Customer Ratings & Reviews

I have used Tivo's from their beginning but I have never been a fan I always considered their software clunky, but they were only game in town. My last device was premiere with 1 terabyte add on drive only 2 tuners. I started using Windows Media center with multiple network tuners, but I like Windows 10 especially in tablet mode also with desktop no touch fast load with ssd. No Windows 10 media center it is gone! I tried Tivo Roamio 49 buck edition but so many big trees wind and tropical rainstorms made ota suck 10% of the time but some how that 10% came during my favorite recordings! I figured try new Bolt with cable card & 1 terabyte well I like it, gui not as likeable to me as Windows Media center but the skip commercials feature is incredible! The official Tivo Android app not good but Tivo DVR commander app is very good. Hey I am fan now..........not a fanboy mind you but the Tivo Bolt is a great device.

Having owned a TiVo Premiere for four years, I decided it was time for an upgrade. After some research, I decided to purchase the brand spanking new TiVo Bolt. I wanted a TiVo that would allow for easy access to swap out the hard drive and this fit that description. While 500GB (75 hours of HD content) is decent, it is not ideal. I opted for a 2TB hard drive. The shape of this device is a little odd. I get the feeling that TiVo is trying to stick out while in your media center. But the size is considerably smaller than my old Premiere. Definitely not my favorite design, but not entirely ugly either. Swapping out the hard drive was easy, once you can get the plastic casing off. No need to install anything, literally just plug and play. Yay! I don't know if there is something wrong with my box, but my wifi doesn't like to connect online. I consider myself tech savvy, but after an evening of trying to connect, I gave up. Luckily, I already have an ethernet cable waiting from my old TiVo. I didn't want to go through the exchange process as I had already swapped out the hard drive. This thing is fast! That was the first thing I noticed after getting everything up and running. I had never used any of the apps (Netflix, Amazon Video, Hulu, etc) before because they were slow to load and not as refined as my video game consoles. This box is so fast, I have no problem using them here. I love the commercial skip feature. It doesn't work with all shows, but a good 70% of the ones I've seen. Overall, it is a great upgrade that I would highly recommend.

We got a 50 mile HD antennae and this pulls in every major Austin area station (KEYE, KXAN, KVUE, KLRU . . . and 27 others!). Just connect the antennae to the back of the Tivo and you can record just about any show you need. I believe it even records shows off of HULU (although we haven't yet subscribed). We also got Amazon Firesticks, and we subscribe to Netflix. Cancelled my $157/month DirecTv account! Not missing it at all. As a bonus today I found out that Suddenlink in our area offers unlimited data for just $5 more than what we were spending. So, no fear of binge watching! And, the button to skip commercials is so easy to use. It takes a little bit getting used to the remote, but once you get it figured out it works just great.

I've purchased several TiVos in the past 10 years and the Bolt tops all of them. I was actually able to sell my Premiere and replaced it with a TiVo Mini. Now I only have to pay one TiVo service fee and stream from my TiVo Bolt to the Mini. I love being able to lie in bed and watch live tv on my iPad while my wife watches something else on the big screen. I was slightly disappointed when the "skip commercial" feature was only for certain shows or networks....not everything. But not disappointed enough to rate it lower. The interface is smooth and super fast. It opens Netflix and Vudu up 10x faster than my smart tv hub. Best digital purchase in a long time!

This is the best DVR I have ever owned. Lightning fast and a great user interface. Unfortunately it has ussues. After a recent update it has to be restarted due to HDCP issues (the hdmi handshake) I have tivos that are 10 years older that don't have this problem. Restart fixes the problem. Restart fixes the Cox VOD problem as well. I figure I will restart thus box 1000 times in the coming year. Unacceptable!!

Talked with sales man Brent at tulsa 71/169 store and he is a cord cutter himself and has the same system ( tivo plus mini), so a trusted him and cut the cord, and boy am I glad I did, it has saved my family $117 a month and I feel we are getting more quality programming now than with cable. we got the lifetime service so all we pay is $99 a year to prime and I watch any thing i want for free. If it is a series that is not free it is normally 19.99 on average for 12-15 shows so that's about $1.25-1.57 per show so may monthly cost to watch tv is ($99 for prime per yr) $8.25 a month plus + 4 (series like ax men) $1.57 x 4 = $6.28 and they air weekly so that would be times 4 weeks = $25.12 so $8.25 (prime)+ $25.12(series)= 33.37 a month to watch more programming than I was paying for cable. I have had the system for a month and a half and I love it we watch 5 hrs of tv a day and I could not go back to cable after this. I have had "o" problems and just love the user friendliness of the system

