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      04-23-2019, 10:07 AM   #1
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Entertainment center gurus...need advice

Hey Folks,

I'm dumping DirecTV because it costs us just shy of $160/mo and we rarely watch TV. Wifey watches The Voice on NBC a couple nights a week and we sometimes catch a series on PBS. Otherwise we watch movies and baseball on my Apple TV. We have internet through the local cable company, so today I added the basic package of local networks, which comes in unscrambled and needs no set top box. The cable company charges $10.95/mo per box and $14.95 for DVR service if I want to record shows. I'm sure I can buy something to record TV shows for far less than a year's worth of rental/service fees from the cable company.

Thing is, every time I search for a DVR, I get hits for a pricey system to record from security cameras. That's not what I want. I just want to be able to record the occasional TV show. I'd rather not have to pay any monthly fees for a service. Can one of you entertainment center gurus recommend a good TIVO-like device? Are there such things as recording devices that are also tuners? Something I can run a coax to and then use HDMI to the TV?

Current DirecTV/cable internet cost is $230/mo. The plan outlined above will be $113/mo. Pretty good savings there, so I don't mind spending a bit for a good tuner/recorder if one exists.

Thanks for any suggestions.
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      04-23-2019, 11:35 AM   #2
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I'm still a diehard DIRECTV guy! Having young kiddos and even myself have a large variety of viewing habits makes it hard to cut the cable. But I'm exploring options every so often. If I come up with a viable solution, I'll report back...
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      04-23-2019, 11:36 AM   #3
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Trust me... If anyone needs to cut the cord, it's me!
I have a total of 6 DirecTV Receivers all of which have monthly fees! Plus I have a entertainment Pkg.
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      04-23-2019, 12:02 PM   #4
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Originally Posted by M_Six View Post
Hey Folks,

I'm dumping DirecTV because it costs us just shy of $160/mo and we rarely watch TV. Wifey watches The Voice on NBC a couple nights a week and we sometimes catch a series on PBS. Otherwise we watch movies and baseball on my Apple TV. We have internet through the local cable company, so today I added the basic package of local networks, which comes in unscrambled and needs no set top box. The cable company charges $10.95/mo per box and $14.95 for DVR service if I want to record shows. I'm sure I can buy something to record TV shows for far less than a year's worth of rental/service fees from the cable company.

Thing is, every time I search for a DVR, I get hits for a pricey system to record from security cameras. That's not what I want. I just want to be able to record the occasional TV show. I'd rather not have to pay any monthly fees for a service. Can one of you entertainment center gurus recommend a good TIVO-like device? Are there such things as recording devices that are also tuners? Something I can run a coax to and then use HDMI to the TV?

Current DirecTV/cable internet cost is $230/mo. The plan outlined above will be $113/mo. Pretty good savings there, so I don't mind spending a bit for a good tuner/recorder if one exists.

Thanks for any suggestions.
Will TiVo work for your situation?
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      04-23-2019, 12:37 PM   #5
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Search the phrase cable tv dvr
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      04-23-2019, 01:04 PM   #6
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Thanks, all. A quick stop at Best Buy squared me away. Grabbed a couple of Alura-tek tuners with recording options. At $50 each, it was a no-brainer. I didn't think it would be that easy. I can't believe the cable company charges $26 every month for the same capability.

Last edited by M_Six; 04-23-2019 at 04:05 PM..
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      04-24-2019, 01:54 AM   #7
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I have comcraptic. 100 meg down and every single channel they offer for about 180 A month with all the taxes and stuff.
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      04-24-2019, 08:27 AM   #8
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Originally Posted by M_Six View Post
Thanks, all. A quick stop at Best Buy squared me away. Grabbed a couple of Alura-tek tuners with recording options. At $50 each, it was a no-brainer. I didn't think it would be that easy. I can't believe the cable company charges $26 every month for the same capability.
Interesting...I guess this is the device you picked up?
https://www.bestbuy.com/site/alurate...B&gclsrc=aw.ds

I was gonna suggest trying to see if you could catch local channels over the air and then record them with something like this, but sounds like you found a good solution:
https://smile.amazon.com/Fire-TV-Rec...gateway&sr=8-1

Report back with your thoughts after spending some time with it.
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      04-24-2019, 10:21 AM   #9
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Originally Posted by FCobra94 View Post
Interesting...I guess this is the device you picked up?
https://www.bestbuy.com/site/alurate...B&gclsrc=aw.ds

I was gonna suggest trying to see if you could catch local channels over the air and then record them with something like this, but sounds like you found a good solution:
https://smile.amazon.com/Fire-TV-Rec...gateway&sr=8-1

Report back with your thoughts after spending some time with it.
Yep, that's it. And doesn't it figure that it's on sale today for $10 less than it was in-store yesterday? Argh.
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      04-24-2019, 10:33 AM   #10
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Altice here (formerly Optimum/Cablevision). $180/mo for phone/cable/internet at 300MB. No complaints. I only keep the phone for the home alarm system but I may ditch that and go with Nest and self-monitor. I am a die hard TiVo proponent so I only rent the very cheap cable cards. I also purchased my own cable modem so I'm not renting that either.

