Tivo is coming out with a streaming stick that is supposed to be able to search shows from a bunch of different apps on its main page instead of having to go through all the apps to find something to watch. It is integrating sling into its main guide to watch live tv. Any chance Channels app can do the same thing? It is running on Android operating system from what i can found out online so i dont think its a closed system like apple is.
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Even if it can’t integrate in the guide, it could be a good low-ish cost streamer.
More info here, including supported codecs: https://www.tivo.com/products/stream-4k
I received mine today and just got done checking it out.
Here are my highlights:
- It’s Android TV scaled down. It gives you access to all apps available on the Play Store.
- The TiVo app is awesome with the exception being that you are limited to using Sling for live tv. Everything else about the app is perfect.
- Channels DVR works great on it with the remote.
- Voice search from the remote will pull recordings and movies from Channels DVR. I’ve not seen this before but maybe I’m late to the game with it since I don’t typically use Android. Voice search is a little slow. Maybe it will speed up with more use.
- It ties in all of your streaming apps perfectly. It does what Apple TV+ was attempting to do, only it executes it perfectly. It allows you to choose what apps you want to include and exclude. I included only the content I subscribe to so it only shows what’s available to me without purchasable content.
- TiVo remote controls tv power, volume, and inputs selection.
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It integrates Channels DVR into voice search? Wow! Nice.
Apparently the remote cannot yet control soundbars or receivers. I saw that posted on TCF. (Not a problem if your TV can control that external audio component via CEC.)
Too bad it can't see other TiVo devices on the same network. This one is all about selling Sling.
Can you submit diagnostics from the device so we can get some details on the OS version etc
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Mine will be here tomorrow and I am going to start some testing as well
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I’ve been using it for a few weeks and it works good if your a sling user. It would be awesome if somehow we could could get the channels app to use the integrated TiVo live TV guide.
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I wish they would have just released the app for like $15 or something on the the Play store. That's the biggest drawback to streaming right now - content aggregation sucks. We don't need yet another device.
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There is some merit to them doing their own device b/c they incorporated the TiVo peanut remote with its Skip button, TiVo button & even has functional channel +/- buttons...more fully featured than typical streamer remotes. Even has a # pad although not sure of the potential function of those just yet.
Compared to my fire stick it seems much faster. My only problem is that even though it switches formats automatically from 1080 to 4k HDR seems to stay on all the time. I cant find a setting to make it only on when show is in HDR.
It is definitely not as good as my apple tv though. That will probably be my go to streaming device except that it is nice to have youtube in 4k on the tivo.
Just got mine and it controls my Denon receiver via CEC perfectly fine connected directly to the receiver
Thanks for the confirmation.
Just got mine and it seems to integrate with channels just fine. I would love to see the whole remote to be able to be used with channels as well.
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Does this device indeed force HDR on all the time? Sigh
No ethernet option is sad as well...
I do agree just release the app would be nice.
Supposedly you can use a USB-C Ethernet adapter for a wired connection. No idea which ones work though. As much as I want a great content aggregator / search engine, I don't want yet another hardware device when my Shield TV works just fine.
I’m not sure why everyone keeps saying “just release the app” isn’t this a refacing of android tv? It’s not an app. Its a whole root ui system.
Maybe I got it wrong? I get mine tomorrow.
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I am assuming it is an app playing over android just like ATT NOW did with their player. Maybe it isn't but from what I have read its similar to what AppleTV+ does.
Welp. Never mind. I just saw screenshots and it IS an app. I thought they had created a more unified experience. My apologies for putting trust in UI to Tivo lol.
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I agree - if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. I’m extremely happy with my whole house Apple TV setup and feel that it should be future proof for quite a while. I rocked Windows Media Center for over 12 years with pretty much the same hardware - the exception being a few hard drives that needed replaced due to failure and needing more storage.
The $50 price point on the TiVo 4K to use for a small tv I have in my garage is perfect though. It gets me live tv through Channels DVR and allows me to try out the latest and greatest.