TiVo Roamio DVRs Preview

[admin]

TiVo has always been expensive and that hasn't changed with the new Roamio boxes. If you are a true cord-cutter, the straight Roamio will be for you. This is the only one that has support for OTA. At $200, it isn't the cheapest solution on the market (and only has a 500 gig drive) but it will also stream your favorite services and, with a $130 peripheral, throw content to your iOS device (and hopefully Android soon). With four tuners, the famous TiVo interface, an IR/RF remote, and expandable storage, you may think it is worth it. If you have a cable service but want more than just the crappy DVR your provider offers, the Roamio Plus (1 terabyte) or Pro (3 terabyte) solutions, both with six tuners, are for you.

Discuss "TiVo Roamio DVRs Preview" here. Read the article.

 

[itlnstln]

While I loved my TiVos when I had them and I still think they are great devices, I do disagree with the author on a few points, particularly those regarding cord-cutters.

In comparison to the Roku and Google TV devices, TiVo lacks apps for MLB.TV and NHL Game Plan (Roku) as well as a web browser and Google Music All Access (Google TV). TiVo also does not have a way to stream your own content like Roku and Google TV. TiVo Stream (now integrated into the Roamio) while potentially working well for OTA is a total loss if your cable operator sets the CCI Byte for record once. Since you can't move shows to your mobile device with the CCI Byte set, it undermines one of the main features of Stream. Lastly, TiVo's Android support is atrocious and even their iOS app is lacking in some ways.

While DVR-wise, their functionality is still the best I have experienced, they're still lacking in the streaming department (Spotify, Netflix, etc.) as well as mobile even if, on the mobile side, they're at the mercy of the cable companies. Slightly off-topic, but I'm still amazed that in 2013 TiVo still does not support Clear QAM.