Why is TiVo such a big deal?

I just watched the TiVo section of the HelpDeskLive. I thought Molly's house, what we saw of it, looked nice. Do you always have the TiVo unit perched on top of your TV like that? It looked rather precarious, like you put it there for the video but really normally have it somewhere else. I've found the newer TVs don't have a deep enough flat spot on their tops to be able to sit any other device on it. Our set top boxes are both on separate shelves from our TVs.

Anyway, back to my point: I have Time Warner digital cable, with their DVR. I can do all of the things Molly showed in the video, and the only difference that I found was that the interface might not be quite as nice, mostly in the "exact English" wording. My son, who is now 8, was able to record and play back programs all by himself at age 7, as soon as he learned to read, which tells you something about how easy it is. The video didn't show whether TiVo has a show listing guide. That's what makes the DVR so easy to use -- it's a grid that shows all the channels and shows, and you can scroll through and find shows. If you select a show that isn't on right now, it gives you the option to record it, and then once you've chosen that, it asks if you want to record just the one episode or all of them. It is very easy to use and two things that I think are in its favor: (1) you can get it replaced or fixed at any time and that doesn't cost extra. We returned a remote that was held together with duct tape and missing a couple of parts and they didn't even question it (I was afraid of some sort of user-abuse clause). Also, (2) I know it's always going to be compatible with my cable company's service, because it is provided by them.

I just can't see why this wouldn't be better or at least as good as TiVo. I'm certainly satisfied.