While most channels offer some type of programming via apple TV, they also require a cable subscription... so what's the damn point!? How do you cut the cable when cable is required?
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      04-24-2019, 11:10 AM   #11
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The pay apps we use on AppleTV are the MLB single team package, which would cost me the same no matter how I view it, and Netflix. Ditto for that. The other apps like NBC, PBS and Youtube are free. Oh, and Amazon Prime as well. There's also a cost to that, but it isn't TV specific.
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      04-24-2019, 12:22 PM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by KingOfJericho View Post
While most channels offer some type of programming via apple TV, they also require a cable subscription... so what's the damn point!? How do you cut the cable when cable is required?
Apple TV here too...$40/month for Fios 100/100 and another $50 for YouTube TV. No tax, no renting equipment, no non-sense technology fees, etc. Save well over $80/month compared to Comcast.
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      04-25-2019, 04:01 PM   #13
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Originally Posted by KingOfJericho View Post
Altice here (formerly Optimum/Cablevision). $180/mo for phone/cable/internet at 300MB. No complaints. I only keep the phone for the home alarm system but I may ditch that and go with Nest and self-monitor. I am a die hard TiVo proponent so I only rent the very cheap cable cards. I also purchased my own cable modem so I'm not renting that either.

While most channels offer some type of programming via apple TV, they also require a cable subscription... so what's the damn point!? How do you cut the cable when cable is required?
I'm not clear on the cable card thing. I've read it's so the Tivo can unscramble the channels you pay for, but my channels are already unscrambled. These cheapo tuner units pick them up fine. Do I still need a cable card if I buy a Tivo? And can you use a Tivo without getting their monthly service?
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      04-25-2019, 06:57 PM   #14
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no cable for me! always used Netflix and Hulu
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      04-25-2019, 07:27 PM   #15
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I am using PlayStation Vue and feel like the price point is decent for what you get. Adding Netflix and Amazon Prime Video and I have way more than I can watch and spend a good bit less than I did with cable.

And I just recently splurged on the Motor Trend app....just seeing if I like it and so far I do.
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      04-25-2019, 11:46 PM   #16
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Quote:
Originally Posted by M_Six View Post
I'm not clear on the cable card thing. I've read it's so the Tivo can unscramble the channels you pay for, but my channels are already unscrambled. These cheapo tuner units pick them up fine. Do I still need a cable card if I buy a Tivo? And can you use a Tivo without getting their monthly service?
Correct, cable cards are used for encrypted cable systems. If the system you are on is not encrypted yet, be prepared. You did not state where you live. If it's a bigger cable company I am surprised it's still in the clear, all the ones I have dealt with aren't. TiVo would need a cable card for sure if encrypted, not sure if in clear. Cable card rentals are usually $2-3/month and capable of up to 8 (newly built cards, 6 on older) decodes at a time, limit of records will be Tivo.

Depending on where you live an antenna is the way to go. Those boxes you got will work for that too. Why pay cable company for something that is free already? Use that savings to donate to local PBS and get the Passport app.

Be Leary of the cheap units. Storage is usually limited and reliability is questionable. Even the cable company cheap boxes are junk, we keep 3-4 spare on hand at work and are constantly having to swap them out.
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      04-26-2019, 12:04 AM   #17
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Can you come to my house and do this I'm a semi-functioning retard when it comes to this. If I could get all the sports I want wouldnt care about TV otherwise just watch movies and need internet wifi stuff.
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      04-26-2019, 12:12 AM   #18
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Can you come to my house and do this I'm a semi-functioning retard when it comes to this. If I could get all the sports I want wouldnt care about TV otherwise just watch movies and need internet wifi stuff.
Where do you live?
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      04-26-2019, 07:37 AM   #19
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Correct, cable cards are used for encrypted cable systems. If the system you are on is not encrypted yet, be prepared. You did not state where you live. If it's a bigger cable company I am surprised it's still in the clear, all the ones I have dealt with aren't. TiVo would need a cable card for sure if encrypted, not sure if in clear. Cable card rentals are usually $2-3/month and capable of up to 8 (newly built cards, 6 on older) decodes at a time, limit of records will be Tivo.

Depending on where you live an antenna is the way to go. Those boxes you got will work for that too. Why pay cable company for something that is free already? Use that savings to donate to local PBS and get the Passport app.

Be Leary of the cheap units. Storage is usually limited and reliability is questionable. Even the cable company cheap boxes are junk, we keep 3-4 spare on hand at work and are constantly having to swap them out.
All the cable channels were scrambled until I paid for the basic package. Now I get the local channels and PBS, etc. These cheapo boxes pick up all the stations, but all of them show scrambled except the ones I pay for. I then have to go through and delete the scrambled channels so it's not a mess. I suspect the cable cards will tell the Tivo which station is which and maybe allow the Tivo to show the channel guide for upcoming programs. With the cheap boxes, I have to rename the stations once I figure out what they are and there is no channel guide at all.

What is the monthly Tivo fee for? I read their site and still don't get what it is that they offer for the charge.

And I tried an antenna once and got nothing. We live in east central IL in the middle of vast cornfields. We're 50 miles from the nearest large town.
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      04-26-2019, 07:39 AM   #20
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Where do you live?
Western Washington
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      04-29-2019, 04:51 PM   #21
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Just to add more to this. We watch more movies than anything plus binge on shows, so don't typically watch a weekly show unless there are several to watch in a row. We find it easier to remember what happened on previous episodes. Getting old sucks lol.

Anyway, the amount we've saved on cable, we have been able to get a decent Samsung 75" UHD HDR TV and Atmos 7.1.4 soundbar. We also save money on going to movies since we are very happy with our home setup. The only exception would be going to an IMAX movie like Avengers. But that's like once or twice a year.
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      04-29-2019, 10:12 PM   #22
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Western Washington
I am down in Portland. Would be a few months before I'd be able to make a trip like that, But if serious I'd be willing to help out. PM me to talk about your need.
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