# Any updates on more 4K and/or HDR?



## zubinh (Jun 7, 2004)

Hi All, Just curious if there has been any news about adding more 4K streaming services, or are we stuck with just YouTube and Netflix for the foreseeable future? Also, has Tivo given any guidance with respect to the HDR capabilities of the Bolt or Bolt + ? 

VUDU now offers a lot of movies with Dolby Atmos and Dolby Vision and it would be nice if Tivo could say whether or not users will be able to take advantage of that.

Thanks for any input!


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## Rkkeller (May 13, 2004)

I don't know your answer, but I almost gave up trying to use any apps on my Bolt. They are just more problematic and occasionally buffer more than any of my other devices. I stream on my 3 other devices and never have problems.


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## zubinh (Jun 7, 2004)

Rkkeller said:


> I don't know your answer, but I almost gave up trying to use any apps on my Bolt. They are just more problematic and occasionally buffer more than any of my other devices. I stream on my 3 other devices and never have problems.


I hear ya. Its just that the family really likes the ease of simply going to the Apps section and watching streaming services from there. If I add the future Apple TV which will supposedly have 4K and HDR capability, it would have to go on a different input which even with a Harmony remote, doesn't always switch correctly. I can already hear the complaints...

Just wished the Bolt would live up to its 4K "Unified Entertainment system" billing.


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## Fant (Sep 1, 2016)

Yah even tho I have dozens of devices that can play streaming content the bolt is the easiest and runs pretty well.


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## mpf541 (Nov 25, 2009)

The bolt may be the easiest but now getting apps updated on the tivo is really not happening much. Now with tivo getting out of the hardware business I bet it just gets worse. They say it is best for 4K but can't get 4K from amazon on it. When is that update coming. Yes the app works pretty good but it is outdated.


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## shwru980r (Jun 22, 2008)

mpf541 said:


> The bolt may be the easiest but now getting apps updated on the tivo is really not happening much. Now with tivo getting out of the hardware business I bet it just gets worse. They say it is best for 4K but can't get 4K from amazon on it. When is that update coming. Yes the app works pretty good but it is outdated.


When you log in to amazon for the first time in the amazon app on the Bolt, the response message refers to the Bolt as a Series 5, which is the Roamio.


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## rad1701 (Aug 17, 2003)

I'm finally taking the 4K plunge and getting a nice new Sony 4K TV tomorrow and a Sony 4K Blu-Ray player. I have a TIVO Roamio, but at this point in time I see no need to get a TIVO Bolt unless I can actually record 4K from something like HBO Go or other apps for viewing later. Since there is virtually no broadcast 4K on cable TV I see no need for it for the 4K features. So, the question is what do you record with your Bolt in 4K? I can stream 4K with my other devices, so again I see no need for a Bolt at this time. Thoughts??


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## jrtroo (Feb 4, 2008)

rad1701 said:


> So, the question is what do you record with your Bolt in 4K?


You answered your own question, there is nothing to record.


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## rad1701 (Aug 17, 2003)

jrtroo said:


> You answered your own question, there is nothing to record.


Hmm, well that's kind of sad. I was hoping it could at least record some 4K via some App based services out there like HBO at least.


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## compnurd (Oct 6, 2011)

rad1701 said:


> Hmm, well that's kind of sad. I was hoping it could at least record some 4K via some App based services out there like HBO at least.


HBO doesn't stream 4K


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## rad1701 (Aug 17, 2003)

compnurd said:


> HBO doesn't stream 4K


Oh, I thought they had by now. Well, guess that is off the table. So simply put, there is basically little to nothing to record in 4K currently. The ones that stream like Netflix you can't record anyway. So again, is a TIVO Bolt really needed at this stage of things?


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## atmuscarella (Oct 11, 2005)

rad1701 said:


> Oh, I thought they had by now. Well, guess that is off the table. So simply put, there is basically little to nothing to record in 4K currently. The ones that stream like Netflix you can't record anyway. So again, is a TIVO Bolt really needed at this stage of things?


Not if your TV has good apps built in for the services offering 4K content. The Bolts (Series 6 TiVos) are hardware upgrades to the Roamios (Series 5 TiVos) but if any of the actual hardware upgrades matter is very user specific. Over the last 2ish years there have been many post (many by me) listing the differences if you really want more details.

My opinion is simple the Bolts are the current hardware if you need a new DVR that is what you buy, if you have Roamios and just want the newest upgrading is fine, the apps do running better on the Bolts, but otherwise not allot of reasons to upgrade.


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## rad1701 (Aug 17, 2003)

atmuscarella said:


> Not if your TV has good apps built in for the services offering 4K content. The Bolts (Series 6 TiVos) are hardware upgrades to the Roamios (Series 5 TiVos) but if any of the actual hardware upgrades matter is very user specific. Over the last 2ish years there have been many post (many by me) listing the differences if you really want more details.
> 
> My opinion is simple the Bolts are the current hardware if you need a new DVR that is what you buy, if you have Roamios and just want the newest upgrading is fine, the apps do running better on the Bolts, but otherwise not allot of reasons to upgrade.


