Why TiVo When You Can Steevo?

If you haven't heard about the new craze, there is a huge fuss in the geek world with creating appliances that can view and record television. We used to call these TV/VCR combos, but no longer are they the topic of discussion. I'm talking about PVR, Personal Video Recorders, and they are becoming increasingly popular with the help of TiVo and other retail PVR/DRV/HTPC/Whatever new acronym they'll think up.
These pieces of equipment that you can pick up at your local BigBuy or ComUSA boast 40+ hours of digital recording from your satelite or cable and the ability to do X or Y. What they try to shove under the rug is the fact that they not only have a pretty pricetag with a large dollar figure, but that there is a monthly fee for their spectacular service (sarcastic).
Now, don't get me wrong, these devices are really neat and if you have the money, then grab you one and have fun. But for those like me (cheap, project-oriented, and tech-savvy), or those with the money and wanting to put their idle hands to work, there is another option.
What would you say if I told you that you could create your own "TiVo" for the same cost with better features and no monthly subscriptions? I bet you're saying "Wow, tell me more, Wes.", well, alright, I will.
The easiest way is also the not-so-much-fun way. You can easily buy a TV Tuner Card from an electronics store, throw it in an empty PCI and wam-bam-Bob's your uncle, you can watch and record TV on your current PC!
That may not be what you want. Especially if you are using that computer for other things (gaming, work, etc) plus, you'll need your "Steevo" to be on almost all the time to catch that late-night Dukes-Of-Hazzard Episode you missed. I guess if this isn't an issue for you and you like the idea, check out the PVR cards from Hauppauge. (They're at the top of the market at time of writing.)
If you want to get a little more in-depth with your DVR, digital video recorder, endeavour, then let's build one from scratch! It's simple. Here's what you'll need: A computer and a TV Tuner Card. Now, I now, that's vague, but here's where you're options come in. You can build any kind of computer you want past minimum requirements and you're good to go, but you may want go a certain route. You can get a small box to go along side your current living room e-vices or get a clunky large, 3-tuner box for multiple recording and shove it in a closet. It's up to you. XPC cases offer a small footprint and usually come with motherboards and accessories, so all you buy are drives (optical, magnetic), a processor, memory, TV Tuner card, and maybe a video card (some have onboard which may be sufficient). You just slap all the pieces together, install the software and bang, you're done.
Now... what software do you choose? For n00bies, go with the tried and true for you and install Windows XP Media Center Edition. It's 110$ for Windows XPPro and MCE (cheaper than XP Pro, I don't understand that) and it's got plenty of features for you. For others, you may choose to go the free route with Linux and MythTV or Freevo. Here is a guide to building a freevo computer with SlackWare Linux. There are also instructions for Fedora and MythTV.
Whichever way you go, make sure that your TV-Tuner is compatible! Look for the "Windows MCE 2005 Compliant" sticker, or that bttv or IVTV support your card for linux. It's makes the setup much easier and in most cases, possible! A page on the MythTV wiki prints a list of card selections for bttv.

I'll post more specific information as I delve into the world of PVR and try out the Linux side for myself. The Windows part really doesn't need any explanation. Just take their tour. It's really all plug and play n00b proof.