Ah, you're actually on a forum for Australia and NZ where our TiVo setup is different. We don't pay for a subscription it is included in the price, and our TiVo's can only do FTA, not cable (don't ask, long story with the way our broadcasting rules set down by the Government work).

Sounds to me more like you need to ditch the TiVo and just get a basic hard disk recorder device