Could I get a Tivo for college?

Is there an alternative to paying a subscription fee for Tivo?

• Is there a system that you can get that works like a tivo but you don't have to pay a service fee? I'm a college student and I want it for my dorm. I don't need satellite service, because every dorm comes w/ Comcast cable. All I really want is something that works like a digital vcr. I don't even care about the searches or season passes, though that woudl be nice. All I really want is a recorder that will record shows based on time and channel that has better quality than vhs. Anyone have any suggestions?

• Answer:

  Two ways to go here. First way could buy a DVD burner. I have a cyberhome that I bought at walmart a few months back. It was like 50 bucks. I love it. Just put in a blank DVD+RW and you are good to go. Tell it what time and what channel and if you want it done daily, weekly and go about your business. It was a cheap solution for me. Secondly, you could get a TV tuner for your PC. It would work just like a tivo. Well it would do some TV like functions such as pause rewind etc. The best TV tuners you must place right on the mother board. I have seen some USB 2.0 for like laptops and what not, but it puts ALOT of work on the CPU and even with a fast one it is going to slow the machine down. Well good luck.