So a few months ago I got my hands on the TiVo Bolt Vox DVR and I have more joy in it then using a traditional cable box DVR from the cable company. As I mentioned it’s not for everyone especially cord cutters but if you can’t detach and want to replace your boxes from the cable providers it’s a good idea. With that being said that’s also where the Mini Vox from TiVo can come in handy as well. It is slated to give you everything you get from the Bolt Vox without the need of a cable card or even coax cable. Mini Vox is considered a companion piece to the Bolt Vox and I’ll give some explanation how.
Style/Hardware
Like the Bolt Vox before it, the Mini Vox is a slightly smaller version of it shaving off about 2ins of space. It still has the all black glossy finish with just a silver TiVo insignia in front and there is a white indicator light to let you know it’s on. On the back is ports for digital audio, HDMI, USB, Ethernet and Coax. To show you how small this is, the Bolt had an additional USB port and a E-SATA port. I like how small and minimal it looks as it sits under my TV with another peripherals. The Mini Vox comes with a remote, power plug and HDMI cable.
Setup
Seeing as the Mini Vox doesn’t use coax it has to be connected via Ethernet. I also had to connect my Bolt Vox to Ethernet too as this is how these two devices would communicate to each other. Mini Vox would go through the usual process of setup to gather the information on the device. Funny thing is it came up a couple of times where it needed to be activated. I went online to check and it already was. I put it through the setup again and it kicked in thankfully. I didn’t need to input any info as it grabbed it all from the Bolt Vox.
Software / Experience
Everything I like to do on the Bolt Vox works exactly the same on the Mini Vox. All my DVR’d shows are available, settings, apps, etc. It would have you thinking you had the Bolt in front of you. The fact it uses the same remote control makes the feeling even easier. As it is mirroring my Bolt Vox it is also picking up some of the channel issues I been having on some networks as well. Not at the fault really of TiVo so that’s fine. I have watched my usual WWE RAW and other shows and it’s been a pleasant experience.
Need a Companion Tivo?
If you are already in the TiVo ecosystem and don’t plan on leaving cable for a while the Mini Vox works out to be a good idea. While it is $179.99 it can help you on the cost of cable boxes and services over the long run. Also as mentioned in my review of the Bolt Vox you can always take your devices to another provider or give them to a family member in need.
I can more in-depth on the TiVo services and other features in my TiVo Bolt Vox Review
