An HD DVR is $10 a month or $120 a year. If it breaks they come replace it. In a year from now if a new model is out they swap it out for you. How many years of that service will you be able to cover for the price of building an HTPC? Now add in time to maintain it,upgrade costs, replacement costs, etc. and you'll see that $10 a month is a sweet deal. Even if you add a second box or a third for different TV's it's still far cheaper in the long run and a lot less hassel.
For $139 you can get a Sony 3D Blu-Ray ready player that connects to the internet to view NetFlix, Pandora, YouTubu, Hulu, etc. It also has a USB input on the back to play anything you want to plug into it.
