Owning your own cable TV set top box

[QuarterMillionMan]

Does anyone own their own TV cable set top box? In other words you are not renting the TV cable set top box from the cable company. I'm contemplating buying a used one from either Craigslist or eBay and hoping it will work but wanted to see if any people out there have been successful at it first. I once had a Scientific Atlanta 8300 set top box from Time Warner where I was paying $25 a month just for the rental fee every month. On eBay or Craigslist there are about 5 people selling the exact same model with prices ranging from $25 to $80.

[QuarterMillionMan]

These are just some models that are supported by Time Warner (from Time Warner's website, with many more brands listed).

[dawnwes]

I have Tivo boxes so that I can pause live TV and record shows. I got the lifetime service.

You can get Tivos with lifetime on eBay for a reasonable price if you are willing to take an older model.

We have collected 3 of them through the years and still saved hundreds over the cost of the cable company's "rental" system.

If you can get a Roamio with lifetime, you can also buy what are called Tivo minis that allow you to have a Tivo without paying anything more. We love our minis.

[snafu]

We've always had our own cable box but my understanding is they are specific to your cable provider.

[LivingAlmostLarge]

How do you use Tivo without telling your provider?

[dawnwes]

How do you use Tivo without telling your provider?

You don't, you use a cable card through the provider. We need one cable card and they charge us $2/mo for it.

[ua_guy]

Does anyone own their own TV cable set top box? In other words you are not renting the TV cable set top box from the cable company. I'm contemplating buying a used one from either Craigslist or eBay and hoping it will work but wanted to see if any people out there have been successful at it first. I once had a Scientific Atlanta 8300 set top box from Time Warner where I was paying $25 a month just for the rental fee every month. On eBay or Craigslist there are about 5 people selling the exact same model with prices ranging from $25 to $80.

We used to have a Tivo, but it's the same for any tuner/DVR that works with cable. They have a slot in the back and you have to rent a cable card from your provider.

Also, if you have a newer TV that supports digital cable, sometimes the TV itself will have a slot for the card. Then, just hook the cable up to the TV, no additional box needed.

[dawnwes]

We used to have a Tivo, but it's the same for any tuner/DVR that works with cable. They have a slot in the back and you have to rent a cable card from your provider.

Also, if you have a newer TV that supports digital cable, sometimes the TV itself will have a slot for the card. Then, just hook the cable up to the TV, no additional box needed.

Right. It is just that our cable company charges something like $20 per DVR, so buying made a lot more sense to us. We "broke even" a long time ago.