It's all about finding something to let your mind escape and the television world has been fighting for your viewing time. However why is it that the two or three shows you are looking forward watching are scheduled at the same time. So while Tivo is a great solution, i'm just plain cheap and so far have refused to fork out the recurring charge. My answer has been a Windows 7 Ultimate machine running Windows Media Center, but I've got to admit the open source MythTV was an extremely strong contender for my home media center. Media Center is also available on the home premium edition. Extenders from vendors like Linksys make inexpensive and silent boxes for the living room, while the Windows 7 machine sits in your home office.
