Using Tivo or Replay TV w/o a Phone Line? 11
IronChef asks: "I'd like to use a Tivo or Replay digital recorder, but I don't have a land line -- we're a cell phone only family. How can I record all the Simpsons episodes every day on a Tivo without paying for a phone line that I don't need for anything else?" This situation is not as unusual as it seems, and there will be more "cellular-only" households in the future. Are there ways for people who don't want the hassle of copper wires to take advantage of services that expect one?
TiVo thru Cellular (Score:1)
Check the TiVo forum (Score:5)
Checkout this thread, assuming you have some sort of net connection, and a computer at your house.
http://www.avsforum.com/ ubb tivo/Forum6/HTML/000398.html [avsforum.com]
HTH
Cellular Modem? (Score:1)
I'm not sure how you'd trigger the Tivo to call in while you've made the call into an ISP.
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Different Phone Tarrifs (Score:2)
These special low-cost services are generally limited in a number of ways; oftentimes not being able to call beyond the local area, being unlisted, or unable to receive incoming calls. In short, perfect for second-line or modem-line services. Generally it seems there are no qualifiers for these services (income tests etc.) rather they apparently rely on obscurity.
If you're a cell-phone household like mine then this may well be your low-cost answer, assuming your ISP / Tivo / Replay / whomever have a number within your local area. If you're someone who needs a second line just for modem service this may well save you some cumulative bucks too.
To find out if such a service is available in your area I'd try calling your local phone company & grilling them on this (they clearly don't advertise it much) or contacting your State P.U.C. directly.
Make cell phone look like landline (Score:3)
TiVO over LAN? (Score:1)
Any ideas?
Like a VCR (Score:1)
If the TiVo can't dialout, you can still program it like a VCR.
Although, dialing out gives you several cool things in addition to never missing the Simpsons again (the main reason I finally bought mine).
It will start recording shows it thinks you might like whenever there's room on the hard disk.
I wish I hadn't renewed my subscription to TV guide. With the on-screen listings, I never use it any more.
It's also the only (easy) way you'll get software updates and messages from TiVo.
So the TiVo is still usable, but I'd strongly recommend the cheapest phone line you can get. It's worth it..
Re:Different Phone Tarrifs (Score:1)
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They're - They are
Their - Belonging to them
tivo -- phone not needed daily (Score:2)
I read on the forums about early modem death.
To avoid early modem death, I unplug the phone line from tivo and only allow it to connect once a week.
Second of all, I use a cordless connection kit, essentially a cordless phone type device for a laptop modem. this prevents the tivo from getting shocked.
None of the above *really* helps you, but it does mean that you won't have to have the tivo make the call *daily* just weekly or biweekly. (that 5 minute call is really only 1 minute in call, and 4 minutes in absorbing the new data.)
Others have suggested you could use ppp on the serial port, or things of this nature. I imagine if you could trick it into dialing over the serial port and have it ignore searching for a dialtone that you could have it use your cell as a modem (provided you have the proper data cable.)
Good luck and let us know how you did it, when you finish!
A host is a host from coast to coast, but no one uses a host that's close
Tivo - LAN (Score:2)
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The EASY way out w/o another phone line. (Score:1)