[dougdingle]

How can you all do that anymore unless you pay through the nose for AD Free Streaming.

You can make a choice to pay more for no ads, or less for content with ads. I chose no ads on the services where I had a choice. I do not subscribe to or use streaming services where there is only ad-based content available for now, although I'm considering YouTubeTV, which is ad-based only. I don't consider an extra $5/month to be 'paying through the nose'. You pay the $5/month extra per service, or you watch ads.

Shouldn't consumers unite to convince Congress and the Agencies to allow TiVo or similar to compete in the market as uniquely being able to capture cable or some stream tiles without ads?

Totally unrealistic. Never, ever going to happen.

And nothing is currently legally able to capture streaming content locally (at your house) from services where you have to pay for the stream.

But the good part is that you don't need your complex current setup to feed a bunch of sets. I have a Roamio and four Minis, and when I walk away from TiVo later this year, I can just put a $30 Amazon FireStick4K at every set and have the same content available everywhere. No recording of content, but most of it is always available so it's not an issue for me.

 

[cwoody222]

The L-TWC dedicated CableCARD support group (which I believe was based in upstate NY due to the legacy of the Newhouse family) were, as you say, excellent. Sometime after the acquisition of L-TWC, and the (somewhat later) subsuming of the L-TWC CSR's into the Charter customer service approaches the dedicated number then forwarded to the general CSR pool, and that previous CableCARD group was (rumored) to be initially moved to a dedicated higher level tech support (no longer directly contactable by customers), and likely some moved to general CSR support (as while CableCARDs still exist, the numbers are small, and getting smaller).

I don’t know what “L-TWC” means but yes, their CC support was based in Buffalo.

 

[cwoody222]

Shouldn't consumers unite to convince Congress and the Agencies to allow TiVo or similar to compete in the market as uniquely being able to capture cable or some stream tiles without ads?

Tivo is allowed to do whatever they want to complete. No one is stopping them.

 

[NashGuy]

I used to have many more....now down to 4 tvs. No more than 2 simultaneous watchers 1080p or 4k. Can store 600 hours. 120 is enough. No stitching at this time. Need all rhe CBS and NBC secondary nets + AMC. Getting all from cable w/out commercials. Hate trouble bypassing commercials. Using 2 Premiers lifetime. Also wired rf to go to as many screens as remotes using pro grade RF switcher. Gonna miss the set up when we move in September

I'm not sure what you mean by "CBS and NBC secondary nets".

How long do you need to store your recordings? If you're OK with your recordings automatically deleting after 9 months, then you might be OK using a streaming cable TV service with cloud DVR such as YouTube TV or DirecTV Stream, both of which offer all the big 5 locals (ABC, NBC, CBS, Fox, PBS), plus lots of popular cable nets including AMC, starting at $65/mo for YouTube TV or $70/mo for DirecTV Stream. You use their apps for Roku, Apple TV, Fire TV, or Android TV to access live and recorded TV. DirecTV Stream also optionally sells their own custom streaming box with cable-like voice remote for either $120 new or $50 refurbished; you get a 12-month warranty either way. You don't rent those boxes, you buy them to keep.

If you need to keep your recordings indefinitely, or for some reason need to be able to store them on a local hard drive in your home, then I would encourage you to consider combining either Spectrum cable TV or a streaming cable TV service (e.g. DirecTV Stream) with Channels DVR, which does offer one-click ad-skipping in recordings. (Services like YouTube TV and DirecTV Stream do not offer one-click ad-skipping but you can manually fast forward through ads in your cloud DVR recordings.) If you go this route, you would watch live and recorded TV in the Channels app for Apple TV, Fire TV or Android TV. (They do not have a Roku app.) In addition to your cable service, you'll need to pay $8/mo or $80/yr for Channels DVR, with its server software running on your PC, Mac or NAS, where it will store your local DVR recordings on that device's hard drive (either internal or external USB).

