TiVo Community Forums Archives - Tivo without the subscription service

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Tivo without the subscription service
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Posted by: dmchatster

I have Tivo with the lifetime subscription service in one room, but was considering getting a refurbished unit for another room without the service. Ie. just for using the Pause/Rewind features. Is that worth it? Will I be able to record anything/much on a unit with no service?

Posted by: classicsat

Depends if it is a "Golden" Series 1 or not.

Posted by: Hew

I think if you buy a combo unit, either the Toshiba w/DVD or the Pioneer w/DVDR you can record shows manually. But the boxes are expensive compared to the 99 dollar refurbished series 2.

Posted by: phone1

I've not heard the term "golden" before for Series 1, but combo DVD/TiVo units ship with TiVo basic which doesn't require a subcription, but also lacks many features and has only 3 days guide data. Details on TiVo's website.

Posted by: steuert

I suspect the "Golden" refers to Series 1s that originally shipped with software version 1.3, which are the only TiVos that can be used in "VCR Mode" to manually record by time and channel. AFAIK, this includes almost all Philips Series 1s. These are available rebuilt at www.servicedvr.com in various capacities and prices. (I also have my 14 hr. unit listed on the Amazon Marketplace for $150.)

If you buy such a unit, you wll be able to record anything you want, but of course won't have the program guide data, etc., that comes with full TiVo service. The process is pretty much the same as you use to record by time and channel with your current TiVo.

One minor problem is that the clock will drift a minute or two per month, but I understand this can be solved by leaving the unsubbed unit connected to a phone line so it will call in and set the clock, even though no program data is downloaded.

Posted by: classicsat

It does. I take that from another discussion group I belong to that discusses DVD players. "Golden" is used to describ certain versions of the Norcent DP300 that can be extermely hacked (to add an HDD and other features). I though it would be a simpler way to describe those models of Tivo too.

Posted by: Mintaka

I've got 3 TiVo's.
Sony SVR-2000 - 193 hr - lifetime subscription
TiVo Series 2 - 80 hr - lifetime sub.
Sony SVR-2000 - 30 hr - NO subscription.

The unsubbed unit works incredibly well at recording by time and channel. I believe the software version is 3.01. :)

It records recurring shows every weekday at various times and we set it up to record one-time movies in some instances as well.

The downside: shows are labeled by channel, date and time. They have no actual title info. That's OK for familiar daily shows, but not movies... :(

For the most part we use the two lifetime TiVos, but the unsubbed unit got some great use while the lifetime'd SVR-2000 was being repaired for a while.