Price: $349.99 - $299.99
(as of Apr 24, 2025 09:16:45 UTC – Details)
TiVo BOLT, the Unified Entertainment System. It looks unconventional because there’s nothing conventional about it. The TiVo BOLT brings all your entertainment together in a way that’s simple, speedy and personal. It replaces your existing cable equipment, delivers all your cable channels, and records up to four shows at once. Even better, your streaming content is built right into the experience (2). Search everything in one click. And every available season and episode—no matter where it comes from—is organized for your binge-ing pleasure. Engineered to get you to the good stuff faster, TiVo BOLT was born to entertain with these unique features:
· Record up to 75 hours of HD programming (1)
· 4K UHD compatible
· SkipMode skips entire commercial breaks at the press of a button (3)
· QuickMode speeds through recorded and buffered shows 30% faster, with pitch-corrected audio
· OneSearch means you no longer have to jump from app to app trying to find a show or movie. Search TV, available on demand, and streaming apps in one click, and pick the best option for you.
· Integrates access to Netflix, Amazon Prime, HBO Go, Hulu, VUDU & more (2)
· Searches TV, available on-demand, and streaming content simultaneously
· Streams and downloads to mobile devices in the home (4)
· Schedule recordings almost anywhere with free TiVo app
· Ability to record OTA (Over-the-Air) channels and save your favorite shows broadcast in your region.
· Compatible with TiVo Mini for multi-room/whole home TV solutions (5)
Record 4 shows at once and up to 75 hours of HD programming.(1) Replaces your cable box and works with your existing subscription (requires CableCARD); or plugs into any HD antenna to record over-the-air channels easily (over -the-air reception varies by location and is impacted by multiple factors).
TiVo service subscription is required. Options include a monthly service plan at $14.99/mo and a 1-year commitment,(4) and an annual service plan at $149.99/year.(5)
Your favorite streaming apps are fully integrated: No more switching inputs, remotes or devices. Access Netflix, Amazon Prime, HBO GO, Hulu, Pandora and more from one, integrated experience.(2)
Watch eye-popping 4K/UHD content. Fully 4K/Ultra High-Definition compatible right out of the box, so you can soak up all that crisp color, clarity and detail.
SkipMode allows you to skip through entire commercial breaks of recorded shows at the press of a single button.(3) QuickMode lets you watch recorded shows 30% faster with pitch-corrected audio.
Customers say
Customers find the TiVo BOLT 500 GB DVR easy to use with its slick interface and appreciate its functionality, with one customer noting it works well with Fios. The device offers great recording options, allowing recording of 4 shows at once, and customers particularly like the commercial skip feature. The streaming capabilities receive positive feedback, with support for Netflix and Pandora, while the speed receives mixed reviews – some find it fast while others say it’s slow. Value for money is also mixed, with some considering it a great deal for cord-cutters with antennas while others feel it’s not worth the cost.
AI-generated from the text of customer reviews
dryland –
Incredible functionality; Completely enhances my overall TV/Movie-watching experience
I’ve read a lot of comments here and noticed a couple of ‘repeat offender’ criticisms that TiVo has already addressed. So here are a few tips to enhance your Roamio OTA experience:
1) Although you will not be able to completely escape the annoying ads, the most egregious ad display to my eyes is the large one that appears when pausing playback. This ad can be minimized by pressing the “down” arrow located under the large “Select” button on your remote. There is an onscreen note (located on the lower right corner of the ad itself) suggesting this.
2) You can “super” fastforward or rewind approximately 15 minutes of programming at a time by first pressing the ff button, then pressing either the forward button or the circular arrow button located above the green “D” button and yellow “A” button, respectively. Each time you press the forward/circular arrrow button, the program will advance/rewind another 15 minutes.
3) I’m still figuring these out, but a) the ‘live recording’ function of the Roamio allows you to press pause on one program, then change the channel, and then return to your original channel and watch that program from the pause point. My cable company’s DVR did not do this…it ‘erased’ the live recording as soon as I changed channels. Also, b) if you press “Live TV” more than once, it scrolls through your various tuner channels.
