# Honest Question From Returning Tivo Customer



## rochambeaux (Nov 3, 2015)

So the Bolt is my first Tivo in about 10 years.

After getting acquainted with it for a few weeks, what besides the 4K option really differentiates it from the "provider" DVRs?

I was not overly impressed with the AT&T DVR but I'm having a hard time seeing the real "value add" Tivo brings.

Years ago the "Season Pass" was pretty nifty but the current version doesn't seem to be any better than what the AT&T/cable DVRs provide.


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## zerdian1 (Apr 19, 2015)

Most of the Cable DVRS require a DVR in each room.
Each month you pay a fee for each DVR in each room.
In Dish's case you pay a monthly fee for either a Hopper or a Joey in each room about $10/month each. that is $50/month or $600 per year or $3000 per five years.

I consider 5 years to be the average useful life of the DVR.

With TiVo Bolt you get the first year of service included.

You can use Minis to give you service in your other rooms.

In my case with 5 TV rooms, I could have 1 Raomio Pro and 4 minis, 
But I wanted much more storage and many more tuners.

Cost Comparison Breakdown:
for a $300 Bolt.
$150 for the device
$150 for the first year of service.

$150 for the next 4 years of service is $600
5 years of service plus the TiVo Bolt is $900 for one room.

4 TiVo roamio Minis are $134 each (at Amazon) is $538, service included.
5 rooms of HDTV with DVR & Streaming for 5 years is $1438.


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## rochambeaux (Nov 3, 2015)

We only have/need 1 DVR...

Sounds like the annual service for Tivo = annual cost of cable DVR.

If so, then I would never recoup the $300 cost for the Bolt itself.

Are there any performance/features that set it apart?


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## zerdian1 (Apr 19, 2015)

TiVo Bolt features over TiVo Roamio Pros and other DVRs

BOLT has:
4K,
SkipMode &
QuickMode.

ROAMIO Pro has:
much larger storage
greater number of tuners


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## rochambeaux (Nov 3, 2015)

As far as 4K it is my understanding that 4K content is still years from being commonplace.

What is QuickMode?

As far as commercial skip I've found it to be vaporware - it shows up as an option in about 5% of our recordings so far..


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## Flyn (Feb 17, 2008)

I think you should return it, you really don't seem to like it.

For other people who might read this, some general reasons why TiVo is better than most cable boxes:


Potential for greater storage
Faster interface
Smarter scheduling of recordings
Suggestions that can record shows you might like, based on your preferences
Minis allow you access to live tv and recordings in other rooms without having to pay a monthly fee
Netflix, Amazon, and other streaming video services are integrated into the onepass system so you can get to everything from the same interface, and free up space if something you recorded is streaming
Better remote, potentially a _much _better remote if you get a slide pro with a keyboard, though the X1 and others are catching up to some degree
Better app and online scheduling
Ability to download recordings from the TiVo to computers or mobile devices (if you're not on Time Warner or another copy protecting TV provider)
Smarter fast forwarding for skipping commercials, even without skip mode
I don't know if this applies to all cable boxes, but with Comcast, they don't let you edit the guide to remove channels you don't get, or don't care about. Being able to cut out all the SD channels, premium channels I don't get, and shopping channels makes it easier to browse on those rare occasions when I'm watching live TV.
The ability to pull up a youtube video on your phone, then cast it to the TiVo comes in pretty handy
TiVo can output a 24fps signal from Amazon, Netflix, and Yahoo. With modern TVs' ability to sync to frame rates other than 60hz, you can see movies and shows how they were "filmed" / produced. This is actually pretty rare for a streaming box.

I don't have a Bolt yet, primarily because I'm waiting for them to support Amazon 4K, as I have a dumb 4K TV without an HEVC decoder (but with an HDMI 2.0 / HDCP 2.2 input). I am probably going pick up a 2015 Fire TV on sale while I wait, since I'll be able to use it on other TVs down the road, and use Amazon's TiVo app in lieu of a mini in a pinch, but I will be annoyed at having to change inputs depending on what I want to watch in the meantime.


