# Should I buy a Bolt+ or a Roamio Pro?



## neo_sapien (Dec 14, 2009)

I have the option to buy a Bolt+ for $600 because I tried to take advantage of the Cyber Monday TiVo deal, $500 for a Roamio Pro, but they were out of stock. So they offered me another deal; a Roamio Pro renewed with lifetime for $400, or a Bolt+ with lifetime for $600.

At first I thought I should go for the Bolt+ due to it being newer tech, faster, having 4K support (I might upgrade to 4K one day), etc. But then I started reading horror stories about people having problems with Cablecards that worked fine on earlier Tivo boxes not working on the Bolt+, going through multiple Cablecards and having cable company techs come in several times to try and fix the problem. Sometimes the problem was only solved when the user RMAed their box and received a new one (and they had to fight TiVo to get them to do that). So this caused me to question the Bolt+ decision.

So now I'm not sure whether to buy a Bolt+ for $600 or a renewed Roamio Pro for $400. I assume that the Roamio Pro would have fewer issues due to being out longer.

My cable company is Verizon Fios, I don't use a tuning adapter, and I currently have a Premiere 4 and 3 TiVo Minis connected via Moca.


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## thyname (Dec 27, 2010)

neo_sapien said:


> I have the option to buy a Bolt+ for $600 because I tried to take advantage of the Cyber Monday TiVo deal, $500 for a Roamio Pro, but they were out of stock. So they offered me another deal; a Roamio Pro renewed with lifetime for $400, or a Bolt+ with lifetime for $600.
> 
> At first I thought I should go for the Bolt+ due to it being newer tech, faster, having 4K support (I might upgrade to 4K one day), etc. But then I started reading horror stories about people having problems with Cablecards that worked fine on earlier Tivo boxes not working on the Bolt+, going through multiple Cablecards and having cable company techs come in several times to try and fix the problem. Sometimes the problem was only solved when the user RMAed their box and received a new one (and they had to fight TiVo to get them to do that). So this caused me to question the Bolt+ decision.
> 
> ...


Very recent parallel thread below:

$599 3tb bolt+ With lifetime as an apology!


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## dianebrat (Jul 6, 2002)

I'd go Bolt+ with all-in for $600 in a heartbeat


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## thyname (Dec 27, 2010)

dianebrat said:


> I'd go Bolt+ with all-in for $600 in a heartbeat


Ditto!

to OP: please read the thread I linked below. Same question you asked. Very good information on it.


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## neo_sapien (Dec 14, 2009)

thyname said:


> Ditto!
> 
> to OP: please read the thread I linked below. Same question you asked. Very good information on it.


I read the entire thread prior to making this post, but I still felt uncertain about whether to get a Bolt+ or a Roamio Pro, so I made this post here in the TiVo Bolt section (where I would find more people who are familiar with the ups and downs of the Bolt+) and specifically asked which TiVo I should go for.


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## thyname (Dec 27, 2010)

neo_sapien said:


> I read the entire thread prior to making this post, but I still felt uncertain about whether to get a Bolt+ or a Roamio Pro, so I made this post here in the TiVo Bolt section (where I would find more people who are familiar with the ups and downs of the Bolt+) and specifically asked which TiVo I should go for.


Yes. Go with Bolt+


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## krkaufman (Nov 25, 2003)

With 4K being the main selling point for the BOLT+ (comparison), I'd think the $200 savings would go a long way towards a Roku streaming device that actually provides 4K.


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## measel (Dec 17, 2015)

krkaufman said:


> With 4K being the main selling point for the BOLT+ (comparison), I'd think the $200 savings would go a long way towards a Roku streaming device that actually provides 4K.


Roku devices ( got several I'm giving to goodwill ) aren't up to anything near 4k.


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## thyname (Dec 27, 2010)

If one bought a decent 4K tv recently, most likely comes with built in apps with 4K capabilities. Best way to watch 4K HDR content IMHO. Then you don't need no Bolt no Roku for 4K HDR streaming 

I have a Samsung 65" KS8500 and could not be happier with built in apps and quality


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## dianebrat (Jul 6, 2002)

measel said:


> Roku devices ( got several I'm giving to goodwill ) aren't up to anything near 4k.


