# Is the Edge "better" than the Bolt or Premiere? (Upgrade time)



## Dr_Zoidberg (Jan 4, 2004)

I have two Bolts and a Premiere XL, with All-In all the way around. Now, the Edge promotional deal comes along, and I'm considering replacing the Premiere XL with an Edge. 

Does anyone out there have anything in favor of upgrading to the Edge? The Premiere's interface is a big sluggish, as is the one on the Bolts. Are there any caveats to consider when buying an Edge?


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## MrDell (Jul 8, 2012)

Dr_Zoidberg said:


> I have two Bolts and a Premiere XL, with All-In all the way around. Now, the Edge promotional deal comes along, and I'm considering replacing the Premiere XL with an Edge.
> 
> Does anyone out there have anything in favor of upgrading to the Edge? The Premiere's interface is a big sluggish, as is the one on the Bolts. Are there any caveats to consider when buying an Edge?


 You will definitely see a performance increase over the Premiere because of a newer generation processor but these new Tivos are not built to last like the Roameos or Premieres. Their laptop hard drives are not as dependable as the full size hard drives used in Roameos and Premieres, and they have premature failures because of heat build up. Adding external cooling does help quite a bit though. I have a Bolt going on four years with external cooling still going strong!


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## bobfrank (Mar 17, 2005)

Dr_Zoidberg said:


> I have two Bolts and a Premiere XL, with All-In all the way around. Now, the Edge promotional deal comes along, and I'm considering replacing the Premiere XL with an Edge.
> 
> Does anyone out there have anything in favor of upgrading to the Edge? The Premiere's interface is a big sluggish, as is the one on the Bolts. Are there any caveats to consider when buying an Edge?


Make sure you prefer the TE4 interface over the TE3 interface. TE4 is your only choice with the Edge.


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## snerd (Jun 6, 2008)

MrDell said:


> You will definitely see a performance increase over the Premiere because of a newer generation processor but these new Tivos are not built to last like the Roameos or Premieres. Their laptop hard drives are not as dependable as the full size hard drives used in Roameos and Premieres, and they have premature failures because of heat build up. Adding external cooling does help quite a bit though. I have a Bolt going on four years with external cooling still going strong!


The Edge has much better cooling than the Bolt, so it shouldn't require external cooling.


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## Dr_Zoidberg (Jan 4, 2004)

bobfrank said:


> Make sure you prefer the TE4 interface over the TE3 interface. TE4 is your only choice with the Edge.


That's the so-called Hydra interface? Yeah, I do like it and I keep forgetting how to work the Premiere's interface, in comparison.



snerd said:


> The Edge has much better cooling than the Bolt, so it shouldn't require external cooling.


That's good, I've had my primiary bolt overheat a few times. Finally moved it to outside of my component rack, so it gets adequate cooling. I've also had it replaced once, and in a separate incudent, I replaced the hard drive with one from Weaknees after a failure.


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## MrDell (Jul 8, 2012)

snerd said:


> The Edge has much better cooling than the Bolt, so it shouldn't require external cooling.


Thanks for that info&#8230;. I wasn't aware of that&#8230; glad that's not an issue anymore!


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## bobfrank (Mar 17, 2005)

Dr_Zoidberg said:


> That's the so-called Hydra interface? Yeah, I do like it and I keep forgetting how to work the Premiere's interface, in comparison.
> 
> That's good, I've had my primiary bolt overheat a few times. Finally moved it to outside of my component rack, so it gets adequate cooling. I've also had it replaced once, and in a separate incudent, I replaced the hard drive with one from Weaknees after a failure.


Yep, that's Hydra. As long as you prefer that then you should like the Edge. It'll out perform the Premier by a lot, I understand. Note: the Premiere and the Edge are the only 2 generations of Tivo that I haven't owned.


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## lujan (May 24, 2010)

I'm considering the Edge as well but only as a backup. I already have two lifetime Bolts.


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## Dr_Zoidberg (Jan 4, 2004)

Took the plunge and just placed the order. Guess I'll be removing the CableCard from my Premiere XL4 and putting it in the Bolt. Hopefully I can realign the CC to the Edge without waiting too long on the phone with Verizon.

A PremiereXL4 with Lifetime's gotta be worth something? Interestingly, I have a TiVoHD still registered with the my account with Lifetime. It's on a shelf somewhere, along with an Inactive Series2 that should still work. Time to do some housecleaning!


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## bareyb (Dec 1, 2000)

snerd said:


> The Edge has much better cooling than the Bolt, so it shouldn't require external cooling.


Just picked up a lifetimed Bolt for cable on Amazon. What external cooling solutions have you guys found? Would putting taller feet under it help get more air under the unit?


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## snerd (Jun 6, 2008)

bareyb said:


> Just picked up a lifetimed Bolt for cable on Amazon. What external cooling solutions have you guys found? Would putting taller feet under it help get more air under the unit?


I added rubber feet that are about 1/2" under corners of my Bolt, and use this AC Infinity MULTIFAN S3 which plugs into the USB port of the Bolt.


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## bareyb (Dec 1, 2000)

snerd said:


> I added rubber feet that are about 1/2" under corners of my Bolt, and use this AC Infinity MULTIFAN S3 which plugs into the USB port of the Bolt.


