a true newb question !!

[scootster]

ok i have several brands and types of tivo's and have always had service with a dish provider but now i do not have anything except over the air tv and its actually ok -- my question is can i use a tivo to record ota programs ?? - i mean is it possible to set it up just like it used to be but with only a dozen channels - will it do that and will it show whats coming on or a program list ? - or is there a way to do this - thanks for any help

[PlainBill]

Originally Posted by scootster

ok i have several brands and types of tivo's and have always had service with a dish provider but now i do not have anything except over the air tv and its actually ok -- my question is can i use a tivo to record ota programs ?? - i mean is it possible to set it up just like it used to be but with only a dozen channels - will it do that and will it show whats coming on or a program list ? - or is there a way to do this - thanks for any help

That was one of the original purposes of the TiVo. It would allow you to record analog TV signals from either an antenna, a cable, a cable box, or a satellite box. However, analog signals are no longer being broadcast so the early TiVos will not be able to record the signals directly. I'm not sure if the current software would allow controlling digital to analog converter boxes.

PlainBill

[classicsat]

This is the skinny with TiVos and OTA.

Most Series 2 Standalone models officially support OTA with most CECB type converter boxes, and have full guide data. The 542 and 649 models are the exception, for they were made to technically comply with FCC rules that forbid OTA support without
a digital tuner built in.

All of the Series3/4 models support digital OTA directly.

Except for the Pioneer and Toshiba models, the TiVos above will still need a subscription to do much of anything.

Series 1 Standalones and the 649/542 models can to a limited degree work with some converter boxes, but are not supported.

The HR10-250 can buffer Live OTA TV without a DirecTV sub. All other DirecTV TiVos, nope.

[scootster]

ok let me ask it this way - if i do not want to use a converter box and i have a series 3 or 4 thats made by pioneer or toshiba then i should do some more reading and if i have a hr10-250 then am i in even better shape ?? and is there a place to read about this in more detail ? - i have a tivo box with lifetime paid for but the hard drive is bad -it would freeze up really bad and made noise -- i still have the drive and the tivo but i believe it is an older tivo - i will check on that - i just need to make a list of the tivos that i do have - i really would like a hi def one so is that a possibility ?? to use a hi def to do what i want to do and get some type of guide with it ?? and to preset it to record lets say house and the american idol show - for the wife -that will come on this fall - thats really what i want to do -

[classicsat]

Toshiba and Pioneer models are Series 2. You need a converter box to receive antenna with them. It might pay to fix your Series 2 with Product Lifetime.

The Series 3/4 models are only made by Tivo, and require TiVo subscription to do much of anything. They are also the only non DirecTV TiVos to record two digital channels at once.

The Hr10-250 needs subscribed to DirecTV to at least record.

If you want something to record OTA and not have a subscription, then you probably do not want a TiVo. You might consider an HTPC with a dual tuner ATSC card instead.

[captain_video]

+1 on the HTPC. I've got one with four ATSC tuners and Windows 7 Media Center. Media Center has built-in DVR software so all you need is the tuners and an antenna connection and you're good to go. I will be upgrading with four additional cablecard tuners when Ceton release their quad tuner model (it's just gone into production and I placed an order literally minutes after reading the e-mail notification from Ceton that they were accepting pre-orders).

With media extenders I can share the tuners and any content on my HTPC with any TV in the house. My two S3 Tivos will be put out to pasture when the Ceton gets activated. I'll have just a single cablecard fee and no Tivo fees. I will also be able to get rid of the extra cable boxes by using the media extenders.

I've been using a HTPC as the cornerstone of my home theater system for about 3-1/2 years and I absolutely love it. I was hesitant to build one at first because I didn't really know what to use it for. Now I don't know how I'd have a home theater system without one. Right now it's used primarily for recording HD OTA channels and playing files downloaded from the internet via torrent sites.

A HTPC can play just about any type of media files (with the proper codecs installed), as well as DVDs and Blu-Rays. I have an unRAID server that contaions all of my DVD and Blu-Ray rips and I can share them with any PC on my home network. I put together a small HTPC using a Dell Zino HD and my son uses it to stream Bluy-Ray movies from the server in the basement to the 42" Samsung in his bedroom.