# My Big Duh! Roamio vs Premiere...and Bolt?



## michael1248 (Feb 14, 2002)

Probably old news for most of you folks on this board...

After purchasing and using my first Roamio Plus over the last 4 months, I had occasion to use a Premiere at the place I was staying. Wow! I forgot how slow the Premiere actually was. Should have taken the Roamio plunge long time ago! 

2 quick questions:

For those of us who are not tech savvy...what make the Roamio so darned fast?

For those of you who also have the new Bolt...is the difference between the Roamio and Bolt the same "day and night" difference between the Premiere and the Roamio?


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## tim1724 (Jul 3, 2007)

The reason for the difference is simple: a faster CPU.


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## GoodSpike (Dec 17, 2001)

FWIW, the CNET review claims the Bolt is significantly faster.

Not sure how much it matters. As long as you never see a Bolt in operation, you'll never know how slow the Roamio is! 

I'm perfectly happy with my flagship Smartphone that was released about 3 years ago, because I've never used anything newer.

The biggest difference might be new features, like for example I don't believe the Roamio does 4k, or AC wireless.


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## atmuscarella (Oct 11, 2005)

michael1248 said:


> For those of us who are not tech savvy...what make the Roamio so darned fast?


Premiere line is 2009 hardware - Roamio line is 2013 hardware - Bolt is 2015 hardware.

Think about a 2009 versus a 2013 versus a 2015 smart phone - same concept.


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## GoodSpike (Dec 17, 2001)

atmuscarella said:


> Premiere line is 2009 hardware - Roamio line is 2013 hardware - Bolt is 2015 hardware.
> 
> Think about a 2009 versus a 2013 versus a 2015 smart phone - same concept.


I would suspect the energy use is probably lower too.


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## BigJimOutlaw (Mar 21, 2004)

In general performance terms:

Premiere CPU: 1100 DMIPS
Roamio CPU: 3000 DMIPS
Bolt CPU: 10,000 DMIPS

So basically a 3x jump each generation. Bolt's performance over the Roamio isn't quite as "wow" because the Roamio works fairly well, but it's pretty snappy and most noticeable in app load times.


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## DarthSudo (Mar 29, 2013)

How much snappier are we talking? Right now I can get a "TiVo Renewed Roamio" with All-In for $375, or a Bolt (All-In) for $700... basically twice the money. Is it worth the difference?

I am looking at replacing my Premiere. One of the big complaints from the Fam is app load time with NetFlix... and also that it isn't very seamless (still have to browse to the show you are looking for after picking it from your OnePass, and doesn't switch back to TiVo very smooth either).


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## BigJimOutlaw (Mar 21, 2004)

The Roamio all-in price is a good deal and you should go for it.

App performance (loading) on the Premiere is definitely ass.

General UI performance between Roamio and Bolt I would describe as noticeable but not substantive. Menu transitions have a little extra "kick" but I'm not getting from point A to B that much faster. 

App loading is definitely improved. Netflix will load in around 10-12 seconds on a Roamio, and in about 5-6 seconds on a Bolt. Subsequent loads may be instant on the Bolt because that box keeps the Netflix app in memory.

Is it worth twice the money? Probably not unless you plan to stream a lot of 4K. The Bolt also has built-in transcoding so it can stream recordings to mobile devices (out of home coming soon) but that can also be accomplished with a Roamio using a Tivo Stream accessory if you wanted to.


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## atmuscarella (Oct 11, 2005)

DarthSudo said:


> How much snappier are we talking? Right now I can get a "TiVo Renewed Roamio" with All-In for $375, or a Bolt (All-In) for $700... basically twice the money. Is it worth the difference?
> 
> I am looking at replacing my Premiere. One of the big complaints from the Fam is app load time with NetFlix... and also that it isn't very seamless (still have to browse to the show you are looking for after picking it from your OnePass, and doesn't switch back to TiVo very smooth either).


