debugging the TV room

[cellio]

My TiVo is reporting that it's not seeing any input. This happens from time to time with the Series 1 TiVo, but this time rebooting it didn't fix the problem. I checked all the connections and power-cycled the DTV box (just in case), but no luck. (Also changed channels "blind" using the remote; no effect.) Next up was to test whether TiVo is the problem; connecting the input to first a VCR and then the TV did not make the bits flow. Swapping cables did not make a difference either.

The only things I can't isolate for testing are the antenna and the DTV box; I only have one of each. Apparently one of these is failing, but how do I tell which? My guess is that it's the DTV box; Google has served up some complaints about reliability there. But it's just a guess. Have any of you seen that happen?

Before I go buy a new DTV box, let me tap into the collective wisdom of the LJ brain trust. My goal is to watch, via time-shifting and on my TV (not computer), occasional TV shows, inexpensively. "Occasional" means one or two current-run shows at any given time. I am not interested in cable or satellite services.

I currently have the following ingredients: (1) an amplified antenna that had been serving my reception needs (and may still be for all I know). (2) That DTV box. (3) A Series 1 TiVo, which does not have a digital tuner card in it (hence the DTV box). (4) A VCR (ditto). (5) A 10-year-old TV (does not speak DTV, HD, or the newest connectors). (6) Wireless internet, but running ethernet cable to the TV room would be hard. (7) A Roku box.

Options:

• I could replace the DTV box or, if that's not it, the antenna. Short-term this is the cheapest (if it's the DTV box, anyway); is it the wisest longer-term?
  
• I could get a new DVR with digital tuner card (eliminating the need for the DTV box). TiVo + lifetime subscription is too expensive (new, anyway); word on the net is that I can't use the TiVo for recording without the service plan. I don't mind recording manually; I don't need the smarts that the TiVo software comes with. "Record channel 3 at 8PM on Thursdays" is fine. There are, of course, other DVRs; most seem to come bundled with cable service. Pointers to DVRs that I can just plug an antenna into and use would be most welcome.
  
• I could buy individual episodes from somebody using the Roku box and forget about getting live TV, relying on the internet for breaking news that I might actually want to follow. Feels sub-optimal, and my test run (Big Bang Theory) didn't turn up anybody selling the current season (including Hulu Plus).
  
• I could do something with a laptop, some new connector, and wireless internet. I think my iBook is probably not up to that.

Opinions? Other options?

Comments

[cellio]

Oh! You're right; the "follow this show around the schedule" feature would be really useful. I was thinking of the "recommend shows I'll like" feature, which would fail for lack of data. :-)

I read rather than watch my news except for very rare events, and wait until after the first dose of caffeine to try. :-)

Do you watch TV on your computer screen, or are you feeding it to your TV somehow?

[http://users.livejournal.com/merle_/]

I've weaned myself off of caffeine, so get to wake up the hard way. Yay. Mostly I want to know local weather and traffic, which seems more parsable and realtime on cable.

The TV is for everything cable, DVD, or Roku. Yeah, I'm a Comcastic sucker. The laptop is for Hulu and other content (although it could play DVDs I find laptop drives to be a bit loud). In theory I could do Netflix via the laptop but their app isn't at all as good. In better theory I could get a LCD that has a tuner in it (they don't cost too much more) and have one shared visual source, but since I have one of those ancient "entertainment centers" it would look strange.