# Tivo Bolt and TV HDMI port conundrum



## tominaz (Jul 10, 2012)

Tivo Bolt worked with Sony Bravia TV using HDMI for two years. Suddenly stopped working. The Tivo works fine with another TV. Both Sony TV HDMI ports work fine with Apple TV device but not with Tivo. Had the TV checked at a repair shop and they couldn't find any HDMI problems. So both the Tivo and the Sony TV HDMI ports work, but not with each other. I reset the TV to factory settings and rebooted the Tivo. Also, swapped HDMI cables. No luck. Any suggestions?


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## ej42137 (Feb 16, 2014)

Some people have resolved this issue by putting an HDMI splitter between the TiVo and the TV. It will resolve HDCP issues. (The splitter linked to does not do 4k.)


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## Gary Hicks (Aug 30, 2017)

ej42137 said:


> Some people have resolved this issue by putting an HDMI splitter between the TiVo and the TV. It will resolve HDCP issues. (The splitter linked to does not do 4k.)


Wow!!! I never cease to be amazed at the value of the advice in this forum!

We've been using our Bolt successfully with our Samsung TV for about a year. No glitches at all. Today I hooked the Bolt up to an old Sony Bravia TV. It works fine except ... the signal blinks on and off about every 10 seconds. I've tried everything ... power cycle, reseating cables, changing resolutions, changing HDMI setups ... you name it!

I then happen to read "ej42137"'s reply to this post, recommending adding an HDMI splitter between the Bolt and the Sony Bravia. It seemed far-fetched but I'd tried everything else so I had nothing to lose! I dug out an old 1:2 HDMI signal splitter and put it between the Bravia and the Bolt. My Bravia blinking problem immediately went away!!! Yoo-hoo!!! Thank you, ej42137!!! I hope that this solution also helps the owner of the original post.


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## tominaz (Jul 10, 2012)

ej42137 said:


> Some people have resolved this issue by putting an HDMI splitter between the TiVo and the TV. It will resolve HDCP issues. (The splitter linked to does not do 4k.)


The HDMI splitter solved the problem. Thanks to ej42137! Just wondering what this implies about the HDMI signal from the Tivo. Why would it work with one TV, but not another?


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## ej42137 (Feb 16, 2014)

tominaz said:


> The HDMI splitter solved the problem. Thanks to ej42137! Just wondering what this implies about the HDMI signal from the Tivo. Why would it work with one TV, but not another?


Different manufacturers implement the HDCP standard differently. When I was in software, the technical term we used to describe a situation such as this was "screwup".


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## tominaz (Jul 10, 2012)

ej42137 said:


> Different manufacturers implement the HDCP standard differently. When I was in software, the technical term we used to describe a situation such as this was "screwup".


Well, in this case, both TV's are SONY, and the TIVO worked with the problematic one for a long time before failing, so it would seem that somehow the HDMI signal has changed over time, and the splitter just provides a needed boost.


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## Gabester (Aug 31, 2018)

ej42137 said:


> Some people have resolved this issue by putting an HDMI splitter between the TiVo and the TV. It will resolve HDCP issues. (The splitter linked to does not do 4k.)


OMG, TiVo had me go through hoops, replaced my Bolt, replaced my power adapter. Nothing has changed in my setup in years. I suspected it was due to a recent TiVo firmware update. This HDMI splitter solved my problems! BTW, bought the 4K version. Works great!


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## ej42137 (Feb 16, 2014)

Gabester said:


> OMG, TiVo had me go through hoops, replaced my Bolt, replaced my power adapter. Nothing has changed in my setup in years. I suspected it was due to a recent TiVo firmware update. This HDMI splitter solved my problems! BTW, bought the 4K version. Works great!


Thanks for the feedback. Which 4k splitter did you get?


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## Gabester (Aug 31, 2018)

ej42137 said:


> Thanks for the feedback. Which 4k splitter did you get?


Its the 4k version of the link ej42137 posted. I got https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00J4D3RTU


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## sehale (Jun 28, 2007)

Gabester said:


> Its the 4k version of the link ej42137 posted. I got https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00J4D3RTU


After a recent "update" to my Roku/TCL TV, there is some sort of HDMI issue where 9 out of 10 times the Tivo Bolt resolution is dropped to 480. The ONLY fix is to re-start the TV - then 4K resolution is restored (I have another thread about this - No response from Tivo or Roku on their respective sites). Anyway, how would this be configured - what is connected to the in and what is connected to the out?


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## CIR-Engineering (Sep 24, 2017)

tominaz said:


> Well, in this case, both TV's are SONY, and the TIVO worked with the problematic one for a long time before failing, so it would seem that somehow the HDMI signal has changed over time, and the splitter just provides a needed boost.


