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TiVo Roamio OTA edition. $50 box and $9.99 a month subscription. All the great tivo features, access to apps (netflix, youtube, etc) and a great FAST user int

TiVo Roamio OTA edition. $50 box and $9.99 a month subscription. All the great tivo features, access to apps (netflix, youtube, etc) and a great FAST user interface.

nsxwolf 11y ago
Subscription is a deal breaker. I just want to be able to pause and rewind free TV signals. I'm willing to pay once for a device to do that but not a subscription.
- gk_brown 11y ago
  When I got my TiVo a few years ago, you could buy a lifetime subscription. I think it was about $300, which seemed pretty reasonable. I've had the unit for almost 4 years so I've definitely broken even on it. They still seem to offer a lifetime plan, but now it costs $600. That's a bit harder to justify.
  - thaumasiotes 11y ago
    What recurring service are you notionally paying for every month??
    - function_seven 11y ago
      I think the channel guide data. Without it, the TiVo doesn't know when to record what. $10 still seems very pricey for that though.
- joezydeco 11y ago
  Tivo Roamio OTA ($49.99) will let you do this if you never activate the subscription. You can use the tuner and buffer the broadcast stream.
  - narrowrail 11y ago
    This never came up in my research (although I was biased against Tivo), but I just checked and it said: "$14.99 Monthly service with 1-year commitment" Do you (or anyone else) know if the Tivo will work without an internet connection?
    - joezydeco 11y ago
      Yes, it will work without an internet connection. I bought a Roamio OTA for my mother-in-law, who has no internet. I set it up at my place (it usually wants to upgrade to latest firmware over wifi when you unbox it), scanned for the OTA channels, then I took it to her place and wired it up. The operation without monthly activation is bare-bones. I mean, you don't even get channel or station names. But you can tune to prescanned OTA channels and watch tv and pause it live.

TiVo Roamio OTA edition. $50 box and $9.99 a month subscription. All the great tivo features, access to apps (netflix, youtube, etc) and a great FAST user interface.

nsxwolf 11y ago

Subscription is a deal breaker. I just want to be able to pause and rewind free TV signals. I'm willing to pay once for a device to do that but not a subscription.

gk_brown 11y ago
When I got my TiVo a few years ago, you could buy a lifetime subscription. I think it was about $300, which seemed pretty reasonable. I've had the unit for almost 4 years so I've definitely broken even on it. They still seem to offer a lifetime plan, but now it costs $600. That's a bit harder to justify.
- thaumasiotes 11y ago
  What recurring service are you notionally paying for every month??
  - function_seven 11y ago
    I think the channel guide data. Without it, the TiVo doesn't know when to record what. $10 still seems very pricey for that though.
joezydeco 11y ago
Tivo Roamio OTA ($49.99) will let you do this if you never activate the subscription. You can use the tuner and buffer the broadcast stream.
- narrowrail 11y ago
  This never came up in my research (although I was biased against Tivo), but I just checked and it said: "$14.99 Monthly service with 1-year commitment" Do you (or anyone else) know if the Tivo will work without an internet connection?
  - joezydeco 11y ago
    Yes, it will work without an internet connection. I bought a Roamio OTA for my mother-in-law, who has no internet. I set it up at my place (it usually wants to upgrade to latest firmware over wifi when you unbox it), scanned for the OTA channels, then I took it to her place and wired it up. The operation without monthly activation is bare-bones. I mean, you don't even get channel or station names. But you can tune to prescanned OTA channels and watch tv and pause it live.