# Is Bolt Vox 3TB a big upgrade over Roamio Pro 3TB?



## Teddydogno1 (Oct 24, 2008)

I've only had my Roamio Pro 3TB for about a year (bought used). Like it and have not been having any problems (though the interface is a little slow).

Got an offer from TiVO today where I could get a Bolt Vox 3TB box for $399 with All-in service for $350.

Other than the 4k steaming capability, what really is different in a PRACTICAL sense? Both have 1 GB ethernet. Both would be 6 tuner models. Am I really going to feel any BANG for those $400 bucks?

BTW...I can stream in 4k on my TV and Samsung 4k Blu-ray player, so the steaming doesn't seem like that big of a feature in my case.

The fact that my Roamio Pro is probably 3 or 4 years old (even though I have only had it 1 year) and the Bolt would be brand new and likely (hopefully?) live longer is one selling point. That price for All-In has a break-even at about 22 months vs. my current $15/month plan.

BTW...I have done searches and I have read about the differences. My own leaning is that even with the deal, there is no reason for me to ditch the Roamio Pro for a new Bolt VOX. But I'm willing to hear it if I'm wrong.

Thoughts? Thanks.

Rob


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## ggieseke (May 30, 2008)

Pushing a Bolt to 3TB even with the factory drive is sketchy due to the 2.5" laptop drives that they use and a crappy cooling design. If you don't care about 4K I'd stick with the Roamio Pro.


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## Anotherpyr (May 6, 2015)

it’s faster, but I can’t say it’s $400 faster.


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## UCLABB (May 29, 2012)

ggieseke said:


> Pushing a Bolt to 3TB even with the factory drive is sketchy due to the 2.5" laptop drives that they use and a crappy cooling design. If you don't care about 4K I'd stick with the Roamio Pro.


This. I have a Roamio Plus upgraded to 3tb. I also have a Bolt+. So I know both. I would not trade the Roamio for the Bolt. My first Bolt already died, bad hdd. Bolt is a tad faster loading apps. Certainly not worth the extra cost and unreliability.


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## JoeKustra (Dec 7, 2012)

I have five Roamio including two 3TB. I don't have a Bolt.

If I did: My Awesome BOLT Cooling Mods ;-)


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## Mikeguy (Jul 28, 2005)

Bolt has snappier apps, especially in loading; and restarting the box is faster. You decide if that's worth the $.


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## OrangeCrush (Feb 18, 2016)

Teddydogno1 said:


> Got an offer from TiVO today where I could get a Bolt Vox 3TB box for $399 with All-in service for $350 . . .Am I really going to feel any BANG for those $400 bucks?


Wouldn't that be $750, or did I misunderstand something?

Either way--no, I don't think it's worth it. The benefits are negligible, imo and I have doubts about the longevity of Bolts. The Roamios have hard drives designed for 24x7 use and better airflow.

The Bolt has faster UI/menus and theoretically supports 4k/HDR but the actual situations where that is of any use at all are pretty limited and better served by a $60 Roku stick you can probably find on sale for $45.


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## Teddydogno1 (Oct 24, 2008)

OrangeCrush said:


> Wouldn't that be $750, or did I misunderstand something?


$400 is for the hardware only. I gotta have service anyway, so I wasn't counting that in the price difference.

Thanks for all of the confirmation that the Bolt isn't really much of an upgrade over my Roamio Pro. Don't need to buy new hardware unless something happens to it.

I wonder if I could get the discounted lifetime service price on my existing TiVO?

Rob


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## christoman (Feb 22, 2003)

I am debating this as well with the Friends & Family deal. Looks like a 6 tuner Roamio with lifetime can be sold on eBay for around $400. So, the net cost of a 3TB Bolt with lifetime is around $350. I do find my existing Bolts to be noticeably faster and plan on upgrading the TV that is connected to the Roamio to 4K in the next year. Wondering if this may be good time to pull the trigger with the sale and resale value of the Roamio.


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## xbr23 (Mar 29, 2010)

just did this. i have Roamio Pro and bought a Bolt Vox 6 tuner, 3 tb model. within 2 weeks, i went back to the Roamio Pro. the Bolt Vox was rebooting everytime i tried to access the YouTube app and pixelating on steaming apps. Bolt Vox was running high temps and i removed the cover for the cable card but it did not help with the heat issues. returned the Bolt Vox and i am back on my Roamio Pro with No issues and No Temp issues.


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## dianebrat (Jul 6, 2002)

If it were me, I prefer the Roamio because of the 3.5" drives and the more standard case format, if I need 4K or streaming I just use my Apple TV.