Makes good sense. My Roamio works well and I'm finally getting a new Sony 4K TV (today actually) and was wondering on the need/usage of a Bolt. Since the TV has good built in apps I think I can hold off on getting the Bolt until some significant content shows up that I can record.


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## shwru980r (Jun 22, 2008)

rad1701 said:


> I'm finally taking the 4K plunge and getting a nice new Sony 4K TV tomorrow and a Sony 4K Blu-Ray player. I have a TIVO Roamio, but at this point in time I see no need to get a TIVO Bolt unless I can actually record 4K from something like HBO Go or other apps for viewing later. Since there is virtually no broadcast 4K on cable TV I see no need for it for the 4K features. So, the question is what do you record with your Bolt in 4K? I can stream 4K with my other devices, so again I see no need for a Bolt at this time. Thoughts??


You're never going to be able to record from a streaming app on a Tivo.
Only the Bolt has wireless a/c. The Roamio has wireless n.

The 4 tuner bolt has some features that are only available on a 6 tuner roamio
Built in streaming to mobile devices.
Gigabit ethernet.
Built in Moca.
Remote Finder.

Only the Roamio has legacy analog video outputs. The bolt only has HDMI video output.


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## rad1701 (Aug 17, 2003)

shwru980r said:


> You're never going to be able to record from a streaming app on a Tivo.
> Only the Bolt has wireless a/c. The Roamio has wireless n.
> 
> The 4 tuner bolt has some features that are only available on a 6 tuner roamio
> ...


Sure, I get all that. I have the six tuner Roamio currently and use a wired connection. Thanks for the info.


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## Miles267 (Feb 20, 2017)

It's my understanding the TiVo Bolt+ Plex app support direct streaming of 4K content from a local Plex Media Server. Plan to test this very soon.

Plex app now supports 4k video on Bolt...


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## dbtom (Feb 14, 2002)

rad1701 said:


> Makes good sense. My Roamio works well and I'm finally getting a new Sony 4K TV (today actually) and was wondering on the need/usage of a Bolt. Since the TV has good built in apps I think I can hold off on getting the Bolt until some significant content shows up that I can record.


I definitely wouldn't upgrade for 4K. I upgraded from a Tivo Mini to the Bolt for 4K and it was a waste of money. The only app in 4K is Netflix. I don't know any 4K tvs that don't have Netflix built in. It's more convenient to use it via Tivo but I've fund Tivo apps on bolt to be much less stable. The Bolt crashes much more frequently than the Roamio or Premiers in the house. The kids hate it because of the crashing. They preferred the mini. The apps are faster than on the older Tivos but not worth it in my view when you could spend much less and get a Roku with a better experience.


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## zubinh (Jun 7, 2004)

OK Great, so now we've got Plex in 4K...at least that's something. If Tivo can get Vudu to update their app so that it can support Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos, I'll be a super happy camper.


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## Miles267 (Feb 20, 2017)

dbtom said:


> I definitely wouldn't upgrade for 4K. I upgraded from a Tivo Mini to the Bolt for 4K and it was a waste of money. The only app in 4K is Netflix. I don't know any 4K tvs that don't have Netflix built in. It's more convenient to use it via Tivo but I've fund Tivo apps on bolt to be much less stable. The Bolt crashes much more frequently than the Roamio or Premiers in the house. The kids hate it because of the crashing. They preferred the mini. The apps are faster than on the older Tivos but not worth it in my view when you could spend much less and get a Roku with a better experience.


I too recently got a LG 4K TV simply because we wanted to add a new TV in our kids' playroom. Was previously using a Mini in this room. Didn't see a point in getting a non-4K one and found a decent deal on a 4K UHD model. Enabled us to move the Mini to a guest bedroom.

Bought a TiVo Bolt+ with hope that 4K content will become more readily available beyond Amazon and Netflix. Heck, may be a reason to subscribe to Netflix.


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## aaronwt (Jan 31, 2002)

zubinh said:


> OK Great, so now we've got Plex in 4K...at least that's something. If Tivo can get Vudu to update their app so that it can support Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos, I'll be a super happy camper.


The Vudu app on TiVo already supports Dolby Atmos. If you play the Atmos demos you will get Atmos audio from them through the Tivo.

The problem is that for the streaming content, they use the UHD streams for Atmos, not the HDX streams. And considering the very small number of devices that have access to the UHD streams from Vudu, I find it very unlikely that TiVo will have access to them. But I guess you never know.


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## NashGuy (May 2, 2015)

rad1701 said:


> Makes good sense. My Roamio works well and I'm finally getting a new Sony 4K TV (today actually) and was wondering on the need/usage of a Bolt. Since the TV has good built in apps I think I can hold off on getting the Bolt until some significant content shows up that I can record.