After cutting the cord in June of this year, I quickly went into mourning over the loss of my DVR. I missed it far more than the extra cable channels. I had been researching different ways to cobble together a frankenstein DVR, but based on user/tinkerer comments, I knew the upfront costs would be fairly high and that I still would not be able to match my cable DVR’s functionality. Thanks to KinjaDeals, I was alerted to the $300 TiVo Roamio OTA with Lifetime Subscription deal back in October. Now that I see the current $600 price tag and have had the full TiVo experience, I am *relieved* that I took a chance on the Roamio and grabbed that deal! Wow. (Seriously, join/follow Kinja Deals. They’ve guided me to a $15 Mohu Leaf antenna, this TiVo, $22 Channel Master distribution amp, and many other sales). The TiVo is even better than my old cable provider’s DVR and makes my entire OTA experience feel richer and complete, similar to that of the cable TV arrangement that cost me $100/month. It’s hard to explain because it’s not like I have more channels than I did before, but that’s the feeling I have nonetheless. The TiVo has virtually replaced my Roku as the way I watch Netflix — there’s a great feature that allows you to create a OnePass for your Netflix shows and then adds them to your “My Shows” list just like whatever ABC/CBS/CW/NBC programs that have been recorded. As a result, everything you are interested in watching appears in list form on one screen. It’s a nice feature and so convenient. The only negative, for me, is that I can’t watch/access my SlingTV service via the TiVo, so the Roku is still a necessity for that. The ability to add more apps/streaming services would be great. It’s really all that is missing. The TiVo is also a great universal remote.
I also purchased the 3-year/$40 extended warranty from the TiVo site a couple of weeks ago. (The extended warranty must be purchased within 60 days of TiVo activation.) I resisted for a while, because I generally think extended warranties are just money grabs, but then figured that it was a good move considering a) that I would not be protected from catastrophic/maintenance issues otherwise and b) the amount of money I saved on the Romio OTA & Lifetime Subscription in the first place.
Note that I have read that the TiVo may cause a loss of signal strength from your antenna to the TiVo/TV. Since I had experienced intermittent “no signal” channel dropoff issues with a couple of my most-watched channels prior to installing the TiVo, I was hyper aware of the potential to exacerbate this issue. I’ve never been certain if the dropoffs were caused by my antenna setup or the broadcast stations themselves, although I suspect it’s a combination of both. Anyway, I did notice a reduction of signal strength (a bar or so) with a few of my channels once I installed the TiVo. I purchased a Channel Master CM3414 Distribution Amplifier to see if I could boost the signal (or recover the losses hypothetically due to the TiVo) to the TiVo TV and to the rest of the house. I saw no significant improvement (some gains, some losses in strength, but most remained essentially the same) and returned the amp for a refund.
P.S. I would like to extend a very heartfelt THANK YOU to user G. Friedleyon who posted a review on October 6, 2015 which gave step-by-step instructions for setting up the TiVo/subscription account. At the time there was much confusion and finger-pointing between Amazon and TiVo and those directions were so excellent that it only took me 20-30 minutes to complete the setup.
Jim S. –
Paid for Lifetime Svc; Call to report Guide problem after 1.5yrs, TiVo has no record of my service!
I purchased TiVo Bolt and TiVo Mini (plus several additional remotes) from Amazon. Activated the Bolt online at TiVo website on June 6, 2017 with Lifetime Service and 3-year extended warranty from TiVio for a total of $628.48 including taxes. Activated the Mini on June 18, 2017 in the same manner.
Everything was working fine.
This year (2018), TiVo pushes out a guide update to address changes by Spectrum cable to the channel lineup. However, the local PBS change was never updated correctly (station number present, but no programming information in the guide) and after several attempts to reinitialize the guide to fix the problem, I decided to call TiVo for assistance.
The first thing Technical Support asked for was the telephone number registered to my account. No go. The TiVo support technician could not locate my account. He then asked for the email address. Same thing. No account. He then tried to locate my account via the Bolt’s TiVo Service Number and also the Mini’s TiVo Service Number. Again, nothing.
He transferred me to Customer Service to see if they could get things straightened out. Spoke to “Ems,” who also could not locate my account. She tried my phone number, email address, their own (TiVo) order numbers, which I provided from the emailed receipts that I received from TiVo when I purchased the TiVo Bolt’s Lifetime service and extended warranty and activated the TiVo Mini. This was incredulous. Clearly there was a problem with their system. I asked what is the next step to resolve this so that I can get my guide problem fixed. I was told that I would have to re-activate my service — PAY AGAIN! I said no way. I asked to speak to someone else who could help me and I was told that no one else could help me. I paid $628.48 for a Lifetime Service and 3-year extended warranty and TiVo now tells me they have no record of me or my TiVo devices.
I even tried to sign-in to TiVo online and it just reports an error asking me to contact customer service. I have signed in several times in the past. In fact, I signed-in just a few months ago for information on their Alexa integration. Now, just an error indicating wrong email address and/or password. (I use a password manager; the email address and password were correct.)
When I asked “Ems” for the name of the President and CEO of the company so that I could write a letter of complaint, she told me that she was not permitted to give that information out. I said, “TiVo is a publicly traded company — isn’t it?” She replied, “No, sir, it is actually a private company.” Hmm… In any case, I looked the names up on their website. Mr. Raghavendra Rau is the current interim president and CEO. He will be receiving my complaint.
Needless-to-say, I am not a happy camper with TiVo and I cannot recommend their products or service to anyone at this point.
JUST ME –
ARRIVED AS DESCRIBED. WORKS GOOD. GREAT 4K RESULTS