While YouTube TV is unavailable to new customers on Roku due to contractual matters, YouTube TV has effectively been unavailable to TiVo Stream 4k owners due to technical issues. And, after nearly four months, TiVo has resolved the playback bug. Which makes sense, given the large investment Google recently made in TiVo for their YouTube TV subscribers.
Beyond that, TiVo would like to reassure you that they’re “not finished” with the TiVo Stream 4K … despite their CEO’s comments and without a current Best Buy presence. And to really drive that point home, they spell it out a whopping seven times. But actions speak louder than marketing materials, and the new Target distribution deal, along with new remotes in the pipeline, certainly bolsters the claim.
But are they finished with retail DVR? I doubt we’ll ever see another piece of hardware… unless they revisit the Tablo-esque Mavrik network tuner.
Dave, I totally agree with you.
Does the TiVo Stream integrate YTTV into its “guide”, like it does with Sling TV?
And is it possible to “change channels” in YTTV on TiVo Stream using the number keys on the TiVo Stream remote?
My brother has YTTV and uses a Mi Box (Android TV) but I think he’d like the TiVo Stream better if the answers to the above are “Yes”.
The answer is no, unless you install the Google TV launcher. I have 3 of these devices, and I run them all with the Google TV launcher, and they work perfectly with that launcher. Basically, it makes the Tivo Stream 4k look exactly like the Google Chromecast with Google TV, with full integrated YouTube TV.
This is the nice thing about running an open platform like Android, you can switch these things out to customize your device.
It is worth noting that the Google TV Launcher is not officially available for the Tivo Stream 4k, but there are plenty of places to download the APK, and lots of sites that have instructions on how to install it.
If you or your brother are non-technical, I would not advise fiddling with this though.
DOA
Thanks Figjam. My brother can stay with the Mii box. for now.
With this new “partnership” (or whatever) with Google, it’s surprising TiVo hasn’t yet integrated YTTV into it’s Stream Guide and custom aggregator home screen (not the standard Android TV Home screen, the custom TiVo home screen on the Stream). I’d think that type of integration would be a differentiator and selling feature over Roku if they could deliver that.
To be honest, if you are going to buy a device and you are already Tied to YouTube TV, then get a Chromecast with Google TV directly from Google.
It is a little more than the Tivo at around $50, but there are frequent specials on this device and you can usually pick it up for $40 or less at the right times. It is well worth the extra $10 over the TiVo, it is seamlessly tied in to the YTTV ecosystem, and you know it will be maintained and updated going forward because it is made by Google.
I also have 4 Chromecasts with Google TV, and I have been a YTTV subscriber for 3 years. These are my main streaming devices; I like them much better than the Tivo devices, and I would say it is definitely worth the extra money if you are using YTTV.
“and you know it will be maintained and updated going forward because it is made by Google”
Not so fast, TiVo vs. Google products might be a toss-up!!
https://killedbygoogle.com/
https://gcemetery.co/
LOL, yeah, fair point, although in this case I fancy my chances with Google over TiVo.
You can never tell with Google, but Android TV has been around for the long-haul now, and my gut feel is that this is Google’s benchmark device for Android TV, just like the Pixel phone is the benchmark device for Android Mobile, they will probably replace it with new hardware over time (like adding hardware support for new codecs), but I paid less than $10 for most of mine, so if they last a year or 2 and I upgrade to the latest device, I’m happy.
I would think that Tivo would release an ATSC 3.0 dvr eventually.
I prefer the Fire TV for streaming because of all the content that Google bans off of youtube. The FireTV remote can fully control their browser to watch web videos seamlessly on the television from any site that hosts videos.