If you want to be an OTA cordcutter but still have rudimentary DVR functions, there’s a number of chinese budget boxes under $40 floating around. One of those options is currently on sale on eBay, it is the ViewTV AT-163 Converter Box going for $28 with free shipping and handling. This ships from New York and already over 740 units got sold from this particular offer.

I haven’t used this particular ViewTV model, but I am using a similarly-priced model that is in the same ballpark in terms of features, the Mediasonic HW-150PVR. I still have to write-up the full review, but to cut a long story short, if you are comfortable programming a VCR, you should be fine with its user interface. I am not even using an external hard drive on mine, just this tiny 128GB USB 3.0 flash drive. It takes up no space, and requires no external power!