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## filburtaj (Mar 12, 2009)

I have a bit of a similar situation, but with a Roamio OTA. My plan is to just stick the Roamio OTA in the basement to act as a DVR server, and then buy a Vox Mini for the $150 sale so I can have slightly better app load times and can stream Netflix and Amazon in 4K.


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## dave13077 (Jan 11, 2009)

filburtaj said:


> I have a bit of a similar situation, but with a Roamio OTA. My plan is to just stick the Roamio OTA in the basement to act as a DVR server, and then buy a Vox Mini for the $150 sale so I can have slightly better app load times and can stream Netflix and Amazon in 4K.


Will the apps load faster with a Mini Vox connected to a Roamio currently running TE3( Roamio Pro in my case) then on the Roamio itself?


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## JoeKustra (Dec 7, 2012)

dave13077 said:


> Will the apps load faster with a Mini Vox connected to a Roamio currently running TE3( Roamio Pro in my case) then on the Roamio itself?


My observation from yesterday. Vox Mini as a 4K upgrade to Roamio OTA


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## filburtaj (Mar 12, 2009)

JoeKustra said:


> My observation from yesterday. Vox Mini as a 4K upgrade to Roamio OTA


That comparison is for Mini Vox vs. old Mini. I wonder if there is much difference in load times between a Mini Vox and a Roamio. Do the Roamio and old Mini have the same processor / memory configuration?


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## JoeKustra (Dec 7, 2012)

filburtaj said:


> That comparison is for Mini Vox vs. old Mini. I wonder if there is much difference in load times between a Mini Vox and a Roamio. Do the Roamio and old Mini have the same processor / memory configuration?


If I count from the time I hit the OK/S button until I see the panel of selections, I don't perceive any difference. However I haven't used a stopwatch. I will speculate that a Bolt should be faster since it does have faster internals. It would not be fair to compare A93 and A95 since they have different software on my units. That "Wait" being replaced by "Amazon" doesn't get me to the program panel any faster.

When you restart an old TiVo there is an initial display of the colorful logo. On a A95 Mini that is replaced by a blank display of equal time.


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## xberk (Dec 3, 2011)

UCLABB said:


> This. I have a Roamio Plus upgraded to 3tb. I also have a Bolt+. So I know both. I would not trade the Roamio for the Bolt. My first Bolt already died, bad hdd. Bolt is a tad faster loading apps. Certainly not worth the extra cost and unreliability.


I just got a new BOLT VOX 3tb on the promotion. Worth it to me. I LOVE the VOX part of it as it makes navigation SO MUCH easier. APPS do load faster. Netflix is almost instant and Amazon Prime MUCH faster. YOUTUBE also comes up within a few seconds.

The BOLT is a step up. I can't speak to how long it will last. Time will tell.

I easily worked around the fact that BOLT's new OS does not allow PC to TIVO transfer. I can still use Roamios for that on my MOCA network. (MOCA is the way to go) ..

Resistance is useless. VOX and other AI voice command navigation systems are the future. Soon you will be talking to your washing machine. Roamio sweet Roamio, wherefore art thou?


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## CloudAtlas (Oct 29, 2013)

xbr23 said:


> ... *Bolt Vox was running high temps *and i removed the cover for the cable card but it did not help with the heat issues.


When you say high temps around what temperature are we talking? Was the temperature shown in TiVo's software? Just wondering what made you notice the temperature of the Bolt and how you measured it since I've no idea what temperatures my electronics run at.

As a Bolt Vox owner just trying to understand the issue.


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## JoeKustra (Dec 7, 2012)

CloudAtlas said:


> As a Bolt Vox owner just trying to understand the issue.


From Ted: TiVo Holiday Trade-In, Trade-Up Sale: trade in your Roamio OTA/VOX (plus $299.98) for a Bolt OTA

If I had a Bolt, I would buy a 140mm USB fan and place it behind the Bolt and have it blow the heat out the front.


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## xberk (Dec 3, 2011)

JoeKustra said:


> From Ted: TiVo Holiday Trade-In, Trade-Up Sale: trade in your Roamio OTA/VOX (plus $299.98) for a Bolt OTA
> 
> If I had a Bolt, I would buy a 140mm USB fan and place it behind the Bolt and have it blow the heat out the front.


My Bolt is running at 64 degrees .. I'm planning on hooking up a fan. Shouldn't be too tough.


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## JoeKustra (Dec 7, 2012)

xberk said:


> My Bolt is running at 64 degrees .. I'm planning on hooking up a fan. Shouldn't be too tough.


This one is very quiet: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00MWH4FL4/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Members find raising the unit with bottle caps helps a little.


