TiVo - Mini VOX Streaming Media Player

Q: What idiot decided hiding the "Find Remote" button on the back of the unit was a good idea?

A: This is exactly where I would look for it. I wouldn't expect this button to be on the front of the device. There are six sides to this device, how long could it have taken you to find the button? Did you look online or in the manual first?

Q: I have a Roamio Pro with 3 orig. minis. I don’t care about vox. If I add a vox mini, can I use Roamio with its current s/w? Will this allow old and new mini boxes to have a similar tivo experience, or will I end up with a mix of old and new?

A: Your new TiVo Mini VOX will share your host DVR user interface. So, if you don't upgrade your host Roamio dvr software to the new user interface, then your new Mini VOX will have the same prior user interface software. IMPORTANT! Note however that the voice search feature requires the newer software version 21.7.x or higher in order to function. So, if you don't upgrade to the new user interface software 21.7.x , you will not be able to use the voice search feature. Hope this helps.

Q: I understand the tivo mini only works if you have the tivo bolt, etc, but does it only allow you to watch what's on your DVR or can it also allow you to watch live TV?

A: The Tivo Mini will also allow you to watch live TV as long as any of the tuners in the Bolt are available. I have one Bolt and two Minis. I am able to watch live TV on each of the Minis and still watch live TV from the Bolt and/or record shows up to the number of tuners my Bolt has (4). So yes, this is absolutely possible and a great feature of the Tivo units.

Q: Can the TiVo Mini be used as a stand-alone substitute for a Comcast cable box? Otherwise, if a TiVo Bolt is required, can different cable shows or content be watched on the Mini Vox as oppose to what is being watched on the Bolt unit?

A: The TIVo mini cannot be used without a Bolt. The mini can access any of the recording from the bolt (regardless what the bolt is showing) and if you elect to watch live TV can use one of the Bolts timers to watch a show. If you are watching live TV on both the bolt and the mini they can be on different tuners and therefor different channels. However if you have a 4-tuner bolt and are recording three programs and simultaneously want to watch live TV on both the bolt and the mini... well that wold require 5 tuners and you only have 4. I have three TiVo minis and a 4-tuner bolt and I think I can count on one hand how many times I couldn’t get a tuner in order to watch live TV. It should be noted if you are using the mini to stream Netflix, Amazon prime, etc this does not need a tuner or any resources, really, from the bolt.

Q: You need Pay to TiVo monthly subscription?

A: Tivo Lifetime subscription comes with the unit. You do have to for the main TiVo box this connects to though

Q: I have no internet/wi-fi, but wish to record local tv programming for viewing at my discretion. Input is digital antenae only. What are your thoughts?

A: This is a good unit but I’m not sure this will work for you if you don’t have internet. You will need an internet connection to activate and configure the unit, then to download the program guide. A few years ago Channel Master offered a OTA DVR that downloaded the program guide from the digital broadcast signals and therefore you did not need aninternet connection ever. It was totally stand alone. I had one in a remote rural area and it worked OK, but the user interface and features were not nearly as good as TiVo. Then I finally got internet and switched to TiVo. The may still sell them. If you have cellular and a smartphone with a data plan perhaps you could set up mobile hotspot and manually connect to the program guide manually once a week or so. Good luck.

Q: will this work with my TiVo romio plus?

A: To use with a Roamio Plus or Pro, the Tivo Mini software does NOT need to be updated to the new user experience. Being a new generation of Tivo Mini originally designed for the Bolt and its newer interface, it will default to the new user experience, but within a day, it will realize that the main Tivo box is using its older interface. At that point the Tivo Mini will offer to downgrade itself to match the software of the main Tivo (the Roamio box) to allow a consistent experience across Tivo devices.

Q: How does it hook up to the internet? The older Tivo mini did not have WiFi and the coaxial network killed my internet connection everytime it linked to my Tivo Bolt. Tivo customer service was horrible and no help at all.

A: It's a. Complicated answer, It depends on which Tvio you have and which Tvio mini you have. I spoke with Best Buy and Tvio support to figure it out email me if you want to talk