Roku has 3 current devices that do 4K and one previous, Roku can most definitely do 4K if you buy a 4K capable Roku


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## krkaufman (Nov 25, 2003)

thyname said:


> If one bought a decent 4K tv recently, most likely comes with built in apps with 4K capabilities. Best way to watch 4K HDR content IMHO. Then you don't need no Bolt no Roku for 4K HDR streaming


Excellent point; probably best to first evaluate the apps on your UHD 4K TV before springing for an external box for 4K, whether TiVo, Roku or Febo.[/QUOTE]


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## neo_sapien (Dec 14, 2009)

So so far I've got 2 votes for Bolt+ and one for Roamio Pro. The folks who believe I should go with the Bolt+, do you think that the cablecard issues are workable, they just might be an initial hassle?


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## hooper (Sep 22, 2007)

I just got a bolt. 5 minutes to pair my cablecard on Comcast. 

I went with a bolt so I could do ota or cable. This isn't an option on the pro/+ anyway. It is much faster and I could see myself actually using the apps on board. 

Just get a Roamio and buy a better streamer.


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## neo_sapien (Dec 14, 2009)

I don't even have a 4K TV, so I don't really need a Roku 4K at the moment.


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## atmuscarella (Oct 11, 2005)

neo_sapien said:


> So so far I've got 2 votes for Bolt+ and one for Roamio Pro. The folks who believe I should go with the Bolt+, do you think that the cablecard issues are workable, they just might be an initial hassle?


In this post (the whole thread is covering your question) I outline the differences between a Raomio Pro and Bolt+:$599 3tb bolt+ With lifetime as an apology!

In my opinion the Bolt+ is "better" but the difference between what you get with a Roamio Pro and a Bolt+ is not that much, so the question really becomes; How much more is the Bolt+ worth over a Roamio Pro, that is a personal question that only you can answer.

Regarding problems, both are subject to the same problems. I don't think there is an increased chance for problems one way or the other.


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## gssieg (Dec 3, 2016)

Well I've had my bolt for 2 weeks now spent the first 1.5 of those fighting with Tivo. Had a bad unit and the more I find stuff on the internet the more I believe they have an issue with the hardware but refuse to admit it. I had to threaten to return it via the 30 day before anything was done and even at that I was surprised as they didn't fight me at all on the return I finally told the guy I really don't want to return this I just want to swap it because I was determined it was bad and support refused to further troubleshoot or replace it. He was able to work an RMA out and the second unit worked perfect no issues took me 10 minutes with the cable company to re-pair the cable card with the new unit and it works flawless same cable card in the first unit wouldn't get signal. I've had numerous people stated that it had to be a cable issue but signal was perfect and the new box is working perfect. So just be prepaired to struggle if you get stuck with a bad box. The last couple of days with the new box have been flawless and I really do like the unit. This is my first Tivo so don't have much to compare it to though.


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## neo_sapien (Dec 14, 2009)

> In my opinion the Bolt+ is "better" but the difference between what you get with a Roamio Pro and a Bolt+ is not that much, so the question really becomes; How much more is the Bolt+ worth over a Roamio Pro, that is a personal question that only you can answer.


Assuming that 4K HDTV over cable (FiOS) is a long way away (i.e. tune to channel 5555 for 4K), it seems then that the Bolt+ is worth about $90 more than the Roamio Pro ($90 being the cost of a Roku 4 with 4K and HDR)?



> Regarding problems, both are subject to the same problems. I don't think there is an increased chance for problems one way or the other.


I've heard a good bit about cablecard problems with the Bolt+, and it seemed like people were saying that these problems were much worse in the Bolt+ than they were in previous boxes like the Roamio Pro.


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## atmuscarella (Oct 11, 2005)

neo_sapien said:


> I've heard a good bit about cablecard problems with the Bolt+, and it seemed like people were saying that these problems were much worse in the Bolt+ than they were in previous boxes like the Roamio Pro.


I would not conclude that from the few post we have on this forum. Cable card problems are a function on many things such as current software issues, actual wiring problems at the persons home, other signal strength issues, defective Tivos, cable cards that were not properly unpaired from another unit, cable company employees that don't know what there doing, and others. Most problems will be during setup and some people go through cable card hell to get everything working and others have no issues, it really is a role of the dice. In the end no one except TiVo knows what percentage of people have major issues.


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## aaronwt (Jan 31, 2002)

measel said:


> Roku devices ( got several I'm giving to goodwill ) aren't up to anything near 4k.