Channels — Live TV & DVR

Watch and record your favorite programs on every TV and device. A joy to use and simple to set up.

getchannels.com

About Channels DVR ad-skip feature:

Commercial Skipping

Learn, get started, and get help with Channels.

getchannels.com

One other note: in some areas and with some pay TV providers, Channels cannot stream your local major network stations (ABC, NBC, CBS, Fox, CW) via TV everywhere log-in. If that were the case for you, you would need to add an OTA antenna and an HD HomeRun OTA tuner (starting at about $100) to your Channels DVR set-up, which does add some extra expense and complexity. But assuming you get good antenna reception at your location, it's not a big deal.

 

[PaulGfromLA]

Tivo is allowed to do whatever they want to complete. No one is stopping them.

Charter has a monopoly on the last mile to your house. TiVo (and others) have been permitted to hitch hike on that cable or Fiber (rare) by the FCC. Once cable cards lose support the monopoly (IMO) is restored.

 

[PaulGfromLA]

I'm not sure what you mean by "CBS and NBC secondary nets".

How long do you need to store your recordings? If you're OK with your recordings automatically deleting after 9 months, then you might be OK using a streaming cable TV service with cloud DVR such as YouTube TV or DirecTV Stream, both of which offer all the big 5 locals (ABC, NBC, CBS, Fox, PBS), plus lots of popular cable nets including AMC, starting at $65/mo for YouTube TV or $70/mo for DirecTV Stream. You use their apps for Roku, Apple TV, Fire TV, or Android TV to access live and recorded TV. DirecTV Stream also optionally sells their own custom streaming box with cable-like voice remote for either $120 new or $50 refurbished; you get a 12-month warranty either way. You don't rent those boxes, you buy them to keep.

If you need to keep your recordings indefinitely, or for some reason need to be able to store them on a local hard drive in your home, then I would encourage you to consider combining either Spectrum cable TV or a streaming cable TV service (e.g. DirecTV Stream) with Channels DVR, which does offer one-click ad-skipping in recordings. (Services like YouTube TV and DirecTV Stream do not offer one-click ad-skipping but you can manually fast forward through ads in your cloud DVR recordings.) If you go this route, you would watch live and recorded TV in the Channels app for Apple TV, Fire TV or Android TV. (They do not have a Roku app.) In addition to your cable service, you'll need to pay $8/mo or $80/yr for Channels DVR, with its server software running on your PC, Mac or NAS, where it will store your local DVR recordings on that device's hard drive (either internal or external USB).

Channels — Live TV & DVR

Watch and record your favorite programs on every TV and device. A joy to use and simple to set up.

getchannels.com

About Channels DVR ad-skip feature:

Commercial Skipping

Learn, get started, and get help with Channels.

getchannels.com

One other note: in some areas and with some pay TV providers, Channels cannot stream your local major network stations (ABC, NBC, CBS, Fox, CW) via TV everywhere log-in. If that were the case for you, you would need to add an OTA antenna and an HD HomeRun OTA tuner (starting at about $100) to your Channels DVR set-up, which does add some extra expense and complexity. But assuming you get good antenna reception at your location, it's not a big deal.

My bad generality...the secondary networks (nets) I was referring to are USA, CNBC, MSNBC. AMC, A&E, Sundance, TBS etc. Using my Premieres and Hard Drives. I can capture up to 4 simultaneous programs and watch then weeks or monrths later..same with Dodge Baseball and HBO and SHOW with my current cable card package in the LA Metro. I can add add on the other Premiere input all channels captured OTA with my roof antenna. I can also use my Roku Soectrum (tile or channel) to back into Channel 1 or "on Demand". Streaming I subscribe to also can be stored using TiVo. What should I do when the Monopoly provider of cable to my house cuts my TiVo cards?

 

[dianebrat]

Charter has a monopoly on the last mile to your house. TiVo (and others) have been permitted to hitch hike on that cable or Fiber (rare) by the FCC. Once cable cards lose support the monopoly (IMO) is restored.

