“I am not tech smart and want to know if it is hard to set this up? I do have internet service but not to my TV. I would like to know how to set this up so I can record the OTA stations.”
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In my opinion it isn't that hard to set up although I have familiarity with this kind of equipment. There are certain prerequisites needed before this can work. You need an antenna that is capable of receiving TV off-the-air (OTA). If you can't get OTA channels without Tivo you won't get them with Tivo. Be aware of those inexpensive "free TV" antennas. Yes they will work if you are in close proximity to the TV transmitters (i.e. You live in a metro area), but if you are not near the transmitters they may not work for you despite what the dude on the commercial says. An outside antenna might be needed or if you live in a very rural or mountainous area you could be out of luck. TV signals generally require line-of-sight between the transmitter and your antenna. Also, the Tivo box must have an internet connection and a Tivo subscription to work correctly. My Tivo box has a wireless connection which can be used to connect with my Internet router. I assume all current Tivo models do, but you should check. I don't work for BestBuy, but you might need a tech like Geek Squad to help.
Sorry, there was a problem. Please try again later.It is actuallly very easy. Just connect your coax antenna cable to the back of the TiVo, and connect the TiVo to your TV with an HDMI cable. If you want to also have the antenna connected to your TV (not necessary, as you will probably watch OTA TV exclusively thru TiVo), connect the antenna coax to a splitter and run coax to both Tivo and TV. Select your TV input as the HDMI channel connected to the TiVo. When you go thru the simple TiVo setup, it will ask you to select your wireless network and the password. If your internet service does not include wireless (probably unlikely these days), you will need to connect an Ethernet cable between the Tivo and your modem/router/switch. If you want to use the TiVo schedule info (highly recommended for any decent recording) you will need to go online and set up an account with Tivo for a monthly or annual fee. The installation is actually very simple and straightforward, but will take a little time to get all the updates and programming info. You can also use the Tivo to link to several streaming services such as Amazon, Netflix, Hulu (all extra cost services) to give yourself some “smart TV” capabilities. Good luck. You will love it!
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