???? My Roku Ultra has way more 4K content than my TiVo Bolt does. And it also does HDR. On the ROku Ultra and Premiere+ Netflix has 4k/HDR, Amazon has 4K/HDR, Fandanngo has 4K/HDR, Vudu has 4K, and Youtube has 4K. The Bolt doesn't come anywhere close to touching what the ROku Ultra and ROku Premiere+ have for 4K content.

Since getting my Roku Ultra two months ago, it has become the device I use most for streaming content. It is extremely fast and uses little power. And has access to a wider variety of 4k/HDR content than most devices.


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## celtic pride (Nov 8, 2005)

I only wish kodi could be added to roku. I will probably buy a roku ultra,my roku 4 seems to freeze up and get real hot to the touch! but i've had it for over a year and the warranty passed the next one i buy i will buy an extended warranty from best buy.


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## Ocresident (Aug 18, 2015)

My Tivo Premier XL died yesterday. It won't display any signal on the TV, and it's eight years old. Tivo wants $300 to ship a new one and transfer my lifetime warranty. I can't see any point spending that kind of money to get another Premier XL. They were only willing to offer me $25 off on a new TIVO, so I passed.

I noticed today that Amazon has the Bolt 1TB model for $209.99. I've always had lifetime service on my units (been a Tivo user since series I). Is this a good deal, or do you think there will be better promotions either before or right after Christmas? I saw the black Friday specials and there were some very good prices on units with All in service, but my Premier was still working back then so I didn't need a new one.

Any advice?


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## chicagobrownblue (May 29, 2008)

Ocresident said:


> My Tivo Premier XL died yesterday. Any advice?


Do you want 4K streaming? Out of home streaming? These would push me to recommend the 4 tuner Bolt. It does a better job at this than prior TiVos. If not, look for a lifetimed Roamio online.

As far as when the next deal might happen. I'm pretty sure it will wait until 30+ days after Christmas. Tivo does not want people returning Christmas gifts and replacing them with on sale devices. This puts new deals roughly into February 2017.


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## Ocresident (Aug 18, 2015)

chicagobrownblue said:


> Do you want 4K streaming? Out of home streaming? These would push me to recommend the 4 tuner Bolt. It does a better job at this than prior TiVos. If not, look for a lifetimed Roamio online.


I do stream to my iPad now, but I have a separate Tivo stream device to do that (although it's a first gen model so it may die any time). So ideally I would like the streaming from the Bolt. However, if I could find another lifetime Roamio deal like the one I bought last year for $300 all in, I suppose that would be too good of a deal to pass up.


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## wegotchacovered (Apr 1, 2012)

neo_sapien said:


> I have the option to buy a Bolt+ for $600 because I tried to take advantage of the Cyber Monday TiVo deal, $500 for a Roamio Pro, but they were out of stock. So they offered me another deal; a Roamio Pro renewed with lifetime for $400, or a Bolt+ with lifetime for $600.
> 
> At first I thought I should go for the Bolt+ due to it being newer tech, faster, having 4K support (I might upgrade to 4K one day), etc. But then I started reading horror stories about people having problems with Cablecards that worked fine on earlier Tivo boxes not working on the Bolt+, going through multiple Cablecards and having cable company techs come in several times to try and fix the problem. Sometimes the problem was only solved when the user RMAed their box and received a new one (and they had to fight TiVo to get them to do that). So this caused me to question the Bolt+ decision.
> 
> ...


Hands down the White sale for $500 was great deal so glad I thought to tell my kids and grab one for the sister in law - I had looked day before at the $870 with lifetime and was hesitant or willing to wait. Hoping possible sale for Christmas for another friend. I had Time Warner / Spectrum now picked up cable card and didgital adapter cost $2 per month compared to the $24.95 for renting their DVR Beings Bolt is newest 4K don't buy older model you rnext TV will be 4k we were still running our old 2002 and 2006 Tivo's picture not as crisp but worked for kids bedrooms to tape . Cable card hookup was smooth they walked me through it quickly I believe Time Warner / Spectrum may have a deal with Tivo beings it doesn't work with Fios / Frontier and don't think they have one for Direct right now which was the 1st


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## wegotchacovered (Apr 1, 2012)

Tivo Bolt Cable card I had read was problems NOT for me hooking up 3 of them. Cost $2.00 month from Spectrum came in nice bag with didgital box saves me $24 renting their DVR came with 2 booklets and had specific cable card tech direct number. Took maybe 4-9 minutes they walked me through everything very easy HIGHLY RECCOMEND Spectrum FOR CABLE CARD


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