TV has evolved a lot in the five years. The TiVo Bolt fit the hybrid model approach for people reluctant to fully embrace the modern way of receiving TV content. A lot of people can make the case that TiVo simply does not have a place in today’s TV viewing. Maybe so, maybe not. It depends what you are trying to achieve. Perhaps, you are trying to remove the cloud corporations as your life as much and save a couple bucks too? Maybe you enjoy a fun DIY project around the house? Read on if this is you…
The TiVo Bolt setup is fairly easy to setup out of the box but do you have everything you need for making it a long-term investment? There is definite ongoing saving to be for individuals who wish to cut the cord. However, most people are challenged by some serious upfront costs. We break down those costs and provide you with some great resources for deployment and maintaining it.
Warning! This is no easy project if you are performing Over the Air setup with an HD Antenna. It will be a lot less of a challenge if you explore some of the options through this Entertainment on a Budget post. I tied to update as much as possible within the last five years since I originally created the post but a lot has changed.
HD Antenna Setup
How to Install an HD Antenna for Outdoors – Network Antics
This is great a DIY post for deploying an HD antenna. However, there are some serious challenges to overcome before going this route that the post is goes into greater detail. Here are some basic questions to ask yourself?
Are you least bit technical or technical curious?
Place a post in the local school for a computer repair kid. The link here discusses the qualities, equipment, and classes needed to be a troubleshooter. Otherwise, skip the kid and prepare to document, coordinate resources, and shop around for resources necessary to computer the job.
Do you have a cable management guy willing to scale your residential roof and run coax cable back to the television?
There are not that many options for that. Here’s a nationwide contact.
Get a Quote – Your Friendly Neighborhood Computer Guy (yfncginc.com)
TiVo Subscription
Yes, there’s an additional cost to owning the Tivo Bolt.
- Price = $ 549.99
- Service type = Lifetime
- Commitment = Lifetime of the box
Otherwise, pay the monthly indefinitely
TiVo Cable Box and other Additional Features
You can also buy TIVO Bolt to replace your cable box. The TiVo Box is great for several reasons.
- It records your HD Antenna shows in beautiful HD
- It records your basic package TV shows if you decide to purchase an internet and TV channels combo pack. NOTE: Order a cable card from your cable (You can’t do this DirecTV) provider to pop in the Bolt for full integration.
- The channel guide is elegant and seamlessly integrates web apps like Netflix into the TIVO interface. This may sound ho hum feature but people like to zone out when watching TV. They have tweaked it so the shows you on your basic TV also instantly loads seasons that are on the Netflix app.
- It acts as your master remote for turning off the TV, adjusting volume on your stereo, and switching inputs for other home entertainment HDMI devices
TiVo Bolt Setup
Make sure you redo the guided setup from OTA to cable if you make the switch. Our Spectrum requires a tuner too in addition to rented out $3mo cable card that you need to insert into
Fun Extras
Look into purchasing a NAS and Boxee Box for viewing your ripped movies that you hopefully purchased. NOTE: Do not buy j series Synology NAS (Below) if you plan to use the Plex for streaming your movie collection. The ARM processing power is a joke for streaming. That’s why I recommend a Boxee Box to do the heavy lifting so your cheap little Synology NAS does not have to. The new hip alternative to Boxee Box is Plex. We provide Plex support for your current crop of movies to steam and Plex support for live/recorded TV further down this page.
Remote Streaming of the TiVo Bolt
You must be connected on the same network with your DVR in order for you to access https://online.tivo.com. As an alternative, you can use TiVo app for out-of-home streaming instead. For a first-time setup or if the TiVo App has already been installed and set up, please follow the steps on the link below.
Out-of-Home Streaming – https://tivoidp.tivo.com/tivoCommunitySupport/kA638000000L0jW?name=Out-of-Home-Streaming
TiVo Customer Support
- Please uninstall the App from your iPad. (Please make sure both the DVR and iPad is connected on the same network).
- Please unplug the power cable of your TiVo DVR.
- Reboot your router.
- Once your router is up and running, please plugged in your DVR.
- On your DVR please go to: SETTINGS > REMOTE CONTROL, CABLECARD & DEVICES > NETWORK REMOTE CONTROL > ALLOWED
- Go to: Menu > Settings > Network Settings > TiVo Service Connection
- Install the TiVo App on your android device. (Please make sure to check all 3 boxes under Streaming Setup page).
- Observe the behavior of the TiVo App.
If the issue would still persist after you’ve done all of the necessary troubleshooting steps, I recommend to contact our CHAT or Customer Phone Support at 1-877-367-8486. Hours of operation: Monday – Friday, 8AM to 5 PM (US Pacific) for further troubleshooting steps Tivo support can do.
To respond to this email, please log into www.tivo.com/myaccount, go to Case History from Support & Help, and select Case No.
For additional information about TiVo service or products, please visit customer support website at www.tivo.com/support. To view and make changes to your account information, visit www.tivo.com/myaccount.
Tivo Bolt Setup and Troubleshooting Additional Resources Remote Streaming – https://online.tivo.com or app
Customer Phone Support at 1-877-367-8486.
TiVo Bolt Setup Summary
The TiVo Bolt setup is fairly easy to setup out of the box but the setup experience can be nightmare without the tools and resources necessary to get the job done right.
