# Roamio OTA RF Sensitivity is Disappointing



## W7SJK (Jan 17, 2002)

What is your experience with sensitivity between antenna capable TIVO's?

Been a TIVO owner since the first model. Now experimenting with cutting the cord. My Series 3 HDXL works well OTA but alas is only 2 tuners and doesnt stream. So I bought a Roamio OTA today. Its reception RF sensitivity is definitely lower. It studders and pixelates where the HDXL did not. For example signal strength for CBS is 50 vs 63 on the HDXL. (I know the signal strength between units is relative and may not be directly comparable.) I may have to return it will keep experimenting. I live in a condo so I cannot improve my antenna setup.


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## Captainbob (Sep 1, 2014)

W7SJK said:


> What is your experience with sensitivity between antenna capable TIVO's?
> 
> Been a TIVO owner since the first model. Now experimenting with cutting the cord. My Series 3 HDXL works well OTA but alas is only 2 tuners and doesnt stream. So I bought a Roamio OTA today. Its reception RF sensitivity is definitely lower. It studders and pixelates where the HDXL did not. For example signal strength for CBS is 50 vs 63 on the HDXL. (I know the signal strength between units is relative and may not be directly comparable.) I may have to return it will keep experimenting. I live in a condo so I cannot improve my antenna setup.


I have a Roamio basic which should be the same tuners as in the OTA. I find the tuners in the Basic are far superior to the tuners in two HD TVs I have tried it with , a Panasonic and Samsung, and both are less than a year old.


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## fred2 (Jan 20, 2006)

When I first set it up and recorded using Rabbit Ears that serve the adjacent tv well, I was getting pixelation on one channel fairly bad. But I've since moved the antenna and adjusted angles and it seems to have fixed it but I'm still testing. The tivo is in a temporary location while I set it up and while I wait for a larger hard drive then will be moved to a cabinet where an external antenna hookup will be available. So still in the tweaking phase.


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## Captainbob (Sep 1, 2014)

fred2 said:


> When I first set it up and recorded using Rabbit Ears that serve the adjacent tv well, I was getting pixelation on one channel fairly bad. But I've since moved the antenna and adjusted angles and it seems to have fixed it but I'm still testing. The tivo is in a temporary location while I set it up and while I wait for a larger hard drive then will be moved to a cabinet where an external antenna hookup will be available. So still in the tweaking phase.


I wouldn't use rabbit ears since they have to be adjusted when changing channels usually. I got a multi directional indoor antenna, put it up, gets all the channels, and doesn't ever have to be moved. http://www.walltenna.com/


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## fred2 (Jan 20, 2006)

Captainbob said:


> I wouldn't use rabbit ears since they have to be adjusted when changing channels usually. I got a multi directional indoor antenna, put it up, gets all the channels, and doesn't ever have to be moved. http://www.walltenna.com/


So you like that model? Have you had it for a while?

Actually, the main TV and the current S3 Tivo are downstairs but hooked to an OUTDOOR antenna that gets good reception. But at the moment, I've temporarily set up the new Roamio in my upstairs den and the tv here is on rabbit ears. It has generally been okay. The only reason for this temporary setup location was to get it setup and its software updated and moved/copied Season Passes while I computed.

But getting a good indoor antenna appeals to me, so a recommendation might get me to jump.


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## replaytv (Feb 21, 2011)

I thought some people said the problem with some TiVos is that they are _too _sensitive, to it leads to reception of multipaths causing pix-elation. So they put a attenuator in the path to reduce the multipath signals. I haven't tried it myself, only read about it on this forum.

But if too little signal is a problem then maybe when you have it connected to the outside antenna that might fix your problem?


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## fred2 (Jan 20, 2006)

replaytv said:


> I thought some people said the problem with some TiVos is that they are _too _sensitive, to it leads to reception of multipaths causing pix-elation. So they put a attenuator in the path to reduce the multipath signals. I haven't tried it myself, only read about it on this forum.
> 
> But if too little signal is a problem then maybe when you have it connected to the outside antenna that might fix your problem?


Yes, maybe I should just move it down there, disconnect the older tivo and swap installations. It would be nice to have the 4-tuner attached to the main tv.

I will admit, having Tivo in my den is nice, too, but a two-tuner S3 might suffice - just having certain shows record and available in the den. Or being able to "backup" or pause while watching news to catch something I missed.


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## Captainbob (Sep 1, 2014)

fred2 said:


> So you like that model? Have you had it for a while?
> 
> Actually, the main TV and the current S3 Tivo are downstairs but hooked to an OUTDOOR antenna that gets good reception. But at the moment, I've temporarily set up the new Roamio in my upstairs den and the tv here is on rabbit ears. It has generally been okay. The only reason for this temporary setup location was to get it setup and its software updated and moved/copied Season Passes while I computed.
> 
> But getting a good indoor antenna appeals to me, so a recommendation might get me to jump.


I have been using the Walltenna for over 2 years. I had another flat antenna before the Walltenna, but it didn't work that well, so I replaced it. Of course a good antenna outside will always be better.


