# Tivo Mini vs 2nd Tivo Bolt



## Fitz1883 (Sep 1, 2016)

Hello, 
I have a Tivo Bolt installed in our main viewing room. I would like to add an additional unit into another room. Am I better off getting a 2nd Tivo Bolt instead of a Tivo Mini? I can get a refurb for only $30 than I see the Mini for on Amazon? What are the advantages/disadvantages of using a Mini instead of a second Bolt?

Thanks!!


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## atmuscarella (Oct 11, 2005)

The main advantage the Mini offers is that it costs allot less, it is something less than $150 where as a Bolt with All in is around $750. 

If you are on cable the second Bolt would also require another cable card which is another additional cost. 

The main advantages of a second Bolt is you get more storage and more tuners. It is also 4K where the current Mini is not.


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## Chris Blount (Nov 1, 2003)

It really depends on what you are going to use your system for. I personally have a Bolt in the main living area with a Roamio OTA in another for my wife. I'm using OTA on both. That way we have 8 tuners and plenty of recording space. We also have minis in bedrooms which can view recordings from both boxes.


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## thyname (Dec 27, 2010)

Exactly as the other posters have said. Since you can get Mini for so cheap, you can purchase the Mini, try it out, see if it meets your needs for the second tv / room, and then reevaluate whether another Bolt is needed. Going with a second Bolt will cost you much much more. In my opinion, added flexibility, features, etc. is not worth the additional cost (for now).

Another thing to keep in mind is that a new Bolt (either Bolt Plus or Pro, or both) will be introduced mid-September. It most likely will have six tuners and increased HDD space, and maybe some other features we don't know about. If you go with another Bolt, you may want to wait until then.

P.S. All new Mini purchased now come with Lifetime included in the purchase price.


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## fyodor (Sep 19, 2006)

Just to clarify and add on to what the others have noted, the price for the Bolt you see does not include lifetime service (you pay a second additional monthly fee) whereas you get lifetime service with the Mini.


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## aspexil (Oct 16, 2015)

Our 2nd TV in the basement is only HD and not 4k so we went with the Mini. Though at the same time our OTA cable only goes to the living room (4 DB8s in the attic). It would take significant work to extend the cable into the basement too. So we won't upgrade the TV in the basement until a 4k Mini is released.


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## bltkmt (Apr 28, 2003)

If I may add one more question as I am in the same boat...can you watch live TV on a mini? Is it pulling live TV content from the main device (Bolt)?


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## krkaufman (Nov 25, 2003)

bltkmt said:


> If I may add one more question as I am in the same boat...can you watch live TV on a mini? Is it pulling live TV content from the main device (Bolt)?


Yes, that is a core function of a TiVo Mini.

Each TiVo Mini requires an available tuner on the host DVR, dynamically allocated, to be able to watch Live TV, as the host DVR handles the tuning and streams the live content to the Mini over the home network using TiVo Multi-Room Streaming (MRS). It should be noted that the host DVR generally reserves one tuner for its own use, so a 4-tuner DVR that is currently recording 2 shows should allow a single Mini to tune live TV.

A TiVo Mini does NOT require a tuner when viewing recorded content, nor when streaming video via Internet streaming apps.

An exception to this is the Xfinity On Demand app for TiVo (XOD4TiVo), as the XOD4TiVo video content is not delivered via IP but via the same mechanism as your TV cable signal; therefore, the XOD4TiVo app requires an available tuner on the host DVR, dynamically allocated when an on-demand video is initiated. Further, owing to how the solution has been implemented, XOD4TiVo is currently restricted to a single active video session per host DVR and its connected Minis; if a second XOD4TiVo video session is initiated on another device within the group, the prior session is abruptly paused with no visual indication for the reason, and you'll likely hear a distant scream from another corner of your home.

I can't speak for any of the On Demand apps developed for TiVo from other cable TV providers. (Cox?)


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## bltkmt (Apr 28, 2003)

Thank you. Seems like a no-brainer then.


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## krkaufman (Nov 25, 2003)

bltkmt said:


> Thank you. Seems like a no-brainer then.


You're welcome.

The decision comes down to what an individual wants. Some prefer the segmentation of scheduled recordings and recorded content, additional tuners, etc. that come with the extra DVR (along w/ the added cost).

Good luck, and enjoy...!


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## Time_Lord (Jun 4, 2012)

I have multiple TiVOs,with cable cards for various reasons and If you are like me and want to pay the cable company as little as possible and I was to do it all over again I would probably get a single TiVO, probably 6 tuner with a cable card and a TiVO mini for each additional TV.

My simplistic math is that my cable company (Verizon FiOS) IIRC charges $6 per month per cable card and the TiVO Mini costs approx $145 new (less for the IR only unit if you can find it), possibly less if you look around, but at $145 you break even on the cost of a cable card after 2 years, plus the cost of a mini is a lot less than that of any of the TiVO units.

There are a few caveats to be aware of when using the mini - 
1) you need a solid network either ethernet or MoCA because each mini pulls almost 20Mb/s from the host DVR on a live video stream *do not* rely on wireless or powerline networking as they are not always reliable at high speeds
2) I tend to watch 2 or more programs at once (wife hates that) by switching tuners, you can't do that with the Mini as it only has access to a single tuner.
3) you loose a tuner on the host DVR to each mini watching live TV so pick a TiVO with enough available tuners (hint 6 if you don't need OTA). The Mini (should) release the tuner automatically after 4 hrs with NO remote control input or immediately if you press the "TiVO" button.

I'm sure others can give you more pluses and minuses.

The above is my $0.02.

-TL


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