The TiVo Roamio series is the latest top-of-the-line digital video recorder and media hub from the company that pretty much invented the DVR. The Roamio series leapfrogs the competition, adding built-in live-streaming capabilities to a mature user interface. It's got six tuners and provides up to 450 hours of HD storage space, so there's virtually no excuse to miss those new and repeat shows when they float by on the rivers of live programming. Think of it as the best DVR on the market, with the addition of online features and place-shifting. This is the set top box to buy if you can't live without cable or phone company TV service, so it's our latest Editors' Choice for DVRs.
Editors' Note: This review is based on tests performed on the TiVo Roamio Pro, the $599.99 450-hour version of the series. Besides the hard drive storage difference, the 150-hour Roamio Plus is otherwise identical in features, and while we didn't perform lab tests on this specific model, we expect similar performance. It has also been updated to reflect the addition of features that were not yet available when the TiVo Roamio series was first released and we tested it. The score and Editors' Choice designation remain unchanged.
Design and Features
The TiVo Roamio Plus looks like you'd expect a TiVo DVR to look like: It's not nearly as pretty as the 2006-vintage TiVo Series3 HD which featured an OLED info panel and physical controls on the front panel, but it's a natural evolution of the TiVo Premiere Elite (a.k.a. XL4). The Roamio Plus measures 2.4 inches by 16.5 by 10 inches (HWD), and has a white and black two-tone front panel with indicator lights for power, recording, etc. Hookup is as easy as any other cable company DVR: there's a CableCard slot in the back, along with an HDMI port, Component Video, A/V composite video port, two USB 2.0 ports (for accessories like the receiver for the TiVo Slide remote), eSATA for DVR storage expansion, and a digital audio port for connecting external speakers or a speaker bar.
You get a 3TB internal drive, good for 450 hours of HD content or an insane 3,500 hours of SD content. And you can add up to another 1TB via an external eSATA DVR expander, good for another 150 hours of HD video. This, along with the six tuners means that you'll rarely encounter a situation where you can't record what you want. This outguns the previous TiVo Premiere XL4 with four tuners and 300 hours of HD, and way outpaces most cable and phone company DVRs, which typically offer two tuners and less than 50 hours of HD recording space.
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The peanut-shaped remote is both familiar to TiVo veterans and more compact than the original Series 1-3 remote and it supports both IR and RF, which makes it easier to use if you have the box hidden away in a home theater cabinet or closet. It also means that you can use the amber Find Remote button on the TiVo Roamio (and Roamio Plus) DVRs to make the remote chirp the TiVo jingle. Like the TiVo Premiere remote, the Roamio Plus remote includes extra function buttons for cable systems that support On Demand programming.
The user interface hasn't changed too much from the TiVo Premiere UI: You can still search by actors, director, titles, and keywords. There's access to services like YouTube, Hulu Plus, Netflix, Amazon Instant Video, MLB.TV, Spotify, and Pandora direct from the TiVo Roamio Plus' menus. Netflix has been updated to deliver the same interface seen on other set-top boxes like the Wii U and Apple TV. Hopefully TiVo will add services like HBO GO in the future.
The speed of the menu system still has the occasional hiccup, as with any set top box with a multi-pane UI, but overall the interface is starting to approach the responsiveness of the older Series 2 and 3 TiVo flat menus. Viewers who don't subscribe to online services will find a couple of annoyances on the TiVo Roamio (and Premiere). Searching for programs that aren't on TV in the next couple of weeks will bring up opportunities to buy them on Amazon or open them in Netflix. This is annoying if you don't subscribe, but convenient if you already have access.
To TiVo or Not to TiVo?
To TiVo or Not to TiVo?
If you just want a set top box for online streaming from services like Netflix, Amazon, HBO GO, Vudu, and the like, then you really want an Apple TV($69.00 at Groupon), Roku 3($119.00 at Amazon), or the Google Chromecast. These media hubs do a better job with online content. And all of them have many more active services than TiVo does, plus the Apple TV and Google Chromecast each can stream video from mobile devices.
If you want to placeshift TV, that function works, with reservations. The TiVo Roamio Plus integrates TiVo Stream, so it works great when you're on the same wireless network, better than a SlingBox with an older TiVo. The Android and iOS app can both stream video out of network. However, away from home streaming only works with iOS devices on Wi-Fi (Android users can use a cellular or Wi-Fi network). A SlingBox like the Sling Media SlingBox 500 is a much better choice for streaming TV to a plethora of mobile devices. Sure, you have to pay extra for the app, but a single SlingBox can stream video to Apple iPhone, iPad, Android phones, Android tablets, PCs, Macs, and even Windows Phone. That said, TiVo Stream gives the TiVo Roamio the option of downloading your videos to your phone or tablet so you can watch them even when you're away from home.
If you want to replace your kludgy Cable DVR, then the TiVo Roamio will give you two or three times as many tuners, so you can record more shows simultaneously. The Roamio Plus also has many hundreds of hours more hard drive space for programs, so you won't have to delete shows very often. The Roamio Plus has a one-year warranty with optional extended plans (2-year for $30, 3-year for $40) available, but the cable company DVR still has better replacement policies if you are hard on your equipment. You'll have to pay for a $14.99 per month or $499.99 lifetime plan to use the TiVo Roamio. The Roamio Plus won't work without a service plan. And you'll have to factor in about $5 a month for the CableCARD to make the TiVo Roamio Plus work. In total, this compares well to the $20-per-month fee that Verizon FiOS and other cable companies charge for a two-tuner multi-room DVR with less features and recording space. These buyers can go either way, but I'd recommend getting the TiVo Roamio Plus or Pro if you want to record entire seasons of shows, and then binge watch them later en masse.
If you need to replace a TiVo Premiere 4 or Premiere XL4, it's not such a great deal. Most of the same functions and UI interface are on the Premiere family of products, including TiVo Search, HD-optimized UI elements, and up to four tuners in the high-end model. The Roamio Plus does integrate Wi-Fi, TiVo Stream, and extra storage compared with its Premiere siblings, but if you're a TiVo fan, you probably already have a Stream box and a Wi-Fi adapter for your Premiere. We'd say skip it.
If you're replacing a Series 3 TiVo (TiVo HD), Series 2, or original TiVo, then this is the DVR you've been waiting for. It has a new interface that will require a bit of relearning, but the improvements in storage space alone and ability to record six programs at once will keep most TiVo fans happy. Old school users that would rather go without cable than get one of the cable company's DVRs should buy a Tivo Roamio Pro or Plus, now.
Overall, the TiVo Roamio Plus integrates all of the add-ons and new features that TiVo used to charge extra for with add-on hardware like Wi-Fi or MoCA adapters and in-house streaming boxes. Out-of-house streaming is a wait-and-see proposition right now, but we'll test and report our findings when the service is available. Right now, the Roamio Plus is now the ultimate way to record and share TV programs from your cable or phone company provider, provided they haven't completely locked down their content using copy protection tags (we're looking at you Time Warner). And TiVo has improved online streaming options, with room for growth in the future.
The Roamio Plus loses points here and there for minor things, but in the end the TiVo Roamio Plus is a TV watching device that we can recommend without question, and is our Editors' Choice for DVRs, along with the Dish Network Hopper With Sling($265.00 at Amazon). The Hopper has many of the same (if not better) DVR functions, but the TiVo Roamio Plus also includes online streaming and has more tuners. TiVo also works with more cable and phone company TV services, unlike the Hopper which is locked into Dish Network.
The six-tuner Roamio series finally gives the TiVo faithful all the features they've wanted for years. No more add ons, the TiVo Roamio, the company's best DVRs yet, has it all built in.
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