New to Tivo & Need Help

[flashfeld]

I've never used Tivo, but a friend has offered to sell me her brand new in the box but about 2 years old Tivo that she never installed.

My question: can I use this as a standalone DVR without subscribing?

The posts are not clear to me on this issue. Could someone please explain whether or not this is possible?

Many thanks.

[funtoupgrade]

Depends. What is the manufacturer and model number of the unit?

[jjberger2134]

TiVo Basic is free and comes with combo units from Toshiba and Pioneer. Although the word "free" sounds wonderful, there are catches. TiVo Basic is a stripped down version of the standard TiVo service which is otherwise known as TiVo Plus. In other words, Basic only provides the Basic recording capablilities with no availability of Multi Room viewing, 14 day scheduling, etc.

Older Series 1 units as well as the units mentioned above are basically digital VCR's and do not need an active subscription. Any standard Series 2 unit will need a subscription to function properly.

[NurseDivo]

I don't know anything about any of the DVR stuff, but would like to learn. Is there any advantage to going with a Tivo subscription rather than buying a non-Tivo DVR with a hard drive? In other words, what are the benefits to paying for a subscription? One other question, should I spend as much money as I can afford and buy a fancy DVR with hard drive and burner or just go basic? Thanks!

[ThreeSoFar]

A refurb'd 40 hour TiVo direct from TiVo.com is now going for $30 when you subscribe it. That's an accurate reflection of the value of a TiVo without service activation--next to nothing.

[classicsat]

You get a better guide with a subbed TiVo's internet delivered guide, rather than the VBI delivered guide of most other standalone DVRs, plus better automatic recording features, not to mention the networking and transfer features it has.