Tech review: TiVo's latest model makes it easier to bolt from cable

The first thing you'll notice about the TiVo Bolt is its odd shape _ it looks like someone bent the case in an industrial press.

In a call with the Bolt's product manager, I asked why the case was not level. I said it wouldn't play nice in my home theater cabinet because it would be difficult to stack other components on top of it.

I was told that the unique shape helps keep the Bolt cool as air is drawn in from the bottom and that the Bolt was designed to be the only box in your TV cabinet.

I guess he was right.

The Bolt and the new Bolt+ are TiVo's latest models that are designed to replace your cable box/DVR and your streaming box (Apple TV, Roku).

One box to rule them all.

I've used TiVo boxes on and off through the years when my TV service offered them, but lately TiVo has concentrated on cable TV systems.

I can't use a TiVo box with my U-Verse service, but cable and FiOS customers can use a Bolt or Bolt+ instead of their cable box by installing a cable card. Just tell your cable or FiOS company you want a cable card instead of a box.

The card slips into a slot inside the Bolt.

But wait, there's more.

Every time I do a cord-cutting article, people write in to ask me about recording options.

The Bolt has over-the-air tuners so you can watch and record over-the-air, high-definition local channels.

So the Bolt is great for cable or FiOS customers and for cord cutters.

The TiVo Bolt has four tuners and a 500-gigabyte or 1-teraybyte hard drive, so you can record up to four shows at once.

The Bolt+ has six tuners and a 3-TB hard drive, but the Bolt+ loses the OTA tuner. It's cable or FiOS-only.

Both Bolt models can record and play back 4K programming.

TiVo has always been known for making the best-looking, easy-to-use user interface for watching and recording TV. Its guide data and on-screen menus are hard to beat.

And if being a TiVo with over-the-air recording isn't enough, the Bolt and Bolt+ are also streaming boxes that let you watch Netflix, Hulu, Amazon, HBO Go and lots of other content.

So, let's review _ cable recording, over-the-air recording, streaming content. Sounds good.

This really could be the only box you need.

What else does it do?

TiVo hasn't been just happy to make a DVR _ it added some truly interesting features to make watching TV more enjoyable.