# OTA Bolt Setup Help



## DavidGA (Apr 14, 2016)

Hi all,
I am ready to cut the cord and go OTA. I took my DirecTV antenna off my roof and used the mounting post to put up an HDTV antenna. I get over 70 channels when plugged directly into my TV, which is very encouraging.

I've ordered a Bolt and a TiVo Mini. I have some questions though on how I can get them all working together. The goal is to have 2 TVs enabled with TiVo capability.

The antenna goes down to a wiring closet in my basement. From there I have coax to every room in the house. 

What I would like to do is run the coax from the roof to the TiVo, then from the Bolt to the Mini, but I only have one strand of coax, and as far as I know the Tivo only has one coax port anyway.

I have fast 802.11AC wireless in the house (Netgear R8000 router) but no Ethernet to the TVs, if that matters.

How do I hook it all up?


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## Jerky (Apr 8, 2016)

I would look at this thread. Looks like you can just hook everything up via MoCA.

http://tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?t=532370


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## JoeKustra (Dec 7, 2012)

DavidGA said:


> I have fast 802.11AC wireless in the house (Netgear R8000 router) but no Ethernet to the TVs, if that matters.


The Bolt will need internet access. That's a great router.


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## DavidGA (Apr 14, 2016)

It looks like I may have ordered all the right stuff and just need to grab a diplexer from Home Depot. I will know in a few days when it all arrives. Thanks!


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## TeamPace (Oct 23, 2013)

DavidGA said:


> Hi all,
> I am ready to cut the cord and go OTA. I get over 70 channels when plugged directly into my TV, which is very encouraging.


Would love to hear how your install goes. And how your OTA reception does in comparison to your TV tuner. It seems peoples experiences have varied quite a bit on reception. Some great, some not. Which antenna did you install? Good luck!


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## DavidGA (Apr 14, 2016)

I am installing tonight. I will let you know how it goes.

Here's the antenna I installed:

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/antenna...tenna-black-silver/6847298.p?id=1218809260470

I put it on the mast that used to host a DirecTV antenna on my roof.


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## TeamPace (Oct 23, 2013)

DavidGA said:


> I am installing tonight. I will let you know how it goes.
> 
> Here's the antenna I installed:
> 
> ...


I have recently installed this Clearstream antenna for several friends. One was connected to a TiVo Bolt and the another to a TiVo Roamio OTA. Both got very good reception with this antenna so hopefully you'll have good results with the BOLT as well.


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## compnurd (Oct 6, 2011)

TeamPace said:


> I have recently installed this Clearstream antenna for several friends. One was connected to a TiVo Bolt and the another to a TiVo Roamio OTA. Both got very good reception with this antenna so hopefully you'll have good results with the BOLT as well.


The OTA tuners in the bolt seem very good. I am using a HDB8X split to two Bolts and get very comparable signals compared to direct TV connected


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## DavidGA (Apr 14, 2016)

So I hooked up the BOLT last night. I haven't done the mini yet but will work on that tonight. For now I have the Bolt on wi-fi. Hopefully it will work with the Bolt on wi-fi for the channel info and MOCA for sharing video to the mini. 

The good news is, it works quite well. I live a good 40 miles north of Atlanta, so I was worried about signal strength. I get 51 channels very clearly. The tuner seems to work very well. I have multiples of NBC, CBS, FOX, and ABC, and one working CW affiliate too. I also have a bunch of other stuff of varying programming quality. 

I set it to record Good Morning America as a test before bed, and this morning when I got up it was recording, and the playback looked great. The real test is if it records my wife's shows today while we're both at work. I am optimistic.

I owned an original Sony TiVo with lifetime subscription (still have it in a closet somewhere). I am happy to be coming back to a product I always loved. I hope the Mini works. If so I'll be canceling a $100/month+ TV bill soon.


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## JoeKustra (Dec 7, 2012)

DavidGA said:


> So I hooked up the BOLT last night. I haven't done the mini yet but will work on that tonight. For now I have the Bolt on wi-fi. Hopefully it will work with the Bolt on wi-fi for the channel info and MOCA for sharing video to the mini.


That router should give you a good signal for internet connections. My Roamio, on wireless right now, shows 80 to 90% on the diagnostics. It won't however, drive a Mini anymore. The Roamio is a floor above the router. The Mini will be happy with MoCA.

A TiVo using its wireless is 20% slower, but you shouldn't notice the difference. I get 60Mbps and have no problems streaming Amazon HD 1080p.


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## gor88 (Jan 3, 2008)

compnurd said:


> The OTA tuners in the bolt seem very good. I am using a HDB8X split to two Bolts and get very comparable signals compared to direct TV connected


This is good to hear. I am looking at possibly getting the Bolt before they end the included free 1 year of service. I was looking at the Roamio OTA at Best Buy, but realize the Bolt is much better for about the same money once the free year is figured in. I get my 6 main locals from 85-100 signal strength, with 4 mostly 96-100 and the other 2 in the 90s. The signal strength appears to me to be the only unknown.

My only other requirements are getting hdmi passthrough for Dolby Digital 5.1 and show closed captions for my hearing impaired wife. It appears TiVo does both flawlessly, while other competitors like HDHomeRun, Tablo, Simple.TV, etc are either not doing one of those properly or the startup cost is too high for what you get.


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## compnurd (Oct 6, 2011)

gor88 said:


> This is good to hear. I am looking at possibly getting the Bolt before they end the included free 1 year of service. I was looking at the Roamio OTA at Best Buy, but realize the Bolt is much better for about the same money once the free year is figured in. I get my 6 main locals from 85-100 signal strength, with 4 mostly 96-100 and the other 2 in the 90s. The signal strength appears to me to be the only unknown.
> 
> My only other requirements are getting hdmi passthrough for Dolby Digital 5.1 and show closed captions for my hearing impaired wife. It appears TiVo does both flawlessly, while other competitors like HDHomeRun, Tablo, Simple.TV, etc are either not doing one of those properly or the startup cost is too high for what you get.


That is why i got the bolt over the OTA.. with the amazon sale and the year included.. the hardware cost was only 30 bucks over the OTA.. plus then i always have the cable card option..


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