# What is the point of the Bolt/Bolt+ with no 4K channels?



## foo (Oct 2, 2001)

I have a TiVo Premiere XL4. I got a Bolt+ to work with my new 4K TV. But it only shows 4K for Netflix and maybe one other streaming app. All the other cable channels (Comcast/Xfinity) are regular HD.

I searched around and Comcast doesn't appear to be following through on promises to ship a 4K X1 box. Also, no one seems to know if the Bolt/Bolt+ will be able to show 4K Comcast channels if they ever get around to it.

Bolt+ is sparky fast on the UI, love that. But if I'm mostly getting HD from recorded TV, I could just use a Xbox One S or any other streaming box for 4K streamed content.

What's the point of the Bolt/Bolt+ for 4K again? For people who want to do HD recording and UHD streaming, but need it all in one box?

Sorry if the answer is obvious, I'm not figuring it out. I am thinking of sending back the Bolt+ and keeping the XL4 until Comcast or TiVo or both figure out how to broadcast and record 4K content (or skip it altogether and just announce 4K is streaming only).

Thoughts?


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## atmuscarella (Oct 11, 2005)

foo said:


> What's the point of the Bolt/Bolt+ for 4K again?
> Sorry if the answer is obvious,
> Thoughts?


Marketing - plus TiVo needed new products as the Roamios where release 3 years ago.

Lets be honest no matter how much we as a group like TiVo DVRs the product is mature and fairly boring. TiVo needed new product releases and some kind marketing hype, 4K and the controversial form factor were what they game up with.


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## PSU_Sudzi (Jun 4, 2015)

foo said:


> I have a TiVo Premiere XL4. I got a Bolt+ to work with my new 4K TV. But it only shows 4K for Netflix and maybe one other streaming app. All the other cable channels (Comcast/Xfinity) are regular HD.
> 
> I searched around and Comcast doesn't appear to be following through on promises to ship a 4K X1 box. Also, no one seems to know if the Bolt/Bolt+ will be able to show 4K Comcast channels if they ever get around to it.
> 
> ...


You are correct, the Bolt is for HD recording and UHD streaming. It will be some time, maybe another couple of years before 4K broadcasts begin on the networks.


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## chicagobrownblue (May 29, 2008)

foo said:


> I have a TiVo Premiere XL4. I got a Bolt+ to work with my new 4K TV. But it only shows 4K for Netflix and maybe one other streaming app. All the other cable channels (Comcast/Xfinity) are regular HD.
> 
> Thoughts?


Ahhh, you are one of the smart ones. No 4K over coax or OTA is on the horizon. I bet a lot of Bolt owners think they are getting 4K recorded content but they are wrong.

I may get a Bolt if the All in pricing comes down. I have some unspent money from a small windfall in 2014.


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## Pokemon_Dad (Jan 19, 2008)

I think buying a Bolt for 4K only makes sense right now if you own a TV that can display 4K but doesn't also have Netflix and other apps. How many new TVs have 4K but no apps? My guess is very very few. 

Maybe when cable is all in 4K this will matter but for now  especially given the problems many of us have had with Bolts rebooting and such  as an owner of both a Bolt and a Roamio I believe the Roamio line is a superior choice for most people and will be for years to come.


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## alexb (Jan 4, 2003)

It's for people like me who haven't owned a TiVo in 11 years (I had one of the UK ones before moving to US) and have a 4K tv and have a wife who will appreciate things like onepass (she can never remember how to switch between Amazon, Netflix and the X1 box or MCE). I know that's a unique niche, but heck bolt+ looks like the TiVo I have been waiting for....


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## sm4llz (Jan 1, 2016)

It's also for people like me that has a projector so I don't get all the cool built on smart features on my Sony.


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## aaronwt (Jan 31, 2002)

sm4llz said:


> It's also for people like me that has a projector so I don't get all the cool built on smart features on my Sony.


The problem is that the Bolt should be the last thing someone gets for 4K apps. Since it's been out a year and they still have only what, two 4K apps? The new upcoming ROkus would be a better choice for 4K apps than a Bolt would be.


