Before I get to my review about this Tivo OTA dvr, I will tell you why I got it. The cable bill was outrageous and getting more expensive. I decided to cut the cord. I have a nice smart tv. I bought an HD antenna for free over the air stations, this Tivo DVR with voice remote (expensive, but no monthly fees at all), my own router modem to use for the cable internet (not renting theirs) combined with $7.99 a month HULU limited commercials subscription (for access to my favorite cable channels) and Amazon Prime video (for movies and other shows). I am going to save well over $125 a month. It would be more, but the cable internet bill jumped way up when I dropped cable TV and telephone. I didn't get Netflix because Amazon Prime filled that niche for me, but I might get it later. The initial outlay of money was quite a bit, but it will pay for itself within a few months.

Now to this review. I was skeptical that this dvr would be able to do what I wanted - search for shows, record over the air and the streaming channels and allow for commercial skipping. It does all of it. The set up was quite easy, but the instructions on how to do it could be better. There was a video on line that I watched. All you need is an antenna cable from HD antenna to Tivo and an HDMI cable, (HDMI not included with this dvr) from Tivo to smart tv. You also have to plug in a usb gizmo for the voice activation to work. The set up took about an hour and 15 min to update the unit, auto search for OTA stations, etc. The setup was guided and easy to follow, but did take 10-15 minutes in certain steps (made me think it was stuck, but I waited). The remote was paired automatically to the dvr during setup (to allow for voice activation). I set the remote to control my tv. The voice activated remote works great!

There is a learning curve to how to use the recording function and this different remote, but it isn't hard and makes sense once you get used to it. The over the air television guide is very good, much better than the OTA guide on the tv. I was happy to see all the channels I got with the station icons so I could find them easily with all the shows listed. You can set your favorites so you don't have a lot of extra stations to siphon through on the guide. The remote is a nice size and feels heavy and well made. The whole unit has worked flawlessly for the last week. It comes with Hulu and Amazon Prime capability and quite a few other streaming (subscription) programs that can all be recorded. There are a few that you cannot skip commercials, but most of them you can and all of them you can fast forward if needed (at least, I haven't seen one I couldn't fast forward).
--- Honestly, if I had known this dvr worked the way it does I would have done this several years ago! I want to watch tv, pause, fast forward and search for shows when I have the time, not when they are on tv.
5/5 stars from me. Now if I could just figure out how to get cheaper wireless internet!

Ok, got it few days ago and finally feel ready to review.
First of all, I have switched from DirecTV, and the best part is the bill reduction. We've mainly tolerated DirecTV because of the international channels - my mother does not speak English and cannot use internet - but recently I have found a way to get her international TV with a Wi-Fi box, and it sealed the deal. As for myself, I decided to go with Roamio. To be honest, 90% of what I watch comes from either free on-the-air or from Netflix and HBO. Now, Netflix is still a separate deal, I watch it on my smart TV, and HBO can also be watched directly through an app for 15 dollars a month. My DirecTV bill was 128 (regular package plus HBO and international package for 30 dollars). Going from that to 15 dollars is quite a reduction! Roamio pays for itself in about 4 months.
Now, to the box itself. I will compare it to the DirecTV DVR, so it may seem different for other people depending on their experience.

First experience - not great. Yes, it is confusing and frustrating to get it working. Weird setup tells you to enter zip code and then tells you "there are no programs in your zip code" (I live in the center of major urban area!). Then it tells you you are not registered. Then you have to go to Tivo website and register, and you can't. Then you discover you got the numbers from the back of your box wrong, and finally do it. Then you still have to wait till it "goes through. Ok, whatever, we are finally there.
Few other things I do not like - the way remote works. It is not very sensitive. I don't know about other people, but for me it only works in pointed DIRECTLY at the unit. You cannot point it above the unit, for example, since it will not work.
Another weird thing is you have to always go through bunch of steps to do almost anything. For example, with DirecTV dvr I could just turn it off and on with ONE button. BTW, the same button turned on and off my TV. Here I have to go to Tivo page, then menu page, then select "stand-by" and then select "stand-by mode"! Jesus, why make it so difficult? As for TV, the remote has to be programmed separately.
Same thing if you want to watch a recorded show - with DirecTV I could just push "list" button and it would pull up the list of recorded shows. NOT with Tivo! Again, you first have to go to Tivo page, then "one pass" page, then recorded shows, etc. Virtually everything requires going through multiple confusing steps.

That being said, there are positives. First, again, the cost - yeah, its 400 bucks, but if you break it down over couple of years it is really not much, like 15 a month. Second, the quality of the picture is BETTER THAN DIRECTV. I am sure the main reason is direct signal rather than something that went through multiple stages of satellite transmission. Main functions, such as record- fast forward etc are the same as on DirecTV box, and work in a similar way.
So, overall it is WELL WORTH IT. I cannot believe I was paying 128 dollars a month to these people. I bet satellite days are coming to an end.

PS - after few more days I have discovered that the remote has to be PAIRED with the unit. Apparently, it can work without being paired. That explained the fact that remote was not very sensitive and the voice command feature did not work. However, now that it is paired the problems mentioned above are either gone or significantly reduced - first of all, I don't have to point the remote DIRECTLY at the unit, and second, I can access menus and programs much faster with voice command. Voice works rather well, and certainly a useful feature.

So the unit is, indeed, very good, but the way to get to its goodness is somewhat complicated :)

Best in class, after years with Cox Cable, then Dish Network and recently Direct TV this experience is head and shoulders above the rest. Setting aside Over the Air for the moment, Iʻm referring to graphic user interface (10+), smart features (10+) and best of all...customer service (11). Whenʻs the last time you called for service and had someone pick up the phone right away? And then they actually know and understand the product theyʻre helping you with? Contrary to some reviews elsewhere I canʻt offer enough praise to TiVo tech and customer support. We needed their help to configure some of the initial setup and settings, and then later to sway one device out for another. At first we tried a Bolt-- then returned it for this this antenna only Roamio package with a Lifetime Achievement service plan. Very fluid and intuitive user interface, instantly synchronized with mini stations throughout the house. Re the "cut the cord" antenna discussion: we live on the outskirts of Vegas and pull in about 50 stations crystal clear. Find ourselves spending about 65% of TV time watching those offerings or their recordings on TiVo. Missing some of the old satellite lineup we went with the slimmest version of Direct TV Now -- very pleased with that as a cost effective alternative in this mix.

The good - you can stream your tv content to any room that has a wired ethernet connection, including using an access point (like Apple Express) in any room. The bad - the quality of the content isn't true UHD unless you are steaming HULU, Netflix, VUDU or Amazon Video. My cable company supplied a cable card for my BOLT Vox but the HD channels were all compressed - I don't want to watch HD in a 'black frame'.

I like having 4k in a mini but disappointed that it had to downgrade itself to communicate with my 1 year old Bolt which apparently doesn't have the "new experience" and no way to upgrade. This is unusual for TiVo devices and a big disappointment.Also not crazy about higher cost for this device. I could really care less about voice feature but it seems I pay a huge premium for it.