Cable-provided DVR vs TiVo

You have to pay for TiVo.. It is not free + you would have to make sure to will work fully with your cable company, like on screen menu, VOD, PayPer view and other stuff.

The TiVo would mostlikly be better then what you would get from the cable comp., but I must say a hate the little noises TiVo's makes, but that is less then say Comcast DVR's and there ads placment all over the place... That really bugs me more... Buy this, buy that, gets old real fast.

FWIW, in my second bedroom I have an old Sony Trinitron (analog SDTV) connected to a Comcast SD (standard definition) DVR. This is their barely advertised cheaper DVR they lease for use with non-HDTVs. IMHO it would be a decent enough choice until you got an HDTV. Also, depending on the prices in your market, it may save you between $6-8/per month on your Comcast bill vs the HD DVR which you don't really need w/o an HDTV. In some areas Comcast is offering the TiVO service/software on their DVRs, but again, this is an extra charge. AFAIK with normal TiVo (not from Comcast) you need to purchase the box up front and pay for their more expensive service (albeit, w/ more enjoyable GUI).

The good thing about renting a DVR box from Comcast is that if it decides to die they simply replace it for no charge. You can drop off the dead one/pick up a new one at a service/bill payment center for that matter. There shouldn't be an installation fee either, at least not IME if you are adding it to your current Comcast service. It's really straight forward to hook it up and do the activation over the phone with the reps in the Phillipines. IOW, the SD DVR would be approximately $9-10 vs what they quoted for the HD (probably Motorola) version. While I generally like their Motorola 6412/etc. boxes better for their larger hard drives, the Pace brand SD DVRs work fairly well for the price point. Anyway, call them up again and see what they can offer you.

-Pedro