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TiVo Unveils Over-the-Air Bolt DVR for Cord Cutters

TiVo's new Bolt OTA DVR is designed specifically for antenna users. It will be $249.99 starting Sept. 28, but its subscription fee makes it even more appealing.

Will Greenwald
 & Will Greenwald Principal Writer, Consumer Electronics

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TiVo today announced a new version of its Bolt DVR aimed specifically at users who don't subscribe to cable or satellite service.

The Bolt OTA is designed for over-the-air TV; it works with an HD antenna and lacks a Cablecard or other subscription-based signal decryption. The DVR itself and the TiVo service will be less expensive than TiVo's standard DVR and service designed to work with paid TV providers.

TiVo Bolt OTA

The Bolt OTA is nearly identical functionally to the $299.99, 150-hour (1TB) TiVo Bolt Vox (the voice-remote-equipped version of the TiVo Bolt); the only difference is that it does not have a Cablecard slot. Instead, the Bolt OTA's four tuners can only tune to over-the-air digital broadcasts. It can display HD broadcast content, and supports 4K video through streaming services like Amazon Video, Netflix, and YouTube.

It includes the TiVo Vox voice remote for voice searches, and supports multi-room and outside-the-home video streaming with TiVo Mini boxes and the TiVo mobile app, respectively. TiVo also recently added support for voice controls through Amazon Alexa for users with Amazon Echos.

TiVo is targeting cord cutting "regretters"—those who left their paid TV service in favor of streaming video and now miss the benefits of live, local TV. According to TiVo's internal research, 25 percent of paid TV service subscribers are currently considering cord cutting to save money, and the Bolt OTA is designed to appeal to those users who make the move but still want to enjoy live TV. OTA broadcasts are, of course, free to anyone with a tuner and an antenna.

The Bolt OTA will be $249.99 starting Sept. 28, but its subscription fee makes it even more appealing. Standard TiVo service that supports paid TV providers is $14.99 per month or $149.99 per year. TiVo service for the Bolt OTA that supports only OTA broadcasts will only be $6.99 per month or $69.99 per year. That is a significant discount, saving a total of $130 after the first year from a standard TiVo Bolt Vox and subscription. Of course, the trade-off is that it cannot work if you decide to subscribe to cable or satellite service.

About Our Expert

Will Greenwald

Will Greenwald

Principal Writer, Consumer Electronics

My Experience

I’m PCMag’s home theater and AR/VR expert, and your go-to source of information and recommendations for game consoles and accessories, smart displays, smart glasses, smart speakers, soundbars, TVs, and VR headsets. I’m an ISF-certified TV calibrator and THX-certified home theater technician, I've served as a CES Innovation Awards judge, and while Bandai hasn’t officially certified me, I’m also proficient at building Gundam plastic models up to MG-class. I also enjoy genre fiction writing, and my urban fantasy novel, Alex Norton, Paranormal Technical Support, is currently available on Amazon.

The Technology I Use

Where to start? I have a standard IT-issued Lenovo Thinkpad for writing and editing, supplemented with an iPad Air and an 8Bitdo Retro Keyboard when I want to write on the go. I also have a Lenovo Legion Go as a platform for running Portrait Displays’ Calman software and controlling the Klein K-10A colorimeter, Murideo SIX-G signal generator, and Leo Bodnar 4K Video Signal Lag Tester I use for testing TVs. 

For gaming, I use a Nintendo Switch 2, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X, and a GeForce 5080-equipped MSI gaming laptop. I like collecting retro games as well, and have an Analogue Pocket and a ton of classic consoles and portables. Photography is another interest, and I use a Sony A7 IV when I’m shooting products and events, and a Fujifilm X-Pro3 for my own attempts at visual creativity. And for reading and writing, I’ve become partial to the Kobo Sage for books and the ReMarkable 2 with Type Folio.

When it comes to phones and tablets, I’m pretty platform-agnostic. I use a Google Pixel 8 for my phone and an iPad Air for a tablet. Android, iOS, and iPadOS are all totally fine, but I need a Windows PC. MacOS just isn’t for me.

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