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## alexb (Jan 4, 2003)

aaronwt said:


> The problem is that the Bolt should be the last thing someone gets for 4K apps. Since it's been out a year and they still have only what, two 4K apps? The new upcoming ROkus would be a better choice for 4K apps than a Bolt would be.


Does the roku have cable card support and one Pass?


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## Axel H (Oct 11, 2005)

> Does the roku have cable card support and one Pass?


No, but they do have more 4K apps and (by Oct 7) HDR support, with no annual fee.

I like my Bolt, but I bought it to be a 4K streamer, not just a DVR ("unified entertainment system", etc.). I had expected that subscription fees would help pay for better software over time.

Unfortunately, I've been disappointed by the pace of updates. The Rovi transition seems to have eaten a lot of resources.

Bolt really isn't a top 4K streamer, even compared to last year devices, and certainly compares poorly to what's launching over the next couple of months. I can only hope Tivo catches up before my subscription runs out in Jan or I'll have to switch to some other DVR. Its just not worth the sub fee if your primary use case is streaming with a little OTA.


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## chrism16 (Oct 3, 2016)

Just like when 1080 HD came out years ago it started slowly one channel at a time. 4K will be no different and as more people buy into it the networks will get pressure and start providing the UHD signal


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## aaronwt (Jan 31, 2002)

alexb said:


> Does the roku have cable card support and one Pass?


No but it doesn't matter if you can't view the content on the Bolt. You certainly can't use a cable card with any of the apps. And a One Pass doesn't do any good for all the 4K apps that the Bolt Doesn't have. It's been a year now and the Bolt is still limited to 4K from Netflix and Youtube. And still no HDR. TiVo should have at least added 4K for the Amazon app by now, plus an HDR update. No idea why they are dragging their feet.


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## BobCamp1 (May 15, 2002)

aaronwt said:


> The problem is that the Bolt should be the last thing someone gets for 4K apps. Since it's been out a year and they still have only what, two 4K apps? The new upcoming ROkus would be a better choice for 4K apps than a Bolt would be.


Yeah, but it's not common sense. It's the opposite of that. It's marketing.


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## jth tv (Nov 15, 2014)

But how much are people really missing ? I thought there was very little streaming content and it would not take long to watch All of it.


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## atmuscarella (Oct 11, 2005)

jth tv said:


> But how much are people really missing ? I thought there was very little streaming content and it would not take long to watch All of it.


Well there is more content all the time and there is no reason for a Bolt/Bolt+ not to be able to play 4K content from Vudu & Amazon and really no reason that they haven't done a software update so that they can play 4K content with HDR.

I understand it doesn't matter to many people (including me) but the way the Bolts are being marketed there really is no excuse for not having Vudu & Amazon 4K content available.


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## mattyro7878 (Nov 27, 2014)

Be happy there is no 4k Vudu on the Bolt. My 4k Roku TV wants $30 for a one time viewing of Star Trek BEYOND! Thats right --one time -$30. Would anyone actually do that?


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## chicagobrownblue (May 29, 2008)

chrism16 said:


> Just like when 1080 HD came out years ago it started slowly one channel at a time. 4K will be no different and as more people buy into it the networks will get pressure and start providing the UHD signal


You realize that one major cable company downscaled to delivering just 720p, correct? So the trend is the other way around.


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## jcthorne (Jan 28, 2002)

I purchased Bolt for the much faster processor and upgraded apps. Plex works MUCH better on my Bolt than on the Roamio or mini. Also at the time I purchased, skip mode was a bolt only new feature.

It will still be some time before the price of 4k projectors comes down to the range of reason. (2500 or so). My 1080p 3 element Epson just keeps on going for now.


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## HarperVision (May 14, 2007)

chicagobrownblue said:


> You realize that one major cable company downscaled to delivering just 720p, correct? So the trend is the other way around.


Be careful, the Apologist Police will come in here and insist that you "give it a rest" because we're all supposed to be mindless sheep, accepting whatever slop is force fed to us by the Almighty God's of all that is TV and Public Knowledge! 

But seriously, it's not all 1080i channels.........yet.

