help! tivo bolt a disaster-

Whatever the TiVo receives you should be able to record. Also it records the raw stream so it should be the exact same quality live or recorded.

 

If you already returned the unit, there isn't much folks can do to help you resolve your issues. Perhaps it would have been better to ask first before returning the unit?

 

Easier to join and troll a forum

 

Here let me just put my cart in front of my horse.... Afterward I will close the barn door after said horse is gone.

 

Regarding "blocked" channels, it sounds like your CableCARD wasn't properly paired with your cable provider, or your provider may also require a Tuning Adapter for SDV (Switched Digital Video) paired with the CableCARD-equipped DVR -- but that's just a guess since you didn't mention your provider or whether you'd done anything more than physically connect the BOLT to the cable coax.

As for picture quality, you said nothing about the signal source for the "large picture Samsung" against which you're comparing the BOLT. Was the Samsung also fed a direct cable TV signal, fed via a cable provider set-top box, or was it connected to an OTA antenna?

There could be much that people here might offer as suggestions, but everything in your post following the "help!" in the subject line reads as a rant, not a request for assistance -- nor did you indicate any interest in giving the technology another try.

 

As others have said, a properly configured Tivo will record anything and everything included in your particular cable service, without restriction. The playback quality is identical to the original. If either of those were not true in your case, something was mis-configured..... on the Tivo, your TV or at your cable provider.... or all three.

Did you obtain, install and configure a cable card from your cable provider? Most cable providers these days require a cable card (obtained from the cable company and installed in the Tivo) in order to properly receive and decode encrypted cable channels. If you did not install a cable card, you would not be able to receive some or all of your channel lineup on most cable systems.

Tivo is not a perfect company and their support is less than stellar these days. As far as troubleshooting is concerned, many inhabitants of this forum provide better support than Tivo But your particular issues should have been easily resolvable, even by Tivo support.

My suggestion would be to figure out what went wrong and then try again if you really want a great DVR. If you can't get anywhere with Tivo support, give this forum (and a dose of patience) a try before you give up. But we will need more detailed information from you before we can figure out what went wrong.

Paul

 

No wonder it didn't work. You can't "tape" anything with a TiVo. Since there is no slot for a tape to be inserted.

 

Reads like the op "obtained" a TiVo and connected it without reading up on it.
"I called customer service I was told that somehow I had no info in their system and so had to start all over again."
Sounds like he didn't have TiVo service in which case he didn't get as far as he is suggesting, reads like B/S to me.

 

The troll went back under his bridge long ago.

 

They installed it somewhere other than your house? Sounds like they didn't know what they were doing. Tivo has very clear instructions on how to install and configure cablecards here.

 

Do you mean you took your TiVo to Optimum and they installed it there or do you mean you took the card home and the installed it for you?

If they installed at the store, it is possible it was a different head-end from the one in your house. Normally you would install at your home and have them verify the channels work.

Your additional descriptions make it likely the CableCARD was not paired properly, which means certain high value content with copy protection flags set might not view or record properly. It won't be immediately obvious because most channels will not require proper pairing to work, only some movie and maybe sports channels.

As to why your picture looks fuzzy, Optimum (and most cable companies) send out SD and HD versions of the same channel. Optimum set top boxes will automatically tune to the HD channel even if you tune to the SD channel. One TiVo's when you type the same channel # as the Optimum box it might go to the SD version. You should be able to press the Green D button to switch to the HD version, or you can type the HD channel directly, which is usually in the 7xx range. For example if 5 is Fox, 705 would be HD Fox.

 

That link be busted.

Looks like a space slipped-in up front...

https://www.tivo.com/assets/files_assets/CableCARDInstall_FinalPDF.pdf

 

I hate to hear stories like this.
The other day, my wife's Roamio had a different channel lineup on 22-1 to 22-7. The game show was on the channel that was supposed to be Walker-Texas Ranger- my Bolt was OK- hmm?. I unplugged her Tivo and rebooted it- the channel line up issue was fixed. That said, the new Tivos are not plug and forget boxes, unlike my original Series 2 box. I have no idea what caused the Roamio to have channel issues.