I currently have RCN (chicago) cable/HD service and don't want to rent their DVR Receiver anymore. What alternatives are there? I know TiVO is out there but they have their own associated costs. Ideally, I'd like to buy an HD DVR receiver and not have to pay any subscription fees! Thanks for your input.

For HD without subscription costs? I think a HTPC is your only option.

If you can get by the HD part, I think the DVDR/HDD recorder might be a route.

When I say subscriptions, I didn't mean specifically HD. I meant like TiVO. For example, is it possible to buy a TiVO and not buy a subscription? Thanks for your input.

You can pay a lifetime fee for TiVo service. It's like $400 on top of whatever the TiVo unit itself costs. I don't know of any TiVos or cable DVRs that work without a subscription and record in HD. We probably won't see anything like that in the US anytime soon.

When I mean HD, I mean recording HD signals and play them back as is. Other than TiVo, a cable company DVR, or building a PC, there isn't much. Even for non-HD, there isn't a lot (although with DVDR-HDD units, there are a few more options.)

If you want to do an HTPC setup but be able to get digital/HD cable content from RCN, you'll need a CableCARD rig with Vista Media Center - and you'll need to buy a CableCARD-certified system for that. You can't just piecemeal a system together and add CableCARD tuners to it. You're probably looking at prices starting around $1500 with the CableCARD tuner device included. You won't have to pay a monthly service fee, but the upfront cost is a lot more than a TiVo.

Is there a good article online somewhere that has information on how to build a system like this? I'm definitely computer literate but not necessarily savvy.

Thanks for your help.

There's also MOXI. No monthly subscription costs. As long as you don't mind absorbing the cost of the unit.

It has cable card slots so you can still subscribe to digital services. Check it out:
http://moxi.com/moxi/home.jsp

At $800 it's comparable to getting a Media Center PC, actually cheaper than one with Cable Cards.

Is there a good article online somewhere that has information on how to build a system like this? I'm definitely computer literate but not necessarily savvy.

Go talk to Dell, or HP, or Falcon Northwest? I think those are most of the companies that are making Vista CableCARD PCs. As I said, if you want to receive digital cable, piecemealing a system together won't work. The UDCR tuners won't work in a system that doesn't have the appropriately signed BIOS.

Is there a good article online somewhere that has information on how to build a system like this? I'm definitely computer literate but not necessarily savvy.

Thanks for your help.

You can Thank CableLabs. Cablelabs requires all DCR HTPC's to be available only to OEM's. They have a special bios and an OS that has digital cable support. You do have to pay for the cable cards. You'll need 2 tuners in order to watch/record a show. Ceton however is working on a tuner that works with M-Cards that can record up to 6 streams.