TiVo Mini LUX 4K review

Get the full TiVo experience, including crystal-clear 4K Ultra HD picture and cutting-edge control, including SkipMode and QuickMode, on additional TVs in your home for no additional service subscription fees. Your favorite streaming apps are fully integrated. No more switching inputs, remotes or devices to access top streaming apps, like Netflix, Prime Video, Hulu, Pandora and more, in one integrated experience. Get details in TiVo Mini LUX 4K review.

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In the box

TiVo Mini LUX
IR/Bluetooth/Voice Remote
(2) AA Batteries
HDMI Cable
Power Supply
Installation Guide
Limited Warranty – 90-Day Labor / 1-Year Parts

Pros & Cons

Pros

Much quieter than earlier TiVos
Top-notch DVR recording and viewing options
The antenna version has a backlit remote

Cons

Whole-home DVR still requires expensive add-on boxes
Recordings are getting pre-roll video ads
App support is falling further behind dedicated streaming players

Specs – TiVo Mini LUX 4K

F-Type (MoCA)
Digital Audio
Remote Finder
HDMI 2.0 / (4K, 1080p 24/60)
USB 3.0 Port
Ethernet Port 10/100/1000 Mbps
Power 12V
Specifications
Video Output: 480i, 480p, 720p, 1080i, 1080p, 4K Ultra HD
Outputs: HDMI 2.0
Available Apps: Netflix, Hulu, YouTube, Pandora, iHeart Radio, AOL On
Compatible TiVo Devices (4-Tuners Required)*: TiVo EDGE Series, TiVo BOLT Series, TiVo Roamio Series, TiVo Premiere 4 and XL4/Elite
Product Dimensions (WxDxH): 5.38″ x 5.38″ x 1.0″ in.
Product Weight: 13 oz.

Video Output
480i, 480p, 720p, 1080i, 1080p, 4K Ultra HD

Outputs
HDMI 2.0

Available Apps
Netflix, Hulu, VUDU, YouTube, Pandora, iHeart Radio, AOL OnInputs/Outputs

Power
Compatible TiVo Devices (4-tuners required)*

What is TiVo Mini LUX 4K?

Basically, it gives you a chunk of TiVo DVR functionality without the need to buy an additional DVR and pay for additional services or equipment from your cable provider. But, like all things TiVo, it comes with a list of caveats.

TiVo Mini LUX is the all-purpose 4K companion to your TiVo DVR. The Mini delivers you the same TiVo experience that you enjoy in your family room to every room, inlcuding access to streaming content from Netflix and many other streaming services. You can add a Mini to additional TVs without any added monthly fees. TiVo Mini LUX includes a TiVo VOX backlit LUX remote. The TiVo Mini VOX is identical to the TiVo Mini LUX, but with a standard, non-backlit VOX remote.

Price

The TiVo Mini is $150 with lifetime service. Originally, the Mini was $100 with a recurring service fee or the option to pay an additional $150 for lifetime service. At the time, TiVo defended the subscription fee by saying that it was required to maintain the quality experience important to TiVo users.

What is good in TiVo Mini LUX 4K?

QuickMode®: watch shows 30% faster with pitch-perfect audio.
SkipMode®: skip entire commercial breaks with one tap and get back 20% of your TV time. ²
OneSearch™: say or type what you want and instantly view results across your recordings, live TV and streaming apps.
OnePass™: instantly gather every available episode of your shows and set to record future episodes.
TiVo LUX Remote® with voice control and backlit keypad included.
Pause a show in one room and resume it in another.
Minimize clutter with the TiVo Mini LUX wall-mount or wireless TiVo WiFi 5 USB Adapter™.

Compare TiVo Mini LUX vs VOX

	EDGE for Cable	EDGE for antenna	BOLT VOX 1 TB
TV Source	Cable only	HD antenna only	Cable only
Voice search enabled	Yes	Yes	Yes
4K Ultra High Definition	Yes	Yes	Yes
Dolby Vision HDR	Yes	Yes	Yes
Recording Capacity	Up to 300 hours	Up to 75 hours	Up to 150 hours
Simultaneous recordings	6 shows	2 shows	4 shows
Multi-room compatibility with TiVo Mini	Ethernet or built-in MoCA	Ethernet or MoCA (MoCA requires TiVo Bridge, sold separately)	Ethernet or MoCA (MoCA requires TiVo Bridge, sold separately)
Access to streaming apps	Netflix, Prime Video, Hulu and more	Netflix, Prime Video, Hulu and more	Netflix, Prime Video, Hulu and more
Out of home streaming	Yes	Yes	Yes
TiVo service required	Monthly, annual, or all-in service pricing options available	Monthly, annual, or all-in service pricing options available	Monthly, annual, or all-in service pricing options available

