Their position is indeed not reasonable. They don't like the technology if they are willing to pay for no technology at all. When I like something, I'm willing to pay for it. If I'm not willing to pay for it, well, I don't like it that much.

They are asking for a Model T that you don't have to crank by hand, but they are not willing to pay for a starter motor. Other metaphors welcomed!

You might have to be blunt and tell them that the solution is to buy the local large Sunday newspaper and go through its weekly TV schedule by hand, then manually program the DVR to record the correct channel at the correct time. This might show them the value of the monthly fee, especially if the guide they get can be used for one-button record programming.

If they balk at paying a monthly fee for the newspaper, they can always scramble in to the library first thing Monday. This will require a monthly expenditure for gas for that particular set of trips.

They can also perhaps get this info for their local area via the internet, but that requires a monthly fee of either DSL or a phone line.