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## rochambeaux (Nov 3, 2015)

Flyn said:


> I think you should return it, you really don't seem to like it.
> 
> For other people who might read this, some general reasons why TiVo is better than most cable boxes:
> 
> ...


Questions above in red


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## realityboy (Jun 13, 2003)

rochambeaux said:


> Other devices stream much much better (i.e. Fire TV)


I thought you were comparing it to a cable/AT&T box? A dedicated streaming box will come out on top in that area, and a cable DVR may be comparable in that area, but it takes both of them together to equal the TiVo. The TiVo is seamlessly combining Onepasses cable shows & streaming. There is no other box that's giving me a Now Playing list for all of my shows including streaming.


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## Flyn (Feb 17, 2008)

You asked how a TiVo was better than an AT&T or cable DVR, not how is the Bolt better than a DVR, Fire TV, and laptop combination. The Bolt is a replacement for the Roamio base model, and thus does not improve on a Roamio Pro in every respect for every person. That said, even without replacing drives, the 1tb Bolt is as big as any rented DVR that I'm aware of. 

I think you should return your Bolt, and try your cable company's DVR now that you've switched off of AT&T. You're still within your 30 days and you've obviously had a taste of how TiVo works, even if you have had some latency issues. Maybe you got a lemon, or there is some quirk between you and TiVo's servers, and it's possible you are just not interested in having one box that lets you access every show, without having to change inputs and interfaces.


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## rochambeaux (Nov 3, 2015)

Flyn said:


> it's possible you are just not interested in having one box that lets you access every show, without having to change inputs and interfaces.


What do you mean by "access every show"?

My FireTV is running Kodi, which lets me stream all of my content from any device.

Can Tivo stream MKV, etc. from a shared network drive or from media servers like Plex?

Is the strong point of a single Tivo not it's DVR functionality but if it's your only media device in the house, i.e. it's a good "beginners" media device?


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## Flyn (Feb 17, 2008)

rochambeaux said:


> Can Tivo stream MKV, etc. from a shared network drive or from media servers like Plex?
> 
> Is the strong point of a single Tivo not it's DVR functionality but if it's your only media device in the house, i.e. it's a good "beginners" media device?


I am unconvinced that you don't know that the TiVo Bolt runs Plex at full resolution. I still think you should return it.


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## rochambeaux (Nov 3, 2015)

Flyn said:


> I am unconvinced that you don't know that the TiVo Bolt runs Plex at full resolution. I still think you should return it.


I haven't gotten around to looking at features like connecting to Plex yet.

I think I may have solved the connectivity issues (thanks to other users on these forums) by assigning a static IP instead of letting the Bolt get one via DHCP. That solution makes no sense unless Tivo employs some really crappy network coding but it seems to help (knock on wood).

I bought the Bolt primarily as a DVR and that's what I'm interested in comparing. If I didn't already have other media devices or was a noob to the multimedia world I could see some value add to the other features of the Bolt.


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## Flyn (Feb 17, 2008)

rochambeaux said:


> I bought the Bolt primarily as a DVR and that's what I'm interested in comparing. If I didn't already have other media devices or was a noob to the multimedia world I could see some value add to the other features of the Bolt.


You don't seem like you're going to be convinced without experiencing a competing DVR, but I don't know which provider you're using. Pay for a month of their DVR, and rebuy a Bolt in a month if you hate it, or next year if you need more tuners and a bigger hard drive as a turnkey solution.


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## rochambeaux (Nov 3, 2015)

Flyn said:


> but I don't know which provider you're using.


Just left AT&T Uverse for Time Warner cable (primarily because of TWC's 300 mbps Internet - which actually clocks in at 350+ for me)

The AT&T DVR didn't have a bunch of bells & whistles but as a DVR it worked fine.

No idea about the TWC DVR.

It just seems to me that Tivo is trying to reinvent itself from the top tier DVR into jack of all trades media device - my experience with those kind of devices is they do a lot of things mediocre and nothing exceptional.


