Aaron62

Orrymain

The cable box is part of the cable package and it's what makes you part of the network. It's not like a cable modem which you can buy instead of paying rent. I bought mine because I knew that paying rent on a modem was ridiculous. The modems aren't that expensive, so they pay for themselves quickly. I believe the same thing about a DVR. I want one, but don't yet have one. I refuse to pay $10 a month rental on a cable DVR. When I can afford it, I'll buy one. But ... the actual cable box itself is not a 'buyable' option. It's part of the subscription process, so buy your cable modem, buy your DVR, but the cable box comes from Comcast (or whatever company you are subscribing to).

bicker

Yes, sort of... not a digital cable box, but a digital cable DVR is available for sale there: It costs $300, plus you will be required to pay the vendor, TiVo, about $400 for on-going service, plus perhaps another few dollars per month for a decryption and channel-mapping card from the cable company, in order for it to work.

So figure $700 total. It isn't really intended to save money. Rather, it gives you a lot of great features and capabilities. And compared to a DVR from the cable company, it does pay off eventually: Break-even is about two years.

TiVo® - HD Digital Video Recorder - TCD652160

TVGirl

So the only way to get around renting a box from cable is to get the Tivo? I want to make sure I get the math straight, you have to pay $300 for the unit plus $400 for service? If I only use it for 2 years that means I'll be paying $30 a month for it instead of renting it for a little more than half that price? Yowsa.