On Mon, 28 Mar 2005, Sam MacDonald wrote: > Question: > Has anyone been able to use this thing without the service? > Can I sign up and quit the service but still use the device? > Can the device be hacked so it can be used like a VCR for recording (wife > likes 24)? There seem to be several kinds of devices and services. I have DirecTV and I added the TiVo service to that for $5/mo, so I'm paying $50 per month altogether for DirecTV/DirecTiVo. It is actually a really nice combination with digital recording of a digital signal which makes playback identical to watching the direct feed. I have a question: Does anyone here have experience with hacking these things? Mine is a Philips DSR708. It has a USB port that doesn't do anything with the current software. I would like to be able to access its files on the local network, copy them to my PC and write them to DVD. If someone here can make my device do that, I can pay you for the service and for any needed parts. Mike