A quick video tech question if I may please?

[Mark Rios]

From what I understand, "TIVO" (and it's iterations) is a subscription based service right? You subscribe through your cable or satellite provider?

Is there a digital video box that I can go down to Costco or Circuit city and buy that will do the same thing that our old VCR's used to do without a subscrition? Or is the DVR only a subscription based format?

The property where I live has just been sold and one of the stipulations of the sale was that I would stay on and manage/maintain the property (three units). So, I finally had some cable hooked up to my house. However, they want $10 a month to rent the TIVO type box. If there is a stand alone unit without a subscription I'd rather buy one than give away my money to the cable company. The VCR's had a tuner built in. I'd be looking for a tuner in a DVR as well. Do they make these?


Thanks very much for your information.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Mark....You can still buy VCR's....Recently...I bought my wife one that records either DVD or VHS........then our 3 children bought us one that does the same thing for our anniversary......We now have one in the living room and one in the family room.....They are not DVRs however.......Not exactly like Tivo....

[Stephen Fixx]

... I'd be looking for a tuner in a DVR as well. Do they make these?
Yes, they do make them. Check this out for starters. (http://www.crutchfield.com/S-1IsYbxgNttV/cgi-bin/ProdView.asp?g=116500&I=133DMREH75)
You may record to the built-in hard drive and erase...or transfere to a recordable DVD. But the technology seems to be just recently reaching beyond TIVO and DirectTV with bigger hard drives soon on the way and hopefully prices will come down. And it has a tuner as well!

Best wishes,

Steve

[Jim Becker]

TIVO is available independently of your "cable" provider and sometimes from your provider. (COMCAST just introduced two units yesterday at CES that are "real" TIVO technology, for example) Many cable providers offer non-TIVO DVR setups as you apparently are aware. You need the box and the subscription.

What you need to be careful about is digital channels. For those, you usually need either a cable box in front of the DVR or one that accepts a "Cable Card" which is supposed to be available from your cable TV provider (by law). There may be a small fee for the cable card, depending on your cable provider. The TIVO Series 3 supposedly will accomodate two cable cards concurrently if you want that capablity.

If you only want to record analog cable, in most cases, "any" cable-ready DVR solution will work, including the PC-based options available.

[Mitchell Andrus]

Keep in mind, Tivo subscribers are really paying for the scheduling info feed. This comes in on the wired phone line. I can toss the line and record off of the satelite, but I'd get no programming grid. With Direct TV, it's a $5.95(+-) monthly charge.

[Adam Bauer]

Like what mitchell said, what you are paying for in the subscription to TIVO is the programming guide. So when you tell the TIVO to record the simpsons, it can look and know when to record. However you have to buy the TIVO unit and if it breaks and isnt still under warrany you are out of luck, or if a newer one comes out you are stuck with the old one. With the 10 dollar box from your cable company you get the unit and the guide telling you whats on and when. Additionally if it breaks at any time you just bring it back to the cable company and get a new one. Additionally when new ones come out you can usually get your box upgraded if you are paying the 10 bucks per month.

However.. if you just want to buy a unit and not pay any subscription you can. You just have to know exactly when the shows you want to record are on. Then you ahve to program the unit to record what is on on a particular channel at a particular time.

[Mark Rios]

Okay...thanks very much to those of you who very kindly posted. I think that some of you understood what I was asking. I'm sorry for not being more clear.

To summarize then please (because I AM a bonehead, don't forget), I can buy a hard disc unit, let's say like this one: http://www.amazon.com/Philips-DVDR3455H-Recorder-Instant-Replay/dp/B000G18DRU/sr=1-17/qid=1168399554/ref=sr_1_17/002-4328333-8534454?ie=UTF8&s=audio-video, and it will work/ record just like the old VCR's used to. I DON"T need any subscription to any service, I just will have to program the start and stop times like we used to do with the VCR"s. The difference in the media being a huge storage medium (hard disc) vs. a small one (VHS tape).

Did I get it right?

Here's my set-up. I merely have a coax cable connected directly to my HD plasma (with built in HD tuner), no cable box. I have basic cable...no digital upgrade, no HBO or other movie channels, etc., just basic cable. I"m only interested in being able to record regular TV like sporting events, TV shows etc. If it's analog, fine...If it's digital, fine. I just want to record whatever comes into my TV through the coax cable.

Will the above linked DVR do it for me?


Thanks again very much for your time and patience with me.

[Mitchell Andrus]

Sounds to me like you have a plan that will work like recording via a VCR in the old days. It'll work.

To get the programming info, there are many sites (DirectTV) that have the guides on-line. Manually setting recording times will work.

[Mark Rios]

Great. Thanks very much. Now I won't have to miss anymore of the playoff games. :D :D :D

[Mark Rios]

As an update, I found the exact same DVR, the one I linked to from Amazon, at Walmart for $50 less!!!! I couldn't believe that Walmart would beat out Amazon in price on an item like this. I had to pay sales tax but it was still $29 less after tax.

Anyway, thanks again to those of you that responded and helped with your explanations.