The Verizon DVR is $12.99/mo with a 160Gb hard drive.
The dual-tuner TivoHD is $253 with free shipping from Amazon.
You need two CableCards from Verizon @ $2.99/mo each. When Verizon offers MCARDs, you will only need one CableCard, but for now, you need two.
There's the Tivo monthly fee. That works out to $8.23/mo if you prepay $300 for three years. If you don't want to prepay, the monthly free varies from $12.95/mo to $16.95/mo depending on whether you commit to three years or just one.
If you figure the
total cost of one TivoHD for three years, it is $253 (DVR) + $300 (prepaid 3yr subscription) + 36*2*2.99 (for CableCards) = $553 upfront + $5.99/mo. That works out to $21.34/mo for three years.
Tivo charges a reduced rate for every box after the first. The second TivoHD would cost you $253 (DVR) plus 36*2*2.99 (for CableCards) + $6.99 (Tivo monthly fee) = $253 upfront + $12.98/mo. That works out to $20.01/mo for three years.
The total combined cost for two TivoHDs for the first three years is $806 upfront + $18.94/mo. If you can replace the four 'S' CableCards with two MCARDs next year, that would reduce the monthly bill from $18.94/mo to $12.95/mo.
Chances are you will want to upgrade the storage capacity of at least one Tivo. The latest Tivo software offers "plug and play" eSATA expansion with certain drives. The 500Gb Western Digital DVR Expander is $199; that adds 65 hours of HD capacity for a total of 86 HD hours. That 86 hours is what you would get if you only recorded from high-bitrate channels like CBS, ESPN, and Hdnet; if you record much of your programming from ABC, FOX, HBO, SHO, TMC, or STARZ, then you'll get 100+ hours.
The Verizon DVR is only $12.99/mo, although they have announced a price increase to $15.99/mo (which they temporarily delayed due to DVR software problems). You don't have to worry about adding another drive to the Verizon DVR because it doesn't support that.