I never understood why someone would pay so much for a Tivo box when the cable provider offers a DVR box (for a price...more on that later). Then I got this Bolt and it is a night and day difference from the terrible Comcast DVR box. The user interface is much easier to navigate and the channel guide is head and shoulders above the Comcast guide. There are so many features on the Bolt that are better than the Comcast DVR. The one that I appreciate the most is the "Skip" button. Being able to completely and effortlessly skip commercials in recorded TV shows in invaluable. This feature alone is worth the price of admission. Another feature that I love is the integration of Netflix, Amazon, and Hulu. For the first time since we have been subscribing to Netflix and Amazon Prime are we actually getting our money's worth. We have a smart TV and an smart BR player with Netflix and Amazon apps but it was way too cumbersome and the apps were hard to navigate. The Bolt makes watching Netflix and Amazon so simple and we are watching much much more from Netflix and Amazon. Another feature that I love is the iOS/Android Tivo app that lets you watch live/recorded TV on your smartphone/tablet. You can stream the show on your home network or download the show for viewing outside your home. The Bolt does not have the capability to stream to an external network, yet. The last "feature" that I appreciate is the cost savings. We were renting a DVR and two set top boxes from Comcast for about $40/month. I turned in all of those boxes and replaced them with a Bolt, Tivo Mini, and a Google Chromecast. Comcast also gives me a $2.50 credit/month for using the Bolt. It can't be all great though. It was very difficult to get the Bolt working with Comcast. Not Tivo's fault, totally Comcast's fault. I recommend that you get a CableCard from Comcast or your provider, but keep all of your boxes until you get the Bolt working. I made the mistake of turning in my boxes and replacing it with the CableCard. The CableCard people at Comcast were so confused about what equipment was on my account that they couldn't activate the CableCard with my Bolt. The other thing that I wish for is a larger HD. I bought the 500 GB version and it is not large enough. There is an external add-on that you can purchase from Tivo, but it is overpriced. I think I will wait until my warranty period is expired and then open the Bolt up and replace the internal HD with a larger one. Other than that the whole family loves the Bolt and the mini. I wish I hadn't waited so long to switch to Tivo.

We dropped direct tv and use our HD antenna on top of our house hooked up to three tvs...the TiVo is a bonus as we can record up to four shows at a time. We have Netflix and Amazon prime and TiVo works with everything and TiVo first year is free. We have saved a bundle and don't miss direct tv at all... We may buy extender later but for now the TiVo in our main tv room is great...menu is easy to follow and was easy to hook up to our tv.

I've been a Tivo user since the 2004 and have also used the Tivo Roamio and the Tivo mini. The Tivo Bolt is a very nice upgrade especially for cord cutters. I find it works a lot better with my HD antenna than the Roamio did. The commerical skip feature is the highlight of this Tivo. It's smaller than the Tivo Roamio so it fits nicely on my TV stand. I have a white stand so the white color was perfect. I believe they are planning for it to come out in black for anyone who prefers it. It also works well with the Mini. When I set it up, I was able to transfer all my recorded shows from the Roamio to it via a network connection. I would definitely recommend it to first time buyers, as well as, to those looking to upgrade. Worth every penny!

The TiVo Bolt has made an excellent addition to my home. I recently replaced a DirecTV Genie and wired mini setup with this Bolt and TiVo mini's on Time Warner with a CableCard, and I haven't looked back even once. The device is nice and fast and very easy to set up. I am shocked just how simple it was to get the MoCa setup going with the right filters on the system. The mini's do an excellent job of timeshifting and viewing recorded content on the Bolt. The bolt itself is rocket fast, and easily expandable in storage by replacing the hard drive inside. The OnePass functionality works like a champ, and the Bolt's ability to pull shows not only from Cable, but from streaming sources too makes missing a show impossible. Lastly, the TiVo suggestions feature is really smart and does an excellent job at picking out shows that I would like to watch based on my thumbs up/down ratings. There's always hundreds of shows and movies waiting for me to watch at my leisure that I would enjoy watching. The Genie was never close to guessing my likes and dislikes. And access to your recordings from mobile devices is a breeze. The video/audio quality is quite excellent too. My only knock on the Bolt would be it's lack of apps. It has the important ones like Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon Prime, but there's a big hole there where there should a lot more apps for other services. This is something to get over easily though as many smart tv's and gaming consoles already have these. I have been incredibly pleased with this device. Very worth the investment to get rid of monthly cable box fees.

This replaces a Comcast DVR with second outlet at $30 / month. The first year cost is about the same with 50% savings after that. The overall quality is excellent, but it only gets 4 stars because of some weaknesses in the user interface. 1. No quick way to delete a recording if you watch a few minutes and decide you don't like it. 2. 'Back' does not switch between Live TV and Recordings. 3. Quick Play only has one speed, should have an intermediate speed. 4. 'Back' does not go from 'Tivo' to recording. 5. Would like to globally turn off all the secondary sources for content unless I explicitly ask for it. 6. Sometimes does not find free content on 'On Demand' while finding paid content on Hulu, etc. 7. Tivo app does not work outside of the local network. 8. Commercial skip unevenly applied to late night shows.

