[mousepod]

Kevy,
Since we spoke last weekend, I looked into the Tivo HD DVR. You probably remember that I abandoned DirecTv as soon as I got my HDTV - not only could I not record local HD programs, but the salespeople went out of their way to mislead me to believe I could. It was an ugly scene, and I'm glad that I have cable for now. Apparently, the new HR20 DirecTv recorder addresses the issue - you can indeed record local and premium HD channels with it. Additionally, there seems to be a lot of talk on the web that you can attach an external eSATA drive to the back to have a greatly increased capacity (although it currently seems that the it's either/or for the external/internal drive so far). Having said all that, there are lots of DirecTv ex-TiVo users that hate the new unit.
If it doesn't work out tomorrow, I'd say f 'em for the time being, go with cable and use the free DVR that your cable company supplies with HD. Even with a dual-tuner cable box, you don't need two cables, just a splitter. I wouldn't invest in the series 3 TiVo just yet - give yourself a few months to make sure you like the cable service before you get the TiVo - if you want it to operate properly, you need to get two cable cards from your cable provider - I've heard more than a few horror stories about getting them set correctly.
Anyway, good luck with whatever you wind up doing - once it's all set up and this nightmare is just a memory, you'll have fun with the best toy in the house. (and don't forget about the Oppo)