Compare TiVo Mini LUX 4K vs Xfinity X1

	TiVo Bolt + TiVo Mini	Xfinity X1 HD DVR + HD extender	AT&T U-verse DVR + receiver	Verizon Fios Quantum TV Enhanced
DVR price	$299 (500GB)/ $399 (1TB)	Lease only	Lease only	Lease only
Extender price	$149	Lease only	Lease only	Lease only
Monthly service	$14.99 (after first year of service)	$19.90 + $19.95 DVR fee	$9 for receiver + $10 HD fee	$44
Number of HD recording hours	75/150	75	155	100
Number of simultaneous recordings	4	4	4	6
Number of simultaneous streams to extenders	3	3	7	5
Live TV streams supported	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Start/delete recordings from any TV	Yes	No	Yes	Yes
Broadband apps available to all components	Netflix, Amazon Instant/Prime, Vudu, Yahoo, YouTube, Hulu Plus (coming soon), AoL On, Plex, Pandora, Spotify, iHeartRadio, more	Traffic, weather, sports, Facebook, Pandora	Facebook, Multiview, weather, Media Share (DLNA), Food Network, NBA stats, more	None
On demand to extender	Xfinity, Cox subscribers (in select areas)	Yes	Yes	Yes
Stream to computers, mobile devices	Yes (in-home to computers, out-of-home to mobile devices; iOS and Android supported)	Yes (in-home and out-of-home streaming; iOS and Android supported)	No	Yes (in-home and out-of-home streaming; iOS and Android supported)
4K support	Yes, streaming content only (for TiVo Bolt only, not Mini)	No	No	No

Build

The TiVo Mini LUX 4K is a flat plastic slab with a ledge that runs around the front and sides. The result is a better thermal design that runs a lot quieter.

Design

TiVo Mini LUX 4K is square sharped fine finished product. Its dimension is 9 x 8.4 x 3.3 inches and weighs around ‎2.64 pounds. It comes with a remote and 2 AA batteries are included.

Ports

The port arrangement around back has barely changed despite the new look, with a coaxial input, optical audio output, HDMI, a pair of USB ports, ethernet, and a remote finder button that plays a tone on the TiVo remote.

Image quality

TiVo Mini LUX 4K now supports Dolby Vision HDR and Dolby Atmos audio. It’s a mini, but if you have 4K TV this puts out better picture than old TiVo mini. Not sure if the upscaling is better or a better chip, but it looks much much better, Buy this if you have 4K

Remote

As for TiVo’s remote, it remains aggressively chunky with too many extraneous buttons (TiVo’s recommendations don’t even utilize the thumbs-up and -down buttons anymore), but the TiVo Edge for Antenna remote has one major improvement this time around: It’s backlit, so the keys light up when you press them. Strangely, TiVo is sticking cable customers with the non-backlit version for now.

Apps

The other benefit is that you get access to TiVo’s supply of on-demand apps. The selection continues to grow, but at the moment this includes Netflix, Amazon Instant Video with Prime, Hulu Plus, YouTube, Yahoo, Aol On, Vudu, Plex, Web Video Hotlist and HSN for video; Spotify, iHeartRadio and Pandora for music; and PhotoBucket and Google Picasa for photos. And, if you’re a Comcast Xfinity or Cox subscriber, you’ll have access to On Demand content if it’s been rolled out in your area.

TiVo Mini LUX 4K Setup

The Tivo Mini needs to connect by either a coax or ethernet cable to the same modem/router to which a subscription TIVO device is connected (my Bolt). This is simply due to the Mini lacking a WIFI connection. You can add a TIVO WIFI adapter or MOCA bridge, but I decided a cabled connection to the Verizon FIOS ROUTER would improve the signal reception. Our FIOS is a lower-cost MPS package offered by Verizon.

TiVo Mini LUX 4K customer review

Good but some Apps not Avail. & Pricey

Overall, works as well as the Roamio unit it communicates with. I had issues getting it to communicate with the Roamio at first but that was because the Roamio was purchased almost five years ago and uses different firmware. A simple call to TiVo support solved the problem. They instructed me on how to down-grade the firmware on the new unit so it would work with my Roamio. I took a star off the rating because Disney and Hallmark are not available Apps. I’m not sure if this is a function of the Roamio not having the ability or the Mini Lux but disappointed nonetheless. Roamio should have the ability to upgrade if that’s the case. The remote is as good as the one that came with the Roamio so I was very pleased by that. Overall a good unit. But pricey for just and extension unit.

By Weisenheimer at Best Buy