"As Kristin points out, there are a lot of reasons to love Roku and MythTV, but TiVo has had a special place in my heart since its earliest days of DVR development. Since I rarely have time to actually sit down and watch something from the comfort of my living room couch, it's easier to transfer the recordings to a laptop computer so I can watch things on the fly. TiVo provides free recording transfer software for PC users, but Mac users need to shell out $80 for Roxio Toast to move recordings to a Mac. No matter what platform you use, if you want to convert shows into a format playable on an iPod, iPhone, or MP3 player, be prepared to cough up even more cash.
"Fortunately, the open source community has come to the rescue with three fantastic apps that make transferring shows a breeze -- and all for the low, low cost of free."