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## realityboy (Jun 13, 2003)

rochambeaux said:


> Just left AT&T Uverse for Time Warner cable (primarily because of TWC's 300 mbps Internet - which actually clocks in at 350+ for me)
> 
> The AT&T DVR didn't have a bunch of bells & whistles but as a DVR it worked fine.
> 
> ...


As far as top tier DVRs, the Roamio Pro is better than the Bolt with more tuners & a much larger hard drive. The TiVo does do a lot of things mediocre, but the core DVR function remains as good as or better than any DVR.

Try the TWC DVR. If it meets your needs, keep it. I'm not sure what else you want the TiVo to do. It's a reliable DVR with some added features.


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## rochambeaux (Nov 3, 2015)

realityboy said:


> As far as top tier DVRs, the Roamio Pro is better than the Bolt with more tuners & a much larger hard drive. The TiVo does do a lot of things mediocre, but the core DVR function remains as good as or better than any DVR.
> 
> Try the TWC DVR. If it meets your needs, keep it. I'm not sure what else you want the TiVo to do. It's a reliable DVR with some added features.


I guess we're not hardcore TV watchers - more than 2 tuners seems like overkill to me. As far as storage goes, 1TB stores far more than we'd ever record. If we ever missed anything or wanted a long term copy, there's always torrents.

I think the rest of the field may have "caught up" with Tivo in the DVR aspects, which would explain why it doesn't seem as "special" as it did years ago.


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## Andrew_S (Nov 12, 2001)

rochambeaux said:


> I think the rest of the field may have "caught up" with Tivo in the DVR aspects, which would explain why it doesn't seem as "special" as it did years ago.


The cable DVR's I've seen (including DirecTV and Dish) have not caught up to Tivo. Have yet to use the Comcast X1 but I have my doubts. Buying a Tivo is much like buying a luxury car or a mac, you either see the value or you don't. If all you need is an appliance (whether it's a car, computer or dvr) then you'll be happy with whatever is put in front of you. If you haven't seen the value in the Bolt, you probably never will. I'd stick with whatever your provider has.


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## PSU_Sudzi (Jun 4, 2015)

rochambeaux said:


> I guess we're not hardcore TV watchers - more than 2 tuners seems like overkill to me. As far as storage goes, 1TB stores far more than we'd ever record. If we ever missed anything or wanted a long term copy, there's always torrents.
> 
> I think the rest of the field may have "caught up" with Tivo in the DVR aspects, which would explain why it doesn't seem as "special" as it did years ago.


I would disagree as most set top provider DVRs restrict you to only use their services, TiVo allows you to connect to third party providers like Netflix or Vudu or even your own library of movies on a PC via Plex. Nothing else like that on the DVR market.


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## zerdian1 (Apr 19, 2015)

I like a lot of storage and a lot of tuners.

From 2014 to 2015.
With TiVo I, Have 17.5TB & 16 Tuners: 12TB Roamio PRO, 
4TB Roamio PRO, 1.5 TB Roamio Basic & 2 Minis

From 2005 to 2015.
With Dish Network Hoppers I Have 16TB & 12 Tuners: 2 Dish Hoppers 
& 3 Joeys.

From 1999 to 2005.
I had several TiVo SD DVRs with Lifetime Service which 
TiVo informed me has EXPIRED.
I also had 3 SD ReplayTVs before the TiVos.

From the 1970's thru 2000, I had a load of VCRs.



rochambeaux said:


> I guess we're not hardcore TV watchers - more than 2 tuners seems like overkill to me. As far as storage goes, 1TB stores far more than we'd ever record. If we ever missed anything or wanted a long term copy, there's always torrents.
> 
> I think the rest of the field may have "caught up" with Tivo in the DVR aspects, which would explain why it doesn't seem as "special" as it did years ago.


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## rochambeaux (Nov 3, 2015)

PSU_Sudzi said:


> Nothing else like that on the DVR market.


If that capability wasn't pretty much omni-present on just about every other media device today (DVD/BluRay, FireTV, PC, tablets, smartphones, etc.) then I could see it as a value add feature.

As it is they are redundant features unless you have no other media devices in the house.

