Why would you buy a box now when the required subscription includes a free box? The only benefit is if this would be your second tivo so that you could watch a saved program from the active tivo on this in a second room. But, can you even do that with only one activated Tivo?

The free subsciption box is like $5 more a month and you don't really own it so you can't add a hard drive to get a ton more hours. The other option is a factory renewed Tivo.

I think if you have one you can get a second one for cheaper per month (a least it used to be)

Lets do math... $5 *12 = $60 more a year... and I think after a year of subscribing you own it.. So... $60 over a year.. or free now? If that is still the case as it was a few months ago.

The benefit to "renting" is that if it breaks you get a new one.