A subscription service at least has a reason to continue operating as long as it has subscribers - My UK TiVo service ran for many many years after TiVo abandoned the UK market, for example.
Right up until they did actually turn it off. Luckily TiVo's that old were hackable enough that someone else was able to carry on where TiVo left off and provide a programme guide that still works.
So, I think I'd be happier committing to a system if I knew that there was no DRM or other artificial mechanism that would stop the device (at least theoretically) working with an alternative service.
Previous Topic
Index
