Is there a DVR that works just like a VCR and does not require fees?

Question

I want to get a DVR like Tivo but do not want to pay any monthly fees. The unit doesn't have to have show titles and times. All it needs is for me to specify a time and channel and record that show. I don't want some hacked up home made box, computer, or anything illegal. In a nut shell, it should work just like a VCR except records to hard drive and not to any tapes. If it did have a DVD-R or VCR included in the box, that would be ok.

I looked everywere cannot believe that such a simple box doesn't exist for the North American market?

Answer 1

You can buy a used series 2 Tivo on ebay w/ Lifetime Subscription fees paid, and they usually run around $300 or so. There are never any fees because the lifetime service has been paid. You can transfer the shows you record via your home wireless network to your computer, where you can record the shows to DVD. If you want even less than that, you can buy a series 1 tivo and those don't require a subscription to tivo. Without the subscription fees paid (on the series 1 only) it will work just like a vcr. You will not be able to search by title, or view any program guide data, but only record by time and channel. If you buy that off ebay, that will cost you only about $30. To get the series 1 tivo to do similar things as the series2 tivo (transfer shows to your computer, etc.) you will have to do some hacking to it. So if you will want things like eventually recording some shows to DVC, you are probably best off with a series 2 w/ lifetime subscription fees already paid.

Answer 2

i have a DVD recorder which is pretty much like a VCR, just uses DVDs instead of VHS tapes....can use a timer to record to a DVD...if you buy a ten pack of DVD-RW discs, then you could pretty much use those like a hard drive...or a cheap stack of 50 regular DVDs costs about $15...then you can always keep the programs you record and not have to deal with transferring them to a computer, etc.....one thing though is that a lot of movie channels like HBO, showtime, etc. have copyright protection in thier programming which DVD recorders recognize, so a lot of movies you can put to a DVD. I've never had a problem with TV shows though.

Answer 3

You can build your own DVR (http://www.byopvr.com/) using SageTV (http://www.sage.tv/) which would be a one time purchase or GB-PVR (http://www.gbpvr.com/) which is free.

I found SageTV to be easier to install & use but GB-PVR id a good free alternative. Since you pay for SageTV it has a smoother installation process and the tv listings are included free. It does have the option to do timed recordings too, but why bother when you can add a program with the push of a button.

There are a number of add-ons available for SageTV as well that make it even more user friendly.