Sony DHG-HDD500 60-Hour High-Definition Digital Video Recorder (500 GB)
You gotta get one of these!
I live in a large metropolitan city and every network broadcasts over-the-air FREE digital and HD 24 hours a day.  I rarely have to watch anything on analog TV.  For me, the Sony DHG-HDD 500 is the perfect recorder because I personally see little value in pay TV (have you checked the monthly prices for full digital/HD service? Ouch).  I have programmed the DHG to record dozens of my favorite shows automatically and so when I want to watch something I always have a wide selection of ONLY THE SHOWS I WANT TO SEE to choose from -- nicely listed by name.    The DHG is very easy to set up and can be used immediately, but the FREE TV GUIDE will not be fully functional for about 24 hours because it is populated a little at a time, each day.  Once filled in you can always see what will be showing, up to 8 days in advance on any channel in the guide.    There are several different ways to search the TV GUIDE to find and select shows to record.  You can record a show once or have the DHG record the show regularly with little intervention.  You can set up the TV GUIDE so that it displays only channels you want or all channels.  You can mix digital and analog channels or list them in groups. You can list them in channel-number order or any other way you like.    You can save shows for a long time or you can delete them as you finish watching them.  You can list saved shows one-at-a-time by date or in groups by name.  If you record a show you really must keep forever, you can output it to a DVD recorder so you end up with a widescreen recording just like a commercial DVD.    Using this device is simplicity itself though the user interface does take a little time to learn in the beginning.  Learning it just requires a little poking around for a day or two.  This is a \\"Who needs the manual\\" device.  There is plenty of on-line help on the screen.  All you have to do is select a function and press the INFO button.  Just about everything you need to know is covered.    If you must have cable service, the DHG can take a cable decoder card.  The TV GUIDE can then be programmed to list cable info along with the broadcast info (of course I don't know how well this works since I don't have pay TV).  I project I will be saving around $1200 a year (give or take) by not buying full digital pay TV.  I think I will use a small part of that to rent some of the cable-only shows that I won't get over the air.  No kidding...this is a great device.