HELP!

After spending about 3 hours on the internet searching for a DVR so I do not have to "rent" one from my cable company, I find myself frustrated enough to ask for internet help

Everywhere I searched (Pricewatch, Amazon, Google, etc) I had to wade through pages of cables, home security camera systems, and all kinds of DVRs. When I found them, I rarely found the info I wanted to know. Basically:

1) CableTV Compatible

2) HDD Size

3) Can it record at least 3 programs simultaneously

4) Built In Wi-FI

Finding all 3 on any 1 product was nigh impossible. Does anyone here have a recommendation, that is not TiVO or other subscription base DVR?

I basically just need to set up 1 TV with a Cable TV connection and be able to record (at most for one time slot) on Monday nights, Castle (ABC), Blacklist (NBC), and Rick and Morty (Cartoon Network). I record other shows, but Monday nights seem to be the problem.

Thanks for any help

If you have a set-top box, to use a DVR you will need a CableCARD.... which you will have to rent from your cable provider. Granted, this is usually cheaper than renting a DVR, but you won't get away with renting nothing.

As I understand it, DEFRON is correct.

Do they sell their boxes? I don't rent equipment but buy it outright. I just waited for a sale. My provider got the Arris Gateway a few years back, and I love it! 6 tuners....and I added a 3TB external drive. TV bliss.

Buying beats renting in my opinion.

Sorry I don't have much to aid you in your search. Good luck.

A cable card will cost as much, if not more than DVR Rental per month. There is no real cost savings to getting your own. Most DVRs work, the ones that don't have a tuner, by intercepting the signal between the TV and the set top box, and some set top boxes won't work like this.

Without a cable card cable DVR, the best you could hope to do is record one channel at a time (that you also have to watch if your watching live TV at the time).

The way I see it, the $10 a month is cheap for all the time I save skipping commercials and watching TV when I want to.

I have no clue if this is correct or not, but someone in their product review on Amazon said that CableCards will be "given" to you by request from the CableCompanies, by some law or other.

Skipping commercials is why I like DVRs After my fruitless searching, I may just buckle. I just hate paying rent to the over priced cable company. I"ll be renting a cable modem from them, too

If you are just watching network channels and Cartoon Network just get a http://www.hauppauge.com/site/products/data_hvr2255.htmland http://www.nextpvr.com/

Tis bliss it is!!! Exactly why I got a DVR/PVR. Can't stand commercials. The only live TV I watch is the nations news network. Though I buffer it, so it's technically "almost live TV".

I have a Hauppauge Card on my old PC. I did not like it very well. I got the cheap card and it went through Windows Media Center, which I dislike.

I have Comcast in Chicago, and the CableCARD is free. In fact, I actually get a credit from them for using my own equipment instead of their cable box (I think there might even be a law about this).

What they will charge you for is an "additional outlet fee" if you have more than one tuning device (cable box, CableCARD, etc.) If you can pull it off, the best deal (through Comcast) is to get a DVR that you can also watch live TV through instead of using the cable box...then return the cable box to the provider.

AlBQuirky - I think the biggest problem you're going to have using a 3rd-party DVR is getting the guide data. DVRs need to be able to download the guide data (TV listings) for your provider so it knows what's going to be on and when. The cable provider's DVRs have this baked in...they can download the listings directly from the provider over your cable line. That's one of the reasons TiVos need an internet connection. If you're going to buy 3rd-party, you'll have to find a box that's compatible with your provider and make sure they'll let you use it (Comcast in Chicago will not allow this) because it will have to be registered with the provider like a cable box. The alternative is to find one (like a TiVo) that can use a CableCARD and also connect to your internet connection to download guide data.

I use a network-based capture device (SiliconDust HDHomerun Prime) that takes a CableCARD and then provides the cable channels to any device on my network. I have a computer that's always on that acts as the DVR, and it downloads the guide data from a server over the internet (currently just using Windows Media Center w/ Windows 7). This works out really well for me because I use PCs connected to my TVs for all of my media viewing, but it's not the simplest solution for people that just want a set-top DVR. There are also some good alternatives to Windows Media Center if you don't like it (although after trying them all Windows Media Center works the best since my beloved BeyondTV is no more ). The aforementioned NPVR is a good product, and you can also use it as a recording back-end for XBMC, which has a much nicer user interface.

I used to use a capture device that didn't need a CableCARD, but Comcast in Chicago started encrypting ALL of their channels, so I literally can't get any channels anymore without a cable box or CableCARD. That's why I switched to the HDHomerun Prime. By the way, if you have a home network I highly favor the HDHomerun devices over capture cards...they don't rely on hardware drivers to work because they essentially act as network TV servers. Over the years I've used just about every TV capture device under the sun, and the HDHomerun devices have worked the best and been the most reliable by a pretty large margin.