I agree...it reminds me of the deal Sirius used to have where instead of paying $12 a month for satellite radio, you could pay $499 one time per device. I thin

I agree...it reminds me of the deal Sirius used to have where instead of paying $12 a month for satellite radio, you could pay $499 one time per device. I think Tivo had a similar deal. The problem was, when these services were new, who knew if they would be around in 5 years, or whether a new service would take their place. In the case of Sirius, HD radio now offers similar service for free, and I prefer to download my TV shows rather than record them. So I was wise not to pay upfront.