Bolt, a sleek DVR that skips commercials completely

[Helder]

Who the hell provides 4k video as of now anyways?

[MathUser]

I guess it would cost alot. Since it records 4k video.

[dlevere]

By Jenni Ryall


Tivo1

Taking its own flavor of ad blocking to a new level, TiVo is going to let you skip commercial breaks at the press of a button.

On Tuesday, the company announced a new DVR called TiVo Bolt, a 4K digital video recorder similar to the original TiVo but with extra functionality. These functions include being able to skip entire ad breaks of recorded shows so you can watch recorded shows 30% faster.

Speculation has been rife for months that TiVo was going to make a fresh move into the market. The original TiVo digital video recorder was released in 2009, with the company reinventing itself with the Roamio in 2013.

Using the SkipMode feature on TiVo Bolt, users can press a button and jump through the commercial break, making binging more time-efficient. There's also a QuickMode that lets you move through tedious TV shows like awards program in record speed — without audio distortion.

"The TiVo Bolt arrives at a time of piqued interest in both connected devices and commercial avoidance,” Tom Rogers, TiVo’s President and CEO, said in a statement emailed to Mashable. “The clear demand of consumers is for a TV experience that quickly delivers them exactly what they want the instant they turn on the screen. Bolt is a game-changer that will remind people of how they felt the first time they experienced digital recording."

The original TiVo gives you universal search functionality through OnePass and this will be available on the Bolt, too. Universal search allows a viewer to search for content regardless of the source — bringing in shows from cable, on-demand services like Netflix and apps, if they're supported.


The new remote control. Image: TiVo

In a cool extra feature, you can click a button on the TiVo Bolt to make your lost remote control play a song. You also don't need to point the controller at the box, allowing for easier channel-switching.

TiVo Bolt will also provide more personalization features, including recommendations from friends, selections of content from critics, and video related to your interests.

The new look TiVo is all-white, curved and smooth, which is a move away from the TiVo black boxes of yesteryear. It's also dramatically smaller in size than the previous models, which means you can hide it a little easier in your lounge room.

TiVo Bolt comes in two sizes — 500GB and 1TB, costing US $300 and US $400 respectively, which keeps the TiVo in quite a high price bracket. It will be available Sept. 30 online at TiVo.com, BestBuy.com and Amazon.com, and in stores Oct. 4th.