TiVo Premiere XL4

• Average user rating: 3.0 stars out of 8 reviews
• My rating: 0 stars

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• 10 stars

  The best retail DVR on the market

  by TechWzrd on February 6, 2012

  Pros: 4-tuners, economical over a 5-year period (total ownership costs), intuitive and ease of use, ability to aggregate & search content, available bluetooth slide remote ($), built-in MoCA, Multi-Room Streaming, fantastic iPad and Android second screen co

  Cons: Up-front cost, no Amazon Prime streaming (currently), requirement for a Tuning Adapter to receive Switched Digital Video (SDV) on some cable operators, lack of apps, no social integration (currently)

  Summary: I've been using TiVo boxes since their introduction as a Series 1 box from Philips in 2000. I can easily recommend the TiVo Premiere Elite as the best TiVo ...

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  Summary: I've been using TiVo boxes since their introduction as a Series 1 box from Philips in 2000. I can easily recommend the TiVo Premiere Elite as the best TiVo box ever and the best DVR available. It offers a superior DVR experience to users over the generic cable operator provided leased DVR. TiVo has evolved into the ultimate single solution media center by combining its DVR and universal cable box capabilities with the ability to aggregate, search, and deliver millions of pieces of broadband, cable, and broadcast content directly to the television. TiVo recently released a major software update (20.2) to all TiVo Premiere boxes that significantly enhances the user experience. If you factor in the never ending cost of leasing a cable box from your cable operator the TiVo works out to be an economical alternative over a five-year period. I opted for the BestBuy 4-year warrant for $74 just for piece-of-mind on the Elite. TiVo's intuitive functionality and ease of use puts you in control by enabling effortless navigation of linear television, over the top television like Netflix, Amazon and Hulu Plus, radio from Pandora, and web videos from the likes of Revision 3 and the TWIT network. I can't speak highly enough of the TiVo platform which has really evolved to be easily the best DVR on the planet. The only real competition is Windows Media Center from a DVR perspective which is costly and more difficult to set-up. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend a TiVo to my friends and family.

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  2 out of 2 users found this user opinion helpful.

• 7 stars

  Better than Premiere or XL but not yet great.

  by JamesARasmussen on February 6, 2012

  Pros: 4 turners so you can record 4 different shows.
  2 TB storage so you can store many more shows.

  Cons: No Antenna connection.
  No Pay per view capability.
  Clumsy search capability - tries to select pay per view channels.
  Viewing on another Tivo DVR or transfering not allowed for all recordings.
  No Wi-Fi built in.
  Still locks up sometimes.

  Summary: For a thousand bucks (with Lifetime Service) I would expect much better capability than we are getting in this new model.

  Summary: For a thousand bucks (with Lifetime Service) I would expect much better capability than we are getting in this new model.

  2 out of 2 users found this user opinion helpful.

• 8 stars

  Tivo equipment, and service, the best.

  by vaughns on February 16, 2013

  Pros: Best, and easiest, interface for all of your cable channels, and recording requirements.

  Cons: Upgrading hardware. I did purchase the lifetime service 3 years ago, and wasn't able upgrade my equipment using that purchased lifetime service?

  Summary: It is hard not to praise Tivo for, what I feel, is the best, and easiest, interface for recording and viewing experience of your cable channels. That being said, there ...

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  Summary: It is hard not to praise Tivo for, what I feel, is the best, and easiest, interface for recording and viewing experience of your cable channels. That being said, there are a few ways to purchase there service. One can pay monthly, or a lifetime agreement. For the money you pay for the Tivo system, I would recommend the lifetime option (this can save you plenty of money). The only real issue with the company is that I did purchase the lifetime service 3 years ago, and can't upgrade my equipment using the current lifetime service? This of course is a fine print line, I'm sure, that informs you that a transfer to upgraded equipment is not allowed? If there is a chance that you might want to upgrade at some point, this can be very frustrating.

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• 10 stars

  Smokes cable DVRs

  by mcharlton1 on January 17, 2013

  Pros: Extreemly versatile.

  Cons: Desktop software is hokey and outdated. 3rd party software works far better.

  Summary: The reason this device costs so much is because it's far superior to what you get with your local cable company. Here's why. You can watch live TV. ...

