JP1 Remotes

dtrump · Joined: 21 Sep 2003 Posts: 81 Location: Des Moines, IA

I'm curious if anybody has tried the Tivo Stream 4K box. Paramount is whether it has IR remote capability so that I can use JP1 remotes with it. Since it has a very short attached HDMI cable, it seems unlikely that it has IR capability.

We have 3 Roku boxes, each different generations and I've pretty much exhausted any innovative programming that I can think of for those. They have gotten faster and I do use the RF remote capability for one (in addition to JP1) to extend it to a 2nd room.

But we had Tivo with our cable service and miss some of the capabilities of that device. With onboard DVR capability, the Stream box might help.

Dick

dtrump · Joined: 21 Sep 2003 Posts: 81 Location: Des Moines, IA

This item in the FAQ for the TiVo Stream 4K is possibly indicative of no IR capability:

mdavej · Expert Joined: 08 Oct 2003 Posts: 4501

The Tivo Stream 4K is indeed RF only. Also, it has no DVR capabilities whatsoever and no interface with traditional Tivo DVRs. It's just a Tivo branded Andriod streaming device in the same class as Roku, Fire TV and Chromecast.

dtrump · Joined: 21 Sep 2003 Posts: 81 Location: Des Moines, IA

Hmmm!

dtrump · Joined: 21 Sep 2003 Posts: 81 Location: Des Moines, IA

Exploring further, it looks like the Tivo Edge for Antenna would likely work the way I hoped. Tivo indicates that learning remotes have been made to work. It is also compatible with the Mini devices (we had 3 in our prior setup). Definitely a more expensive solution, but having "cut the cord", the budget could probably absorb it. There is a subscription charge, but nothing like the old cable service.

mdavej · Expert Joined: 08 Oct 2003 Posts: 4501

You said you had TiVo with cable before. Do you still have that box? If so, what model? Some do cable and OTA. Used lifetime TiVos with OTA DVR can be had for around $100, no subscription required.

But there are many other solutions that would be more seamlessly integrated into a streaming device. YouTube TV includes all your old cable channels plus OTA channels and cloud DVR. Sling TV is similar but requires an external box (Air TV) for OTA. You choose whether or not you want to include cable TV channels.

dtrump · Joined: 21 Sep 2003 Posts: 81 Location: Des Moines, IA

No. I did own an early HD TiVo but that was years ago and was scrapped. The more recent TiVo and Minis were provided by the cable company (Mediacom) as part of our service. I found out after we had returned everything, that they are dropping the TiVo boxes and providing something else that depends on streaming for DVR capability. A friend whose son had his TiVo replaced (not his choice) has decided to drop the cable service and use streaming instead.

Yes, we are using YouTubeTV and happy with what it provides but it is much clumsier than TiVo in the DVR functions. Also navigating channels is incremental rather than being able to go directly to a channel that doesn't have its own app. I experimented with macros, but there doesn't seem to be a reliable starting point for those without forcing it all the way back to "Home".

I further explored the Edge for Antenna and there are varying reports of satisfaction. Reportedly, it does not accept all the streaming apps available on other devices and those that are resident can't be updated.