If you have Time-Warner, you can rent a DVR from them. I do and use it all the time so I can fast-forward through the commercials. DVR’s are also good for pausing any program, rewinding a segment of a news station if I miss what someone said or catch the tail-end of something scrolling along the banner at the bottom of the screen. My Time-Warner here has even started allowing us to start a program over again at the beginning if we’ve turned the channel during the middle of it. TiVo’s okay, but if you have to buy the machine, you might be better off using Time-Warner’s DVR. At least if something goes wrong with the DVR, they replace it for nothing. I think my cost for the DVR is about $15 each month. To me it’s well worth it.
Using a dvr for tv is like going from dial up to cable internet - once there you can never go back!