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TiVo combines its biggest, fastest DVRs to make the Bolt+
As soon as TiVo unveiled its Bolt Unified Entertainment System last year, the company's biggest DVR fans started asking "what about us?" That's because despite its new design, 4K streaming and updated features, there was no option with enough tuners and storage to match the top of the line Roamio Pro DVR. Now TiVo is filling that hole with the $499 (plus service fee) Bolt+, which takes the styling and power of the Bolt then adds the ability to record up to 6 channels at once onto a built-in 3TB hard drive.
Now TiVo Bolt owners can stream TV anywhere
When I reviewed the TiVo Bolt last year I didn't mind its odd design as much as I missed some features it lacked compared to the older Roamio DVR. Now the recently-acquired company is fixing that with a software update (the full list of changes is here) it's rolling out that lets owners stream recordings or live TV on even when they're away from home, and also download shows recorded from protected premium channels (like HBO or Showtime, usually) to a mobile device for offline viewing.
TiVo Bolt review: Getting smaller and faster has a price
TiVo has been in the DVR game for the better part of two decades, and even in the slow-paced TV world, that's enough time to see lots of change. Surprisingly, with the introduction of its Bolt DVR (excuse me: Unified Entertainment System) TiVo grabbed a feature from one of its oldest competitors in order to do battle with newer rivals. The company seems to have realized it's not just trying to beat your cable or satellite company's half-assed excuse for a set-top box, as Apple, Google, Roku, Amazon and others join game systems and Blu-ray players in a fight for living room dominance. Now, TiVo has a new design and, for the first time, a solution for easily skipping commercials. Still, that might not be enough to make the Bolt (starting at $300) a good buy.
