Comparison

TiVo vs SE Stream

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

TiVo

Control your TV experience from your mobile device. Discover new shows, schedule recordings, and stream live or recorded content anywhere. Search across multiple services to find exactly what you want to watch.

Highlights
  • Out-of-home & in-home streaming
  • Download recordings for offline viewing
  • Personalized 'What to Watch' dashboard
  • Remote recording scheduling
  • Mobile search across TV and streaming services
  • Integrated remote control functionality
Read full description

The free TiVo App for iOS is the ultimate entertainment app serving up control, discovery and a mobile place for viewing. Watch live or recorded TV via your TiVo, find shows and schedule recordings and browse content via the guide, by genre or category, explore the cast and crew, and even see where the content is available whether it be through cable TV, Netflix, Hulu PlusTM, YouTube, Amazon Instant Video, through VOD in certain markets and more. 

 “What to Watch” combines real-time viewing data, recommendations and personal preferences to create a custom dashboard presenting the exact content you want most every time you sit down to watch TV. This feature allows you to categorize by content that is on TV now, starting within the next 30 minutes, or on later tonight. Categories include: Popular on TV, Sports on Now, Powered by Thuuz, Movies on TV, Kids, Favorite Channels, Viewer’s recorded TV, Shared by Friends. TiVo Roamio Plus, TiVo Roamio Pro, TiVo BOLT and TiVo Edge users can seamlessly stream live or recorded programming to their iOS devices. Download recordings while at home or away via WiFi or cellular to watch when you have no connection. TiVo Stream users can stream live or recorded content to iOS devices within their home network and download shows to go. 


 Features of the TiVo app (some features are only available to TiVo Premiere or TiVo Roamio DVR customers): 

 > Out-of-home & in-home streaming: watch your live or recorded shows remotely anywhere you have Wi-Fi 

 > Out-of-home and in-home downloading: download your content to enjoy anywhere so that low bandwidth or lack of a Wi-Fi connection never slows you down 

 > What to Watch Now: no matter where you are, TiVo’s second screen dashboard provides instantaneous personalized recommendations the second you pull up your TiVo app, providing you with available content options to watch now, in the next 30 minutes, or tonight. 

 > Remote scheduling: browse and view the programming guide, manage recordings, check your To-Do List or set a Season Pass® any time – no matter where you are 

 > Mobile Search & discovery: figure out what’s on whether you’re in the office or a hotel and enjoy the same browsing tools you have with your TiVo at home (including the TiVo editorial Collections and show, cast and actor information) 

 > Use a TiVo remote control replica or our intuitive, gesture-based remote control 

 > Search across TV, Netflix, Amazon Instant Video & Hulu Plus – and get integrated results on what you’re looking for 

 > Explore cast and crew while watching a show 

 > And much more 

 Having troubles finding or connecting to your TiVo DVR? Try one or more of these steps:

 * Restart your network router by unplugging it, waiting 30 seconds, and plugging it back in 

 * Restart your TiVo DVR by following the instructions in the TiVo menus under Settings & Messages > Help > Restart or Reset System > Restart the TiVo Box

About

SE Stream

Stream live and recorded TV content on your mobile devices without a set-top box. Enjoy high-definition channels, including sports, with cloud DVR capabilities. Additional storage and devices can be added for a fee.

Highlights
  • Cloud DVR with 50-300 hours storage
  • High-definition channel broadcasts
  • Includes favorite sports channels
  • Add devices and storage for a fee
  • No set-top box required
Features
Read full description

SE Stream is a streaming TV service available exclusively to Service Electric Cable TV and Communications High-speed Data customers. Watch TV how you want, anytime you want using your favorite mobile device or TV without the need for a set top box! Amazing features include: * Cloud DVR - Base service is 50 hours with options up to 300 hours of recording * All channels broadcast in High Definition * All of your favorite sports channels included * Add devices and hours of cloud storage for a small additional fee.

Screenshots

TiVo4 screens
SE Stream4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: SE Stream at 3.3 against TiVo's 2.0. TiVo's advantage is ratings volume (3.3K vs 9) and review sentiment (11% vs 0%). On price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

SE Stream holds the better App Store score, 3.3 against 2.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: TiVo has 3.3K ratings behind it against 9, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 11% of TiVo's written reviews are positive against 0% of SE Stream's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

TiVo ships an update every 4 months, SE Stream every 5 months. The most recent releases landed on October 19, 2026 and October 1, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
TiVo versus SE Stream: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterTiVoSE Stream
PriceFreeFree
Rating2.0 (3.3K ratings)3.3 (9 ratings) — better
Positive reviews10.7% of reviews — better0.0% of reviews
Number of ratings3.3K — better9
Update frequencyEvery 4 months — betterEvery 5 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple TV — better
Requires iOS15.0 — better15.6
Further details — not scored
Size162 MB40 MB
Age rating4+12+
DeveloperTiVo Inc.Service Electric Cable TV, Inc.

Customer experience

TiVo

All ratings3,256 ratings
Positive19.8%
Neutral6.5%
Negative73.6%
Written reviews159 reviews
Positive10.7%
Neutral7.5%
Negative81.8%

SE Stream

All ratings9 ratings
Positive55.6%
Neutral0.0%
Negative44.4%
Written reviews3 reviews
Positive0.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative100.0%

Bugs and requests

TiVo

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Constant need to re-login
  • Streaming and downloading failures
  • Incompatibility with newer iOS versions

Requested features

3 requests
  • Picture-in-picture support
  • Improved remote control functionality
  • Easier episode and recording management

SE Stream

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

TiVo

No in-app purchases

None

SE Stream

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is TiVo free?
TiVo is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is SE Stream free?
SE Stream is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, TiVo or SE Stream?
SE Stream is rated higher. TiVo averages 2.0 out of 5 from 3.3K ratings, while SE Stream averages 3.3 from 9 ratings.
Do TiVo or SE Stream have ads?
Neither TiVo nor SE Stream shows ads.
Which is updated more often, TiVo or SE Stream?
TiVo ships an update every 4 months, and SE Stream every 5 months. Most recently, TiVo was updated on October 19, 2026 and SE Stream on October 1, 2026.

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