Tivo alternatives

Pandamonium

Golden Member
Aug 19, 2001
1,628
0
76
I used to be pretty current on HTPCs but a few years ago I got fed up with the compatibility issues and bought myself a Tivo Series 2 with a lifetime subscription. It records my basic cable, has an easy an intuitive interface, and just works. But it doesn't do HD, and it never will. Tivo Premieres with lifetime subscriptions will cost a solid chunk of change.

I've done some cursory google queries, but I'm not having much luck, so I thought I'd try here.

Situation: using Tivo as DVR for current basic non-HD cable only. Will probably upgrade cable for more channels and HD in a few months. Would also like to be able to record OTA HD at that time.

1) What's the best way to do this?
2) If going the HTPC route, is there a way to do this with a HDHomeRun Prime as the tuner while recording to a FreeNAS's ZFS storage pool? (and possibly convert the raw recordings to an iPad friendly format)
 

thecoolnessrune

Diamond Member
Jun 8, 2005
9,673
583
126
If you're doing the HTPC, is there any reason you can just direct your recording storage target as your SMB or NFS share (Depending on your OS) on your FreeNAS?
 

coolkish

Junior Member
Dec 30, 2009
13
0
0
2 options

1. Get a used TivoHD with lifetime on ebay (<$350) for HD -capable of receiving OTA HD as well. You can upgrade hard drive, and sell your existing Tivo.
2. Use HD Home run prime with Win 7 PC (~$140+$300). Plan for integrating into NAS or ext drive (2-4TB)

$0.02

Regards,
Kishore
 

NutBucket

Lifer
Aug 30, 2000
27,136
622
126
Hmm, might have to look into getting a TivoHD for my folks. Their DVR Pal...leaves something to be desired in terms of software.
 
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