I have a Bolt and a base Roamio. The Bolt is certainly worth more than the Roamio, how much becomes personal and likely depends on if you want some of the features the Bolt has that the Roamio doesn't. Here are things to consider:


Bolt is faster - moving around the menus it isn't that great of an increase. However it is a big deal when opening apps.
Bolt has a built in Stream which allows streaming to Android, iOS, & web browsers, the Roamio doesn't.
The Bolt has built in MoCA, the Roamio doesn't
The Bolt has GB Ethernet the Roamio has 100Mb Ethernet
The Bolt has AC wireless, the Roamio has N wireless
The Roamio uses a 3.5 inch drive and therefor has more hard drive upgrade options (the Bolt uses a 2.5 inch drive).
And of course the Bolt has support for 4K/h.265 video and the Roamio doesn't
Good luck - both are good DVRs.


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## DarthSudo (Mar 29, 2013)

Awesome. I think I will probably get the Roamio. I don't think a few seconds to wait for Netflix is worth an extra $325. Although I would like a Stream, so I guess the difference is closer to $200... hmmmm.

Since we dropped cable and went OTA only, we are more dependent on Streaming, but I don't have and don't plan on purchasing a 4K TV for a long time.


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## Teddyboy (Nov 26, 2014)

All Roamio pro and plus models have gig ethernet, moca, and built in streaming. Base Roamio has 100mb Ethernet and does not have built in streaming or moca. You have to buy the stream and/or a moca adapter for that. Wether you have a Roamio or Bolt streaming only works over wi-fi. You can't use cellular data at all.

With the newest version of the firmware 20.5.9, my plus is noticeably more responsive then before. Amazon, Netflix, Vudu, HBOGo, Pandora tend to load a little faster and are more responsive when navigating the apps. I can't compare it to a Bolt because I don't have one, but only against the version of the firmware that my Plus was running before the recent upgrade.

Here's a comparison table for all Roamios for you to take a look at:
TiVo-Roamio comparison chart

The Roamios now have commercial skip and quick mode. Skip mode is not across all program material though. I have three shows that I record that show the skip icon, and it's really nice to just press a button to skip right over the commercials and get right back into the show.

The Roamio and Bolt are both good dvrs. Can't really go wrong with either one. I have a plus and love it.


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## kucharsk (Feb 2, 2007)

Note also that the Bolt no longer has any kind of analog video out.

For people who like to record DVDs of TiVo content using a DVD Recorder, that can be quite important.


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## jerrykur (Jun 23, 2009)

DarthSudo said:


> How much snappier are we talking? Right now I can get a "TiVo Renewed Roamio" with All-In for $375, or a Bolt (All-In) for $700... basically twice the money. Is it worth the difference?
> 
> I am looking at replacing my Premiere. One of the big complaints from the Fam is app load time with NetFlix... and also that it isn't very seamless (still have to browse to the show you are looking for after picking it from your OnePass, and doesn't switch back to TiVo very smooth either).


Where is this renewed roamio deal?


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## jpolster2016 (May 11, 2016)

kucharsk said:


> Note also that the Bolt no longer has any kind of analog video out.
> 
> For people who like to record DVDs of TiVo content using a DVD Recorder, that can be quite important.


Or for people who have analog TVs like me. I live 3 floors up and have a 40 inch wega XBR tv from 2005 or so. Damn thing cost me two paychecks plus my tax refund. No way im giving this monstrosity up until it dies. Not to mention, the WEIGHT of this thing! it must weigh 500 pounds at least! I have never been able to move it from the spot the delivery dudes set it over 10 years ago. Its also the main reason I don't move to a better area of town. I can't lift my TV! But if you really need analog output on the bolt, they sell HDMI to Component converters on ebay fairly cheap. If you have a REALLY REALLY old TV, they sell HDMI to composite as well. both work fairly well on my roamios.


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## jpolster2016 (May 11, 2016)

atmuscarella said:


> I have a Bolt and a base Roamio. The Bolt is certainly worth more than the Roamio, how much becomes personal and likely depends on if you want some of the features the Bolt has that the Roamio doesn't. Here are things to consider:
> 
> 
> Bolt is faster - moving around the menus it isn't that great of an increase. However it is a big deal when opening apps.
> ...


The bolt costs significantly more than the roamio. I got my Roamios a month ago, by phone order, and they were free with a two year comitment at $19.99 / month each. I dont know if they are still running that deal, but its definitely worth asking.


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