The Bolt might not ever be able to display and record 4K shows off of cable channels. The Bolt can only tune and record QAM-based channels and it's questionable whether cable operators will air 4K channels via QAM. Comcast has stated that they will air 4K channels via IP, not QAM, and it looks like Verizon FiOS is going that direction too. We'll see.

Bottom line: at this point, you should buy a Bolt to serve as an HD DVR and a 4K Netflix and YouTube streamer. Maybe in the future it will be able to stream 4K from other apps like Amazon or VUDU.


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## aaronwt (Jan 31, 2002)

At least since Comcast already has worked with TiVo and supplies VOD through TiVos, it might be more likely that the UHD IP content could be accessible from a TiVo. Far more likely than it happening with FiOS.


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## NashGuy (May 2, 2015)

aaronwt said:


> At least since Comcast already has worked with TiVo and supplies VOD through TiVos, it might be more likely that the UHD IP content could be accessible from a TiVo. Far more likely than it happening with FiOS.


Yeah, I'd say there's a decent chance that TiVo will eventually make UHD content available for streaming through their TiVo VOD app on the Bolt (assuming that the current Xfinity VOD app for TiVo is IP, not QAM-based -- is it?). But I very highly doubt that Comcast will ever bring to the Bolt actual live linear UHD channels that can be viewed and recorded through the regular TiVo UI, like any other cable channel. For those, you'll need X1 or, possibly, the Xfinity Stream app.

As for other, smaller cable cos (Cox, Altice, Suddenlink, RCN, etc.), who knows, maybe some of them will decide to use QAM for at least a few of the most popular UHD channels whenever they finally launch.


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## Steve (Apr 24, 2003)

I've got a Bolt+ > Denon AVR > Sony 4k 930D.

All resolutions are checked on the Bolt+. Denon video conversion is set to "off".

Watching a 1080i or 720p show from my Bolt playlist, the 930D "info" button reports 1080i or 720p resolution, as appropriate. Watching _Game of Thrones_, via the HBO Go app, the 930D displays 4k resolution. Didn't think anything of it, except someone just told me HBO is not streaming any 4k yet.

Anyone else seeing this?


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## tenthplanet (Mar 5, 2004)

It could some form of stealth/beta capability test, strictly off the radar. Or something is flagged wrong. Who is your cable provider and did the picture look like it could be 4k (I know that sounds dumb) how did the HBO video look?


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## Steve (Apr 24, 2003)

tenthplanet said:


> It could some form of stealth/beta capability test, strictly off the radar. Or something is flagged wrong. Who is your cable provider and did the picture look like it could be 4k (I know that sounds dumb) how did the HBO video look?


I'm with Optimum in NY, but this was an HBOGo stream. The video looked like it could be native 4k, but hard to tell because my Sony does a great job upconverting. Someone in another forum thinks the Bolt upconverts apps to 4k by design. Wish Margret was still around to ask.


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## aaronwt (Jan 31, 2002)

Steve said:


> I've got a Bolt+ > Denon AVR > Sony 4k 930D.
> 
> All resolutions are checked on the Bolt+. Denon video conversion is set to "off".
> 
> ...


Yes, My Bolts output at 2160P also from the HBO app. With 1080P24 selected and 2160P24 selected for output, it is sending 2160P24 when streaming a title.
I have no problem with it. Since my SOny UHD BD player does the same thing from it's apps and outputs them at 2160P24. While if I play a 2K BD it will outout at 1080P24.


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## spaldingclan (Aug 22, 2012)

you sure that's not just the TV upconverting to 4k?


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## aaronwt (Jan 31, 2002)

spaldingclan said:


> you sure that's not just the TV upconverting to 4k?


My Receiver reports the resolution and framerate being sent to it from each device. I'm not even looking at the resolution reported by my Sony TV, since it doesn't report the framerate with 2160P content.


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## chicagobrownblue (May 29, 2008)

*"Sharp announces an 8K TV"*

Sharp announces an 8K TV now that you've upgraded to 4K


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## lessd (Jan 23, 2005)

chicagobrownblue said:


> *"Sharp announces an 8K TV"*
> 
> Sharp announces an 8K TV now that you've upgraded to 4K


OK when can we expect 16K TVs  I am just getting HDTV at 1080p/24 from BD, I can't see how my 80" HDTV will be that much better with 4K as my eyes could not see the difference from 10'. A bad movie/program is bad in SD/HD/4K HDR, and one can enjoy a good movie/program in almost any resolution starting with DVD quality. Ever been to a bad movie in a good theater, great resolution and size, but you still did not like the movie.


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## series5orpremier (Jul 6, 2013)

Good. Now I have an excuse to not buy a 4K blu ray player.


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## compnurd (Oct 6, 2011)

Vudu is slow slow slow at supporting platforms for UHD


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## zubinh (Jun 7, 2004)

compnurd said:


> Vudu is slow slow slow at supporting platforms for UHD


What part of more UHD viewers = more revenue don't they understand? If I were running the company, my first priority would be to put my most profitable product in front of as many potential customers as possible.


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