Customer Ratings & Reviews

Love our Tivo Bolt! Its very easy to program a show to record. Skipping the commercials in skip mode is awesome, even though its not available on all shows. Sometimes a recorded show will allow commercial skipping right after it is recorded and then a few days later that option is gone. When that happens you revert back to the 30sec fast forwarding thru the commercials. It would be nice if the CBS and ABC wigets were available thru tivo also, so that if you forgot to record an episode you could watch it there. Easy to set up.

Switched to TiVo from regular cable box and couldn't be happier. Your mileage may vary, but for me the TiVo is cheaper than then $32 monthly rent I was paying Verizon for two boxes with whole house DVR. It's also a much better product than the Verizon box, the user interface is better, the skip commercial feature is awesome, and having one device to use my cable, netflix, amazon prime, and mlb subscription is great.

If you're a cable customer, this product performs better and cost less over its lifetime than leased options offered by the cable company. Very happy weigh its ease of operation and functionality. Be prepared for tricky installation, mine required a Cable Card and Tuning Adapter from Timewarner Cable. And if you plan on connecting another TV via the TiVo Mini, make sure you purchase MoCa POE filter and learn where to install. My install wouldn't work without it, and once the filter was installed everything was resolved. TiVo should I nclude this inexpensive filter with every Bolt sold and ease customers installation woes. I couldn't find them locally, delayed my troubleshooting and install over a couple of days and made me wonder if I made a bad decision. But very pleased now that everything's operational.

I have OTA TV via antenna and Bolt is great as it can record four shows at once. I can then download shows via wifi to my Tablet and watch the shows on the go or stream them to my tablet or phone when on local LAN (remote streaming not yet available in Tivo application.) I also use Tivo app to schedule recordings. I have older Tivo S3 and can stream/transfer recordings between bolt and S3. Downside for some people is the monthly service fee which kicks in after free year is over and overpriced lifetime service fee should you not want to pay monthly service fee. Bolt is compatible with cable TV but you can't have both cable and antenna at same time like on some earlier Tivos.

We wanted to cut the cable and this seemed to be the best way to do it. I don't like the $15 a month we will have to pay after the first year, BUT, the guide is really great, and the built in DVR system is a must for us. Very easy to use and you don't need any extra equipment. We are completely over the air now with TV, and use internet for everything else. We have been using TIVO for a couple of months now and glad we made the switch.

This is the third tivo we bought in the last 12 years, it is by far the best one yet. We never miss a show and the ability to stream through Netflix, Amazon Prime and Hulu. The picture while searching for other shows is a nice feature along with the commercial skip and telling you there is the same show playing in HD. Too many other features to list. Best price for a tivo.

sleek design and the "skip ads" button is a dream, but 2 serious complaints: 1) check with your cable provider to find out whether their "on demand" feature is Internet-delivered. Comcast/Xfinity's is, and my Seattle Tivo works fine there, but Time Warner does not offer "on demand" via Net, so the Bolt in Palm Springs can't accommodate! 2) the Tivo app is kind of pointless, since it streams to other devices ONLY on the home wi-fi network, and why would you stream to a device smaller than the big-screen TV you undoubtedly hook it up to? I was misled to believe I could stream Bolt-recorded programs to any device while traveling, but that is not the case.

I currently have 6 TiVos in use and have been using them since their first Sony built model, so I'm well versed in their operation. I have several points to discuss: First is the aesthetics. It's a very odd shape that I'm not a fan of, though I can see how others would love it. The curved shape as well as the small footprint doesn’t look right next to typical Home Theater components. It would be nice to have an optional case, but I know this isn’t feasible so I’ll live with it. Second is the set up. This unit uses a hidden cable card that’s provided by the local cable company. In the past, I’ve had several issues when setting up a new card in a new TiVo. This time however, the card setup went fairly smoothly for the cable technician compared to the older models I have. I’ve had the cable company take two weeks to get some to work right. Once they did, they remained rock solid. I think that most of the issues are due to the cable company not fully understanding TiVo equipment. Getting TiVo support helped though during install. This new Bolt model however, was set up in just two trips by the cable company in two days total. This is a huge improvement, so I have to applaud TiVo for assisting them. Third is the speed of operation. This unit appears to be a little faster than my Roamio Pro unit, however I keep expecting a major jump each time a new model comes out and it never happens. This model claims a 3x faster processor and 3x the memory than the previous model (Roamio), however I barely notice a difference compared to my Roamio Pro. I would be happy to pay a premium for a much faster processor in order to never have a lag issue as it gets older and receives new software updates. I’m not saying this unit has major issues with lag, it doesn’t. I’m just saying that the Bolt doesn’t feel 3x times faster than my Roamio, more like 5% faster. If it is 3 times faster, you’d think it would be very obvious for me to notice it. Fourth is the interface. This is the best TiVo software to date. Those that are used to satellite and cable company boxes and have never used a TiVo would be pleasantly surprised at how well the interface software works. It’s a pleasure to use and very easy to learn. Too much so to describe here, but I could never go back to the others. Lastly, here are the issues I have with this unit. Due to the small footprint, TiVo moved the power supply to the wall plug. It’s terribly large and created problems behind our cabinet, keeping it further from the wall than it should be, as well as making us use another power strip as it’s so long and takes up several outlets. Very poor choice on TiVo’s part. The next issue I have is the quantity of tuners. My Roamio Pro has six tuners. The Bolt is a newer model, yet they only offer 4 tuners. What the heck TiVo?? You went backwards on your newest model?? Big mistake. Had I not needed an additional TiVo box, I would not have upgraded to this one like I usually do. In fact the Bolt serves a guest bedroom, not my home theater for this very reason. Was the decision for only 4 tuners based on size again? This unit should have had a minimum of 6 tuners. Another issue I have is the hard drive size. The one I purchased has a 1TB drive in it. My older Roamio Pro has a 3TB drive. Again, another step backwards from TiVo. Makes no sense. The last issue I have is the Netflix interface. It has always been, and continues to be, painfully slow. So much so that I no longer use the TiVo for accessing it, I use my TV’s interface. Not sure what the issue is here, but it’s definitely a problem. Don’t let my issues scare you away though. This TiVo unit is a good solid unit and still a major step up from other providers. You will not be disappointed if you purchase this.

