Not necessarily. Between storage limitation (my DVR has a TB hardrive, no phone or tablet has that) and UI considerations (hooking a computer to a TV is kind of a pain) the set top box still has a clear market. Add to that the fact that many of the boxes can be controlled and accessed from the web (really dependent on your cable company, they all could be accessed from the web, the question is does your cable company choose to do it), and there’s simply no reason for it to go away. It’s a much more useful and dynamic device than this article wants to pretend.
I have a TiVo Bolt on order (arrival Tuesday). It advertises that is can replace the cable box. It also records 4 programs at the same time. And, it includes 1 year of TiVo service. Cost $300. Renewal service is $150 per year.
Cable box-DVR rental is $8.50 for the box and $12 for the recorder service per month, and that box records on 2 programs at a time.
The TiVo will require a cable company cablecard/m-card.
The cable just recently went all digital and requires a set-top or [crappy] mini box for every cable outlet. The [crappy] mini box does not give access to upper tiers or premium channels. It also does not allow program scheduling. It is $2/month, after a 1-year free. The [crappy] mini box also will not allow work with existing 3rd-party DVRs.
I don’t know whether the cablecard for the TiVo will access those upper/premium tiers.
The TiVo Bolt also does the apps — Netflix, Amazon Prime, etc.