I'll be in a park the next 6 months+ which has free Charter cable. Today they brought me a cable box with a really basic remote and all I could do was move the channels up one at a time, which is fine for a few days but I don't even have a guide and that would get old fast. I have Dish with a Winegard Carryout Dish but I'd like to go with the cable since it's free. I called Charter/Spectrum and they're sending me two free Spectrum universal remotes for my tvs. They said that might allow me to pull up the guide. They also said that I could add a Roku or Tivo to record programs. What's the easiest option that would act like a Dish DVR...allow me to:- record two programs at once- watch them from either room- possibly pause live tv?I just want to watch these back on tv, no other devices. I don't need to be able to watch different shows in different rooms. It's just me.Is there any other kind of unit that would accomplish this? I see there are 75 hour Tivos. I don't need more than that. The Tivo mini is looking like a good option. Or the Tivo Premier. Do you just use the Tivo remote for everything? (sync it with your tv?) and what if you have 2 tvs?There's a monthly fee with Tivo, yes? Is there with Roku?I'm totally out of the loop where the new gadgets are concerned. I've had the Dish DVR for 10 years but since this is free (190 channels) I'd like to take advantage of it.Also...does it matter if I run the cable through the cable in/out of the Dish receiver? I didn't know if that would interfere with the guide or any other functions.Thanks much...

Charter used to offer a Motorola DVR, which is smaller then the TIVO.

n7bsn wrote:Charter used to offer a Motorola DVR, which is smaller then the TIVO.The first Charter rep I talked to tried to convince me to not try to buy one of those on eBay because "it could be programmed for New York and I'm in Oregon"...which sounded fishy to me. The next rep said I could use a Tivo or a Roku but didn't mention the Motorola DVR. The cable box and the remote they gave me are Motorola. Hmm..

Dvr isn't really necessary with Spectrum. You should have access to on demand for the channels you're subscribed to. Think of it as a cloud based DVR.Another thought, check your cable box for USB or eSata ports, you might only need to add an external drive and have support turn on the feature.

GordonThree wrote:Dvr isn't really necessary with Spectrum. You should have access to on demand for the channels you're subscribed to. Think of it as a cloud based DVR.Another thought, check your cable box for USB or eSata ports, you might only need to add an external drive and have support turn on the feature.I don't think on demand is available for bulk accounts.

Option 1: Very easy Hauppauge WIN-TV, ReplayTV edition...First the interface will be more or less familure to you since the DISH NETWORK receivers based their User Interface on ReplayTV's as did Hauppauge on this model. (The difference is Hauppauge ask first, Dish got sued) Replay by the way is considered to best user interface in the business (NOTE Replay is no longer made)TiVo... That's the DirecTV type interface (Also got sued, forgot to ask but oh well).I do not know how well the Win-TV can control the TV,, it eats up a lot of hard drive however.. both allow you to download a program guide.Now. for the program guideGo to this URL www.zap2it.com and follow the links. Enter your ZIP code, pick your provider, and you will have a very nice program guide on your computer screen.. Register (no charge) and you can customise the guide, turning "off" channels you do not watch or get.That is Zap2it

Need help choosing a DVR for Charter Cable... | Good Sam Community

19 Replies

GordonThree
Explorer
Mar 30, 2017
KODI

You need a PC with big disk, WinTV USB or PCI, USB Infrared Blaster

It won't be HD, it will record one show at a time OR pause TV but not both.
cannesdo
Explorer
Mar 30, 2017
Sam Spade wrote:
cannesdo wrote:

- record two programs at once
- watch them from either room
- possibly pause live tv?

IF you really want those features, you should activate your sat service and be done with it.

I think you will do a LOT of screwing around only to ultimately fail with the "free" cable service.

I may be here a year or more. It's worth it to me to experiment as it could save me upwards of $1500 over the course of my stay. I'm getting a lot of contradictory information so I'll figure it out and post the results.
Sam_Spade
Explorer
Mar 28, 2017
cannesdo wrote:

- record two programs at once
- watch them from either room
- possibly pause live tv?

IF you really want those features, you should activate your sat service and be done with it.

I think you will do a LOT of screwing around only to ultimately fail with the "free" cable service.
GordonThree
Explorer
Mar 28, 2017
I've never had a bulk account, can't help you there.

You won't be able to make your dish DVR record cable TV broadcasts.

DVR is a paid option these days, if the park isn't paying for it, you won't find an automatic solution.

TiVo is closest but requires a fee. A gray market TiVo from eBay might work, you roll the dice on reconfiguring it for your locale. Since you're on a hospitality account your lineup is likely different too.

Ceton InfiniTV is an option, it's what I used when I had Spectrum. Hook it to an old Windows 7 or 8 computer and you're set. You'll need a CableCard from Charter.
wa8yxm
Explorer III
Mar 28, 2017
Option 1: Very easy Hauppauge WIN-TV, ReplayTV edition...
First the interface will be more or less familure to you since the DISH NETWORK receivers based their User Interface on ReplayTV's as did Hauppauge on this model. (The difference is Hauppauge ask first, Dish got sued) Replay by the way is considered to best user interface in the business (NOTE Replay is no longer made)

TiVo... That's the DirecTV type interface (Also got sued, forgot to ask but oh well).

I do not know how well the Win-TV can control the TV,, it eats up a lot of hard drive however.. both allow you to download a program guide.

Now. for the program guide

Go to this URL www.zap2it.com

and follow the links. Enter your ZIP code, pick your provider, and you will have a very nice program guide on your computer screen.. Register (no charge) and you can customise the guide, turning "off" channels you do not watch or get.

That is Zap2it
cannesdo
Explorer
Mar 28, 2017
GordonThree wrote:
Dvr isn't really necessary with Spectrum. You should have access to on demand for the channels you're subscribed to. Think of it as a cloud based DVR.

Another thought, check your cable box for USB or eSata ports, you might only need to add an external drive and have support turn on the feature.

I don't think on demand is available for bulk accounts.
GordonThree
Explorer
Mar 28, 2017
Dvr isn't really necessary with Spectrum. You should have access to on demand for the channels you're subscribed to. Think of it as a cloud based DVR.

Another thought, check your cable box for USB or eSata ports, you might only need to add an external drive and have support turn on the feature.
cannesdo
Explorer
Mar 28, 2017
n7bsn wrote:
Charter used to offer a Motorola DVR, which is smaller then the TIVO.

The first Charter rep I talked to tried to convince me to not try to buy one of those on eBay because "it could be programmed for New York and I'm in Oregon"...which sounded fishy to me. The next rep said I could use a Tivo or a Roku but didn't mention the Motorola DVR. The cable box and the remote they gave me are Motorola. Hmm..
n7bsn
Explorer
Mar 28, 2017
Charter used to offer a Motorola DVR, which is smaller then the TIVO.

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Need help choosing a DVR for Charter Cable...

19 Replies

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