# Is The Bolt + Worth The Upgrade?



## punkindrublik (Feb 17, 2017)

Long, long, long time Tivo user. Presently I have a Premier XL4 in the bedroom and a Romio Pro as my main unit. I know opinions vary but is the plus worth the upgrade from the Romio Pro? Got some tax money and considering it. Thanks!


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## lessd (Jan 23, 2005)

Unless you have a 4K TV my answer would be no.


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## Mikeguy (Jul 28, 2005)

And additionally, unless you do lots of streaming on the device, for which the Bolt is faster. 

(And, of course, if you currently have a lifetime subscription on the Roamio, that will affect the consideration drastically.)


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## jcthorne (Jan 28, 2002)

Plex on the Bolt does work MUCH better and supports full 1080p video. (Supposedly 4k as well but I cannot test that and have seen no success stories). Worth the cost? Not really but the box is faster and more capable, Tivo has just made the service cost ridiculous on the Bolt.


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## mrizzo80 (Apr 17, 2012)

How fast does Netflix content start playing (not the Netflix loading logo; actual TV show or movie content) after it's been cached in memory after a reboot? On a Roamio it takes about 15-20 seconds for this. Instant loading would be pretty nice, but not worth the upgrade cost due to the PLS price change.


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## punkindrublik (Feb 17, 2017)

So I called in and asked for some kind of a deal on the plus for being a 15 year customer. After the usual that "there really aren't any deals on the plus" he gave it to me for $449 and locked in the $12.99 monthly from the Premier XL4 I'm replacing. From what I read here I think i did ok.


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## chicagobrownblue (May 29, 2008)

punkindrublik said:


> Long, long, long time Tivo user. Presently I have a Premier XL4 in the bedroom and a Romio Pro as my main unit. I know opinions vary but is the plus worth the upgrade from the Romio Pro? Got some tax money and considering it. Thanks!


I'm happy with my Roamio Basic with an upgraded 3TB drive. Do like the black color on the Bolt+ versus the white on the Bolt. I only do limited, non-4K streaming, but I'm fine with the Roamio Basic for that.



lessd said:


> Unless you have a 4K TV my answer would be no.


Even if OP does have a 4K TV, I'd try the TV's built in apps first and consider a high end Roku second.



punkindrublik said:


> ...he gave it to me for $449 and locked in the $12.99 monthly from the Premier XL4 I'm replacing. From what I read here I think i did ok.


This is good. Nice that you can use your cheap monthly rate from the Premier. If I bought a Bolt+, I'd go with prepaid monthly and wait for a deal on lifetime.


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## aaronwt (Jan 31, 2002)

mrizzo80 said:


> How fast does Netflix content start playing (not the Netflix loading logo; actual TV show or movie content) after it's been cached in memory after a reboot? On a Roamio it takes about 15-20 seconds for this. Instant loading would be pretty nice, but not worth the upgrade cost due to the PLS price change.


Netflix content starts playing just as quick on my ROamios as my Bolts. It's playing at the top encode either right away or at most within a few seconds.


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## mrizzo80 (Apr 17, 2012)

aaronwt said:


> Netflix content starts playing just as quick on my ROamios as my Bolts. It's playing at the top encode either right away or at most within a few seconds.


Really? I thought the "instant" Netflix app on Bolt's was one of the features they marketed. I get the top encode within a few seconds on my Roamio as well, but it still takes 15-20 seconds for me to see actual TV or movie content. The time delay is made up of a few seconds of the TiVo blue spinner, then time for the "core" Netflix app to load, then time for the actual TV/movie content to load (at this point it displays what percentage it's loaded... 22%, 44%, 61%, etc.).


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## atmuscarella (Oct 11, 2005)

mrizzo80 said:


> Really? I thought the "instant" Netflix app on Bolt's was one of the features they marketed. I get the top encode within a few seconds on my Roamio as well, but it still takes 15-20 seconds for me to see actual TV or movie content. The time delay is made up of a few seconds of the TiVo blue spinner, then time for the "core" Netflix app to load, then time for the actual TV/movie content to load (at this point it displays what percentage it's loaded... 22%, 44%, 61%, etc.).


I think you and aaronwt are talking about 2 different things. I believe aaronwt is talking about starting a video once you are in the Netflix app and you appear to be talking about starting the Netflix app. Starting the Netflix app is much faster on the Bolts, not sure starting a video once you have the app up and running is much different and likely is subject to how well your Internet is working at any moment in time.


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## tluxon (Feb 28, 2002)

punkindrublik said:


> So I called in and asked for some kind of a deal on the plus for being a 15 year customer. After the usual that "there really aren't any deals on the plus" he gave it to me for $449 and locked in the $12.99 monthly from the Premier XL4 I'm replacing. From what I read here I think i did ok.


I'm going to have to call again and hope I get someone else on the CS end. The one I talked to yesterday offered me discounts for the Bolt but said no on the Bolt+, as it was their "flagship product". Your experience makes me want to try again with a bit more persistence. Sometimes it's just a luck of the draw on which CS agent you get. Thanks!


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## tluxon (Feb 28, 2002)

tluxon said:


> I'm going to have to call again and hope I get someone else on the CS end. The one I talked to yesterday offered me discounts for the Bolt but said no on the Bolt+, as it was their "flagship product". Your experience makes me want to try again with a bit more persistence. Sometimes it's just a luck of the draw on which CS agent you get. Thanks!


Persistence didn't work. They insisted that the $50 discount for the plus was tied to Roamio upgrades only. I was talked into going for the Bolt 500 at $175 to keep OTA as an option. I hope the 4 tuners are enough - perhaps I'll need TWO Bolts.


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## chicagobrownblue (May 29, 2008)

tluxon said:


> I hope the 4 tuners are enough - perhaps I'll need TWO Bolts.


They usually are for me with correct prioritization of recordings. If you watch a lot of shows on networks that don't end on time, the padding needed can potentially clip another recording.


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## Mikeguy (Jul 28, 2005)

tluxon said:


> I hope the 4 tuners are enough - perhaps I'll need TWO Bolts.


I never would have thought it seriously, but I actually have run out of tuners a few times in the past couple of months. Fortunately, I watch lots of PBS and there are re-runs in the early morning hours. (And there always is that 2nd TiVo option (an advantage of a 2nd TiVo over a Mini) . . . .)


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## Dan203 (Apr 17, 2000)

From a cold start the Netflix app boots up considrably faster on the Bolt then the Roamio. After it's started once the Netflix app is always in memory on the Bolt so it pops up insantly. The other apps also start up considerably faster on the bolt.

I wouldn't really consider it for it's 4K capabilities though, since at the moment inly Netflix and YouTube actually support 4K


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## tluxon (Feb 28, 2002)

Mikeguy said:


> I never would have thought it seriously, but I actually have run out of tuners a few times in the past couple of months. Fortunately, I watch lots of PBS and there are re-runs in the early morning hours. (And there always is that 2nd TiVo option (an advantage of a 2nd TiVo over a Mini) . . . .)


I upgraded the 2-tuner Premiere to lifetime for just that reason. We also have a couple lifetime TiVoHD's - although I plan to eBay at least one of them - that could be used in a pinch (like for recording the NCAA basketball tournament games without imposing on the rest of the family's shows).


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