# Bolt Tuners Not as Good as S3 & HD Tuners



## V7Goose (May 28, 2005)

Just a comment here for anyone looking to cut the cord by using a TiVo box. I live in a remote mountain area, deep in a valley - only a few OTA broadcast stations in these mountains (5 networks). I am using an old S3, an old TiVo HD, and a new Bolt. the Bolt shows a signal strength on all channels about 15-20 lower than either of the old boxes. 

All three boxes are connected to a single splitter on the same antenna. My weakest channel shows a signal strength of 42 on the Bolt, but both of the older boxes show strength of 60+. Maybe it is just a display thing in the signal strength meter - no way of knowing, since the digital channels do not show a weak signal - it is either working or gone, and all three boxes are displaying the same channels.

If you are in a weak signal area, the Bolt MAY not receive as well as some other option.


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## gregg37 (Aug 22, 2016)

Sometimes it's position of the receiver as well. My Roamio which I had been using for OTA broadcasts got better reception if it was on the top shelf of my entertainment center than it did under the TV. *The Leaf antenna itself never moved but reception changed as the box moved.* When you do your test, make sure all three boxes are in the exact same place at the same time.

Also, you may be right about signal strength meters possibly reading/displaying the same signal differently.


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## mswlogo (Mar 18, 2009)

It could easily be the implementation of the meter in Hardware or Software that is different.

If you are receiving the same channels on all 3 I think that is one indicator that there isn't much difference.

Maybe you'll find out the difference during bad weather.

Or if you are really curious add some attenuation to all 3 and see who drops out first  Or point your antenna poorly for one of the stations.


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## rainwater (Sep 21, 2004)

It is well known that the Bolt doesn't show the same signal quality level as the Roamio for OTA or cable. But that doesn't really affect how good the OTA tuner is. For some it is better than the Roamio and for others it is worse. There are so many factors involved, you can't make a blanket statement either way.


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## atmuscarella (Oct 11, 2005)

rainwater said:


> It is well known that the Bolt doesn't show the same signal quality level as the Roamio for OTA or cable. But that doesn't really affect how good the OTA tuner is. For some it is better than the Roamio and for others it is worse. There are so many factors involved, you can't make a blanket statement either way.


I agree. While I see the same lower levels that the OP mentions my Series 3, TiVo HD, base Roamio, & Bolt all are very close in how well they recieve OTA stations. Unlike the Premiere which clearly has reception issues for me.


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## jth tv (Nov 15, 2014)

V7Goose said:


> Maybe it is just a display thing in the signal strength meter


Pretty much yeah. There are tons of messages here about Roamios having a max of 72 after a minute or so. Other models max out differently.

I wish they provided better tools for antenna reception, for example, a timestamped signal strength log would be helpful here.


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## gregg37 (Aug 22, 2016)

I finally got my Bolt yesterday. I was previously using a Roamio. I'm the New Orleans area and pick up 40 stations (many of them garbage and many of them duplicate main networks from Baton Rouge and beyond). With my Bolt, I seem to be getting the same amount of channels and it seems to struggle on the same far away ones that the Roamio did. Of course I didn't do a channel by channel comparison nor did I compare meters, but I'm definitely seeing no noticeable degradation in the channels I pick up.

The ones that were way out on the fringe and crappy - PBS is one that i try often - are still way out on the fringe and crappy. If the tuner were weaker, they'd be gone.


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## NJ Webel (Dec 8, 2004)

This is a somewhat disingenuous thread title given the actual content of the original post. As others have stated, it is well-known on this forum that the signal strength meter cannot be compared amongst the different models of TiVo.


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## V7Goose (May 28, 2005)

I wanted to update this thread with new facts. The local ABC affiliate is now testing a new translator in my area, and the FCC database shows it is only operating at .1 kw (other local translators with antennas on the same peak are all operating between .55 - 1.25 kw). These three stations from the ABC affiliate are super weak at my location, so they allowed me to clearly see the differences between my Bolt, S3-648 and HD-652. Using the exact same coax lead (not splitter feeds), my S3 and HD boxes have a reasonably strong signal and rarely pixelate.

In contrast, the Bolt has such a marginal signal (shows as 35%) that even moving the antenna 3" in any direction drops the signal to 34% or lower and the Bolt picture is totally gone, while the older boxes continue to operate perfectly on those week channels. So I now have absolute proof that my Bolt tuners are NOT AS GOOD as my S3/THD tuners. Maybe this is simply caused by the Bolt needing to split the incoming signal 4 ways instead of 2 - I have no idea, but the end result is that the Bolt is more sensitive to weak signal strength.

Now I also have observed something strange with the Bolt that I cannot explain, but it seems that there is something else different about the Bolt signal path that makes it a further problem with weak channels: I have an old external single-port signal amplifier that is labeled to boost the TV signal by 12 dB. When I use a signal splitter in my antenna line to serve multiple TVs, the signal becomes too weak even for my HD box (signal strength on THD now shows 40, and has massive pixelation). This old amplifier, when connected immediately before the THD increases the signal to 50 and restores proper picture with no pixelation. So far, so good. But when I try to use that same amplifier on the Bolt it DOES NOT WORK - instead of increasing the signal strength, it actually REDUCES the signal from 35% to 32%!! I cannot explain this - I have repeated the tests many times, resorting to moving the same exact cables, etc. from the THD box to the Bolt, and the results are always identical.

Now I know that testing with only one fairly old amplifier is not definitive, but I am forced to conclude that there is something very odd about my Bolt that causes it to not work with this particular amplifier. So I will repeat my original suggestion - buyer beware. If you are in a fringe signal area, be sure to do lots of testing quickly if you buy a new Bolt so you have time to return it and cancel service if you run into signal strength issues!


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## WGFinley (Oct 2, 2016)

I just got a Bolt 500 refurb off of Amazon, it's my first Tivo as I'm cord cutting. I'm pretty disappointed in the OTA reception.

When I hook the same cable directly up to my TV I'm getting great quality and usually twice as many stations.

I'm in an area between Madison WI, Milwaukee WI and Chicago IL with all at about 50-70 miles. On the Tivo I get about half the Madison and Milwaukee stations and almost nothing from Chicago. Hooked right up to the TV and I'm getting 40 stations out of Milwaukee, all the Madison stations and almost all of the Chicago stations.

I'm wondering if I should give the Roamio OTA a try or if I'll have the same problems.


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## WGFinley (Oct 2, 2016)

After doing some more forum scouring I decided to try moving the Tivo to a closer antenna drop as I was thinking perhaps the combination of the length of the drop and the four tuners was combining to sabotage the Bolt's reception. 

Bingo. Moved it closer to the drop and suddenly had channels that were not there before.

I'm going to try a distribution amplifier and see if that solves the issue for the preferred location for the Tivo.

--Guy


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