And this is one of the big reasons they did it:

http://corporate.comcast.com/comcas...wT3hWYng3VGRWOXNKd09RNmZDTCt6eEFUTFRMMGM9In0=

Yay, I get to watch TV on my 4.7" smartphone, yet their picture looks like ass on my multi-thousand dollar HD and UHD televisions and 134" projection screen! Yippee, according to some I should just be apathetic and happy that I don't get what I pay for.....sheesh.


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## aaronwt (Jan 31, 2002)

mattyro7878 said:


> Be happy there is no 4k Vudu on the Bolt. My 4k Roku TV wants $30 for a one time viewing of Star Trek BEYOND! Thats right --one time -$30. Would anyone actually do that?


That's because it's not out on disc yet. Even with 1080P titles the price is high before the title is released on disc. But that $30 is not a one time viewing. That is to purchase the title. You can watch it as many times as you want after you pay that. But once it's released on disc you can rent the digital version for much less. Or you can spend under $30 and buy the UHD BD and get the UV UHD streaming rights for less than the $30. Along with the 2K BD and UHD BD. Which is what I'm doing.


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## mikeyts (Jul 10, 2004)

Star Trek Beyond becomes available for rental on 1st November, probably for $10. I'm not sure why VUDU doesn't bring out 4K on Bolt. Some months back it was there for a few days and it appeared to work (I watched some 2 minute previews). It was exclusive to Roku 4 and Vizio 4K TVs when it launched, but they added NVIDIA Shield TV and some 2016 LG TVs at the beginning of July. Maybe it's a new phase of exclusivity .

I'm probably going to order Roku Ultra for the hell of it. It's been a long time since I bought my Roku 3 and I skipped the 4 due to its having a fan and the many complaints by owners on Roku's site forums.


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## aaronwt (Jan 31, 2002)

I ordered my Roku Ultra yesterday. With the $50 off coupon they sent me it should be well worth it. 

The Bolt has been out a year now. It's support of 4K apps is pathetic. With the same number that was available a year ago.


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## mikeyts (Jul 10, 2004)

I really hope that they added 24Hz output of 24p content to Roku. That's something that Bolt does for all of the streaming video apps that I use.(Netflix, Amazon, VUDU, YouTube, Hulu, HBO Go and Plex). I believe that most recent model TVs, including mine, can detect 2:3 pulldown and convert it to even cadence on display, but it gives me warm fuzzies to know that pulldown is not being applied. 

Looking at features, it appears that Roku Ultra only has voice/gaming remote and an optical S/PDIF connection over Premiere+ (with the ability to convert DD Plus to basic DD for output over S/PDIF). Inasmuch as you can give voice commands via the app, and I don't need motion control or S/PDIF, I think that I'll save $30 and order the Premiere+. (Not having bought the 4 I got no $50 off coupon).


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## JWhites (May 15, 2013)

chicagobrownblue said:


> I bet a lot of Bolt owners think they are getting 4K recorded content but they are wrong.


They would be idiots if they thought that. The whole point of the 4K support is for streaming Netflix and YouTube and other streaming services. What is most likely going to happen is service providers are going to move towards an all IP based system and leave QAM behind for internet connections.


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## V7Goose (May 28, 2005)

I'm pretty sure it has the exact same value as THX did in the original S3.


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## foo (Oct 2, 2001)

OP here. TiVo replied:

"The TiVo Bolt can record high definition already and are ready to record in UHD once that is made available through cable providers."

So there's that.. hm.


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## thyname (Dec 27, 2010)

foo said:


> OP here. TiVo replied:
> 
> "The TiVo Bolt can record high definition already and are ready to record in UHD once that is made available through cable providers."
> 
> So there's that.. hm.


That is IF they broadcast in UHD using QAM, which is highly unlikely. If IPtv, then Tivo would not work / record UHD channels.

Now.... feel free to "shoot" me if I am wrong.


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## lessd (Jan 23, 2005)

foo said:


> OP here. TiVo replied:
> 
> "The TiVo Bolt can record high definition already and are ready to record in UHD once that is made available through cable providers."
> 
> So there's that.. hm.


When Comcast changed some of their cable systems to all 720P the HD TiVos had a problem recording, it now been fixed, and hopefully UHD record problems would fixed also (if UHD ever comes to pass).


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