Sorry Tablo - TiVo has beaten you to the punch

General Discussion
1

TiVo Press release:

http://pr.tivo.com/press-releases/more-storage-all-in-price-tivo-launches-the-tivo-roamio-ota-1tb-nasdaq-tivo-1255911

SAN JOSE, CA–(Marketwired - Apr 27, 2016) - TiVo® Inc. (NASDAQ: TIVO), a leader in advanced television, today announced an important line update to its popular TiVo Roamio® OTA. Starting Monday May 2nd, the all-new TiVo Roamio OTA will feature a hefty 1TB hard drive, and carries no requirement for an on-going monthly subscription fee.

“The TiVo Roamio OTA 1TB is in a class of its own,” said Ira Bahr, TiVo’s Chief Marketing and Retail Sales Officer. “It delivers the unparalleled TiVo DVR experience, as well as an intuitive integration between free over-the-air HD channels and major streaming services. No other device brings everything you watch together into one single, easy-to-use interface.”

The TiVo Roamio OTA 1TB comes standard with TiVo’s newest and proprietary features, such as SkipMode™, which gives users the ability to skip commercial breaks of recorded shows with the press of a single button3, and QuickMode™, which allows users to watch their recordings 30 percent faster with pitch-corrected audio.

The TiVo Roamio OTA 1TB can access and record up to 150 hours of high-definition programming4 and up to four shows at once, from popular local networks including ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX, PBS and Univision, where available with an HD antenna5. The TiVo Roamio OTA 1TB also gives users access to their content and subscriptions from the top internet video services2, such as Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime Instant Video and YouTube®, among others.

The TiVo Roamio OTA 1TB will be available for a one-time price of $399.991.

TiVo Roamio OTA features include:

Storage: 1TB (up to 150 HD hours)
Tuners: 4 tuners
Content navigation (at your direction):
SkipMode: Skip commercial breaks of recorded shows with the press of a single button
QuickMode: Watch recordings 30 percent faster with pitch-corrected audio
OnePass™: Consolidate episodes of your favorite shows available via Over-the-Air broadcast or via internet video services such as Netflix, Hulu and Amazon Prime Instant Video, and create a universal watch list across all providers
OneSearch™: Search across local channels and internet video services to find which shows are available and where they can be found
Casting: Cast your favorite Netflix and YouTube video from your mobile device to the TiVo Roamio OTA 1TB6. No need to buy a Chromecast™ dongle; casting is built-in.
Tru Multi Room™ Video: Works with the industry-leading TiVo Minis. Live, Recorded and Over-the-Top (OTT) content with the same interface on every TV in your home7, including power features such as SkipMode.
Compatibility with TiVo Stream: Stream and download live and recorded TV to iOS and Android™ smartphones and tablets, both in and out of home8. Or watch your recorded shows on an Amazon Fire™ TV or Apple TV® in another room of your home.
Free mobile application: Manage your recordings on your TiVo Roamio OTA 1TB through remote OnePass management
Pricing and Availability

The TiVo Roamio OTA 1TB is available for $399.991, a one-time payment including TiVo service. The TiVo Roamio OTA 1TB will be available May 2, 2016 at TiVo.com, BestBuy.com and Amazon.com, and at participating Best Buy stores.

2

Looks like TabloTV has 5 days to wow the market with an awesome AppleTV app?

1 Like
3

Wow, this is huge news! TiVo’s biggest downfall was the hefty subscription.

4

Where’s @theuser86 !? I’m sure he’ll have something to say about this! lol

3 Likes
5

Definitely a huge improvement and an amazing price but I would argue for many its still not a good alternative to Tablo…

The first thing that comes to mind is the ability to add MUCH larger HDDs for the Tablo (I currently run a 5GB).

But the main reason being the cost for multiple TVs. Roku boxes are still cheaper than the Tivo Mini, they can connect via Wifi & they include a lot more Apps… Even if I had Tivo Minis, I would likely want Roku boxes as well.

But even if I decided the Tivo had all the apps I really needed, with 9 TVs across two stories and a detached garage, (all boxes using Wifi) the cost difference could be significant.

I admit, the Tivo has some cool features I wish the Tablo had, but for my home, its a lot cheaper & easier to use Tablo.

Again though, I give credit where it is due, this is definitely a great deal and for many Tivo will now be the better option.

1 Like
6

It is possible to use Tivo in “headless mode” similar to Tablo, correct? My antenna is on the 2nd floor away from any TVs.

Also, don’t they require each Tivo Mini to have an ethernet connection?

7

I wonder if that means the unit comes with the (free) program guide subscription, or just that we can use the box without subscription (e.g. manual recording). I think I read somewhere that the current Roamio does not allow recordings at all without an active subscription, but I could be wrong.

The Roamio OTA with lifetime subscription has been available on Amazon for $300 from time to time… guess they have been testing the water and now finalized their market strategy.

8

From what I can tell, TiVo is using AirPlay for the AppleTV playback. I can’t find anything about an TiVo app for AppleTV.

9

From my understanding, TiVo wants you to use their box, not your current STB, to access the OTA content. So while you can use Airplay to put the content on your Apple TV, I don’t think it is ideal.

10

Agreed. It’s the same way Tablo does it.

For now.

Until they release their fancy ATV app. :smiley:

11

boy, if they would dump the stupid TiVo mini and go to Roku, Apple TV, Android TV apps, I would give this a serious look.

I am guessing the TiVo Stream is already doing an on the fly transcode of the MPEG2 to MP4 for the iOS app, Roku, AppleTV, AndroidTV, et all couldn’t be that difficult to roll in. difficult being a relative term.

1 Like
12

I completely agree, if they came out with apps for other platforms it would be a very easy decision for me.

13

I just caught this on the news. It’s being sold as subscription free, but bear in mind that the Roamio could be previously had For $50, so at $400, you’re effectively paying $350 for a lifetime subscription included in the purchase price.

Of course, you don’t get all the capabilities of the Tablo for that price, but it’s an interesting offering nonetheless.

1 Like
14

yep, that exact deal popped up from time to time and sold like hotcakes… Now its permanent.

15

I have to laugh at their 1 TB drive as being “hefty”. It’s an ok start, but not a great long term solution.

If you want a single TV DVR, Tivo is probably the best choice… If you want a multi-room DVR with support for mobile devices, and you already have investments in streaming devices, the Tablo is the way to go.

I consider the title to this thread pretty misleading. Tivo hasn’t done anything different this time except some marketing. This is not the first time they have included lifetime subscription for one upfront cost.

2 Likes
16

a birdie once told me they had a Roku app prototype… I suppose it will just come to when the scales tip from making and supporting the TiVo mini, to just offloading that cost to Roku, Apple, etc.

17

I agree with Ikahhan. It looks like this is just the same Roamio Amazon is currently selling for $69.99, but with the subscription included and the hard drive increased to 1 TB from 500 GB. This makes the lifetime subscription plus slightly larger hard drive cost $330 dollars. Granted, that is a way better deal than the $500 (if I remember correctly) lifetime fee. But I like it when people think the guide is free on devices where the price of the guide is clearly built into the price of the device (ChannelMaster is this way, too). And remember, you will pay this guide fee everytime you purchase a TiVo. Tablo, you only have to purchase once.

18

Did the Rovi deal go through or is that dead? I would wait to see what happens with subscription prices if they merge. Bound to get better. I’m still waiting to see what else comes to the table this year. Magnavox has their 6 tuner due 4th quarter this year. http://www.cnet.com/products/magnavox-tbhp500-series-dvr/

19

400 thousand dollars?

20

Should have came through as $399.991.

But even at 400k it’s a bargain. :wink: