I have never used a TiVo so I am totally new. I am a coach and want to use TiVo to record my athletes, and then be able to show it to them immediately after they finish. I will not be recording TV shows and don't need channels, guides, or anything that I think is part of the service. I just want to be able to record from a video camera. I'm looking at models on ebay. Do I need activation in order to do this? Any help is appreciated. Thanks!