I'm about to cut-the-cord on my cable. Can no longer afford the bloated cost for a bunch of channels I don't watch. Since I mainly watch only network television, I wanted to purchase a DVR that will record my favorite network shows while I'm at work. Right now, based on the research I've done, it appears that Tablo and TiVo are probably the best DVR systems on the market? Does anyone here have a DVR without cable service? If so, any suggestions?

[Edited 6/9/15 10:17am]

kitbradley said:

I'm about to cut-the-cord on my cable. Can no longer afford the bloated cost for a bunch of channels I don't watch. Since I mainly watch only network television, I wanted to purchase a DVR that will record my favorite network shows while I'm at work. Right now, based on the research I've done, it appears that Tablo and TiVo are probably the best DVR systems on the market? Does anyone here have a DVR without cable service? If so, any suggestions?

[Edited 6/9/15 10:17am]

If you have an internet connected TV, have you thought about Hulu plus? For $7 dollars a month you can watch all the network shows whenever you want without a cable suscription. I cut the cord a few years ago and have never looked back. Hulu plus and Netflix offer a lot of viewing on a budget.

I used Tivo without cable before. If you get good OTA reception then you'll have no problems with it. They offer a 2 or 4 tuner OTA compatible DVR if you want to record 4 of the 5 networks (or local shit) at the same time. Get yourself a long ethernet cable to connect to your internet, don't waste money on their expensive wireless adapter.


Hulu Plus does not offer CBS, live television, or the ability to 30 second skip/5 second rewind commercials, get a Tivo.

Wait, doesn't cable provide the regular network channels too? We recently got rid of the cable shows like HBO and Showtime but we still have regular cable.

Just trying to figure this out, I may want to go that route too if you still have network even when you cancel your cable.

^ You need an antenna. An antenna on the roof is recommended, rabbit ears can be a pain and drop in and out. People over the age of 45 think that a new TV with a digital tuner has an antenna in it. No, that just means it receives the digital stations. (ie 2.1, 6.1, 8.1 which are ABC, CBS, and NBC in the Portland Market.) I know a lot of people in suburbs that just go without live TV or subscribe to limited basic cable (20$ a month for all the locals and bunch of crap like CSPAN) because they can't get decent reception.

Oh ok. Thanks for your reply.

http://dvr-review.toptenreviews.com/

If you go the dvr route... for a couple years and still number one, Tivo.

If you aren't down with put a digital antenna on your roof... these could be an option as well.

Here's another option of cut the cord folks.

https://www.youtube.com/w...UPSTPBu63o

We use WallTenna, we recieve HD channels on free TV without issue. What's cool, you can unscrew the cable and put a longer cable on it.

You could also puchase Kodi Median Center Box... something like this CuBoxTV or a gaming consule OUYA -Kodi.

Or....

You could program a SD card, Kodi / TVaddons using a Raspberry Pi 2. This is what I use because you have more control on what you want to see and how you wish to program it. You can also use VLC to record most movies and TV shows. I know this is more technical but its worth learning... in the long run you save a lot of money.

^I have no idea what any of that stuff is from the last paragraph, can you buy them in someplace like Best Buy?

Also, what about the fire stick or Roku, would you recommend any of those things?

[Edited 6/10/15 2:41am]

wildgoldenhoney said:

^I have no idea what any of that stuff is from the last paragraph, can you buy them in someplace like Best Buy?

Also, what about the fire stick or Roku, would you recommend any of those things?

[Edited 6/10/15 2:41am]

I like Roku's also... another good choice. There are so many ways to configure meda streaming, it depends on your likes / choices and how technical you want to get or not. Another excellent option is a service called PLEX...

Plex Sub' options are...

$4.99 a month

$39.99 yearly

$149.99 lifetime

Plex Youtube

On average cable cost $160.00 month in my neck of the woods. So, Plex has all ready paid for its self in a month. Another cool thing about Plex, you can share your Sub.

I couldn't fnd any brief / overview Youtube Videos but I like these guys. The Pi they are using is an older model, it still usefull if you only have RCA connectors / sockets on your TV. Newer Raspberry Pi 2 was released a couple months ago. After you purchase the Raspberry Pi (kit will cost $69.00 Amazon) you configure the SD card and everything else is free via Kodi / TVaddons / Raspberry Pi 2.

The options or endless... nay more questions org me.

