Methinks they didn’t read the fine print

I think Tivo users doth protest too much.
I knew when Tivo came out that I wouldn’t be buying one, mostly because you aren’t really “buying” one at all; you’re paying for a receiver that’s useless without the monthly fee.
A real “digital VCR” wouldn’t require a subscription. And until one comes out, I’ve still got my trusty tape deck. Not that much worth taping comes down the pipe from the satellite these days.