Replace Tivo Box with Freeview Recorder

[sladep]

Thinking of removing the Tivo box and replacing with Freeview Recorder due to poor value. I have M250 BB and Maxit TV no landline or mobile. The basic TV package is mostly rubbish viewing and total monthly bill is now £106. Anyone have any feedback on a similar move and was it worth doing or just negotiate a better deal by threatening to leave! I know I'll have to have a decent aerial etc and some differences in channels etc so just interested in any views on good/bad idea and any gotchas to think about. Also have a smart TV anyway which can stream via apps but cannot record hence freeview recorder. Wondering if recording is even a thing now due to catch up TV on most channels. 

Thanks.

[Cardiffman282 · Accepted solution]

Yeah do it. There's even a cord cutting website devoted to it. You are in complete control with your own kit and will start making ongoing savings after about 12 months. Humax boxes last forever. 

[sladep]

Thanks good to hear that advice.

[japitts]

Everyone on this forum has different viewing habits, and for every person who says "I only watch FTA channels", there will be another who consumes a lot of the pay content and for which the top-tier is necessary.

VoD does cover a lot of stuff, but will never match the ability to record - if that programme is on your hard drive, you're not relying on the OD server's availability. But others will disagree.

[Roger_Gooner]

If you would be happy with Freeview then why be a Pay TV customer. Also, VM's broadband is not cheap, so look around for a better deal.

[nodrogd]

Don’t forget, there is also the alternative of Freesat. It depends if having more HD channels is important to you, as there are more on Freesat than Freeview. Dish can be put on a wall rather than having an antenna on the roof, & the boxes have the same facilities as Freeview PVRs.

[Tavis75]

I switched just before Christmas, using a device called an HDHomerun which is a 4 channel Freeview tuner that just connects to my home network, then use Plex software on devices so I can watch on any iPad, iPhone etc. around the house (or out of it), can record on my NAS box (which gives me basically unlimited recording space) and then view on the TV using an AppleTV box or other streaming device (I can even set it up to watch on TVs away from the home).

Obviously that's fairly technical but a standard Freeview recorder will give you reasonable recording features, not as good as the TiVo\V6 software (as some of the features such as wishlists are TiVo patents) but at least as good as Virgin's 360 box.

You do lose a few channels and get slightly less HD channels, but TBH the vast majority of my viewing was on the main 5 channels anyway, so haven't missed it at all. I'd definitely recommend a recorder over relying on streaming though, things often disappear from catchup quite quickly and other than on iPlayer you're looking at sitting through tons of unskippable ads.

[Ashleigh_C]

Hi there @sladep 

Thank you so much for your post and welcome back to the forums. 

I am so sorry to hear that you are unhappy with your current package, can I just check, are you no longer in contract? 

If so it might be worth reaching out to our teams on 0345 454 1111 to discuss a new package that might be more suitable for both your needs and budget, we will be happy to discuss alternative TV packages including a reduction if you prefer. 

We do not typically handle package changes via the forums but you can also pop us a WhatsApp message to discuss on 07305 327 112