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  Summary: The reason this device costs so much is because it's far superior to what you get with your local cable company. Here's why. You can watch live TV. You can record programs. You can schedule recordings online and with your smart phone. "Yeah...big deal, I can get that with my cable box," you say. Here's what else it can do. I can stream all of my music through my surround sound system from my computer. I can copy all of my recorded shows to my smart phone or tablet. There are some really cool features that Tivo doesn't advertise. Tivo supports multiple video formats. This means you can drag and drop your home videos into the Tivo recordings folder on your PC--assuming you have the free Tivo desktop software--then pull-up your computer from the "my shows" section on your Tivo and watch it like a recorded show. Even better, with a good DVD ripping program, you can convert your DVDs into a popular video format like MPEG-2 or Divx and move those files into the same Tivo recordings folder on your PC. You've now just digitized your entire DVD library.

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• 8 stars

  Great DVR...but it ain't cheap.

  by kasiecav on December 30, 2012

  Pros: large storage capacity
  record 4 HD or SD shows at once
  great menu
  access to Amazon, Hulu, Netflix, YouTube, AOL ON

  Cons: Expensive
  occassionaly hangs & reboots itself
  no off the air recording option

  Summary: I've had the XL4 for about a year now. Works great with my cable provider COX. Had some initial set up problems with the cable card but they were ...

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  Summary: I've had the XL4 for about a year now. Works great with my cable provider COX. Had some initial set up problems with the cable card but they were quickly resolved by a COX tech. Love the ability to record 4 HD shows at once, which I do quite frequently, and watch a pre-recorded program at the same time. Plus the 2TBs' of storage means never having to say "delete".

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• 1 stars

  Lacks coaxial connection so not a chance

  by healyp on June 12, 2012

  Pros: Recorder ok

  Cons: no coaxial connection

• 2 stars

  No rooftop antenna option kills it for me.

  by JacaseyCED on February 11, 2012

  Pros: 4 tuners is nice.

  Cons: No rooftop antenna option kills it for me.

  Summary: I cut the cable, bought a TIVO and setup a quality rooftop antenna last year -
  This setup Really works for me. Many folks don't know that you actually ...

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  Summary: I cut the cable, bought a TIVO and setup a quality rooftop antenna last year -
  This setup Really works for me. Many folks don't know that you actually get a clearer, cleaner digital picture with a good antenna than you do with cable (no compression).
  Of course you don't get all the cable channels (I miss ESPN & CNN sometimes) - But you don't pay the fat bills either.
  Unfortunately, I still have to pay TW for high-speed internet access ($60+/month is no joke) but dumping the phone line & TV service has been a good choice (Once you get used to it).
  Bottom Line: I couldn't be more disappointed in TIVO for blatantly pandering to the greedy cable companies. I wonder if "old" TIVO boxes will start selling at a premium...

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• 6 stars

  Looks nice, but still don't see huge reason to upgrade.

  by mrduane on February 7, 2012

  Pros: Lots of storage
  iPad/Android apps
  MoCA integration
  4-tuners

  Cons: no OTA antenna
  still no PPV & on-demand support

  Summary: I've become incredibly frustrated with TiVo. I had a DirecTiVo for several years, and have had a Series 3 for 4 years. Loved them both. What I don't ...

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  Summary: I've become incredibly frustrated with TiVo. I had a DirecTiVo for several years, and have had a Series 3 for 4 years. Loved them both. What I don't love is feeling forced to spend hundreds of dollars to take advantage of features that I feel should already be available to me.
  
  First, There was no compelling reason to go with the TiVo Premiere (besides the HD guide, I saw no big difference), but every accessory, mobile app to come from TiVo in the last 2 years lacks support for the Series 3. I can't even use the QUERTY keyboard on the Slide remote. This for a product I'm *still paying* to use.
  
  4 Tuners is nice, but I've rarely needed to record more than 2 shows at once. Lots of storage is nice, but I already dropped a big hard drive into my Series 3. So $500 for the ability to be able to use the iPad app, and I lose OTA HD & *still* can't access PPV & on-demand? Makes no sense.
  
  Thing is, if TiVo had included Series 3 support in the apps or remote, I'd probably continue to support them, but at this point, I'm too irritated, and won't ever buy another one of their products.

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