[masraum]

I've got Digital cable with one regular TV and one HD tv. I've got a VCR, but it's a pain in the ass. I'd like a DVR, but I don't want to have to buy a monthly service. I can get one through my cable company for $10 a month, but it wouldn't take that long to pay for a box I would imagine.

I see dvr's for sale at stuff like best buy, etc..., Tivo, Directtv, etc.. but again, I don't want to have to pay for a monthly service. I don't want my cable to end up costing me $100 a month, and it seems smarter to buy a box and own it if I can than to rent from someone else.

So, can you just buy a DVR and plug it in and use it like a VCR programming it based on time, etc...

If you can buy one what's recommended that's not $500-$1000. I don't need tons of hours of storage.

Would a dual layer DVD burner be a good bet? Seems like at $5 a pop for 4 hours it would add up, but then that is only $1.25 a hour, I guess that's not terrible, but then it's probably more expensive than just getting DVR from Time Warner.

I went ahead and popped the extra couple of bucks a month to get Speed TV the stuff that I'm most interested in for the month of Dec is on at 6am, Legends of Motorsport and 5th Gear. What the hell is that. I'm not sure I'll keep Speed just for the occasional race. I guess during the summer months there are probably interesting races on more often.