# Cutting the cord



## Tipperton (May 23, 2017)

Hi everyone!

I am blind and do not own a TV. I currently own a TiVo Bolt DVR and have it hooked up to a Bose Solo 5 sound bar and my home audio system (they used to call them stereos). I also own a TiVo Mini which I have in my bed room so I can use my Bolt from there, it is hooked up to a pair of amplified bookshelf speakers in my headboard.

For my project to cut the cord on my cable company I am looking at the TiVo Stream 4K and have several questions.

1. Does the Stream have a screen reader? Being blind I will need it just to be able to use the Stream.

2. Does the Stream have audio output for a sound bar or speaker? Since I don't own a TV, I would need a convertor if HDMI is all it has.

3. If I put a Stream in my living and bed rooms, would I have to pay for stream subscriptions for each of them or could I have both Streams use the same subscription?

4. In the case where I'd have to pay for separate subscriptions for each Stream, will a TiVo Mini give me access to the Stream from another room?

Thank you so much for any help you can offer.


----------



## mdavej (Aug 13, 2015)

The Stream 4k is just another streaming device like a Fire stick or Roku or Chromecast. It does not interact with other Tivos in any way. There is no subscription fee besides the fees for the individual services you already have, for example, Netflix or Amazon Prime Video.

1. I'm not sure, but other Android TV boxes like the Stream do have a screen reader.

2. It only has HDMI.

3. There is no fee.

4. Stream does not interact at all with other Tivos.

I hope that helps.


----------



## Tipperton (May 23, 2017)

Hi mdavej!

Thanks for that, it helps. It tells me that I will need one of those converters that split up HDMI into separate audio and video outputs. Now I just have to find one that meets my needs.

Can you please tell me what connections the Stream has on the back, please include everything as I will need that to determine what I will need to complete my Stream set up.

I know that the Stream does not need a program guide subscription, what my question was asking was, if I have two Streams, one in the living room and one in the bed room, would they be able to use the same subscription for a particular stream, or would I have to pay for a separate subscription for each of the two Streams?

Thank you so much!


----------



## mdavej (Aug 13, 2015)

There are connections on 3 of the 4 sides - HDMI out, USB-C for accessory like wired ethernet and MicroUSB for power.

Like a Roku or Fire stick, each subscription - Netflix, etc. can be shared across many streaming devices.


----------



## Tipperton (May 23, 2017)

Hi mdavej!

Thanks for the reply! That tells me just what I needed to know.

I was hoping that it might have a USB port that I could use to provide power to the HDMI converter so that I wouldn't have to use up another outlet for it. I am running out of outlets. I will try using the USB-C port for that and if that doesn't work, I'll get a USB adapter that has two ports on it. I already have a couple of these, and I love them! Now I have an excuse to buy more of them! :-D

I was guessing that that would be the case for the streaming service subscriptions, I just wanted to be sure.

Thank you so much for your help, I appriciate it very much.

Now I'm off to find a HDMI splitter…


----------



## Tipperton (May 23, 2017)

Just out of curiosity, did TiVo ever produce a Stream that didn't support 4K HD or does it offer the option to set the video quality you want to stream?

Since I am blind and don't need the video portion, if possible I'd set it to download only SD quality video.

Thank you so much for any help offered.


----------



## mdavej (Aug 13, 2015)

The 4k is the one and only model. I'm really not sure what it will output if not connected to a display due to copy protection. Hopefully someone else can answer how to reduce the video quality, if possible.


----------



## Tipperton (May 23, 2017)

Hi mdavej!

First I will apologize for this pointless exercise.

I called TiVo technical support and they told me that the Stream does not currently have a screen reader which is in violation of the CVAA, so I will have to look at Roku or Apple TV for a streaming player. Since I don't have a TV to pplug it into, I can't use anything like a Fire TV stick.

Thanks for all your answers, they were very much appriciated.


----------



## mdavej (Aug 13, 2015)

No problem. But I don't understand how a Roku or Apple would work without a TV but a Fire stick would not.

You should also consider a Chromecast or Nvidia Shield or a first generation Fire TV box that has optical audio outputs. There are also Rokus that have an audio output like the Ultra.


----------



## Tipperton (May 23, 2017)

Hi mdavej!

As I understand it, the Roku player and Apple TV are stand alone devices like the TiVo Stream 4K. They have their own power source and hook up to the TV via HDMI. Where the Fire TV stick is a USB device that plugs into a USB port on your TV. If I am wrong, then I apologize for the misunderstanding.


----------



## mdavej (Aug 13, 2015)

Tipperton said:


> Hi mdavej!
> 
> As I understand it, the Roku player and Apple TV are stand alone devices like the TiVo Stream 4K. They have their own power source and hook up to the TV via HDMI. Where the Fire TV stick is a USB device that plugs into a USB port on your TV. If I am wrong, then I apologize for the misunderstanding.