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## fred2 (Jan 20, 2006)

Captainbob said:


> I have been using the Walltenna for over 2 years. I had another flat antenna before the Walltenna, but it didn't work that well, so I replaced it. Of course a good antenna outside will always be better.


I think I will order it - what kind of environment are you in? Urban, rural, apartment, house, trees?

I'm just a bit north of downtown Seattle and get pretty good reception. Occasionally something glitches.


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## Captainbob (Sep 1, 2014)

fred2 said:


> I think I will order it - what kind of environment are you in? Urban, rural, apartment, house, trees?
> 
> I'm just a bit north of downtown Seattle and get pretty good reception. Occasionally something glitches.


I live in a condo about 15 miles from downtown Atlanta. The antenna is mounted on an inside wall, not near a window, and not on the same side of the building as where most of the transmitters are located. Thick threes between my condo and the transmitter.


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## Joe Siegler (May 10, 2000)

W7SJK said:


> Been a TIVO owner since the first model. Now experimenting with cutting the cord. My Series 3 HDXL works well OTA but alas is only 2 tuners and doesn't stream. So I bought a Roamio OTA today. Its reception RF sensitivity is definitely lower. It studders and pixelates where the HDXL did not. For example signal strength for CBS is 50 vs 63 on the HDXL. (I know the signal strength between units is relative and may not be directly comparable.) I may have to return it&#8230; will keep experimenting. I live in a condo so I cannot improve my antenna setup.


I have a Roamio basic because I'm antenna only. Actually have two of them. Both hooked to antennas. One to a roof antenna mounted in the attic, and another to a $7 pair of rabbit ears also in the attic. The latter works surprisingly well, but I digress.

I don't have problems with stuttering beyond a few channels that I know would be problematic due to my reports from tvfool.com. There's also a bloody large tree in my neighbor's yard, which sometimes causes issues with fringe stations, but none of the big boys (ABC, PBS, NBC, etc..)

Also, I don't know why folks would buy the OTA Roamio. There is no lifetime service option. I'd buy a regular Roamio. That has a cable card slot in case you want to change later on down the road.. And again.. Lifetime. I detest monthly charges, and while I realize it's a larger up front cost, I'd rather go that then have a monthly charge with the OTA model you can never escape.

Edit: I wrote about my experience picking an antenna, and why I can't have anything like a Walltenna inside my house. Gotta be attic or roof for me. http://joe.siegler.net/2011/09/choosing-an-antenna/


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## W7SJK (Jan 17, 2002)

Well my thread got a little off topic, but FYI Tivo Support's response was that the 4 tuner Roamio OTA would likely show lower signal strength than the 2 tuner HDXL because the signal is split among 4 tuners rather than 2.


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## kokishin (Sep 9, 2014)

Captainbob said:


> I wouldn't use rabbit ears since they have to be adjusted when changing channels usually. I got a multi directional indoor antenna, put it up, gets all the channels, and doesn't ever have to be moved. http://www.walltenna.com/


Nice review: http://www.amazon.com/review/R39DGAS64OAPAI/ref=cm_cr_pr_perm?ie=UTF8&ASIN=B004NDP6SQ


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## ncted (May 13, 2007)

I am getting excellent reception on my Roamio OTA with a Clearstream 2V antenna indoors. The highest signal strength I ever see on any stations is ~75. On my Hopper with OTA module those stations come in at 100%, so I would not expect to get much more than 75 on any channel in my limited experience. This is much better than my experience with a Premier FWIW.


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## dcline414 (May 1, 2014)

W7SJK said:


> Well my thread got a little off topic, but FYI Tivo Support's response was that the 4 tuner Roamio OTA would likely show lower signal strength than the 2 tuner HDXL because the signal is split among 4 tuners rather than 2.


If the antenna you are using isn't already amplified, try adding a small amplifier to boost the signal before being split by the Tivo. As long as it doesn't cause distortion on your strongest signals, it should help compensate for the loss from the Tivo's splitter.

We get about 40 channels (including subs) with the amplifier, and about 0 without.


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## ziggy29 (Jul 26, 2002)

We just got ours today (ordered Tuesday, received three days later from BB). So far, between the USB tuner card, a couple of digital converter boxes and our (soon to be ex-) D* HR20-700, this has *by far* the best tuner as far as I can tell. I'm testing it in a room that only has a small, amplified indoor antenna (tower about 48 miles away) and it's locking in better on almost all stations, and channels that sometimes have faded in and out elsewhere seem to be locked in with 60-70% signal strength (enough to hold it and then some). 

One thing I do notice is that my D* box sometimes shows 85-95% signal strength on a couple of the stations and this Tivo rarely shows more than 75-80%. But it also seems to have fewer dropouts AND has better reception of the weaker signals by a wide margin. I'm happy with the stronger signals getting 75% strength as long as it holds that well; that's plenty to give a steady, great picture. And if the signals that gave me 25-40% on the D* box give me 50-60% here (still generally enough to not break up), I'm very happy. Especially since I'm close to being able to replace a $110 satellite bill with about $30 between Tivo, Netflix and Hulu. I'll be getting an outside wall mount antenna up just above the roofline soon, and I suspect that and this tuner will give us results that have us canceling satellite and its three-digit monthly bills very quickly.


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