1 more newbie question

[filmguy]

First off let me say I know nothing but am a quick learner. I am paying for cable and all I want is to record my shows when I am not home. can I do this with a tivo without have to buy another subscription. Basicly I want a hard driver recorder with a timer and was hoping I could use the tivo. i just don't have the money for a tivo sub right now. thx for any and all info.

[TonyTheTiger]

Very simply, recording from the TV is exactly what you pay your subscription for, so no, you can't do it for free!

[RoyK]

Actually some of the older series 2 units with DVD players or recorders do have a service called TiVo Basic which is a limited subset of the full service. They will let you do what you are asking for and more with no service charge.

One example is the Toshiba SD-H400. These can sometimes be found used on Ebay.

[mattack]

You can buy a lifetime subscription for a Tivo. I realize you probably don't have money for that either at the moment, but you don't have to pay monthly. (The subscription is tied to that hardware.)

[LifeIsABeach]

There are other products which record shows to hard disks which require no subscription. Of course they normally cost about as much as a TiVo + lifetime subscription. You can get a VCR fairly cheap if you don't care about recording quality and juggling tapes. Also, most cable companies offer their own DVRs (monthly few, but no upfront cost).