I think that I may be the luckiest guy ever...I am a brighthouse cable subscriber and they just started offering a DVR (made by Scientific Atlanta
link ) for about $9/month. So basically, I get all of the benefits of Tivo, but I don't have to buy the unit or pay the monthly service fee (outside of the $9 on top of my digital cable package).
I don't know how I ever lived without it. My fiance and I always spend Sunday relaxing and reading the newspaper while we watch all of the shows which it recorded during the week. I just watched four American Idol episodes and fast forwarded through all of the commericals. Now, when I do watch live TV, I am always tempted to just wait ten minutes to start so I can use the FF.
Call your cable company to see if it is an option...