Also without subscription, will I have problems setting up my fios cable card? Would I need to set up the M card with one of my subscribed tivos, then once set-up, remove the card and plug it into my nonsubscription tivo. Something like that?
Without subscription, can tivo function as non DVR box?
Without subscription, can tivo function as non DVR box?
My parents are using a STB for $10 a month by verizon. They never use the features of the guide. And I mean NEVER. They have a few channels that they watch and that's it. They don't ever "surf." They don't ever press guide, so program day and time is not important. Since tivo boxes can be had for so cheap now, below $100. I figure I can get them one without subscribing to the dvr service since they won't use it.
Is that possible? Once again, they don't care about proper guide info. They just turn on the tv, same channel, same time every day like it was the 70's. LOL!
My parents are using a STB for $10 a month by verizon. They never use the features of the guide. And I mean NEVER. They have a few channels that they watch and that's it. They don't ever "surf." They don't ever press guide, so program day and time is not important. Since tivo boxes can be had for so cheap now, below $100. I figure I can get them one without subscribing to the dvr service since they won't use it.
Is that possible? Once again, they don't care about proper guide info. They just turn on the tv, same channel, same time every day like it was the 70's. LOL!
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Yes, you can use a Tivo as you describe. It will be like a plain cable box with no guide info.Without subscription, can tivo function as non DVR box?
My parents are using a STB for $10 a month by verizon. They never use the features of the guide. And I mean NEVER. They have a few channels that they watch and that's it. They don't ever "surf." They don't ever press guide, so program day and time is not important. Since tivo boxes can be had for so cheap now, below $100. I figure I can get them one without subscribing to the dvr service since they won't use it.
Is that possible? Once again, they don't care about proper guide info. They just turn on the tv, same channel, same time every day like it was the 70's. LOL!
The cable card can be set up in the non subscribed Tivo. Normally, the cable card is paired with the Tivo that it goes in, so in swapping it to another Tivo, you would have to set it up all over again.Also without subscription, will I have problems setting up my fios cable card? Would I need to set up the M card with one of my subscribed tivos, then once set-up, remove the card and plug it into my nonsubscription tivo. Something like that?
Without a Tivo subscription, it would not even record, only watch Live TV. It would not even be considered a DVR. It would be cheaper to just get a cable box instead.
They are paying $10/mo and a Tivo can be acquired for less than $100 (=< 10 months of current set up) and a CC will likely cost only a couple of dollars per month. How exactly is that more costly than a cable box?Without a Tivo subscription, it would not even record, only watch Live TV. It would not even be considered a DVR. It would be cheaper to just get a cable box instead.
and the title of the thread is
Without subscription, can tivo function as non DVR box?
So I would believe that your first statement is something that the OP is aware of or is at least not in the least bit interested in having dvr functions.
Thank you! Glad to know I can do this.Yes, you can use a Tivo as you describe. It will be like a plain cable box with no guide info.
The cable card can be set up in the non subscribed Tivo. Normally, the cable card is paired with the Tivo that it goes in, so in swapping it to another Tivo, you would have to set it up all over again.
We already have 2 tivo hds with lifetime and we love them! But for my parents, all they need is a cable box, and they don't even press the guide info. They have one or two channels and they just turn on the tv every day at the same time when that show is on. They do nothing else.Without a Tivo subscription, it would not even record, only watch Live TV. It would not even be considered a DVR. It would be cheaper to just get a cable box instead.
If you mean get a cable box from ebay or something, I don't want to take that chance. Verizon is pretty strict about that. A premiere is less than $100! I should have thought of this earlier since we've already spent $300 these past 30 months by paying Verizon $10 every month! A non-subscribe tivo would have paid for itself already! Why didn't I think of this sooner!
For those with parents like me, read this thread!
You can only get a cable box from the cable co.
You can only get a cable box from the cable co.
http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_fro...1313&_nkw=cable+box&_sacat=See-All-Categories
If they only want two channels you can't get them over the air? Or on a cheap cable package that would not require a box?
Just tossing out ideas.
Cablevision has like a $12.95 a month plan. It's basically CBS, NBC, ABC, FOX, PBS and maybe channel 12 news for those who can't get anything over the air. I used that plan for months when my kids mostly watched PBS and I mostly watched CBS.
Just tossing out ideas.
Cablevision has like a $12.95 a month plan. It's basically CBS, NBC, ABC, FOX, PBS and maybe channel 12 news for those who can't get anything over the air. I used that plan for months when my kids mostly watched PBS and I mostly watched CBS.
While you can buy a cable box online or elsewhere, you would be hard pressed to get a provider to activate such a box, since it is not a box from their stock, and they don't sell them for subscribers to own
How do you keep the TiVo from getting stuck in guided setup? It's one thing to drop the subscription on an already functioning TiVo and keep using it as a digital tuner. It is quite another to initially set it up w/o a subscription.
Another thing: Verizon is actually charging them extra for the first STB on top of whatever they are paying for the package?
Subscription status is, and has always been, completely irrelevant to running guided setup.How do you keep the TiVo from getting stuck in guided setup? It's one thing to drop the subscription on an already functioning TiVo and keep using it as a digital tuner. It is quite another to initially set it up w/o a subscription.
Why would a provider refuse to activate a cablecard STB?While you can buy a cable box online or elsewhere, you would be hard pressed to get a provider to activate such a box, since it is not a box from their stock, and they don't sell them for subscribers to own
Are you absolutely certain that is still the case, particularly with a Premiere? Even if it is the case, it would still have to be hooked it up to a phone line or internet long enough to complete guided setup.Subscription status is, and has always been, completely irrelevant to running guided setup.
Of course, he shouldn't buy a Premiere at all. A TiVo 3 (either the original OLED or the THD is what they need. As long as it has a digital tuner.
Are the channels they watch in a package above the basic package?
1. Because it is presumably stolen. No manufacturer sells their digital STBs or DVRs to consumers.Why would a provider refuse to activate a cablecard STB?
2. Because it is incompatible with the local CATV system. The digital protocols are proprietary. Unless the STB or DVR is of the same hardware type (Cisco or Motorola) as the headend, it won't work, period. A Cisco box won't work with a Motorola headend, and vice-versa. Even if the hardware type is compatible, the software is probably not. Each MSO has custom software running.
It's possible the STB or DVR may be able to function as a UDCP, in which case it might be possible for the box to receive linear channels, but I do not know this for a fact. The device may require 2-way communications in order to authorize. They are designed as 2-way hosts from the ground up, so the latter is not unlikely. I know for a fact it was the case for some early STBs, but this may no longer be true.
Would it continue its 15 minute buffer so you could pause viewing to grab a beer?Without a Tivo subscription, it would not even record, only watch Live TV.....
30 minutes actually.Would it continue its 15 minute buffer so you could pause viewing to grab a beer?
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