Now if the Tivo could play media files direct from a shared drive, USB, etc. (like MKVs) then it truly would be unique as it could replace other devices while providing DVR capability.


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## rochambeaux (Nov 3, 2015)

zerdian1 said:


> I like a lot of storage and a lot of tuners.
> 
> From 2014 to 2015.
> With TiVo I, Have 17.5TB & 16 Tuners: 12TB Roamio PRO,
> ...


30+ TB of storage? Are you a digital hoarder? 

I've found many of the TV series/movies I would have archived are available as part of Amazon Prime.


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## aaronwt (Jan 31, 2002)

rochambeaux said:


> 30+ TB of storage? Are you a digital hoarder?
> ........


Not with only 30TB


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## rochambeaux (Nov 3, 2015)

aaronwt said:


> Not with only 30TB


How many kids do you have to need so many DVRs?

Or do you run a boarding house?


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## aaronwt (Jan 31, 2002)

rochambeaux said:


> How many kids do you have to need so many DVRs?
> 
> Or do you run a boarding house?


No kids. My Roamio Pro will get sold later this year. And I keep an extra Roamio Basic and Mini around just in case my GFs two S3(OLED) TiVos take a dump. Since they have been running on their 1TB drives 24/7/365 for around 8.5 years now. I need to have something around so I can replace them quickly if/when they start to have issues. So I got the extra Basic with the lifetime refurb sale this year. And I have a fourth Mini from a free one that I got from TiVo.


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## Beh162 (Nov 6, 2015)

I have a similar situation and I've been very interesting in returning to the Tivo community and the Bolt box sparked that. Not to mention my Fios Dvr and guide are soo slow. I made some calls to Verizon Fios and believe it or not if I was to switch, I can't find money savings!!

*Currently *I have 5 boxes in my house. 2 are Separate DVR, 3 are just HD boxes that can watch anything on the 2 DVR's. The issue is that I want to keep 2 sep DVR's.
Quantum Fios DVR Premium: $30
5x Equipment: $43.99
= 73.99

*Option 1:*
They said if I make any changes to my equipment I would be priced under their new equipment pricing. No matter what I want two separate DVR's 
Bolt $299 (1 year for free then $150 up front for each following year $12.50/mo)
Quantum Enhanced: $20
4x boxes: $48
Cablecard(For Tivo) $4.99
=$72.99
First year even except I spent $299 on a Bolt

*Option 2, Full switch to Tivo:*
Bolt and Roamio $299 & $199 respectively
3x boxes: $36
2x cable card: $9.98
=$45.98
Tivo x2 = $25 (Assuming I was to pay the $150x2 and not do the $14.99/mo)
Then I have to buy a Bolt for $299 and Roamio $199.
No one can watch anything on those dvr unless I buy a mini and thats another $120 on Amazon....

I can't make this purchase and switch worth it and it's making me so mad


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## unitron (Apr 28, 2006)

rochambeaux said:


> I haven't gotten around to looking at features like connecting to Plex yet.
> 
> I think I may have solved the connectivity issues (thanks to other users on these forums) by assigning a static IP instead of letting the Bolt get one via DHCP. That solution makes no sense unless Tivo employs some really crappy network coding but it seems to help (knock on wood).
> 
> I bought the Bolt primarily as a DVR and that's what I'm interested in comparing. If I didn't already have other media devices or was a noob to the multimedia world I could see some value add to the other features of the Bolt.


The static IP approach avoids your router and some other device (TiVo, PC, external hard drive with Ethernet like a Buffalo Link Station,etc.) that doesn't leave the house having to negotiate what IP address said device will get and having both have to remember indefinitely what IP address it got, so that's 2 things that could go wrong eliminated, things which, if they do go wrong, I doubt are *always* the fault of the TiVo.


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## unitron (Apr 28, 2006)

zerdian1 said:


> I like a lot of storage and a lot of tuners.
> 
> From 2014 to 2015.
> With TiVo I, Have 17.5TB & 16 Tuners: 12TB Roamio PRO,
> ...


