Do you need subscription to use a DVR or Tivo?

Question

Do you need to have a subscription to be able to use the DVR or can you just use it to record TV shows by connecting it to the TV without the subscription? I know that Tivo is a brand name, so will any brand work?

Answer 1

Tivo has monthly subscriptions or a "lifetime" payment which is paid upfront and then there are no monthly fees for the life of the Tivo.

But you do not to pay for the service to be able to use Tivo. Without service, a Tivo operates just like a VCR, except with no tapes and better quality. You won't have access to any of the cool features that Tivo is famous for (season pass, Youtube, Amazon downloads, etc) but you will be able to tell it to record a certain channel at a certain time and it will do it. You will also be able to pause and rewind live TV.

Answer 2

Tivo requires a subscription. Other DVRs do not, such as Panasonic.

The last time I checked ReplayTV required a subscription too, but that is now part of DirecTV and has become the DirecTV DVR, so it may no longer have a subscription since that would be part of having DirecTV.

Answer 3

To use a DVR from your cable/satellite provider you will need to pay extra like $10+ .Yes you do need a subscription for tivo.The subscription for tivo is $12.95 .