[FatOtt]

I've had both Tivo and Comcast DVR for the past year. My Comcast DVR was recently upgraded. Here's my take:

The tivo interface is much better. On top of that, I believe the underlying software is better. As an example, if you have a season pass for a particular show that usually runs on Wednesdays, tivo will actually catch that show if it's shown on a Thursday because of some scheduling change. I don't believe that the Comcast DVR does that. So the tivo "experience" is great. Using the remote blasters from the tivo to a cable box is mildly irritating, but not that big a deal.

However, the DVR is also a good deal. First, it allows you to record in high-definition, which is awesome. Even if you're not recording a show, but just watching a show, you're able to watch it on high-definition, where tivo can't pass through the high-definition signal. My new Comcast DVR (it just got upgraded a month ago or so) has better software (but still worse than tivo), but it now has dual tuners, so you can record two shows at the same time. It also has an enormous storage capacity. Right now, we have about 4-5 movies (all high definition) and I think it's still less than 50% full.

When we first got the DVR, it was clear that tivo was far superior, despite the lack of high-definition. Now that the DVR has dual tuners and a ton of space and much-improved software, if I was choosing between buying a tivo and renting a DVR, I think I might rent the DVR.