mdavej (Aug 13, 2015)

tvmaster2 said:


> so this would work? Slingbox M2 Sling Media with Internet Stream - Black
> 
> and, the Sling has no control with regards to scheduling or deleting programs from the Tivo, correct?


Yes. See this for which software works with that model:
Slingbox.com - Which SlingPlayer software works with my Slingbox?

Wrong about control. You have the same control as if you were sitting in front of your Tivo. You can do absolutely everything via Slingbox.


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## PCurry57 (Feb 27, 2012)

kcantrell said:


> By "copy-once" flag, is that the copyright flag that keeps me from transferring to my PC and/or other TiVos in my house? Are you saying that same flag keeps you from streaming it? That would suck, because pretty much the only thing that isn't flagged is network (ABC, CBS, NBS, FOX) shows.


Yes, that prevents you from streaming content off of your home network. Some have had sucess setting up a vpn tunnel.

Sent from my Samsung Galaxy Tab S2 (SM-T817P)


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## Puppy76 (Oct 7, 2004)

What does enabling out of home streaming DO? Like how is it getting through my firewall, and are their security implications? I've left it unchecked because of that (and don't really need it as I just copy the shows I want to my PC) but it's interesting...


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## tvmaster2 (Sep 9, 2006)

mdavej said:


> Yes. See this for which software works with that model:
> Slingbox.com - Which SlingPlayer software works with my Slingbox?
> 
> Wrong about control. You have the same control as if you were sitting in front of your Tivo. You can do absolutely everything via Slingbox.


So let's say you're sitting in a coffee shop in Europe - how do you schedule Tivo recordings? How does the M2 box for example, interface with the Tivo software?


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## mdavej (Aug 13, 2015)

tvmaster2 said:


> So let's say you're sitting in a coffee shop in Europe - how do you schedule Tivo recordings? How does the M2 box for example, interface with the Tivo software?


It's very low tech. It sends picture and sound to you, and blasts commands via IR just as your remote would. So you interact with the Tivo with a virtual on-screen remote, and IR commands blast out of the slingbox while you navigate the actual Tivo screens as if you were watching at home. Honestly, while this is kind of cool, it's much easier to schedule recordings via the Tivo app rather than via slingbox.


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## TonyD79 (Jan 4, 2002)

You can control the box and therefore do all the bookkeeping via sling as it emulates the remote control but it is easier to use the TiVo app on a smart phone to set recordings, etc. because using the sling is S L O W. 

I use sling to watch and my iPhone to set recordings, etc.


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## tvmaster2 (Sep 9, 2006)

mdavej said:


> It's very low tech. It sends picture and sound to you, and blasts commands via IR just as your remote would. So you interact with the Tivo with a virtual on-screen remote, and IR commands blast out of the slingbox while you navigate the actual Tivo screens as if you were watching at home. Honestly, while this is kind of cool, it's much easier to schedule recordings via the Tivo app rather than via slingbox.


Ok, that's crazy, but functional I guess. I use the iPad app already, so that's no problem. thanks


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## aaronwt (Jan 31, 2002)

I used to use my SLingbox for Access to my recordings until TiVo implemented OOH streaming. It's so much better through the TiVo app than through the SLing Box. Although, for the Slingbox, as long as you just watch the recording straight through it's fine. Since you can't do any trick play stuff because of the long delay.


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## mdavej (Aug 13, 2015)

Even with OOH via Stream/Pro/Bolt, I still find the picture quality far better with Slingbox. And I can use it to watch Netflix and other services internationally. You can't watch Netflix over VPN anymore. I use the Tivo app for streaming to a very small screen, like a phone, and for recording management.


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