We looked at Tivo but didn't want the monthly charge. We got a hdd recorder that also plays and records to dvd and we love it. No monthly charge. We have to program the recordings but it's no different than using a vcr and we do our regular shows as weekly so we don't have to program them every week. We can edit out commercials easily and put shows on dvd if we want to watch in the car or loan them to family members. I combine it with the auto-tune feature on the directv box and it's almost as good as dvr or tivo. We can also watch a dvd while recording a show or watch a different prerecorded show while recording another one. Also, we can pause and rewind live tv just like you do on a dvr.