I opted for the Cable Co. DVR, although the guide and recording is less capable than the Tivo it is more integrated allows recordeing of HDTV. If you value the ability to record shows remotely via internet connectivity, like the record a season option, or a host of Tivo only options then that may make the difference for you. Another small reason that I cable was that you are only leasing the box, technology changes they upgrade you, box breaks they replace it. Bottom line each service has its positives and negatives, its up to you to decide which fits you the best.

I've linked an article to get you started on your research, but bottom line, if you want the program guide that provides one-time and full season recording of television shows, you will need to pay a service fee of some kind. Here is a link that might be useful: Comparison

There are a number of DVRs that you can use to record TV inputs from whatever source, but you'll have to do a manual setting like on an old timey VCR if you don't have one integrated with your provider. Most don't have tuners, so you'll still need a TV or cable box to set the channel and have that set to the correct channel at the recording time as well. You can also make one out of an old computer plus some parts, if you're technically inclined. The question is whether rental is a better deal in the long run. If something fails, with the rental, they send a guy to change it out for a replacement box, no charge, at my cable provider. Other places might want you to pay for the visit, but let you bring in the kaput box and swap it free for a different one (not "new", unless you're lucky, because they're usually ones that have been repaired and put back in service). If you have satellite service, you can probably buy the associated DVR equipment from a third party vendor rather than renting, but it may be limited to recording from satellite. If you don't mind paying a lot, just don't like rental, you can get professional equipment, like the studio execs have, with a dozen or more tuned recording channels and scads of memory. Those are semi-custom to custom and run in the middle four figures. Panasonic used to make a great all in one with DVD, VCR, SD and DVR and at least one tuner in one unit. They went from ordinary price when new to over triple the original price now used. There was a kind of agreement between the hardware makers and the providers, when the latter went into DVRs big time, not to sell DVRs with tuners for the home market. People, in general, prefer the automatic recording schemes with the integrated guides that come from having one tied into your provider's system. The accessibly priced DVRs nowadays are meant more for camera recordings, whether for security (a big use of multichannel), or home video.

Instead of thinking about how you can play recorded cable on multiple TVs, you may want to consider if cable is your best option for getting the content you want. We looked at what TV we actually watch and decided it was cheaper to buy the seasons of the few shows we like best from Amazon or iTunes than to keep paying for cable every month. We have a blue ray player bought for $75 that plays Amazon prime and Netflix but there are a lot of options for getting those services to your TV. We cut the cable without a single regret and are saving over a hundred a month from what we were paying to the jerks at Comca$t. Seriously, our cable/DVR/Internet/phone package was $160 a month. Now we pay $40 a month for Internet plus $10 for Netflix. Despite talking about buying three or four season passes to shows, we only ended up buying one. Admittedly, this works for us because we're not big TV people. You'd have to look into other options if you have a sports fan probably, but it is certainly worth considering.