ReplayTV RTV5040 40-Hour Digital Video Recorder
The best thing since, well, just about EVER!
We have had our ReplayTV for two years now, never had a problem with it, and at this point, feel that we cannot live without it anymore.  Shows that we would prefer our children see (as opposed to those that are on after school, which tend to be pretty violent) we record during the day, and give them their choice when it is their TV time.  We are able to skip repeats, find something interesting to watch instantly when programming is switched around or preempted, and for really important shows that we can't wait to see--we start watching 20 minutes late and don't have to wait through commercials to see what will happen.  I actually think we watch less TV now than before, but it's all stuff we WANTED to see--a huge difference, and a great one!