Hey guys I was looking around the forums but couldn't find anything to help me.

I am about to get Time Warner cable and I am looking for a HD DVR but don't want the monthly payment price tags. So that is 1 reason why I don't want to get the Time Warner HD DVR. Now I am thinking about getting the Tivo HD DVR but that is VERY costly for the lifetime plan.

Anyone have any other suggestions or is Tivo my only alternative?

For something that will work with digital cable that you can buy at retail - yes, TiVo is really your main option. You could get a Vista Media Center system with CableCARD - but you're going to be *starting* at around $1500 for that. The Sony DHG-HDD250/500 units do have a CableCARD slot - but they're single tuner, so that might be rather limiting (and there's the fact that they haven't been made in a few years, so you'd have to get one off eBay or another auction site, there'd be no warrantee, no customer service to speak of, etc.).

If you're just looking to save money, I don't know that TiVo will save you a significant amount of money - it'll certainly be a better DVR though.

Any cablecard DVR or device will require you to obtain a cable card from your cable co -- 2 are needed in the case of a dual tuner DVR. Does your CC give them out for free or do you have to rent them? If the latter, the cost of renting them may approach the rental cost of the CC DVR. You need to run all the numbers to determine the payback period for a big personal cash outlay to buy your own device plus any required monthly payments vs. renting the cable co DVR. Then factor in the fact that you are also responsible for paying for equipment repairs and will suffer the downtime. IMHO, anything with a break-even point of 4+ years is a loser. You'll be looking to upgrade the equipment by then.

Any cablecard DVR or device will require you to obtain a cable card from your cable co -- 2 are needed in the case of a dual tuner DVR. Does your CC give them out for free or do you have to rent them? If the latter, the cost of renting them may approach the rental cost of the CC DVR. You need to run all the numbers to determine the payback period for a big personal cash outlay to buy your own device plus any required monthly payments vs. renting the cable co DVR. Then factor in the fact that you are also responsible for paying for equipment repairs and will suffer the downtime. IMHO, anything with a break-even point of 4+ years is a loser. You'll be looking to upgrade the equipment by then.

I agree with Kelson. I did the math, and renting from the CC was my best option. In the upcoming months our CC is "supposed" to upgrade to SDV (switched digital video). The TIVO box supports SDV, but requires (I think) an external adapter which is another expense.

To be clear, the TiVo S3 and the TiVo HD could support SDV through the external tuning adapter, but the tuning adapter must come from the cable company, and none have started offering any publicly. By the same token, at least one cable company said it would provide the tuning adapter to CableCARD customers at no additional cost.