I had the Roamio Pro before moving to an area where Time Warner did not service (if you have Time Warner get a TiVo box; the stock Time Warner boxes are very slow; the TiVo box performs almost instantaneous). I then bought a TiVo Roamio OTA. The OTA box is great but now that the year minimum is up I upgraded to the Bolt. The Bolt is more responsive than the Roamio. If you have a Roamio it's not worth upgrading but if you are just buying one or upgrading from an older model the Bolt is a great box. We have the Bolt (and previously had the Roamio OTA) hooked up to an over the air antenna. The TiVo uses your zip code to pull the local television channels and give you a list to choose the working channels. After the initial set up it has the great TiVo menu that makes TiVo great. You can search by show name, title, etc. You can set up season passes to record certain shows and watch them when it's convenient for you. You can stream Netflix, HBO, Hulu, Amazon, etc. You can pause live tv and so forth. If you buy any TiVo box look into the TiVo mini for other rooms. With the mini you can watch shows recorded on the Roamio or Bolt in the other bedrooms. We have a mini in all three bedrooms that connect to the main box in the living room.

Love the Bolt. Some buy this as an upgrade DVR and use it only with streaming services (Netflix, Amazon prime, vudu, ect), but I also use it in connection to my current cable provider. I have Frontier Fios (same as Verizon Fios) and it works awesome with it. Everything including the menu guides are in 1080p and look so much better. Also, if you are a fios customer, it operates in Moca like the TiVo already does. So no loss in program guides or features EXCEPT video on demand. You will lose this. But with the integration of all of the popular streaming apps (and additional subscription add ons within those apps) you don't lose the entertainment experience. And the trade off just to have the bolt is worth it. Word of advice. If you are buying this to use with your current cable provider package, order a cable card immediately (it slides in the bottom of the TiVo box - the green lever is to help remove it)! It takes 3-5 business days to get - and tell them specifically what you need it for. DO NOT send them back your set top box until the cable card works with the TiVo and you have full programming. That way if for some reason you change your mind, you can just go right back to where you were.

I have had other Tivo dvrs and this is a definite upgrade from the previous generations of Tivo. It is super-fast. And if you have never tried a Tivo, you don't know what you're missing. Yes, Tivo may appear more expensive... (I say appear, because after you add up how much you're paying your cable provider to rent a DVR and pay for the service, it will eventually break even and start to save money... but mileage may vary)... But comparing Tivo to a cable company DVR is like comparing an iPad to a cheap no-name tablet... Tivo's user experience and ease of use blows away any cable company DVR. This one has pretty much solved the all-in-one with the apps they include. And you can use this Tivo for either OTA recording or you can use it with your cable company (cable only, not satellite or U-verse). All you need is a Cable CARD from your cable company and then you don't need their cable box! There's where you can save some money to get this much, much, much better DVR.

I don't know why every cable subscriber doesn't buy one of these. They are awesome. You get a Cable Card from your cable company, put it in the unit, and you can use Tivo Minis on your remote TVs and have full DVR control. The search integrates things like Amazon Prime and Net Flix. The TIVO user interface, remotes, etc. can't be beat. And the picture quality is better than my cable company boxes. Also the Tivo Minis that go on your remote TVs are small and can be mounted behind the TV on the wall. My cable companies small boxes don't have On Demand, a full guide, or DVR access, and full channels - with this I get all channels I subscribe to, on demand, Amazon Prime, etc. and full DVR access on every TV. Plus I pay no per TV fees to my cable company. It is so much better than anything the cable company provides. I had some initial issues with On Demand but it was my cable company and not TV - since then no problems. I love it!

TiVo has always had the best user interface of any DVR, and the Bolt is no exception. The new commercial skip feature (alas, only available on some channels) is terrific. My only complaint is that the top is not flat, so nothing else can be put on it.

Easy to use, love recording multiple shows. I liked the search on my old TiVo better, but am working through this one. I don't use the streaming feature so I can't comment on that. It does take a few hours to set up, downloading updates, etc.

I am a big fan of TiVo and Bolt does not disappoint. Very fast, snappy and has the familiar menus and interface we all love. I am Ok with the shape of it. One thing that I wish it had is more tuners

I purchased this to cut the cable with the satellite dish company. I called them and canceled a few weeks back. they reminded me that I had been their customer for 20 years and didn't want to lose me. After the First year Tivo will be $13, Netflix $8, Hulu $9. But that beats the $90 I was giving the cable guys. We can't get the HGTV shows that we used to enjoy (I wish TIVO would link up with SlingTV). But we have found others on Hulu and TIVO and OTA that make up for it. Overall pretty satisfied. and we are hoping it will get better over time with new internet providers getting plugged into TIvo over time.

This is our first TiVo. We've been talking about getting rid of our $80/mo cable for years, and this Bolt has finally allowed us to do it. Using an antenna brings in a better picture than our cable too. Once I activated unit with the 500 GB drive, and verified unit worked, I immediately installed a Seagate 2 TB drive for more space (this likely voids TiVo warranty). Shape is odd, but I have it standing on its side in our cabinet. Combined with our Amazon Fire TV and Kodi we have all we need. For cable news and a few other channels we're trying out a USTVNow subscription and see if that $20/month is worth it, and using Kodi to watch. Also purchased a TiVo Mini for the bedroom TV. Awesome!!