[Edited 6/10/15 6:28am]

So if I have attenna TV and I just want to record Judge Judy and People's Court while I'm at work so I can watch in the evening, TiVo is the best and cheapest route to go? I've been reading some conflicting info about TiVo. Some say you need a $15/mo subscription to utilize the recording feature on the TiVo DVR, others claim you don't need a subscription. TD3 or Hudson, can you confirm?

[Edited 6/10/15 7:01am]

kitbradley sSo if I have attenna TV and I just want to record Judge Judy and People's Court while I'm at work so I can watch in the evening, TiVo is the best and cheapest route to go? I've been reading some conflicting info about TiVo. Some say you need a $15/mo subscription to utilize the recording feature on the TiVo DVR, others claim you don't need a subscription. TD3 or Hudson, can you confirm?

You'll need need the ~$15.00/month sub to use TiVo recording features, here are all the particulars and small print for the set-up that fits your needs.

TiVo Roamio DVR - Roamio OTA (hd antenna) $49.00

TiVo been around for a mintue and still the best route to go. The options and services TiVo offers have been consistent... very good to excellent. (IMO)

==========================================

[Edited 6/12/15 10:54am]

Yes, you have to pay the monthly subscription (unless you want to pay $500 for a lifetime subscription, it can be transfered to newer models but it's a steep one time fee). I think iI pay $15.99 a month for my current service (6 turner tivo with my Comcast package).

kitbradley said:

So if I have attenna TV and I just want to record Judge Judy and People's Court while I'm at work so I can watch in the evening, TiVo is the best and cheapest route to go?

Windows Media Center does it for free, but it's being discontinued as of Windows 10. If you have a pre-10 PC and don't upgrade the OS, you can use it.

I would also think that you could buy a standalone DVR. I have an old Sony one which I'm sure could do this.

Ace said:

kitbradley said:

So if I have attenna TV and I just want to record Judge Judy and People's Court while I'm at work so I can watch in the evening, TiVo is the best and cheapest route to go?

Windows Media Center does it for free, but it's being discontinued as of Windows 10. If you have a pre-10 PC and don't upgrade the OS, you can use it.

I would also think that you could buy a standalone DVR. I have an old Sony one which I'm sure could do this.

Thanks for bring that up Ace... very true. I won't be upgrading to Windows 10 because of this. I"ve never use Windows Media Center for recording Movies / TV shows can record more than one thing at a time?

Ace said:

kitbradley said:

So if I have attenna TV and I just want to record Judge Judy and People's Court while I'm at work so I can watch in the evening, TiVo is the best and cheapest route to go?

Windows Media Center does it for free, but it's being discontinued as of Windows 10. If you have a pre-10 PC and don't upgrade the OS, you can use it.

I would also think that you could buy a standalone DVR. I have an old Sony one which I'm sure could do this.

You don't know how pissed I was when I purchased a new Toshiba laptop last year with Windows 8.1 just to find out I couldn't play a lot of my youtube videos that I downloaded on my old laptop that had Windows 7. I was then told I could add the Windows Media Center for $99! No way! Buying a DVR would be cheaper. I was told the media center upgrade was available for a short time for $10 (before I purchased my laptop) then Microsoft jacked up the price to $99. Microsoft won't get another dime out of me!

You could use VCL Media Player to play and rip DVD's, stream, and record movies / shows. I use VCL in Linux, I've yet to test VCL with OS X or Windows. There's a bit of a learning curve also. VideoLan

TD3 said:

Ace said:

Windows Media Center does it for free, but it's being discontinued as of Windows 10. If you have a pre-10 PC and don't upgrade the OS, you can use it.

I would also think that you could buy a standalone DVR. I have an old Sony one which I'm sure could do this.

Thanks for bring that up Ace... very true. I won't be upgrading to Windows 10 because of this. I"ve never use Windows Media Center for recording Movies / TV shows can record more than one thing at a time?

Maybe with more than one tuner?

Aren't most TVs today equipped with a built-in PVR? I can't say I know how the situation is in the States but in Europe most new TVs have a built-in digital tuner for over the air free channels (they can receive encrypted channels through the tuner with a module from a service provider) including a built-in Personal Video Recorder, meaning that you can connect a USB flash drive or an external hard drive and select shows from the EPG to record - no monthly fees or extra boxes that fill up your HDMI slots - if an affordable TV with these features is available in the US I would think this is the best choice