Tivo Stream 4K... in UK (Impressive Hardware - bad software)

by TechDoctorUK

Hey guys,

Managed to get the new Tivo Stream 4K in the UK by purchasing from Ebay.com. I use the 4K firestick and Nvidia Shield on a daily basis.

Here are my initial thoughts

###Good Stuff

  • Very responsive UI
  • Very fast Wifi. With the 4K firestick, I never reached 200mb download but on this device, I can easily push close to 300mb
  • Tivo Stream app is OK
  • Storage expansion works via USB
  • I tested various USB drives, plugging directly in to the Type-C port and via a hub. I had the most consistent results with drives plugged direct in to the Tivo and not via a hub
  • All native streaming apps (Netflix / Youtube / Pluto) work fine
  • Sideloading works via Downloader
  • Mouse toggle works but needs a workaround to bring it up.

###Bad Stuff

  • Device is constantly pushing out HDR, even on the homescreen making the colours look weird.
  • On Youtube / Netflix, HDR looks and works great, its just its just on the homescreen the colours look wrong. Understand there is a fix via ADB.
  • Randomly the device just displays a blank screen, this is not specific to any particular application
  • Only fix it press the google button and tell it to open you settings. Alternatively pull the power cable
  • Double tapping home does not bring up recents menu
  • Temp fix is to install a button remapper and map one of the key to recents. I mapped the 'skip' key to do that. Works great but without a virtual mouse, no way to click on "Clear all"
  • USB Ethernet speeds and connectivity. Device would only recognise my uGreen USB 3.0 hub with gigabit ethernet, if I used an OTG cable in the micro USB port. This worked fine but I was never able to get anywhere near 200mb. Also, my ethernet would only work if USB Debugging was disabled.
  • Constant reboots when plugging things in to the TypeC port
  • Read numerous reports about the HDMI-CEC issue but as I plugged mine in to a monitor, its not something I experienced myself.

###Overall

  • Great hardware let down by poor, beta-like software (hopefully will be fixed with future update)

### Video review & issues seen

admiralcinamon

For the random blank screen, this fix worked for me (and others):

How to remove "TiVo Recommended" row from home screen:

  1. Go to Settings->Apps->See all apps, scroll down to select "Show system apps"

  2. Find and disable "com.tivo.tvlaunchercustomization"

  3. Find "Android TV Home" in the same list, perform "Clear data"

  4. Go back to home screen, the "TiVo Recommended" row should now be removable like other rows You can do this by clicking to the left on that row until you see a minus button or by selecting "Customize channels" at the bottom of the home screen (here you would toggle "TiVo Stream" off)

Stolen from: https://www.tivocommunity.com/community/index.php?threads/guide-how-to-remove-tivo-recommended-row-from-home-screen.577357/

shagnscooby

Can you point me in the right direction for remapping the buttons? Most of them are useless if you don't use Sling.

pawdog

I finally had enough the of screwed up CEC issue, so I just shut it down. It's not my only device so until it learns to play well with others will be in time out. I hope the firmware update doesn't take too long.

someMFonreddit

hope someone can figure out how to root it. i'll pick one up just to mess around with it

4kman4755

I didconnected the 2 I bought due to it forcing my TV set to the HDMI input it was connected to. Also wanted to turn my AV receiver off and on

They should not have released this product until it was ready.

BiggussDikkuss

Great Video Review.

I would add that OLED owners should definitely avoid any device like this buggy TiVo that outputs everything as HDR.

Because HDR picture modes on OLED's crank the TV Brightness and Luminance up to max values - increasing the chances of Burn In.

It's pretty clear TiVo did not do anywhere near enough pre release testing on this new device. Hopefully a bug busting FW update fixes the major issues.