TiVo has begun notifying customers of a significant change to one of its longest-standing and most popular DVR features. Starting November 2, 2026, the current version of SkipMode that allows users to jump over commercial breaks with a single button press on the remote will no longer be available. The company is instead preparing to […]
Depends on the use case. If you’re someone that wants to watch shows that air on broadcast television, OTA (over the air) DVRs are a great way to get TV content without a cable or streaming service subscription. With the increased number of OTA stations now that represents a lot of ad-skippable content. We get close to 40 OTA stations at our house with just an antenna in the attic.
Appliance based DVRs are turn-key solutions. I hope we both agree setting up a Linux box, obtaining a compatible OTA tuner, downloading and configuring Jellyfin all on hardware that is easily integrated into a general home entertainment setting is not a trivial task that most non-technically inclined folks can accomplish.
I personally ran PC based software DVRs for many years predating Jellyfin, but even in those years we had a Tivo for the wife.
I get that, but the commercial options are getting downright abusive so the DIY stuff is all that’s practical anymore. Besides, there are many places where broadcast is pretty much dead anyway.
Well… For now…
Yeah there’s not much reason to use it anymore so chipping away at it now guarantees its death.
Depends on the use case. If you’re someone that wants to watch shows that air on broadcast television, OTA (over the air) DVRs are a great way to get TV content without a cable or streaming service subscription. With the increased number of OTA stations now that represents a lot of ad-skippable content. We get close to 40 OTA stations at our house with just an antenna in the attic.
Jellyfin does that
Appliance based DVRs are turn-key solutions. I hope we both agree setting up a Linux box, obtaining a compatible OTA tuner, downloading and configuring Jellyfin all on hardware that is easily integrated into a general home entertainment setting is not a trivial task that most non-technically inclined folks can accomplish.
I personally ran PC based software DVRs for many years predating Jellyfin, but even in those years we had a Tivo for the wife.
I get that, but the commercial options are getting downright abusive so the DIY stuff is all that’s practical anymore. Besides, there are many places where broadcast is pretty much dead anyway.