Cord Cutter Needs Help

1754 Views 9 Replies 6 Participants Last post by Logan1999, Aug 28, 2011

Logan1999

Discussion Starter · Aug 25, 2011

Hi All,

I’m a new user thinking about purchasing a TiVo Premiere (non XL). Some background on me to give you an idea of what I want to accomplish: I’m a cord cutter as mentioned in the thread title. I have a connected Samsung Blu-ray Player, an Apple TV and a Macbook Air I can connect via HDMI. I subscribe to Netflix and Hulu Plus and also have access to HBO/MAX Go, EPIXHD and Crackle. I have access to more content than I could ever watch, so I canceled my little used Total Home DVR (that I was paying over $100/mo for).

Now that football is back, that is the only thing I’m missing. I don’t want to set up an ugly indoor antenna, so unfortunately OTA is out of the question. I already did a pro job routing cables for my current setup and I don’t want to open everything back up to route a coaxial cable to the built-in ATSC Tuner in the TV and an optical cable from the TV to the receiver.

So what I am thinking about doing is buying a TiVo Premiere and that could just plug in seamlessly to my HDMI A/V Receiver and I will just get the basic $20 package with my cable company. So that way I’ll get all the broadcast football and maintain the digital audio/video integrity.

Now for my questions:
• Can I buy and use the TiVo Premiere without service for this purpose? I basically just want an external ATSC tuner with HDMI video/audio output and the TiVo Premiere is the cheapest one. I don’t care about the guide, searching, advanced DVR functions, etc.

• Can I still have access to the internet applications (Netflix, Hulu Plus, Blockbuster, etc.) without a subscription? My blu-ray player has them, so it’s not a big deal, but it would be nice to be able to not have to switch between devices every time.

Thanks in advance!

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dwit

· #2 · Aug 25, 2011

Yes, without a subscription, you can use the Premiere merely as a tuner, with all the limitations you listed(no guide, recordings, etc).

No, without a subscription, you will have no internet, or networking capabilities of a Tivo.

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dwit

· #3 · Aug 25, 2011

ferrumpneuma said:
I think I have read here that an un subbed TiVo will nag about the lack of subscription.

It does, but that does not mean you can't do it. And the nagging can be minimized. It's just a message in the channel banner and/or if you try to utilize Tivo functions. Personal experience.

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kturcotte

· #4 · Aug 25, 2011

When you purchase a Premiere though, aren't you agreeing to a service plan (Monthly, yearly, lifetime)? Will they go back and charge his card for the service?

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facted

· #5 · Aug 25, 2011

Just as some added info, you don't need the basic cable subscription or the ugly OTA antenna. Look up the "paper-thin-leaf" antenna on amazon. does a great job and if put in the right place can be barely noticeable. If you get it from amazon and it doesn't work for you, they have a great return policy and you won't be out anything.

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dwit

· #6 · Aug 25, 2011

kturcotte said:
When you purchase a Premiere though, aren't you agreeing to a service plan (Monthly, yearly, lifetime)? Will they go back and charge his card for the service?

In short, no.

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atmuscarella

· #7 · Aug 25, 2011

kturcotte said:
When you purchase a Premiere though, aren't you agreeing to a service plan (Monthly, yearly, lifetime)? Will they go back and charge his card for the service?

If you buy it from any place but TiVo.com you do not have to buy service. If you order from TiVo.com they will not sell it to you without service.

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Logan1999

Discussion Starter · #8 · Aug 26, 2011

Thanks for the help guys. I think I'm going to pull the trigger on buying it and I'll mess around with an antenna and depending on how much I actually watch maybe I'll spring for cable.

Side note I do have the leaf antenna, but I moved it over to my girlfriend's house, who I also helped cut the cord. Unfortunately for me I had to run about 15' of coaxial cable and tape it up to the sliding glass patio door in order to get CBS (which I need for football). The tower is about 20 miles north and the door (only "window" in the living room) is facing south :-( It made me think of Married with Children when they had to get into "Fox viewing position" with their rabbit ears and tin foil, haha.

Works perfectly at her place though. Her TV is on a TV stand and we have it taped up to the wall behind the TV and put a painting over it so all you see is a bit of the cable. She's more like 10 miles away though with a north facing window.

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jrfuda

· #9 · Aug 26, 2011

I've been over the air only (plus internet TV) for over a year. I have 4 Premeirs with lifetime. I really enjoy them, but if I had to do it all over again, I would by 4 x Channel Master CM-7000PAL DVRs and 4 x Rokus. I have two of the non-DVR versions of the CM-7000PAL (called a Dish/Echostar DTVPAL), and they work great. It downloads all its guide info over the air and never misses a beat. I also have 2 Rokus that work perfectly for Netflix, Hulu and Amazon. Now, buying the DVRs and Rokus will set you back $400+ per set (DVR & Roku). So, look at how long you'd have the DVR/TiVo before you'd want to upgrade and figure out which will be cheaper in the long run. If you think you'll be upgrading hardware every 3 years or so, then a TiVo with sub may be a better deal.

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Logan1999

Discussion Starter · #10 · Aug 28, 2011

Well, I just had a very happy discovery. I'm a Cox cable customer for internet only and I was reading some other forums because I wanted to see what QAM channels were available with the "TV Starter" package (23 channel basic cable) and it turns out if you're an Internet subscriber you can receive the unencrypted QAM channels for free! I am guessing there is no way for them to filter it out if you are receiving internet. So I don't have to mess with an antenna or pay the $20/mo for basic cable since it's already "included" with the internet. Something for others with internet only service to check out!

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