Ditto on all opinions toward Tivo here. I can't express how much it changes the way you watch TV. It's incredible. I recently had to record something on a VCR, and completely forgot to start it on time. I NEVER have to worry about that with Tivo.

I also think the subscription is worth it for only a few shows. It's also useful for finding new programming that you weren't sure you were interested in. Then there's one-time recordings like sporting events.

When I first got my Tivo, I didn't have subscription for a few days, and it was quite difficult to use the machine at all. The unit is really designed for there to be guided data present, and that data is fantastic. It's not just for knowing what to record, it's great info for telling you when the program was made, who was in it, etc.

I've seen a couple of the non-Tivo DVD recorders' "Tivo" functions. They're a bit lacking.

It's just an amazing product.

Oh, and I'm pretty sure it's possible now with Series 2 Tivos, but you can extract video from Tivo and burn it to DVD that way or store it on hard disks. You can already network them pretty cheaply (with just a USB>ethernet adapter), and download guide data that way.

Lastly, I'm going to wait on DVD recorders of any type until I can edit out portions of my recordings. At the moment, every recorder makes "invisible chapters", so that commercials or whatever get skipped during playback, but they're still there, taking up space on the DVD.