Charter has a monopoly in the location you are discussing, and that at its heart is the issue.
Far too few communities have competitive delivery systems, I'm lucky in that I can choose from 2 separate Cable providers and Verizon FiOS

 

[cwoody222]

Charter has a monopoly on the last mile to your house. TiVo (and others) have been permitted to hitch hike on that cable or Fiber (rare) by the FCC. Once cable cards lose support the monopoly (IMO) is restored.

Removing CC support does not remove TiVo’s freedom of ability to compete.

They can develop new technology and/or software. They can lease their services to existing companies. They can create their own IPTV service.

Tivo existed before cable cards existed. They can exist afterwards. It’s in their hands, not the government’s.

 

[cwoody222]

My bad generality...the secondary networks (nets) I was referring to are USA, CNBC, MSNBC. AMC, A&E, Sundance, TBS etc. Using my Premieres and Hard Drives. I can capture up to 4 simultaneous programs and watch then weeks or monrths later..same with Dodge Baseball and HBO and SHOW with my current cable card package in the LA Metro. I can add add on the other Premiere input all channels captured OTA with my roof antenna. I can also use my Roku Soectrum (tile or channel) to back into Channel 1 or "on Demand". Streaming I subscribe to also can be stored using TiVo. What should I do when the Monopoly provider of cable to my house cuts my TiVo cards?

Tivo does not store your streaming shows. It simply provides convenient bookmarks to help you keep a list of what you are currently watching.

If you need or prefer local storage (a HD in your home) for your cable channel recordings, you’ll need a cable DVR or something like Tablo.

If local storage playback isn’t a concern, there are numerous streaming services you can consider.

 

[LoadStar]

I don’t know what “L-TWC” means but yes, their CC supportwas based in Buffalo.

Legacy TWC, I would assume.

 

[random_pawn00]

If Charter Spectrum pushes this issue, they will lose a cable TV sub. It is bad enough they just raised all rates again. Since the Charter merger with TWC, we have gone from ~$150 / month to ~$210 a month. That is without any of their boxes.

It would probably even save us money to switch to Hulu+ (already have Disney+). We keep the Tivo Bolt+ for now (lifetime guides). We also have an antenna (and HDHomeRun Quatro, Plex, and Synology DVR). Picks up more channels than Spectrum sends (with their non-optional fee) and we do not have to pay for OTA.

 

[random_pawn00]

Removing CC support does not remove TiVo’s freedom of ability to compete.

They can develop new technology and/or software. They can lease their services to existing companies. They can create their own IPTV service.

Tivo existed before cable cards existed. They can exist afterwards. It’s in their hands, not the government’s.

The problem is Spectrum is a monopoly.

Tivo will do whatever Tivo thinks is best for the continued success of Tivo. Spectrum does whatever it wants.

 

[NashGuy]

My bad generality...the secondary networks (nets) I was referring to are USA, CNBC, MSNBC. AMC, A&E, Sundance, TBS etc. Using my Premieres and Hard Drives. I can capture up to 4 simultaneous programs and watch then weeks or monrths later..same with Dodge Baseball and HBO and SHOW with my current cable card package in the LA Metro. I can add add on the other Premiere input all channels captured OTA with my roof antenna. I can also use my Roku Soectrum (tile or channel) to back into Channel 1 or "on Demand". Streaming I subscribe to also can be stored using TiVo. What should I do when the Monopoly provider of cable to my house cuts my TiVo cards?

Again, IF YOU WISH TO STORE YOUR DVR RECORDINGS INDEFINITELY ON HARD DRIVES INSIDE YOUR OWN HOME, my suggestion to you is that do the following two things:

1. Figure out which pay TV service offers all the channels you care about for the cheapest amount of money. The best place to do that is the following website. Just type in your zip code, select all of your "must-have" channels and it will show you your options and how much they cost.