Are those TiVos with expired lifetime DirecTV units, or non-satellite standalones?

If the latter, did they have actual

Account Status 5: Product Lifetime Service

or was it some sort of evaluation subscription?

Because real PLS doesn't (or isn't supposed to) expire.

As long as the box works, it has a subscription to the service.


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## unitron (Apr 28, 2006)

aaronwt said:


> Not with only 30TB


:up::up::up:

Love it!


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## rochambeaux (Nov 3, 2015)

Beh162 said:


> I have a similar situation and I've been very interesting in returning to the Tivo community and the Bolt box sparked that. Not to mention my Fios Dvr and guide are soo slow. I made some calls to Verizon Fios and believe it or not if I was to switch, I can't find money savings!!
> 
> *Currently *I have 5 boxes in my house. 2 are Separate DVR, 3 are just HD boxes that can watch anything on the 2 DVR's. The issue is that I want to keep 2 sep DVR's.
> Quantum Fios DVR Premium: $30
> ...


I contacted TWC yesterday and if I use their DVR my monthly price actually goes **down** $12 from my current TWC cablecard and Tivo Bolt.

For me it's a no brainer as the Bolt really doesn't add any functionality outside of DVR - I have a Fire TV 4K, Plex running on a HTPC, etc.

Plus, when I removed the cablecard from the Bolt earlier today it was hot enough to fry an egg, which makes me worry about its long term stability.

Perhaps when they're on the 2nd or 3rd generation of the Bolt I'll revisit.

I do have to give props to Tivo customer support - they processed my return/refund very quickly.


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## mattack (Apr 9, 2001)

rochambeaux said:


> So the Bolt is my first Tivo in about 10 years.
> 
> After getting acquainted with it for a few weeks, what besides the 4K option really differentiates it from the "provider" DVRs?
> 
> ...


I honestly don't have a Bolt, but doesn't seem to be any better?

Seems to me people VERY often complain that cable box equivalents of season passes often *don't* record their shows, and/or LOSE their shows after a reboot..

Other benefits: being able to download (non-protected) shows off of a Tivo for storage expansion.


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## Wil (Sep 27, 2002)

aaronwt said:


> Not with only 30TB


I have 48TB; the 8 drive box and it's duplicate backup box will bypassed on (hopefully the collection will be much-expanded by then).

We are in a golden age of content availability. My grandkids, as old fogies, will regale people about how in their day you could watch John Ford or Hayao Miyazaki films on a thingie called Turner Classic Movies, nearly for free. They won't believe it.

We shouldn't assume this golden age will continue forever.


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## HarperVision (May 14, 2007)

rochambeaux said:


> I contacted TWC yesterday and if I use their DVR my monthly price actually goes **down** $12 from my current TWC cablecard and Tivo Bolt. For me it's a no brainer as the Bolt really doesn't add any functionality outside of DVR - I have a Fire TV 4K, Plex running on a HTPC, etc. Plus, when I removed the cablecard from the Bolt earlier today it was hot enough to fry an egg, which makes me worry about its long term stability. Perhaps when they're on the 2nd or 3rd generation of the Bolt I'll revisit. I do have to give props to Tivo customer support - they processed my return/refund very quickly.


Enjoy your new pig! TWC DVRs are known to be some of the worst. Have fun!


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## Player1138 (Oct 1, 2015)

rochambeaux said:


> I contacted TWC yesterday and if I use their DVR my monthly price actually goes **down** $12 from my current TWC cablecard and Tivo Bolt.
> 
> For me it's a no brainer as the Bolt really doesn't add any functionality outside of DVR - I have a Fire TV 4K, Plex running on a HTPC, etc.
> 
> ...


Mind explaining how your bill went down with TWC by using a DVR over a cable card.

I have TWC and I am paying like $6 for 'the guide' and $10 for DVR rental.

My understanding is that if I go TiVo I will have to pay $3-4 for a cable card and will no longer have to pay for 'The Guide' and DVR Rental.


