With the Roamio OTA and the lifetime subscription, you can connect to your network via wifi OR Ethernet cable. If you don't connect it to your network and register the unit, you will not have access to a lot of the features (like One Pass to automatically record series or the included apps like Hulu). If you pay for the model with the lifetime subscription (no monthly fee), you've already paid to register so there is really no reason not to connect it.