Why use a crappy cable co DVR with a slow interface that crashes constantly? You said yourself you had to replace it 3 times. I have 3 tivos, my original series 1 is over 7 years old and still working strong. Tivo is a superior product and justifies a premium. If you ever had one then you can not use anything else and be completely satisfied. It's much like an iPod vs generic mp3 player. BTW, My TivoHD cost me $264 at best buy. Hardly a big expense when most HD setups are easily >>> $2K. And my net monthly cost went DOWN by $7/month because cable co charges $6.95 for box plus $7 for DVR service. Now my service cost for my tivoHD cost $6.95/month plus no additional cost for cable card. For me it was a no brainer whe the Tivo HD came out. SBT