I may do that too. I just talked with Weaknees and TiVo CS (on chat) and they are saying that there's no problem with with the 1 TB units, only the 3 TB Bolts overheat now. Tivo said they updated the software and they "rarely ever get complaints about Bolts overheating now". Still I may go for one of these. It sits under the Bolt where the air intakes are: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00NNMB3K...colid=8LPSCPPVA2NW&psc=1&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it










Although.... putting a fan behind it like I assume you did, would probably hide the fan... come to think of it, I like your fan idea better.


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## pl1 (Jan 18, 2007)

bareyb said:


> Although.... putting a fan behind it like I assume you did, would probably hide the fan... come to think of it, I like your fan idea better.


I sit the Bolt on that fan, with two raised feet to level it.


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## bareyb (Dec 1, 2000)

pl1 said:


> I sit the Bolt on that fan, with two raised feet to level it.
> View attachment 62141


I see you are a function over form kind of guy! Was your Bolt overheating or did you do this a preemptive strike? How much cooler does it run now?


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## pl1 (Jan 18, 2007)

bareyb said:


> I see you are a function over form kind of guy! Was your Bolt overheating or did you do this a preemptive strike? How much cooler does it run now?


It has always been hot, especially where the cableCARD sits, so I leave the cableCARD cover off and blow air in at that location. I have also run it with an external drive, but I do have an internal for now. My ODT is currently 54C.
Edit: I think that is about 10C lower than without the fan.


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## bareyb (Dec 1, 2000)

pl1 said:


> It has always been hot, especially where the cableCARD sits, so I leave the cableCARD cover off and blow air in at that location. I have also run it with an external drive, but I do have an internal for now. My ODT is currently 54C.
> Edit: I think that is about 10C lower than without the fan.


Thanks! Did it ever _actually_ overheat? As in gave you an error message or whatever TiVos do when they overheat?


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## pl1 (Jan 18, 2007)

bareyb said:


> Thanks! Did it ever _actually_ overheat? As in gave you an error message or whatever TiVos do when they overheat?


No, never. It just felt too hot to me and others recommended this USB fan. And so far, it has been good for two years now.


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## bareyb (Dec 1, 2000)

pl1 said:


> No, never. It just felt too hot to me and others recommended this USB fan. And so far, it has been good for two years now.


I may just do that too. Thank you! Appreciate the link @snerd


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## pl1 (Jan 18, 2007)

bareyb said:


> I may just do that too. Thank you! Appreciate the link.


Actually @snerd gets the kudos!


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## waynomo (Nov 9, 2002)

Another option is upgrading to an external 3.5 inch drive and enclosing that in a separate case with its own cooling.

I followed the instructions that have been posted elsewhere on TCF. I went with a 6 TB drive.


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## bareyb (Dec 1, 2000)

waynomo said:


> Another option is upgrading to an external 3.5 inch drive and enclosing that in a separate case with its own cooling.
> 
> I followed the instructions that have been posted elsewhere on TCF. I went with a 6 TB drive.


Is it the internal hard drives that are causing the over heating on Bolts?


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## bareyb (Dec 1, 2000)

pl1 said:


> Actually @snerd gets the kudos!


Fixed.


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## pl1 (Jan 18, 2007)

bareyb said:


> Is it the internal hard drives that are causing the over heating on Bolts?


The 2.5" laptop drives are cool enough, so it's not that, although they do take up internal cooling space because the Bolt is small. But, even when I use an external drive, the Bolt seems hot where the cableCARD is inserted.


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## bareyb (Dec 1, 2000)

pl1 said:


> The 2.5" laptop drives are cool enough, so it's not that, although they do take up internal cooling space because the Bolt is small. But, even when I use an external drive, the Bolt seems hot where the cableCARD is inserted.


I ordered one of those fans and it will be here tomorrow. I've always thought about doing it and for 13 bucks why not? I think it would create a bit of a chimney effect and help my whole rack stay cooler.


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## waynomo (Nov 9, 2002)

bareyb said:


> Is it the internal hard drives that are causing the over heating on Bolts?


Typically it was the drives that failed. I went with a 3.5 inch drive because they've been more reliable. Heat is not the friend of electronic components. The drives probably weren't the main contributor, but it all adds up.

I used an internal 3.5 inch drive mounted in an external enclosure.


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## bareyb (Dec 1, 2000)

waynomo said:


> Typically it was the drives that failed. I went with a 3.5 inch drive because they've been more reliable. Heat is not the friend of electronic components. The drives probably weren't the main contributor, but it all adds up.
> 
> I used an internal 3.5 inch drive mounted in an external enclosure.


Makes sense. Thanks. Did you end up rolling yours back to TE3 or are you satisfied with TE4?


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## MrDell (Jul 8, 2012)

pl1 said:


> The 2.5" laptop drives are cool enough, so it's not that, although they do take up internal cooling space because the Bolt is small. But, even when I use an external drive, the Bolt seems hot where the cableCARD is inserted.


 I have removed my cable card door and I believe that it has helped&#8230;. I have been using external cooling also and my bolt runs around 54 degrees&#8230;. So far so good!


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