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## mdavej (Aug 13, 2015)

When I last went from satellite back to cable, the cable company did indeed give me a free DVR and DVR service for 2 years. I had no intention of ever using their crappy DVR, so tried to return it immediately. But unless I changed my package, they refused to take it back. Needless to say, it sat in my closet for 2 years. My point is, cheaper, even free, isn't necessarily better.


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## wnysteel (Nov 10, 2015)

Flyn said:


> I have a dumb 4K TV without an HEVC decoder (but with an HDMI 2.0 / HDCP 2.2 input).





where do you find a "dumb" 4k TV? i've been looking and can't find one.


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## aaronwt (Jan 31, 2002)

wnysteel said:


> where do you find a "dumb" 4k TV? i've been looking and can't find one.


Amazon has a Seiki SE42UMS for $410 that has one with HDMi 2.0 and HDCP 2.2. And is not a smart TV.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0..._m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=1YXAGGMFP162T4EHTGAV

http://seiki.com/content/42-se42ums-led-ultra-hdtv


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## Flyn (Feb 17, 2008)

wnysteel said:


> where do you find a "dumb" 4k TV? i've been looking and can't find one.


Yeah, they are all sorta weird brands, like Seiki, Changhong, Hisense, Polaroid, or Silo. I got a 49" Sceptre for $400 a year ago at Walmart, which made me sad, but I figured for something iffy like an offbrand 4K TV I wanted to be able to return it without paying for shipping. Fry's often has deals like this, if you have one nearby. I have been using it as my computer monitor up close, and a TV far away. I would probably go with a low end smart TV if I was buying 4K today, but I love the huge amount of real estate for a monitor. HDCP 2.2 and HDMI 2.0 are the important bits in this case (and a HDMI 2.0 capable graphics card if you want to use it with a computer, which is still limited to the GeForce 9xx series at this point, I think).


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## aaronwt (Jan 31, 2002)

Flyn said:


> Yeah, they are all sorta weird brands, like Seiki, Changhong, Hisense, Polaroid, or Silo. I got a 49" Sceptre for $400 a year ago at Walmart, which made me sad, but I figured for something iffy like an offbrand 4K TV I wanted to be able to return it without paying for shipping. Fry's often has deals like this, if you have one nearby. I have been using it as my computer monitor up close, and a TV far away. I would probably go with a low end smart TV if I was buying 4K today, but I love the huge amount of real estate for a monitor. HDCP 2.2 and HDMI 2.0 are the important bits in this case (and a HDMI 2.0 capable graphics card if you want to use it with a computer, which is still limited to the GeForce 9xx series at this point, I think).


Some sweet deals for name brand(LG, Vizio, Samsung) 4K TVs on Black Friday at BestBuy. I was looking at the ad on their site today. I might actually try to order one online on Thanksgiving since the prices will be so good.


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## epstewart (Mar 1, 2003)

rochambeaux said:


> For me it's a no brainer as the Bolt really doesn't add any functionality outside of DVR - I have a Fire TV 4K, Plex running on a HTPC, etc.


You have such a diverse array of other devices that give you what you personally want and need, including now a DVR from your cable provider, that it's not really fair for you to disparage the utility of the Bolt or the Roamios, since most of the consumers that might like a TiVo don't have those other devices. Plus, you had a weird problem with your Bolt not being connected properly to your home network, until you went with a static IP address. That poisoned the well of your potential appreciation of the Bolt. I've had numerous TiVos and can say that each successive series has offered improvements that I like, such as QuickMode on the Bolt. Whether the Bolt's admittedly marginal added functionality vis-a-vis the Roamios appeals to you or any other consumer is a matter of personal preference. That other DVRs and streaming devices, when combined in a given home, can do all the things that the TiVos can do, and sometimes do them better, is probably not relevant to those consumers who don't even want to invest in all the devices that you have in your setup.

True, the wider world of entertainment devices has caught up with the TiVo ecosystem for the most part, in the same way that many years ago the Windows world caught up with the Apple Macintosh in terms of ease of use. TiVo is trying to add very marginal new functionality with the Bolt in the same way that each new release of the Mac OS adds marginal new functionality. Sometime back, you opted out of the TiVo ecosystem, and you recently tested the waters of opting back in. But in between times, you bought a bunch of other devices. So it's no surprise that you were nonplussed by the Bolt.