That is incorrect. The Fire stick works the same as all the others.


----------



## Tipperton (May 23, 2017)

Hi mdavej!

My mistake then, because they called it a stick, I got the impression that it was a stick shaped device with a USB plug on one end. My apologies.


----------



## mdavej (Aug 13, 2015)

Tipperton said:


> Hi mdavej!
> 
> My mistake then, because they called it a stick, I got the impression that it was a stick shaped device with a USB plug on one end. My apologies.


No problem. Realize that there are also "stick" versions of Roku that plug in the HDMI port just like a regular Roku. All streaming devices work like this, though HDMI, not USB.


----------



## Tipperton (May 23, 2017)

A friend of mine has a Roku player and it is a small device that had connections for an HDMI cable, power, and probably an ethernet port in case you want to wire it in instead of using WiFi. So I thought that the Apple TV was the same, and the Fire TV stick plugged directly into one of the TV's USB port for power.


----------



## pl1 (Jan 18, 2007)

mdavej said:


> No problem. Realize that there are also "stick" versions of Roku that plug in the HDMI port just like a regular Roku. All streaming devices work like this, though HDMI, not USB.


Most all sticks are powered by a separate power source, including the Amazon stick, Rokus and TiVo TSK. What I'm not sure of is if these devices require an active HDMI connection to output. I have never tested this, but I would think you could put an HDMI to Audio extractor that would work in place of the TV.


----------



## pl1 (Jan 18, 2007)

Tipperton said:


> A friend of mine has a Roku player and it is a small device that had connections for an HDMI cable, power, and probably an ethernet port in case you want to wire it in instead of using WiFi. So I thought that the Apple TV was the same, and the Fire TV stick plugged directly into one of the TV's USB port for power.


I had an Amazon Fire Stick, and I recall that it had a power cube and a USB power cable. I remember the directions recommended against using the the USB port of the TV. But it said it "could" be plugged into the TV. But, you are looking for a way to power it without the TV, correct?


----------



## pl1 (Jan 18, 2007)

pl1 said:


> I had an Amazon Fire Stick, and I recall that it had a power cube and a USB power cable. I remember the directions recommended against using the the USB port of the TV. But it said it "could" be plugged into the TV. But, you are looking for a way to power it without the TV, correct?


OK, I just tested this with my TiVo Stream 4K and an audio Extractor I happen to have. It works FINE! It has a USB powered source. Then I used an RCA out to some speakers.


----------



## pl1 (Jan 18, 2007)

Tipperton said:


> 1. Does the Stream have a screen reader? Being blind I will need it just to be able to use the Stream.


 I was searching the Internet about this. I found that the Roku offers accessibility features. I could not find any other streaming devices that do after a quick search.

https://www.roku.com/accessibility


> Audio Guide provides an accessible entertainment experience for the blind and visually impaired. Audio Guide is a text-to-speech screen reader that assists customers with navigation of the Roku user interface and onscreen menus. When activated, Audio Guide will read out text, menus and other onscreen items.


----------



## mdavej (Aug 13, 2015)

Describing the pictures posted above, a Stream 4k HDMI out is plugged into a box called "Gana Mini HDMI2AV Up Scaler 1080p", then RCA left and right phono plugs go from the Gana box to an audio system. Both boxes are plugged into their respective USB power sources.

I never had any luck using the TV's USB power for my Fire stick. It would crash intermittently due to low current.

I can also confirm that Roku definitely has a screen reader. I've turned it on accidentally a couple of times.

EDIT: Changed Fire stick to Stream 4k.


----------



## pl1 (Jan 18, 2007)

mdavej said:


> Describing the pictures posted above, a Fire stick


Minor correction, this is a TiVo Stream 4K I tested with. I'm sure the results would be the same for the Amazon Fire Stick.


----------



## Tipperton (May 23, 2017)

Yes, I will be using the streaming player without a TV so I expected to have to use an AC adaptor of some kind.

This is what I am looking at for my choices

The basic Roku player, it is only $30, very reasonable.

The Roku Ultra player, it costs $80, not as low as the basic player but still reasonable and it has the advantage of having audio only outputs so it wouldn't need an HDMI splitter.

Apple TV, at $150 or more it is the most expensive of all the streaming players that I have looked at, other than the Apple name, I don't see that it is worth all that money. Its big advantage is that it is also the most accessible of all the players.

As yet I don't know much about Amazon's streaming players, I just remember back when I had an Alexa smart speaker and that it was always trying to sell me stuff I didn't want or need, and knowing Amazon, I wouldn't put it past them to do the same with their streaming players, so I've been pretty much avoiding them.


----------



## JeanGirard (Oct 13, 2021)

I would recommend GoogleTV Chromecast dongle. Google offers decent accessibility features.

Make Google TV more accessible - Google TV Help


----------