Could be a firmware upgrade on either the TV or TiVo. This happens all the time.

craigr


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## RCSea (Sep 12, 2008)

Gabester said:


> Its the 4k version of the link ej42137 posted. I got https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00J4D3RTU


Can you provide the name of the seller you bought this from on Amazon? Some reviewers are getting ones that apparently strip the HDCP signal, and others are reporting that the one they received does NOT strip it. Also the specs on that page actually says 'Support HDCP' which is not very clear.


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## Phil T (Oct 29, 2003)

Reading this with interest because I am having a similar problem. 

My Sony XBRX750D 4K set has worked fine with my TiVo Bolt Vox since last November. It the last couple of weeks I lose picture (just a black screen) sometimes when changing channels. I can usually get the picture back if I change 3 or 4 channels. I tried different HDMI cables and different TV inputs. Same results. Apple TV or Sony Blue Ray player does not have this issue so it seems to be a TiVo issue, yet there have not been any software updates from TiVo for a few months (21.8.2 RC1) unless I missed one. 

Not really interested in buying a splitter. TiVo or Sony should figure this out. 

Should I pursue this with TiVo since my Bolt Vox should still be under warranty?


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## fcfc2 (Feb 19, 2015)

Phil T said:


> Reading this with interest because I am having a similar problem.
> 
> My Sony XBRX750D 4K set has worked fine with my TiVo Bolt Vox since last November. It the last couple of weeks I lose picture (just a black screen) sometimes when changing channels. I can usually get the picture back if I change 3 or 4 channels. I tried different HDMI cables and different TV inputs. Same results. Apple TV or Sony Blue Ray player does not have this issue so it seems to be a TiVo issue, yet there have not been any software updates from TiVo for a few months (21.8.2 RC1) unless I missed one.
> 
> ...


If you continue to complain to Tivo they might eventually send you another one.....and then after you find it does exactly the same thing you can continue to wait for Tivo to fix it for you....good luck with that.


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## Rkkeller (May 13, 2004)

I just posted about this in another topic here, my TiVo will no longer output 4k to one of my Samsungs when it worked fine since I bought the Bolt. Something in the OS must have changed as everything I have is the same.

FWIW, the splitter did not fix it, tried 2 different ones. My TiVo, if I let it sit and try long enough, will comes back with an error hdmi cable problem or something like that. I know its not as it was working for many months already.


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## Phil T (Oct 29, 2003)

Last night I locked the resolution on my Bolt VOX to 4K 60fps and so far no reoccurrence of the channel change black screen.


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## sehale (Jun 28, 2007)

sehale said:


> After a recent "update" to my Roku/TCL TV, there is some sort of HDMI issue where 9 out of 10 times the Tivo Bolt resolution is dropped to 480. The ONLY fix is to re-start the TV - then 4K resolution is restored (I have another thread about this - No response from Tivo or Roku on their respective sites). Anyway, how would this be configured - what is connected to the in and what is connected to the out?


I wound up getting a powered, HDMI splitter but only using one out (not split to anything). Haven't had to restart the TV in days (where previously I had to restart it every time I wanted to watch something on the Tivo because the resolution would drop to the lowest, barely watchable level. Not sure if this is a Tivo or TCL/Roku issue but it started after the Roku update&#8230;

HDMI Splitter 1 in 2 out, LinkS HDMI Splitter 1 To 2 Amplifier For Full HD 1080P/ 3D/ 4K Come with High Speed HDMI Cable,USB Cord(1 Source onto 2 Displays) by avedio links


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## aww181 (Sep 15, 2006)

Thank you for the tip. We started having issues a few months back. The TV would lose signal for no reason. Since unplugging and re-plugging the HDMI cable at the TV occasionally fixed the issues, we purchased a new TV. Then the same issue happend. We bypassed the stereo thinking that was the issue. Today, the same issue with a direct connection to the TV. The issue is so sporadic that I did not know how I would explain it to Tivo support. I really can't say if a change fixes it without waiting for days/weeks. I will purchase the splitter and see if the issue goes away. Thank you for the suggestion.


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## sehale (Jun 28, 2007)

sehale said:


> I wound up getting a powered, HDMI splitter but only using one out (not split to anything). Haven't had to restart the TV in days (where previously I had to restart it every time I wanted to watch something on the Tivo because the resolution would drop to the lowest, barely watchable level. Not sure if this is a Tivo or TCL/Roku issue but it started after the Roku update&#8230;
> 
> HDMI Splitter 1 in 2 out, LinkS HDMI Splitter 1 To 2 Amplifier For Full HD 1080P/ 3D/ 4K Come with High Speed HDMI Cable,USB Cord(1 Source onto 2 Displays) by avedio links


Roku pushed a new update to the Roku/TCL TV. Version 8.2.0 Build 4170-22. I removed the powered splitter and the 4K resolution has held .


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