Quick look at the TiVo Slide Pro Remote

Posted by Paul Braren on Nov 20 2013 in

If you have a TiVo Premiere or TiVo Roamio, the Nov 14 announced TiVo Slide Pro Remote has finally begun shipping, and is available for order at tivo.com here. Mine arrived today. How to decide if you're interested in spending about $50 for this upgrade? Well, some pictures will help, so you can clearly see the identical button layout, but the vertical spacing of all buttons are about 10% tighter on the Slide Pro. My family didn't even notice this difference. They feel nearly identical in the hand, since the extra roughly 1 centimeter of length is mostly at the bottom.

What are some other differences? That's a focus of a lot of the discussion at the TiVo Community forums here, including debates over the range of Bluetooth on the original, discontinued slider, versus RF for this new remote. In my home, I have an upstairs TV connected to the Roamio, through an HDMI splitter, using a Monoprice HDMI active extension cable (that is no longer sold, with the 7698 looking to be the closest equivalent). For us, the newer RF remote works better than the BT (Bluetooth) between floors, with the BT missing some button pushes in some areas of the room. Then again, it's only about 20' from the upstairs room to the downstairs TiVo Roamio.

bundled free with all Roamio models, $30 for an extra one on tivo.com here

5.7 ounces (with 2 AA alkaline batteries)
IR and RF wireless (for no-line-of-sight use)
button presses make slightly more noise, feel is slightly more clicky
no backlighting

announced Nov 14 2013 for $50 on tivo.com here

7.3 ounces (with 2 AA alkaline batteries)
IR and RF wireless (for no-line-of-sight use, requires dongle if ordered for your Premiere, no dongle needed for Roamio)
button presses make slightly less noise, feel is slightly more rubbery
backlit (all buttons)
clearly written instructions from TiVo here
Using the TiVo Slide Remote
Using the Learning Feature of TiVo Learning Remotes

Potential downsides to upgrading to the new Slide Pro?

All buttons a little closer together, great for small and medium sized hands, but not ideal for those with larger fingers (comparison picture below)
The blue button at the top is an odd color choice
Some folks would say the Slide Pro RF signal penetrates walls less effectively than Bluetooth, such as overFEDEXed, 11-24-2013, 10:12 AM:

Line of site test, interesting.
We are setting up our Christmas stuff today, in the Living room.

I decided to do a "line-of-site" test with the Old and New Slides.
I opened up the front door and walked 100 feet. Both the Bluetooth and the Pro, still worked! (I can see my Tv from the street) The Roamio Plus is sitting behind a 50" Plasma Tv, if that matters.

I just thought that was interesting. Still though, the Bluetooth works behind any walls, anywhere in my house. The Pro almost does.

In this first photo, you have the top edge of all 3 remotes lined up, to help make visual comparisons easier.
TiVo Premiere Remote, TiVo Slide Remote, TiVo Roamio Remote, TiVo Slide Pro Remote

Next up, just the two.
TiVo Roamio Remote, TiVo Slide Pro Remote.

Finally, a look at the the older slider remote at top, and the newer at bottom, with the new keyboard layout differences quite apparent.

Quick look at the TiVo Slide Pro Remote

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