I believe the "basic" plan is less than $12 and offers 3 days of programming info.

You can always buy an older model on eBay as well. That should be able to be used as a plain old digital VCR. I thought the newer ones would also still function that way as long as you made it past the initial setup (which requires a service call).

There's always the option of using a PC and capture card too. But that would cost more than a TiVo with lifetime sub, regardless of what computer you chose to use.

Bruno