Suppose... you could design your perfect TV service

Suppose lets you select your favorite TV channels, searches billions of combinations of cable, satellite and streaming TV services, and finds the best for you.

www.suppose.tv

2. Decide on a hardware set-up that will allow you to pair the TV service you selected in step 1 with Channels DVR, which will record your streaming cable "TV Everywhere" channels and, if you want, can also record local OTA TV channels from your antenna if you buy an HDHomeRun tuner. Be aware that you'll need a Windows PC, Mac or NAS to run the Channels software on, but hopefully you already have one in your home (doesn't need to be a late model, powerful computer, old and cheap is usually fine). You can read up on how to set up and use Channels DVR here:

Channels — Live TV & DVR

Watch and record your favorite programs on every TV and device. A joy to use and simple to set up.

getchannels.com

If you want to buy an HDHomeRun tuner to record from your antenna, go to the link below and click the "OTA Promo" icon on the screen. You'll want to choose between the FlexDuo model for $110 (has 2 ATSC 1.0 tuners), the FlexQuatro for $155 (has 4 ATSC 1.0 tuners), or the Flex 4K model for $200 (has 4 tuners total, including both ATSC 1.0 and 3.0). Note that you can also buy used ones on eBay for less (which is what I did):

SiliconDust SHOP – SiliconDust – HDHomeRun®

 

[random_pawn00]

Again, IF YOU WISH TO STORE YOUR DVR RECORDINGS INDEFINITELY ON HARD DRIVES INSIDE YOUR OWN HOME, my suggestion to you is that do the following two things:

1. Figure out which pay TV service offers all the channels you care about for the cheapest amount of money. The best place to do that is the following website. Just type in your zip code, select all of your "must-have" channels and it will show you your options and how much they cost.

Suppose... you could design your perfect TV service

Suppose lets you select your favorite TV channels, searches billions of combinations of cable, satellite and streaming TV services, and finds the best for you.

www.suppose.tv

2. Decide on a hardware set-up that will allow you to pair the TV service you selected in step 1 with Channels DVR, which will record your streaming cable "TV Everywhere" channels and, if you want, can also record local OTA TV channels from your antenna if you buy an HDHomeRun tuner. Be aware that you'll need a Windows PC, Mac or NAS to run the Channels software on, but hopefully you already have one in your home (doesn't need to be a late model, powerful computer, old and cheap is usually fine). You can read up on how to set up and use Channels DVR here:

Channels — Live TV & DVR

Watch and record your favorite programs on every TV and device. A joy to use and simple to set up.

getchannels.com

If you want to buy an HDHomeRun tuner to record from your antenna, go to the link below and click the "OTA Promo" icon on the screen. You'll want to choose between the FlexDuo model for $110 (has 2 ATSC 1.0 tuners), the FlexQuatro for $155 (has 4 ATSC 1.0 tuners), or the Flex 4K model for $200 (has 4 tuners total, including both ATSC 1.0 and 3.0). Note that you can also buy used ones on eBay for less (which is what I did):

SiliconDust SHOP – SiliconDust – HDHomeRun®

Are they going to add a Roku Channels app?

 

[Hamstring]

Does anyone really need a dvr anymore?

 

[dianebrat]

Does anyone really need a dvr anymore?

Yes..

 

[slowbiscuit]

Absolutely, if you want the best playback experience. Most streaming apps SUCK compared to playing a show from Tivo. Quickplay has been invaluable for me, frex, and I think that only some YouTube apps offer it across all streamers.

 

[slowbiscuit]

The problem is Spectrum is a monopoly.

Tivo will do whatever Tivo thinks is best for the continued success of Tivo. Spectrum does whatever it wants.

His point was that the HSI carrier is irrelevant in a world of IPTV, and Tivo can choose to play in that space or not when their DVRs stop working.

 

[random_pawn00]

His point was that the HSI carrier is irrelevant in a world of IPTV, and Tivo can choose to play in that space or not when their DVRs stop working.

And what? I said Tivo will do whatever it decides to do.

 

[dougdingle]

Does anyone really need a dvr anymore?

Gosh, your Interwebs connection must be up 100% of the time, rain or shine.

The rest of us here like to have offline storage for those times when it goes in the toilet.