Cable company DVR

There are lots of places to get reviews and opinions about cable company DVRs. But because it's one of the largest providers in the country, it's not surprising that most revolve around Comcast's offerings. For example, Glen Gabe at The Internet Marketing Driver and Jim Louderback at PC Magazine compare their Comcast DVRs to TiVos. CNet.com's Crave blog includes a detailed report of life with a TiVo-powered Comcast DVR, while the Welcome to Casa Dwyer blog tells the same tale. About.com guide Sal Prince provides a little information on some DVRs used by a variety of cable providers, but not much in the way of useful opinion. Some more helpful user insights can be read at AVSForum.com.

While they lack the sophistication and ease of use of TiVo DVRs, cable company DVRs offer some significant advantages of their own. For one thing, there's no upfront cost, and lease/DVR fees are largely competitive with TiVo's service charges. They also include the required cable box, so they integrate more seamlessly with a cable company's service. There's also full support of all interactive features -- such as on-demand viewing and pay-per-view -- something TiVo DVRs can't accommodate because of the CableCard technology they must use. However, TiVo DVRs, including the TiVo HD (*est. $250 plus TiVo service), are easier to use, have a much nicer programming guide, and are loaded with extra features, such as the ability to download or stream content from Internet sources such as Amazon.com and Netflix.