When I got home from Vegas, I was greeted with a large UPS package. Before leaving, I purchased, on sale at amazon.com, a DVD recorder with built-in hard drive (for over $100 less than they currently offer it). I ordered it right before my trip, figuring that I would either win in Vegas and not care about the cost, or lose in Vegas and figure, what's a few hundred more? The enabling logic of the compulsive gambler is a beautiful thing. So I've been playing around with this for a few days now. I haven't tried burning a DVD yet, but I have been getting a lot of use out of the hard drive, like Tivo, but without the program guide. I enjoy being able to pause live TV, and I really enjoy the ability to skip ads. I just start watching the show ten minutes or so after it starts, and then I can fast forward the ads. And the quality is great, and I can edit out ads if I plan to keep a program. I've practiced editing programs I don't plan to keep, cutting ads from King of the Hill, and singling out Busy Philips' interview from Conan O'Brien, and found it easy to do. Burning DVDs looks a tad more complicated, but as soon as I get around to buying blank DVDs, I don't think it will take long to figure it out. But just for the hard drive, it's well worth it.