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## zerdian1 (Apr 19, 2015)

PLEX can not find server or libraries.

I am new to Plex.

I loaded hundreds of videos into Plex libraries.
connected my desktop to Plex.
authenticated my Plex in Tivo.
watched a movie from flex on my home TV via Tivo Plex.
everything seemed fine.
I could see many of the videos I had loaded in the indexes.

logged off.

next day no server found.
my libraries are there with all the videos.

i posted a question several days to the Plex forums and no response.

Hopefully someone here can help.


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## Bigg (Oct 31, 2003)

realityboy said:


> As far as top tier DVRs, the Roamio Pro is better than the Bolt with more tuners & a much larger hard drive. The TiVo does do a lot of things mediocre, but the core DVR function remains as good as or better than any DVR.
> 
> Try the TWC DVR. If it meets your needs, keep it. I'm not sure what else you want the TiVo to do. It's a reliable DVR with some added features.


That's exactly it. TiVo is a really good DVR. Even the Premiere boxes are really, really good DVRs that are better than anything you will get from a cable MSO.



Andrew_S said:


> The cable DVR's I've seen (including DirecTV and Dish) have not caught up to Tivo. Have yet to use the Comcast X1 but I have my doubts.


It's the least bad cable knock-off of TiVo out there. It's still no TiVo from a DVR perspective. However, there is one cool thing that they did which is the T9-like keypad on the remote. It's great for punching in channel names if you don't want to hunt through the guide from some weird channel that something is on. It's probably fine for most people, and easily integrates DVR, VOD, and Live TV together, but strictly as a DVR, it's no TiVo. That's for sure.



unitron said:


> The static IP approach avoids your router and some other device (TiVo, PC, external hard drive with Ethernet like a Buffalo Link Station,etc.) that doesn't leave the house having to negotiate what IP address said device will get and having both have to remember indefinitely what IP address it got, so that's 2 things that could go wrong eliminated, things which, if they do go wrong, I doubt are *always* the fault of the TiVo.


No TiVo should ever need a static IP. That's just total overkill and a PITA to manage. If DHCP isn't working, it is mostly likely a bad router, bad configuration of said router, or too many devices for the number of available IPs on the router.


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## mattack (Apr 9, 2001)

Bigg said:


> It's the least bad cable knock-off of TiVo out there. It's still no TiVo from a DVR perspective. However, there is one cool thing that they did which is the T9-like keypad on the remote. It's great for punching in channel names if you don't want to hunt through the guide from some weird channel that something is on. It's probably fine for most people, and easily integrates DVR, VOD, and Live TV together, but strictly as a DVR, it's no TiVo. That's for sure.


I know you can _Find_ channel names nowadays. I seem to remember there's a way to go to a channel by name in the grid guide too.. or maybe that was one of the experimental features on a previous Tivo OS long ago..


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## Bigg (Oct 31, 2003)

mattack said:


> I know you can _Find_ channel names nowadays. I seem to remember there's a way to go to a channel by name in the grid guide too.. or maybe that was one of the experimental features on a previous Tivo OS long ago..


Yeah, I don't know how to find channel names on TiVo. For typing a bunch, the Slide remote is great, but for a few letters for a program or channel search, Comcast's T9 is superior, IMHO. It's quick and dirty.


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## mattack (Apr 9, 2001)

I meant with the onscreen keyboard, in the Find UI -- e.g. when searching for a show, actor, etc.. For a while now, it's also returned channel NAMES as results.


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## Bigg (Oct 31, 2003)

mattack said:


> I meant with the onscreen keyboard, in the Find UI -- e.g. when searching for a show, actor, etc.. For a while now, it's also returned channel NAMES as results.


Totally different. I'm talking about while you're watching Live TV. It's one little tiny thing that Comcast actually innovated on and did well. Overall, I wouldn't want the X1, but that little bit is kind of cool.


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