Comparison

TiVo vs Thespi

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

Thespi

Features
Read full description

Keep track of every musical and play you’ve ever seen. Rate live theater experiences using an algorithmic system that automatically sorts your favorites in order, without ever giving it a score. Designed for dedicated theater fans and casual attendees alike, this app is the go-to stop for what the theatre community is thinking. From classic Broadway productions to local performances in a city near you, every show deserves to be remembered. FEATURES • Rate musicals and plays after every performance with our algorithmic ranking system, that will generate a numerical score for all of your viewed shows after reviewing at least 10 shows. • Share photos and opinions of your most recent viewing. • Discover new, trending, and best-rated shows based on our community. UPCOMING • Playbill scanner to quickly and easily record pertinent data relating to the show, such as production team, cast members, and soundtrack. • Track daily productions/performances with accurate representation of who ran the show. • Expand on artist portfolios to list all of their theatre contributions.

Screenshots

TiVo4 screens
Thespi3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Thespi at weekly against TiVo's every 4 months. Thespi also leads on iOS requirement (15.1 vs 18.0). On price, ads, in-app purchases and device support 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.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

TiVo ships an update every 4 months, Thespi weekly. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
TiVo versus Thespi: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterTiVoThespi
PriceFreeFree
Rating2.0 (3.3K ratings) — better—
Positive reviews10.6% of reviews—
Number of ratings3.3K — better—
Update frequencyEvery 4 monthsWeekly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree—
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS18.015.1 — better
Further details — not scored
Size164 MB32 MB
Age rating12+9+
DeveloperTiVo Inc.Mary Miyamoto

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

Thespi

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

TiVo

No in-app purchases

None

Thespi

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is TiVo free?
TiVo is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Thespi free?
Thespi is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do TiVo or Thespi have ads?
Neither TiVo nor Thespi shows ads.
Which is updated more often, TiVo or Thespi?
TiVo ships an update every 4 months, and Thespi weekly. Most recently, TiVo was updated on November 1, 2026 and Thespi on October 24, 2026.

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