My wife and I have kids so we frequently miss the first 20 minutes of a programs that start around their bedtime. On the other hand, we have a lot of trouble watching VCR taped programs later due to lack of time.
The ideal solution would be to time-shift the start of a program and just “catch-up” during the broadcast by skipping the commercials during playback. Pausing live TV while dealing with kid issues would also be nice.
So - at first I thought about building a PVR - and still may - but this week I saw a ad for a 40-hour Tivo for a mere $199. That’s less than my home-built costs and the packaging would be nicer.
I don’t care about having the TV schedule - nor am I real thrilled with having my viewing habits monitored (even in aggregate). Mostly, I want a hi-tech VCR function with time-shifting ability.
So - can I buy the $199 Tivo and not subscribe to the service?
The Tivo service you pay for provides your Tivo with the firmware updates as well as the channel directory service that allows for recording.
The way a Tivo works, you can’t just say “record channel 7 at 5pm”. When you select channel 7, it displays the program that is it recording. Part of the plus is should the program be rescheduled it can track and record it for you at the new date/time.
To recieve the firmware update, the Tivo is hooked to a phone line. This line allows it to download upgrades to the interface as well as programming information.
Should you choose to not pay the subscription fee, they simply turn off the Tivo’s program directory function which in effect renders it useless for recording.
At least that’s how the models I have had work. I’ve never used mine separate from a Sat dish however to YMMV.
Sure you can. TiVo calls this useful feature “record by time and channel.”
However, I don’t know if the unit will work properly without the subscription. It certainly means that the more useful features (season passes and suggestions) will not work.
FWIW, you can purchase a lifetime subcription for $300. You can switch from monthly to lifetime, so you can try it out for a few months before comitting.
You absolutely can use a Tivo to record strictly by time and channel. I did it recently when Tivo had the wrong channel number in their database for a network that I wanted to record. I just told it to record channel 49 from 2 PM to 3 PM. The only thing missing is the description of the show in the “Now Playing” list. You can tell it to record a given channel at a given time every week if you want to, but of course it won’t know if the showing has been moved or cancelled.
I can build my own device for maybe ~$250 if I reuse some in-house parts and perhaps another $250 if I start from scratch.
Yeah - a Tivo plus a lifeteim plan gets close to the $500 total but I can upgrade my PVR over time and keep it current. The Tivo lifetime subscription is not your lifetime but rather the lifetime of the unit itself.
Sorry, the only tivos that worked at all with no sub, to manually record by time and channel, were the series 1 units that shipped with v1.3 software. Even those would pop up a nag screen demanding you subscribe it every time you tried to do something.
I have one of the first-generation, non-satellite TiVo’s, but friends confirm this is true for all non-satellite TiVos.
When you stop paying (or run out of channel guide data, because you forget to connect the phone cable occasionally), all you lose is the channel guide.
You can still record programs manually, pause live TV, and all that. All that changes is that, when you press the “Guide” button, all the channels display “To Be Announced” instead of something more descriptive.
This may be different for the satellite models (I think they get their channel guide info through the dish, not the phone line).
IIRC you can’t do that without the subscription. I think without a subscription, all you can do is pause live TV for up to 1/2 hour. This is with the Series 2 TiVos though. I think the older TiVo’s (Series 1) you can do what your looking for without a subscription. Also you can find them on Ebay (alot of them will even have a lifetime subscription already on them). Go over to www.TiVocommunity.com, they can tell you what you need to do what you want.
Have you considered switching to Dish Network? I don’t know their current promos, but I’m paying ~$45 a month for the “top 100” channels and my locals on two receivers. Last I looked, it’s cheaper than the local cable TV. The PVR service is a freebie, as was the PVR-enhanced receiver.
I’m surprised that nobody sells a non-subscription device that simply has no channel guide, and works like a VCR. Sounds like there might be a market for it.
Turns out RCA does: RCA DRC7005N. This Amazon listing says it’s not released yet but a google search for it showed for sale with immediate shipment available. Buy.com has it for $279 with a $40 rebate right now. It’s also a progressive scan DVD player.
I suggest something like this, which has a hard disk and DVD recorder. You need a combination like this so you can offload programs and build a collection. This model throws in some standard video interface as well, so you can transfer old home videos to optical disc.
Belrix, I was going to ask this exact same question (of course, I was going to do it in a much more intriguing, sophisticated, and enthralling manner ), but you beat me to it.
Luckily you did, as that RCA DVR/DVD player you found (oddly enough, answering your own question) looks great (on paper…), and even uses the advanced concept of NUMBER buttons to set time, channel, and date (as opposed to futzing around with stupid arrow keys - an irritation only surpassed in my mind by excessive corporate welfare, too-low speed limits, and mindless fools blocking aisles).
And no fricking monthly charges for the same thing my local newspaper TV guide provides (oh yes, I forgot the demographic surveying), I must give you a ‘cool smilie’ as a gold star reward
You might want to check on tivocommunity.com. IT was my understanding that the newest Tivo have a “free subscription” option which I thought was a 3 day guide and no season passes.
), but you beat me to it.