Yeah I had a 3rd party remote with my old TIVO years ago, it did not work as well as my Direct TV remotes do. Maybe they have improved on them since then. If I ever decide to switch to FIOS TV I will do the same & get TIVO's. I had 2 series 1 TIVOS & LOVED them, then had TIVO through Direct TV. I would also need the OTA tuners TIVO has & my Direct TV DVRs have because Direct TV & FIOS say I am in the Tampa zone but I am closer to Ft Myers & can get their signals OTA.