len_mullen Posted November 22, 2016 Share Posted November 22, 2016 I don't see any discussion of DVRs, so I thought I would post this for those who might be looking for an OTA DVR. Right now, the two main choices for an OTA DVR are the Channel Master DVR+ and the TiVo Roamio/OTA. The Channel Master 1t DVR+ is on sale for $249.99. It has no monthly service fees. TiVo is selling refurbished 500g Roamio/OTAs with Lifetime and a factory warranty for $199.99. Both are great DVRs and good deals, but the TiVo price is insane. http://www.channelmaster.com/Special_Offers_s/364.htmhttps://www.tivo.com/thanksgiving2016#/thanksgiving2016 I have both (and love) and would be happy to answer questions. Happy shopping! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
speeddiva Posted November 22, 2016 Share Posted November 22, 2016 What are the fees with the Tivo? I'd love to cut the cord but my isp has a data cap (rural area, only other choice is satellite internet or dsl at a whopping 12 Mbps) and I don't think it will work to go mainly streaming. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
len_mullen Posted November 22, 2016 Author Share Posted November 22, 2016 The Roamio/OTA linked has no fees. Neither DVR has monthly fees. Both require an antenna as source for programming. Otherwise, TiVo fees vary by promotion and device. All in for the Bolt is pricey, IMHO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brad Posted November 22, 2016 Share Posted November 22, 2016 That TiVo deal is amazing. I have a Roamio Plus with lifetime but am considering getting rid of cable TV service which would make that box useless to me as it doesn't do OTA. Might have to get one of these and sell the Roamio Plus with the lifetime when the time comes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
len_mullen Posted November 22, 2016 Author Share Posted November 22, 2016 I don't think you will see this price again...not often anyway. I was pretty excited to get new ones for $299. This is better, IMHO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bribri25 Posted November 22, 2016 Share Posted November 22, 2016 We've been loving our Channel Master DVR+ (2 of them) for the past 11 months. We have one antenna and a strong enough signal to split that through the house to both DVRs and I'll be looking to see if our 3rd TV has a coax to use the tuner for live tv only.Subscribe to SlingTV (for ESPN, TBS, TNT, Food Network, etc.) for $25/month and that's all we pay for TV.Amazon Fire TVs to stream from our $35/month 60Mbps internet through the cable company. Cable/Internet bill went from ~$185 ----> ~$70 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brad Posted November 22, 2016 Share Posted November 22, 2016 Just ordered one of the Tivos. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
len_mullen Posted November 22, 2016 Author Share Posted November 22, 2016 (edited) We've been loving our Channel Master DVR+ (2 of them) for the past 11 months. We have one antenna and a strong enough signal to split that through the house to both DVRs and I'll be looking to see if our 3rd TV has a coax to use the tuner for live tv only.Subscribe to SlingTV (for ESPN, TBS, TNT, Food Network, etc.) for $25/month and that's all we pay for TV.Amazon Fire TVs to stream from our $35/month 60Mbps internet through the cable company. Cable/Internet bill went from ~$185 ----> ~$70 We have three TiVos (soon to be four) plus two Minis and three DVR+s. Personally, I prefer the DVR+, but my wife prefers the TiVo. Both awesome. Even if you are not interested in recording, it's nice to have a program guide and to be able to rewind when you snooze off or pause when the phone rings. The Roamio/OTA has a lot of streaming apps as well. Santa ought to drop one of those refurbs down your chimney. Edited November 22, 2016 by len_mullen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bribri25 Posted November 22, 2016 Share Posted November 22, 2016 We have three TiVos (soon to be four) plus two Minis and three DVR+s. Personally, I prefer the DVR+, but my wife prefers the TiVo. Both awesome. Even if you are not interested in recording, it's nice to have a program guide and to be able to rewind when you snooze off or pause when the phone rings. The Roamio/OTA has a lot of streaming apps as well. Santa ought to drop one of those refurbs down your chimney. It's reeeeeeally tempting. Though, I'm not sure what Mrs. Clause would say... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kanyon71 Posted November 22, 2016 Share Posted November 22, 2016 We have been a TiVo family for a long time. I have 5 various TiVo's sitting in boxes here as I have replaced all of them with Mini's off my main Roamio Pro. Always loved the service. Stupid I pay monthly. Need to switch over to lifetime. then I would have no monthly with them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brad Posted November 22, 2016 Share Posted November 22, 2016 Yeah I have 4 Minis spread around the house for my Roamio Plus so it would be easy to swap out the Plus with the OTA when I eventually cut the cord. Looks like I could sell my Plus with lifetime service in the $400-500 range easily. Just need to get an antenna for the OTA now. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kanyon71 Posted November 22, 2016 Share Posted November 22, 2016 Yeah I have 4 Minis spread around the house for my Roamio Plus so it would be easy to swap out the Plus with the OTA when I eventually cut the cord. Looks like I could sell my Plus with lifetime service in the $400-500 range easily. Just need to get an antenna for the OTA now.Ya the Lifetime really adds to the value on resale. Did Lifetime on one of my old ones and gave it away. I think they are still using it to this day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
len_mullen Posted November 22, 2016 Author Share Posted November 22, 2016 Yeah I have 4 Minis spread around the house for my Roamio Plus so it would be easy to swap out the Plus with the OTA when I eventually cut the cord. Looks like I could sell my Plus with lifetime service in the $400-500 range easily. Just need to get an antenna for the OTA now. PM me a link to your http://tvfool.comreport and I'll help you find one! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roadking00 Posted December 1, 2016 Share Posted December 1, 2016 Looks like this TiVo deal is the way to go for someone like me looking to try out the OTA route with a DVR...looking to get away (as much as possible) from the cable bill...cut it in half at a min. Never had a TiVo or CM so I gotta try one of them out....500GB HD typically enough as storage for most folks ? Sent from my LGLS775 using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
racerfan Posted December 2, 2016 Share Posted December 2, 2016 OK new to this. I live in the boonies aka woods. Lots and lots of trees. Would this work? We have a colonial prety much 3 story if you count the basement with a walk out. Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
len_mullen Posted December 2, 2016 Author Share Posted December 2, 2016 Looks like this TiVo deal is the way to go for someone like me looking to try out the OTA route with a DVR...looking to get away (as much as possible) from the cable bill...cut it in half at a min. Never had a TiVo or CM so I gotta try one of them out....500GB HD typically enough as storage for most folks ? Sent from my LGLS775 using Tapatalk 500g is not enough for collectors, but it is plenty for time shifters. If you want to collect, you can increase the disk (requires opening the box and voids the warranty) or use some kind of utility... https://sourceforge.net/p/kmttg/wiki/Home/ The Channel Master DVR+ uses external USB storage, so it's a great single set option for collectors. Good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
len_mullen Posted December 2, 2016 Author Share Posted December 2, 2016 OK new to this. I live in the boonies aka woods. Lots and lots of trees. Would this work? We have a colonial prety much 3 story if you count the basement with a walk out. Thanks PM me a link to your tvfool.com report and I'll have a look for you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
racerfan Posted December 2, 2016 Share Posted December 2, 2016 PM me a link to your tvfool.com report and I'll have a look for you.What is a tvfool.com report? How do I get it? Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G935A using GottaDeal mobile app Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bribri25 Posted December 2, 2016 Share Posted December 2, 2016 What is a tvfool.com report? How do I get it? Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G935A using GottaDeal mobile app Just go to tvfool.com (specifically http://www.tvfool.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=13&Itemid=1)and enter your address information. It tells you which OTA stations you'd be able to get, the direction you'll receive them from (if they are all generally from one direction, things get easier) and how far away they are. From there, you can determine the type of antenna you need (unidirectional, bidirectional, etc.) and the range you'll need to generally get those stations. Len helped me out doing this last year around this time and I've lowered my "cable" bill from $128 down to $30 by getting rid of cable from the cable company. It was funny when they asked me which channels I usually watch and they said we can get you a basic package with these and bring your cost to $105. Lol. Thanks for the hefty price reduction there (after having cut my channel list by 60%). Really trying to keep me as a customer, huh? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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