I'm ready to dump my Cox boxes and DVR service and go with Tivo Bolt + minis, but I want to make sure I understand correctly what I'm getting into. I'd be grateful if any of you experienced Tivo users could confirm my understanding of how this all works.
My current situation is that I have cable service with Cox, from whom I rent 3 DVRs, and pay for DVR service on each.
So now I buy a Tivo Bolt 3TB and two Tivo Mini Voxes, and return the 3 cable boxes to Cox. I cancel the Cox DVR service and instead buy a single Tivo one-year service for $149.99 (no additional service plans necessary for the Minis).
I rent a CableCARD from Cox for $2/month, and install the card in my new Bolt.
I attach the Bolt to the TV nearest my router, establishing a MoCA network by connecting the coax cable from the wall to the Bolt, and using an ethernet cable to connect the Bolt to my router.
For the other two TVs in separate rooms, I connect the Minis to the MoCA network by connecting the cable from the wall to the Mini.
After activating and setting up the Tivo devices, I can use the DVR service on any of the 3 TVs to schedule, record, play back, etc. shows that I receive via Cox cable. Since the Bolt 3TB has 6 tuners, we can watch a different channel simultaneously on each of the three TVs, and still be able to record up to 3 additional channels at the same time.
I can continue to use Cox On Demand as described here -- https://support.tivo.com/articles/App_Information/Cox-On-DEMAND-Requirements.
I can stream or download shows to my tablet or laptop using a wireless connection.
Costs:
My current costs (from my Cox bill) are:
DVR service (qty 3) $38.97
Advanced TV HD DVR Receiver (qty 2) $17.00
Contour Receiver $ 8.50
The Contour receiver is a Cisco 8642HDC, which draws about 26 watts (about the same whether "on" or "standby"), and the other two are Motorola DCH3416, which draw about 32 watts. So we use about 67 KWH a month on the boxes -- (90 watts * 24 hours * 31 days) / 1000 = 67 KWH. Our marginal rate for electricity (delivery and generation combined) is 24 cents per KWH, so we pay about $16 a month to run the boxes -- 67 KWH * .24 = $16.08.
My new Tivo equipment uses considerably less power than my previous boxes, about 15 watts for the Bolt and about 5 watts each for the two Minis, so my monthly energy costs for DVRs is reduced from about $16 to about $4.50.
The $25.50 I was spending each month for box rental is replaced by $2/month for the CableCARD.
The $38.97/month I was paying to Cox for DVR service on each box, is replaced by $12.50 single DVR service to Tivo ($149.99 annual service divided by 12).
In summary, my overall monthly cost comparison is as follows:
Before After
Rental $25.50 $2.00
Service $38.97 $12.50
Energy $16.00 $4.50
------ ------
total $80.47 $19.00
So, I achieve a monthly savings of $61.47.
My initial outlay for equipment is $500 for the Bolt and $180 each for the two Minis, totaling $927 after sales tax. I may also want to add an extended warranty, since Tivo equipment seems to be pretty unreliable (34% 1-star reviews on Amazon). With my monthly savings, I break even after 15 months, if my new equipment lasts that long.
Please correct any misunderstanding I may have, or let me know of anything I may be missing or that would be useful to know for a new Tivo user.
Thanks,
RW
My current situation is that I have cable service with Cox, from whom I rent 3 DVRs, and pay for DVR service on each.
So now I buy a Tivo Bolt 3TB and two Tivo Mini Voxes, and return the 3 cable boxes to Cox. I cancel the Cox DVR service and instead buy a single Tivo one-year service for $149.99 (no additional service plans necessary for the Minis).
I rent a CableCARD from Cox for $2/month, and install the card in my new Bolt.
I attach the Bolt to the TV nearest my router, establishing a MoCA network by connecting the coax cable from the wall to the Bolt, and using an ethernet cable to connect the Bolt to my router.
For the other two TVs in separate rooms, I connect the Minis to the MoCA network by connecting the cable from the wall to the Mini.
After activating and setting up the Tivo devices, I can use the DVR service on any of the 3 TVs to schedule, record, play back, etc. shows that I receive via Cox cable. Since the Bolt 3TB has 6 tuners, we can watch a different channel simultaneously on each of the three TVs, and still be able to record up to 3 additional channels at the same time.
I can continue to use Cox On Demand as described here -- https://support.tivo.com/articles/App_Information/Cox-On-DEMAND-Requirements.
I can stream or download shows to my tablet or laptop using a wireless connection.
Costs:
My current costs (from my Cox bill) are:
DVR service (qty 3) $38.97
Advanced TV HD DVR Receiver (qty 2) $17.00
Contour Receiver $ 8.50
The Contour receiver is a Cisco 8642HDC, which draws about 26 watts (about the same whether "on" or "standby"), and the other two are Motorola DCH3416, which draw about 32 watts. So we use about 67 KWH a month on the boxes -- (90 watts * 24 hours * 31 days) / 1000 = 67 KWH. Our marginal rate for electricity (delivery and generation combined) is 24 cents per KWH, so we pay about $16 a month to run the boxes -- 67 KWH * .24 = $16.08.
My new Tivo equipment uses considerably less power than my previous boxes, about 15 watts for the Bolt and about 5 watts each for the two Minis, so my monthly energy costs for DVRs is reduced from about $16 to about $4.50.
The $25.50 I was spending each month for box rental is replaced by $2/month for the CableCARD.
The $38.97/month I was paying to Cox for DVR service on each box, is replaced by $12.50 single DVR service to Tivo ($149.99 annual service divided by 12).
In summary, my overall monthly cost comparison is as follows:
Before After
Rental $25.50 $2.00
Service $38.97 $12.50
Energy $16.00 $4.50
------ ------
total $80.47 $19.00
So, I achieve a monthly savings of $61.47.
My initial outlay for equipment is $500 for the Bolt and $180 each for the two Minis, totaling $927 after sales tax. I may also want to add an extended warranty, since Tivo equipment seems to be pretty unreliable (34% 1-star reviews on Amazon). With my monthly savings, I break even after 15 months, if my new equipment lasts that long.
Please correct any misunderstanding I may have, or let me know of anything I may be missing or that would be useful to know for a new Tivo user.
Thanks,
RW