Philips HDR212 TiVo 20 Hour Digital Video Recorder
Great. Totally Hackable.
You might be thinking, 'well I don't really tape anything or watch TV, so why would I need this thing, I mean, I never use my VCR anyway'. Well, prepare for a (dare I say) total paradigm shift 'cause this think will totally change your TV watching habits. I love how the thing learns the kind of shows you prefer to watch. I come home finding that Tivo has recorded a few surprises. There's always something in your liking to watch. Oh and the pause live tv feature is great as well. The one negative thing though is that you can't record a program and watch a different channel without going beyond the 'standard' setup (though that can easily be remedied with a splitter)...  I can't imagine my TV without Tivo.