Purchased 2 Tivo Bolts, have used them a bit over a month now. Use one with cable card, the other with antenna (2 different rooms). They also connect together over household network. Very pleased with picture (don't have 4K TV, just 1080p), recording capabilities and the UI. I like how it can go as easily from a recorded program to streaming from Amazon/Hulu/Netflix etc. Love that I can watch a recorded show from one on the other in the other room. Works well with Tivo app on ipad/iphone. Have not tried downloading to ipad to go elsewhere, would love to be able to stream to ipad outside of household network, but that is not a feature - yet. Monthly bill was cut in half from old Directv set up we had. Thrilled about that.

Great device. Good picture, wonderful user interface makes navigation through all our video providers (Cable/Hulu/Amazon/Vudu) easy for all members of the family

I Purchased To Cut Down On Cable Cost It is great easy setup lots of functions well worth the initial cost. $50.00 For Cable DVR Service verses this $5.00 Per Month for a cable card And it's 4K

New feature includes commercial skip, but not all recorded programming use this feature. It currently seems to be limited to prime time recording and also cant be used for news or live sporting events. Also a new feature is the play mode fast forward which speeds up 30% but keeps audio in real time. Also another new feature but one that I do not care for is sleep mode. I don't care for it because it takes to long to wake. I've owned 2 previous Tivo models but the new Bolt overall is the best DVR Ive owned.

One of the main items is that TiVo is once again changing their pricing models. I have purchased at least 7 TiVos and 5 minis over the years and on all but one (which is now retired) I have added lifetime programming. While you do lose the extended warranty by not going month to month (a more recent service addition to the monthly/annual fees) the payoff over the years more than averages out. The previous unit included 1-year service under the purchase price, but I read that that is changing. I wish it had changed before getting this version, as I was doing lifetime and the first year was a waste of price. However, I got this unit on decent sale, so picked it up and since I am a current customer, the lifetime is $399 instead of $599. As long as I have at least a 3 year payoff, I consider it worth it. Now I would recommend getting the new cheaper 1Gig unit (same unit, just different programming package) and then get lifetime if you are a current TiVo customer, and consider it if not. It's best to call customer sales to add lifetime programming instead of trying to do it online. The BOLT is wonderful unit. The commercial skip works even better than advertised (I especially like it being able to work on the Romeos and Minis). They claim that the processor is 2.15 times faster, I have not seen any benchmarks to this fact, but the response time is much improved and a joy to use. I have yet tested the 4K capability, but it will come in handy in the future (also another reason to have at least a 1Gig unit). I wasn't wild about the shape, but can understand for cooling issues. This unit is hidden on a standalone shelf anyway. And the remote is RF so no need for direct line of sight. For those that don't have TiVos and have cable, these boxes are exceptionally better than the cable company DVRs, and with lifetime programming, more then pay for themselves after about 4 years. The user interface is much better, the commercial skip feature is to die for.

Allows us to record up to four programs at once. More importantly for us since we don't have cable, we use this as our interface with Netflix where we can stream all kinds of programs just off cable. With just over the air TV and Netflix, we get to see what we want versus paying $150+ a month to a cable company for 300 channels of stuff we don't watch. Maybe that's why I can take early retirement with all this money I save......

I replaced a TiVo Premiere with this Bolt. I went from 2 streams in the old TiVo to 4 streams in the new Bolt. I love the commercial skip and 30% speed view functions. I would highly recommend this to any TiVo users.

Love the new Tivo. Easy to use. Now I won't miss any of my shows since it can record up to 4 at a time.

As a former DirecTV, Uverse, Comcast, and Charter DVR user I can tell you that the Bolt is far and away the best DVR I've ever used. Even with the upfront Bolt cost and the yearly $150 service fee I will begin to break even and start saving money in less than 2 years compared to renting the CableCo's embarrassing 'whole home DVR'. It was not a difficult decision.

I love the TiVo Bolt. It offers 4K streaming and seamlessly integrates online offerings such as Netflix, Hulu, Amazon and many more! It works great with our cable card from Cox or with an antenna if you're trying to cut the cord. Your first year's subscription is included and it's $15/month after that. But no matter how many TiVo units you add, you only pay $15/month after the year included with the Bolt. We bought several minis to go with it and have reduced our monthly bill by 75%!

Wouldn't it be great to have one device to play all of my video content? Cable only does cable. But this TiVo does cable, Amazon, Vudu, Plex, YouTube and more! You can stream to your iPad or iPhone. Right now it is only on your network but soon they say it will be anywhere. The app allows you to download shows to your iPhone/iPad to play later. You can set recordings through your app. And you can pair the t with a TiVo mini you can add a new television without adding a new cable box.

This little device is so much better than the cable campany's DVR in what it has to offer and is easier to use. Its suggestions on what to watch saves a lot of time over searching through all the many channels one does not watch. Mini Tivos provides all the options to all the other TVs in the house without extra rental and subscription charges. Saves considerable money over time.