The steady removal of features, DRM restrictions, and privacy concerns have prevented a lot of people from purchasing a TiVo or other DVR, leaving Linux-based MythTV as the only alternative.

MythTV is an open source DVR that runs on Linux, using a wide variety of video capture cards to mimic the all the "good" features in commercial DVRs and none of the "bad" ones (with no monthly fees, no less,) so why isn't the world using MythTV, sending TiVo to a cartridge-filled landfill in the desert? Unless you're a Linux nerd, it's really, really hard to install and configure. (I say that as a Linux nerd who tried and gave up.)

Enter Monolith Media (no relation to my publishing company, Monolith Press.) According to Engadget, Monolith Media is offering pre-installed, pre-configured, dedicated MythTV systems.

MythTV lets you use all the same search and programming features as TiVo or ReplayTV, but unlike the commercial alternatives will always allow you to skip commercials, and retain and use your recordings as long as you wish. Monolith claims that their system also includes all the features of a Microsoft Media Center, including mp3 storage and streaming, and the ability to author and create DVDs of any recorded program.