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## xberk (Dec 3, 2011)

JoeKustra said:


> This one is very quiet: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00MWH4FL4/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
> 
> Members find raising the unit with bottle caps helps a little.


I already raised the unit on 4 small match boxes.

Fan looks good. Can you stand that thing upright? Or would you slide it underneath the BOLT?


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## CloudAtlas (Oct 29, 2013)

JoeKustra said:


> From Ted: TiVo Holiday Trade-In, Trade-Up Sale: trade in your Roamio OTA/VOX (plus $299.98) for a Bolt OTA
> 
> If I had a Bolt, I would buy a 140mm USB fan and place it behind the Bolt and have it blow the heat out the front.


"I think there has been some historical confusion around the temperature inside BOLT units vs. Roamio units. The Roamio uses a dedicated temperature sensor which is located on the motherboard. *The BOLT only looks at the temperature of the main CPU (the On Die Temperature). ODT can run all day long at 90C [194F] with no issues.* " - @TiVo_Ted

I read what Ted wrote the other day which is why I asked the above questions. Ted doesn't think there is a problem. It's just once the idea was put in certain people's heads more threads started appearing and then people w/o Bolts started repeating as fact about a Bolt temperature problem.

Reminds me of the Toyota acceleration problem where complaints spiked once the media starting reporting on it. Tell people there's a problem and suddenly the problem appears.


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## JoeKustra (Dec 7, 2012)

xberk said:


> I already raised the unit on 4 small match boxes.
> Fan looks good. Can you stand that thing upright? Or would you slide it underneath the BOLT?


The issue with the Bolt is the exhaust and intake are both under the unit. The object is to provide fresh air for the intake and blow away the warm output. A fan behind the box will do both. I have a Roamio, which brings air in from one side and sends it out the other. This is good for a 10C drop:


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## xberk (Dec 3, 2011)

>>The Roamio uses a dedicated temperature sensor which is located on the motherboard. *The BOLT only looks at the temperature of the main CPU (the On Die Temperature). ODT can run all day long at 90C [194F] with no issues.* " - @TiVo_Ted

True. Probably BOLT can run a long time without issue .. but heat is hard on electronics .. I ran a UNIX PC for a server that was up 24x7x365. It was never down except for a long power outage. That box ran 10 years without a problem. I had opened the box up, and kept a big noisy house fan on it. The fan died and needing replacing but the Unix box kept on going .. a little USB fan is cheap enough ... good protection.


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## chicagobrownblue (May 29, 2008)

A friend is using a new Bolt VOX. Huge speed improvement over his cable company Premiere box. It is much faster scrolling through the live grid than my Roamio.

My building went with Comcast Xfinity so I am using the live grid on the Xfinity DVR. Close to putting up with the headaches of dealing with Comcast to get a cable card for my Roamio for $10/month. A good enough deal on the Bolt VOX might get to to bite.


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## xberk (Dec 3, 2011)

I'm an old TIVO user from Series 1 onward .. the Bolt is the best TIVO yet. Not perfect. Missing some key features that Roamios still had .. keep your old Roamio until it dies but get a Bolt when the price is right for you and use both of them. That combination will give you just about all that TIVO can do. Number One thing I like about the BOLT is VOX. I'm using it more and more and more and loving it. Fastest navigation tool ever. And -- yes. Everything is faster on the Bolt.


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## Anotherpyr (May 6, 2015)

CloudAtlas said:


> "I think there has been some historical confusion around the temperature inside BOLT units vs. Roamio units. The Roamio uses a dedicated temperature sensor which is located on the motherboard. *The BOLT only looks at the temperature of the main CPU (the On Die Temperature). ODT can run all day long at 90C [194F] with no issues.* " - @TiVo_Ted
> 
> I read what Ted wrote the other day which is why I asked the above questions. Ted doesn't think there is a problem. It's just once the idea was put in certain people's heads more threads started appearing and then people w/o Bolts started repeating as fact about a Bolt temperature problem.
> 
> Reminds me of the Toyota acceleration problem where complaints spiked once the media starting reporting on it. Tell people there's a problem and suddenly the problem appears.


I've wondered the same as I've caught myself thinking that.

My experience was that in a cabinet, the case was hot to the touch. So while the CPU might handle 90C, if the heat is trapped in the case then the drive temperatures could in theory exceed their 60C rating. I also noticed the 3TB Toshiba drive having hiccups. So playing with it I found that out of the cabinet, 2 120mm fans underneath blowing up and the cable card door removed reduced the ODT a lot. I stopped having issues with recordings as well.

Without some kind of temperature sensor on the hard drive or in the case to get the temperatures that the other components are experiencing it's just a guess that heat is the issue.


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